Can I get a primer on nannies? Scheduling/financial logistics questions

[mctlaw]

With DS1 I went back to work part time at 6 months but it was close enough to full time that I had him enrolled in a fulltime daycare program though I was able to pick him up at 4 everyday until I went back full time when he was 2.

This time around, DS will be starting 1st grade about the time I return to work on a much more part time basis. I have looked around some and have not seen any infant care programs that are part time, plus I think it makes sense to have someone at the house since DS1 will be getting off a school bus at 2:30.

I have no ideas how having a nanny works....can someone fill me in on things like this? I have read some of the nanny threads, but even they imply a level of knowedge that I don't yet have

1. I will be working about 15 hours a week, at least for several months. I may step it up gradually after that but don't want to work more than 25 hours max. I feel like I am more productive at work when I can be there for most of a day vs. a half day. Scheduling wise, would it make sense to do a M/W or T/Th type schedule vs. a half day each day? I think the former would work better for me.

Fortunately, at least for now my 1099 employer can be super flexible with me, though I am going to ask her if there is a particular arrangement she prefers. For those with experience with these type of work hours and a nanny, what worked best for you, your DC, and the nanny?

2. Most of my questions are about the financial logistics. I understand from reading old posts that I will likely be responsible for employment taxes and social security. Can someone tell me what this entails and then what the extra responsibilities/costs are?

3. From what I have observed on these threads some people do expect the nanny herself to be responsible for these items. Is there an above-board way to take that route and ensure that it is done legally or is there some inherent risk in this if nanny does not do it/do it correctly?

4. For a part time nanny, what would be the expectations for paid sick days, vacation, etc?

5. I am due at the end of May and plan to take off the summer, returning when my son starts first grade. When should I start looking?

TIA!

[mctlaw]

bumping...

[arivecchi]

There are agencies that can help you figure out taxes, etc. It will be hard to find a part time nanny. Most want more than 30 hours. I would work with a nanny agency or sing up at care.com. I would look a month in advance.

[janeybwild]

Originally Posted by mctlaw

1. I will be working about 15 hours a week, at least for several months. I may step it up gradually after that but don't want to work more than 25 hours max. I feel like I am more productive at work when I can be there for most of a day vs. a half day. Scheduling wise, would it make sense to do a M/W or T/Th type schedule vs. a half day each day? I think the former would work better for me.

Our nanny would prefer to work full days vs part days. Cuts down on her gas etc. So, she worked for us 3 days, and another family 2 days.

Fortunately, at least for now my 1099 employer can be super flexible with me, though I am going to ask her if there is a particular arrangement she prefers. For those with experience with these type of work hours and a nanny, what worked best for you, your DC, and the nanny?

I went in early and came home to make dinner. So our nanny worked 7-5

2. Most of my questions are about the financial logistics. I understand from reading old posts that I will likely be responsible for employment taxes and social security. Can someone tell me what this entails and then what the extra responsibilities/costs are?

It's not as daunting as it sounds. You can hire a company to do payroll for you, but to save $$ you can do it yourself. It's really not hard. We did not take out federal or state taxes for her, so it was her responsibility to pay those at the end of the year. I held back her share of medicare and unemployment taxes and paid the state unemployment taxes each quarter. Our state as an on-line payment, took 2 minutes. At tax time though is where I paid the bulk of unemployment taxes. You can claim back (only up to $6000 for 2 dependents I think) your dependent care expenses if you paying the employment taxes, but then you have to pay the employers taxes. I do her W2 through the social security site, super easy. PM if you need more specifics.

3. From what I have observed on these threads some people do expect the nanny herself to be responsible for these items. Is there an above-board way to take that route and ensure that it is done legally or is there some inherent risk in this if nanny does not do it/do it correctly?

What items? If you mean taxes, as long as you do your part, and she knows you are claiming her, then it's on her. The problem comes when people don't claim a household employee, then the employee turns around and claims she's worked. Anything over a certain amount paid to one person (somewhere around $1200 I think /yr) should be claimed by the employee.


4. For a part time nanny, what would be the expectations for paid sick days, vacation, etc?

We paid our nanny 1 paid week (3 days) and 2 personal/sick days, so 5 days total. We also paid her if her regular day fell on a national holiday (not state), so if I worked, she did. We usually organized our summer vacation to be at the same time. One year we went away for 3 weeks though. We paid her when we were gone, then she came in a bit extra after to help us. It helps if your scheduleis somewhat flexible. If my nanny needed time off one week for say a dentist appt, we'd switch days rather than force her to use a personal day

5. I am due at the end of May and plan to take off the summer, returning when my son starts first grade. When should I start looking?

July. Most nanny's need a new position when they are looking IMO. So if you start too early, it's too hard to keep someone on retainer unless you pay them.



TIA!

See my responses above. Good luck!

[mctlaw]

Thanks so much Arivecchi and Janeybwild!

I had no idea part time nannies could be challenging to find - my neighbor in Illinois had a couple and so I assumed it was fairly normal. I am on a couple local boards so I may be to get some referrals there and I will look into care.com when the time comes.

Janeybwild - thanks for the details - very helpful! Now that I know I don't need to start looking STAT I can wait and figure some of this out when I am at home w/ baby over the summer.
Thanks again!

[lmh2402]

i really think your best bet is to go through an agency, so that you can not have to figure out the taxes, etc on your own

plus they will have done some level of prescreening, which is helpful. and it will also give you a better sense of timing.

before we decided to go the au pair route, we considered hiring a nanny for three days a week and i spoke with a number of agencies around here that had good word-of-mouth reputations. they all told me that i wouldn't really be able to start seriously looking for someone until about six weeks before i wanted them to start.

good luck!

[lovin2shop]

I do think that part time is hard to find, and generally less permanent. Some nannies will accept part time placement and then bolt when a full time gig comes up. Many college students like to part time nanny, and it is usually really easy to post on their online job databases without any fee. The only downside is that their schedules change each semester so flexibility would be essential over the long run. I would definitely recommend looking into a backup caregiver or center should you find yourself without a replacement on short notice. Using an agency can be good in this regard, as they can help you out for both short and long term placements on an emergent basis if necessary.

I found our nanny through word of mouth, and I handle the taxes myself. I do this regularly for my job though, so it is not a big issue for me. PM me any time if you have questions.

[MamaSnoo]

FYI- I have had one friend who used nannyquest.com to find someone locally; I think she had to do a lot of the interviewing and prescreening stuff herself, but it is low cost. Another friend used this site: http://www.afriend.com/. I think they cost more, and may have an agency option where you pay them and they take care of the employment issues for you (like a maid service).

We do all the paperwork for our nanny. It is not too hard, but there was a learning curve this year (our first with the nanny). We used the Nannypay software (a BBB recommendation) to track her income. DH handles most of it. You would need a federal EIN (online) and a state number as well (paper form). You also have to report her as a new hire to the GA DOL. You submit the federal FUTA and FICA (employer and employee portions) taxes with your personal federal income taxes annually. The SUTA goes to GA once a year as well for domestic employees. It is due earlier than the federal stuff. You get a break on the FUTA if you pay your SUTA. We also give her a W2. We also pay her mileage if she is transporting DD for school or activities. She gets overtime when she exceeds 40 hr/wk.

It sounds a lot harder than it is. I looked at companies like Breedlove, and it appears they do a good job, but it was going to cost more than $1000/yr to deal with our payroll for one person, so we did not want to do that.

I do not know much about the part time aspects. Our nanny was hired with a guarantee of 32 hr/week, and does hit 40 with some regularity. She works 5 days a week most weeks. We pay her time off if we cancel her (ie, the GPs are in town), and give her 10 paid days off/year of her choosing. She also gets 4 or 5 paid holidays/year (Christmas, NY, July 4, Labor day...maybe something else).

Let me know if you want to chat about it.