How much to pay nanny while away for extended period?

[kristal]

We are planning an extended trip overseas, to visit grandparents. We will be away for about 2 months. We currently have a nanny for DS. She is great. We have had her for about 1.5 years now, and she has been taking care of DS since he was 10 months old. We do want her to continue with us when we get back. We were wondering that while we are away, what are we expected to pay the nanny? I assume we are expected to pay her the full pay. But I was just wondering if people have made arrangements with their nannies to get by with less than full pay, and if it is OK to propose that. She is free to take up some part time work for the 2 months while we are away.

Thanks.

[Melaine]

I think you should pay her full salary while you are gone if she is full-time. However, if you have any jobs that need to be done around the house, like watering plants or checking the mail, etc. I think it's fine to give her a list of things to do while you are gone. To maintain a good relationship, though, I just don't think you should pay her less than her full wages.

[arivecchi]

I would give her full pay. Look at it from her perspective, she is committed to you and depends on that income. It would not be fair to unexpectedly cut her income and expect her to still be committed. If she is able to find something else while you are gone, then perhaps you can reduce the pay by that amount, but I would personally not feel comfortable doing that. We love our nanny too and would go to the ends of the Earth to keep her happy. JMHO.

[nrp]

I would try my best to help her find short-term work while I'm gone, and supplement what she gets so that she comes out "ahead."

In the alternative, are there some things you could have her do while you're gone? Any big organizing projects that you wanted to tackle that you think she could help with? At least that way if you pay her the full salary she is at least earning some of it.

[bubbaray]

I think if you don't give her full pay, you are pretty much assured that she won't be your nanny when you return.... If you want to keep her, give her full pay.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

When I was a nanny and the family was gone, I got paid to dog/house sit. You have to look at is as an employer, would your employer tell you they were closing up for 2 months? And, if they did would you stick around if they asked you to take less money than your normal salary? It is a tough situation, because nannies are not "traditional" employees.

[elektra]

Well when I was on maternity leave, it coincided with her boys' (ages 13 and 15) summer vacation. She worked part time in the mornings when DS was first born and then took most of June and all of July off. I did not pay her full salary for the 2 or so months that she had off. I was not making my full salary either and so we just talked about it and worked out the terms. She actually wanted the time off and she had a nice summer vacation. I'm sure she would have wanted full pay (who wouldn't?) but I was not able to swing that.

[Momof3Labs]

If you do not pay her full salary, assume that she will leave you (and be grateful if she does not). IMO, it is not her responsibility to find part-time work to supplement her income so that she can be there for your family when you return from vacation. However, if YOU find someone (say, a friend or neighbor) who wants to use her even part of the time when you are gone, I think that you could reduce what you pay her by that amount. Alternatively, you pay her the full salary while gone and the friend/neighbor pays you for the time that they use. I'd also expect her to do some house-sitting, pet care or plant care while you are gone as part of her duties.

I do not think that it is unreasonable for you to require her to take any paid vacation time during that two month period, so you aren't paying her for additional vacation weeks during the year.

[kristal]

Thanks guys! yeah I agree, it only makes sense to give her full pay if we want to keep her. Its a good idea to have her house sit while we're gone, I didn't think of that.