Nanny and Tme Off

Updated on July 18, 2012
G.G. asks from Aurora, IL
10 answers

We are hiring a new nanny this August to watch our three kids (4,7,11) the older two are in school and the youngest attends preschool three mornings s a week. Next year all three will be in school from 830-330 so our needs may change.

I am curious on how much vacation time you pay your nanny. When do they accrue it (after 6mo, a yr or accrue it monthly?
Do you give them any personal or sick days too? How do you pay them when you take time off?

anything else I am not thinking of?

Does anyone have a nice contact they like?

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C.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

I worked as a nanny in Laguna Beach approx 12 years ago and got paid directly from the employers company that they owned. I got paid well for back then 500/wk (but this was a fancy part of the OC). I didn't get any sick time or vacay.

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I.W.

answers from Portland on

I'm a nanny. I get all major holidays off paid.

I get 1 week paid sick time each year.

I get paid vacation time whenever the family I work for goes on vacation.

My benefits started right away. There was no wait. We did put in my contract a 90 day trial period to make sure it was a good fit for everyone. I'm still here 3 years later.

I advise having a contract so there's no debating what's what. It protects both the family & nanny.

Good luck!

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J.T.

answers from New York on

We've had a nanny for years and we give 14 paid days - 7 at our choice, 7 at hers. Then we also pay 5 sick days. If she doesn't use her days, we pay them out at the end of the year. I started with a monthly accrual. I will say that she now gets probably 5 paid weeks a year. Kind of pisses me off but it hasnt' been worth redoing the contract as I have mixed feelings. She shoudl get to choose some of her days vs always follow our schedule but now that our kids are older, we take more trips etc so every time we're away, she gets that time paid and then seems to take her 7 days at the worst possible time for us. ie: again this year first week of school after we're away for 2 weeks right before... I'd like to cut "her" days to 5 but think the original total guaranteed days of 14 is fair. 5 sick days seems a bit high now but it also seems like it should be at least 4 so not a big difference. Also, we definitely pay when we go away bc nannies count on the income so it's not fair to have them short on their bills once month bc we decided we don't need them.

ETA: we pay major holidays too of course

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K.W.

answers from Seattle on

2 weeks vacation. Standard major holidays (not Pres Day, Columbus Day, MLK Day). Five sick days because we didn't want her to come to work sick. These are all paid.

I like the idea of making her take one week of her vacation when you schedule your family's vacation and letting her have one week vacation at her discretion.

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K.H.

answers from Indianapolis on

A friend of mine pays someone to watch her kids during the summer. The situation is a little different, as this is a summer gig, but they have an agreement that if the nanny needs time off, she is not paid, but if the family isn't going to use her (like they took vacation this week), she is paid. Again, a little different situation as this was only for the summer months, but that might be worth looking into.

I pay an in home day care for my kiddo. She takes one week paid vacation. Anything above that, she isn't paid (except holidays). However, in the 7 years I've used this daycare, she has closed one time outside of the holiday/vacation period. She also gives us at least 4 months notice (usually 6) as to when she will be taking her vacation and never takes it at bad times (first of school, etc).

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D..

answers from Charlotte on

You have some good answers. I will add that if you go to work for a new company (not high level executive, I should add), you get one week of vacation after the six month mark of service, within the first year. According to the company, you may receive 2 weeks after the 3rd year. It depends.

I would not give your nanny two weeks off right out the gate. Like corporate jobs, give her one. It isn't actually fair to her to make her use her one week when you are gone, so do find alternative care for your kids so that she can enjoy herself.

Since your kids will be gone so much of the day and she will only have the 4 year old, I hope that you will be requiring house cleaning and cooking as well. That is value-added and will make you want to keep her when the kids are all in school. The week you are on vacation, if she doesn't want to take an unpaid week off, have her clean your house from top to bottom, organize closets and drawers, etc.

If she doesn't want to do this, then you will probably only have her until June of next year because you won't really see a need for her after that. The more she makes your life "sing", the more you'll want to keep her. It's something you should discuss.

Dawn

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H.P.

answers from Houston on

We pay her what we pay her, period. We all work together with scheduling. If she needs a day here or there, she lets us know as much in advance as possible, and we arrange our work schedules to accommodate. She is very good about coming in early (like a couple of hours) when we need her or staying late. We compensate her flexibility by giving her time off when we're off. If I leave work early for a pediatrician appointment, then she gets a half-day. We coordinate during the summer and around the major holidays so she can have time off with her children/family. We always pay her the same.

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A.K.

answers from Los Angeles on

We give our nanny 5 paid vacation days per year plus all major holidays off. It amounts to roughly 15 days/yr plus some random days off occasionally. When we go on vacation, we pay her half of the days we're gone. We usually give her a couple of months notice about our plans to encourage her to use the break for her vacation or schedule doctors appt or whatever she needs. But, as Jill T. said, it never seems to work to our advantage. She always schedule her time off at THE worse time possible for us.
We have roughly the same school schedule as you, so during the school year we pay her 2/3rd time and in the summer full time. During the school year, she is housekeeper/nanny. She gets to our house around 11:30, pick up/clean/do laundry/misc. Then picks the kids up after school. She is off at 5:30.

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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

I am a nanny. My days off / vacation pay is as follows. I get paid for 8 holidays thruugh out the year. they are

new years day
good friday
memoria day
4th of july
labor day
thanksgiving and the day after
christmas day

I got a week of paid vacation after the first year and at the 3rd year another paid week.

I get paid by the week during the school year and hourly during the summer as it is more hours. (this was something we agreed on probably not the norm as my pay doubles and sometimes triples thru the summer but so do my hours)

Since I get paid by the week I do no get docked pay because for whatever reason the family does not need me a day. My income is based on a certain amount and just because the family chooses to take a vacation day and go to the zoo does not mean my income can handle that.

We have agreed that one of my vacation weeks will be taken when they take vacation and the other week will be taken when I want it. They are given 2 weeks vacation time per year that they do not have to pay me.

I do not get personal / sick days that are paid. But I also do not get docked for theirs.

I have been with the family I am now with a long time. He signs about 10 checks at a time and leaves them in the cabinet. Each Friday I write my check and leave a note saying how much it was. (not sure if that is a norm either lol but since I am 50 and have been with them a long time we trust each other.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

When I was a nanny I got paid by the hour per child I had in the home that particular day. If I had 2 home sick and the one pre-schooler then I got paid for 3 kids all day. If one came home sick during the day I got paid half a day for 1 child and all day for the pre-school age child that was not in pre-school yet.

I didn't get paid holidays or vacation. It was a job that paid by the hour and nothing more.

It is contract labor. You are not obligated to file taxes for this person or pay them any benefits. They are a contract laborer and therefore legally responsible for those other things themselves.

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