Pay Nanny When You Go On Vacation – Often, parents expect their nannies to put their family first, but they don’t offer anything in return. Parents, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you expect your caregiver to put your family first, you better plan to put your caregiver first. If you expect your sitter to provide consistent availability, you may be better off planning to offer your sitter a consistent salary.
We’ve already talked about guaranteed hours and why they’re so important, but I want to dive deeper into them because it’s an issue that so many nannies deal with. How should parents handle it when they go out of town and choose not to bring their babysitter? By definition, if a nanny has guaranteed hours, it means that they will be paid their regular salary if they are available to work, but the parents choose not to work. Although the meaning of guaranteed hours is clear, parents are often confused and seem to think that guaranteed hours do not apply when they go out of town. If you go on vacation and your nanny doesn’t have to work, that’s your choice and not your nanny’s. Guaranteed times apply. To make it more visible, let’s look at some real-life examples that nannies have experienced. Parents reading this: Consider the following scenarios and think about which of these jobs you would personally like to apply for…
Pay Nanny When You Go On Vacation
Parents: We booked a later flight than we originally told you. Now you have to work on Monday and half of Tuesday, is that okay?
Ways To Find Quality Childcare While On Vacation
Nanny: I can’t take a week off, let alone two. I had to adjust hours for last week and next week because I have bills to pay and you said you can’t pay me if you take vacation and choose not to let me work. So sorry, but I can’t.
I took a family vacation for five weeks and a week before they left they decided they weren’t going to pay me. I said, “In that case, I can’t guarantee that I’ll be available to be your babysitter when you get back.” When they came back, they called me to pick them up at the airport and I said, “Sorry, I’m at work. I told you if you don’t pay me while you’re gone, I might not be available when you come back. Good luck.”
It’s my third week working for a new nanny family and they told me they wouldn’t need me for a week while they had family in town. I was still paid for the week, but was told I could “count” the hours as I went (I didn’t know at the time that bank hours were illegal for nannies!). The mother convinced me that it was okay because her work allowed her. I used my banking time for over a year until I finally spoke up and told them I couldn’t because I found out banking time was illegal. After a while they let me go.
I went on vacation a few weeks ago and when I got back my mom asked if I wanted to use my PTO now or when they took vacation time. I said today that she doesn’t realize that I now have to find a new babysitting job. A professional like him should understand that PTO is paid time off at the employee’s choosing. If I have to save for the times they go out of town and I’m not needed, I can’t really use PTO as I want.
Traveling With Your Nanny — Nanny Harmony Chicago
At one of my first babysitting jobs, the family decided to take a week off about a month before I started working for them. Not only did they expect me not to get paid for a week, they also expected me to sit for free. Based on “our old nanny loved it, you live in our beautiful house and it’s like a mini vacation for you!” (That’s right). I told them I couldn’t sit for free because I was always charging other families, but I didn’t hold myself accountable for unpaid vacation time. They told me they didn’t want to pay me for home visits and wanted to have a neighbor do it so they didn’t have to pay. They told me I could make extra money on date nights when they got back. At the time I knew it wasn’t fair, but I really needed the job and I didn’t want them to be upset because I was new. I really hope I know my rights and stand up for myself more.
So parents, which of these jobs would you like to have? They all sound like very good possibilities, right? I mean, in scenario 4 you get paid time off! Oh, but the catch is that you can’t really choose when to use it. If you choose to use it for your own vacation (which is for PTO), that means you won’t get paid later if your boss decides to take vacation. Or what about scenario 1? You’re expected to put your work first, but your bosses don’t show the same respect. And then there’s scenario 5 where your boss decides they don’t need you this week, so they refuse to pay you AND you can leave the comfort of your own home and sit for free… because it’s totally a holiday official, right?
Let me guess: No one reading these scenarios is thinking, “Where do I sign up?!” Too many nannies are expected to take an indefinite amount of time off each week for their childcare duties, even though some weeks they may be unnecessary and unpaid. Parents, if you won’t take the job offered to you, what do you think a nanny will do? Let’s take it further: Parents, would you encourage your own children to take a job like this? One where they don’t have consistent revenue even though they offer consistent availability?
Unfortunately, many nannies take these jobs because they are in a pinch and need to find work quickly. Or many nannies do not know what their rights are. Or often nannies are afraid to shake things up by saying something. I mean, just look at scenario 3, where the sitter quits and is released right after. While nannies certainly need to speak up about what’s fair and right, that’s no excuse for parents to take advantage of them. I would also like to point out that if the parents in Scenario 1 offered their nanny guaranteed hours and agreed to pay her when they went on vacation, their nanny would be available for their last minute schedule changes. Please note that guaranteed hours pay to reserve your sitter’s time. Guaranteed hours ensure that your sitter will be available at regularly scheduled times with your family.
You Can Finally Travel! Why Not Hire A Travelling Nanny As Well?
Because guaranteed hours are a trade—guaranteed availability in exchange for guaranteed wages—it means parents can take on their nanny’s job while they’re out of town. If parents are truly uncomfortable giving their nanny additional paid hours, it is unreasonable to expect their nanny to meet their guaranteed hours (or at least some of them) by performing their standard contractual duties. which is on duty during regular hours. Examples include organizing children’s closets, organizing the playroom, cleaning toys, organizing old clothes, cleaning car seats, etc. Remember, it’s okay to ask your sitter to help with tasks to meet guaranteed hours by performing agreed-upon tasks – – you can’t ask your sitter to do things other than what’s agreed in the contract and in the description of the sitter’s work, such as cleaning the house, running personal errands for you, etc. In all of this, most parents only choose to have the nanny have free time when going out of town. A nanny’s job is tough, and it’s nice to surprise your sitter with a little extra time off if you can afford it – especially if they keep track of their duties and responsibilities so they don’t have much to do while you’re busy. i’m gone
I really want to encourage parents to be proud of being an employer. Think about what you want and need from a job and offer that to your sitter. I’m sure a reliable income is one of the expectations and needs of a job so you can budget and pay your bills. Parents, remember that when you’re on vacation, your babysitting bills don’t stop; your sitter has the same cost and anyway
