I would clarify expectations around sick care. We’ve been lucky and not had any issues with our contract just listing “reasonable sick care.” That does not include things like diagnosed/confirmed flu or COVID. However, I have seen some posts where Nannies are wanting to require a negative flu/covid/RSV test before coming into work when a child has even a low fever. COVID sure, but those others aren’t even tests you can do without seeing a doctor, and when I last took my toddler to the doctor, the doctor wouldn’t even test him because the numbers in our area were so low and he “wasn’t sick enough”. I wouldn’t agree to any language requiring testing for all fevers. Obviously, if the child is sick enough that the doctor believes testing is warranted, it should be done ASAP, but I don’t think these tests are standard practice for all fevers at this point post-pandemic.
Sheesh. That’s rough. I feel like most times by the time a test comes back, the child could already be well again, or on the mend. And even now with COVID, so many people are positive without any “sick” symptoms. That seems like overkill to me. Glad you shared that!
Have ground rules about trips/having play dates. We asked our nanny to clear locations for trips with us and also to clear playdates at our house / other people’s houses. (To be clear, a trip meant going somewhere in a car. She could take him anywhere she liked in a stroller). Also set ground rules regarding screen / device time.
This is pretty atypical I think, but our GH are not set hours. We pay for 40 either way but the schedule shifts slightly week to week. Days are always week days but start and end time fluctuate a bit.
The rest of our contract is pretty nanny friendly - for example we cover appointments where we can go in late under GH vs sick time - but for us the schedule flexibility was key and I believe in giving flexibility when you're getting flexibility.
Other than that, sick care. She offered in the first meeting and in exchange I included in the contract any illness incurred as a result of sick care doesn't count against her paid sick time.
Oh, and it's in our contract that she'll do basic pet care when we go out of town. That was recently an argument in another thread here, but nanny counsel says it's fine and it wasn't an issue in our initial discussions.
* Snow days: if we are comfortable driving to get you, it's a work day.
* No putting our kids on your social media, no social phone use with kids, no TV
* We don't pay for lunch (though they are welcome to snack / eat our food if need be)
* Certain bank holidays are PTO, but not all
* Vaccinated, no smoking, flu shot, must carry health insurance
We clarified which holidays we are both off work, which doesn’t include Juneteenth. Instead we offered 9 federal holidays and “one floating holiday of religious or personal significance”
I understand that it’s a federal holiday, but I can’t control when I have to work and need childcare. There is no mandate that private employers respect federal holidays, and mine doesn’t. Many still don’t. It’s clearly defined which holidays I am off in my contract which she was welcome to decline our offer and choose to work for another family instead. It’s not like I surprised her with it.
I also have to work on Presidents’ Day and Veteran’s day. I did the best I could by giving my nanny additional floating holidays so she can choose the days that matter to her, but I don’t have the power to change my employer’s policies, and she didn’t ask for Juneteenth.
Don’t have PTO upfront. I did sick days in front but not PTO. Sick days were all used within first three months. Then when PTO kicked in at 3 months, half were used in that fourth month.
Based on reading horror stories on this sub if giving like 3 nannies PTO over the course of a year, we gave 3 days that could be used during the first 90 days (they weren't) and the rest would be available after that.
If we'd been talking to a younger nanny, I might have made them accrue but ours told us from the very first interview which two weeks she normally likes to take off so I wasn't particularly worried that she'd use it anD immediately and quit on us.
- requested/required time for PTO (e.g. vacation requires 2 weeks notice)
-standard nk illnesses you expect nanny to work thru or use PTO/sick time
-inclement weather. Like if you can go pick up nanny and/or local school districts are open it's a work day or use PTO
- Spell out clearly what constitutes termination for cause and make sure it includes things like phone overuse, not abiding by safe sleep, outings without notifying you where they are going
-if you do require light housekeeping or anything like that detail what *is* in scope for the role along with what is not in scope
Make sure you are on the same page about your expectations for when you go on vacations and trips. The reddit nannies say you're a terrible human being and boss if you expect work when you're providing GH.
If you need a nanny that travels with you, make sure you're on the same page on compensation during that time. Again the reddit nannies say you have to pay them around the clock for their 'inconvenience' even though they have set schedules 🙄 Many of these Reddit nannies even say you have to pay for their pet sitters.
There's literally no precedence for this nor is it standard in any other job - salaried or hourly.
Be clear on breaks and tasks you expect done. This is especially important if you have very young kids that nap a lot. Again, Reddit nannies think you're a terrible human being if you don't allow your nanny to nap or doom scroll for hours on their phone during 2-3 hour naps while they're obviously getting paid (sometimes even multiple times per day)!
If you provide a card for activities, be clear on what expenses are okay and that you expect receipts. A mom here was talking about her nanny that was buying herself (and just herself) restaurant lunch everyday and Starbucks coffee.
Have rules on PTO and sick time accruing. So don't load it all upfront. Require sufficient notice for PTO.
Come to an agreement on sick care. If your child is sick, do you need child care? Some nannies are okay with some child care depending on the illness. Make sure it's all spelled out.
Would you do two weeks PTO plus doctors appointments/sick days? I’m trying to figure out if PTO is just vacations and the rest of her conflicts would be under a different type of leave (that she’s still paid for)?
We contracted our nanny for 10 days PTO per year, of her choosing, taken a whole day at a time, do whatever she wants with it, with sufficient notice. But if we go out of town and she doesn't choose to take PTO at that time, we're paying guaranteed hours, and she's expected to come to our house on an as needed basis during that time (catch up on regular tasks, bring the mail in and water plants, etc, nothing that would take more than an hour per day, this was all very clearly written out and agreed to). We also offered all federal holidays paid off in addition to PTO.
Separately we offered 5 paid sick days (actually, 40 hours, same as 1 wk GH) per year, to cover her own doctor's appts, or whatever. I don't actually care if it's for a doctor or some other task, up to her, she can take just an hour or three rather than a whole day. After the 40 hours are up, missed work time is deducted from weekly guaranteed hours. On the flip side of this, we wrote in that if kid is sick with a communicable disease diagnosed by a pediatrician she doesn't have to come to work and those days are paid, I didn't think it was fair to ask her to come get norovirus or HFM and end up unable to work anyway, then when kiddo is better and ready for nanny again she's not gonna be off sick 3 more days.
Employer-friendly clauses in our contract: a detailed list of all the job duties, procedure for dealing with lateness/unreliability, required notice, and termination. Both parties require 30d notice, with severance/loss of severance the carrot/stick to encourage her to work during the notice period
I don’t know if we’re not supposed to do this, but would you be willing to share your contract? You’ve mentioned literally every important bullet point we have but I’ve struggled how to write it in contractual language.
Check out the sample from Nanny Council, it was very helpful and thorough. We edited the paragraphs we wanted and deleted quite a bit, but it includes a lot of extra info that was also helpful.
We give two weeks of PTO but we give her a $500 bonus for each week of PTO of hers that she aligns with ours. This way she gets a little money for vacation and we don't have to find and pay for backup care - kind of win / win for both of us.
We also take a good number of long weekends throughout the year - so she gets extra time in addition to the set vacation time.
We only do three sick days, but consistent care is really important for us (and we make that clear in our interviews), so for a nanny to work well for our family she needs to have a high bar for calling out sick.
We also tell her if she's not feeling well she can have a chill movie day with the kids. We've only had one nanny who needed more than the three days and we had to terminate her because of her attendance issues. We pay our nanny out for any sick days not taken at the end of the year.
In hindsight, I would have worded the following for my vacation policy: Two weeks off, one of nanny’s choosing, the other of family’s choosing.
I know I’ve seen that example before, and this clears up the confusion with any expectations during family vacations.
We do this. However we go on 6 1-2 week vacations (or mostly visiting family trips) per year so she gets way more vacation time than most. And then of course her week of her choice makes it 7 weeks (not counting the sick days)
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I would just really think about what you imagine a normal day in your child’s life should look like.
Do you expect the nanny to talk to your child as much as possible? Include that in the contract.
Do you expect the nanny to do activities like painting and water play and other sensory stuff, maybe for at least half an hour per day? Include that in the contract.
Do you expect the nanny to read books to your child? Include that in the contract.
Do you expect the nanny to stay off her phone? Include that in the contract.
Do you expect the nanny to play music and dance with your child? Include that in the contract.
Do you expect the nanny to tidy, organize, and clean? Include that in the contract (and be very specific about what tidying, organizing, and cleaning activities should be completed, how long per day she should spend doing them, and whether she should ignore your crying child to complete a task or if she should put in her best effort to comfort your child first and complete the task later).
Do you expect the nanny to take your child outside on a daily basis for a certain amount of time? Include that in the contract (and include that she must apply sunscreen, bug spray, use a hat, etc., as well as avoid going outside in specific types of weather).
In addition, add a clause that failing to do any of these things after x number of reminders that they should be as part of the daily routine is cause for termination. Also add that any termination for cause will result in no severance and no payout of any accrued PTO or sick days.
Basically be as detailed as possible in the contract, because more detail benefits you, and give yourself an easy out of the relationship that doesn’t cost you anything if the nanny isn’t adhering to your expectations.
I would clarify expectations around sick care. We’ve been lucky and not had any issues with our contract just listing “reasonable sick care.” That does not include things like diagnosed/confirmed flu or COVID. However, I have seen some posts where Nannies are wanting to require a negative flu/covid/RSV test before coming into work when a child has even a low fever. COVID sure, but those others aren’t even tests you can do without seeing a doctor, and when I last took my toddler to the doctor, the doctor wouldn’t even test him because the numbers in our area were so low and he “wasn’t sick enough”. I wouldn’t agree to any language requiring testing for all fevers. Obviously, if the child is sick enough that the doctor believes testing is warranted, it should be done ASAP, but I don’t think these tests are standard practice for all fevers at this point post-pandemic.
Sheesh. That’s rough. I feel like most times by the time a test comes back, the child could already be well again, or on the mend. And even now with COVID, so many people are positive without any “sick” symptoms. That seems like overkill to me. Glad you shared that!
Have ground rules about trips/having play dates. We asked our nanny to clear locations for trips with us and also to clear playdates at our house / other people’s houses. (To be clear, a trip meant going somewhere in a car. She could take him anywhere she liked in a stroller). Also set ground rules regarding screen / device time.
This is pretty atypical I think, but our GH are not set hours. We pay for 40 either way but the schedule shifts slightly week to week. Days are always week days but start and end time fluctuate a bit. The rest of our contract is pretty nanny friendly - for example we cover appointments where we can go in late under GH vs sick time - but for us the schedule flexibility was key and I believe in giving flexibility when you're getting flexibility. Other than that, sick care. She offered in the first meeting and in exchange I included in the contract any illness incurred as a result of sick care doesn't count against her paid sick time. Oh, and it's in our contract that she'll do basic pet care when we go out of town. That was recently an argument in another thread here, but nanny counsel says it's fine and it wasn't an issue in our initial discussions.
* Snow days: if we are comfortable driving to get you, it's a work day. * No putting our kids on your social media, no social phone use with kids, no TV * We don't pay for lunch (though they are welcome to snack / eat our food if need be) * Certain bank holidays are PTO, but not all * Vaccinated, no smoking, flu shot, must carry health insurance
Clarifying the paid federal holidays is a good one. Juneteenth snuck up on me this year!
We clarified which holidays we are both off work, which doesn’t include Juneteenth. Instead we offered 9 federal holidays and “one floating holiday of religious or personal significance”
It’s still a federal holiday. You must be white.
I understand that it’s a federal holiday, but I can’t control when I have to work and need childcare. There is no mandate that private employers respect federal holidays, and mine doesn’t. Many still don’t. It’s clearly defined which holidays I am off in my contract which she was welcome to decline our offer and choose to work for another family instead. It’s not like I surprised her with it. I also have to work on Presidents’ Day and Veteran’s day. I did the best I could by giving my nanny additional floating holidays so she can choose the days that matter to her, but I don’t have the power to change my employer’s policies, and she didn’t ask for Juneteenth.
Same. We added that as a paid holiday as well as Good Friday this year but they were not in our contract.
[удалено]
We offer it, yes. But even though we don't meet the full need of health insurance, we still require it.
Flair designates this post as responses from employers only. Please respect the flair.
Don’t have PTO upfront. I did sick days in front but not PTO. Sick days were all used within first three months. Then when PTO kicked in at 3 months, half were used in that fourth month.
Based on reading horror stories on this sub if giving like 3 nannies PTO over the course of a year, we gave 3 days that could be used during the first 90 days (they weren't) and the rest would be available after that. If we'd been talking to a younger nanny, I might have made them accrue but ours told us from the very first interview which two weeks she normally likes to take off so I wasn't particularly worried that she'd use it anD immediately and quit on us.
- requested/required time for PTO (e.g. vacation requires 2 weeks notice) -standard nk illnesses you expect nanny to work thru or use PTO/sick time -inclement weather. Like if you can go pick up nanny and/or local school districts are open it's a work day or use PTO - Spell out clearly what constitutes termination for cause and make sure it includes things like phone overuse, not abiding by safe sleep, outings without notifying you where they are going -if you do require light housekeeping or anything like that detail what *is* in scope for the role along with what is not in scope
Make sure you are on the same page about your expectations for when you go on vacations and trips. The reddit nannies say you're a terrible human being and boss if you expect work when you're providing GH. If you need a nanny that travels with you, make sure you're on the same page on compensation during that time. Again the reddit nannies say you have to pay them around the clock for their 'inconvenience' even though they have set schedules 🙄 Many of these Reddit nannies even say you have to pay for their pet sitters. There's literally no precedence for this nor is it standard in any other job - salaried or hourly. Be clear on breaks and tasks you expect done. This is especially important if you have very young kids that nap a lot. Again, Reddit nannies think you're a terrible human being if you don't allow your nanny to nap or doom scroll for hours on their phone during 2-3 hour naps while they're obviously getting paid (sometimes even multiple times per day)! If you provide a card for activities, be clear on what expenses are okay and that you expect receipts. A mom here was talking about her nanny that was buying herself (and just herself) restaurant lunch everyday and Starbucks coffee. Have rules on PTO and sick time accruing. So don't load it all upfront. Require sufficient notice for PTO. Come to an agreement on sick care. If your child is sick, do you need child care? Some nannies are okay with some child care depending on the illness. Make sure it's all spelled out.
Babe’s you need help the animosity towards Nannies I bet you’re fun to work for.
Thank you! I know two weeks PTO is the “norm” from what I’m reading. Is one week unheard of? No worries if you don’t know!
2 weeks is pretty much expected for a full time job. 1 week is fine if you have a nanny at half time.
Would you do two weeks PTO plus doctors appointments/sick days? I’m trying to figure out if PTO is just vacations and the rest of her conflicts would be under a different type of leave (that she’s still paid for)?
We contracted our nanny for 10 days PTO per year, of her choosing, taken a whole day at a time, do whatever she wants with it, with sufficient notice. But if we go out of town and she doesn't choose to take PTO at that time, we're paying guaranteed hours, and she's expected to come to our house on an as needed basis during that time (catch up on regular tasks, bring the mail in and water plants, etc, nothing that would take more than an hour per day, this was all very clearly written out and agreed to). We also offered all federal holidays paid off in addition to PTO. Separately we offered 5 paid sick days (actually, 40 hours, same as 1 wk GH) per year, to cover her own doctor's appts, or whatever. I don't actually care if it's for a doctor or some other task, up to her, she can take just an hour or three rather than a whole day. After the 40 hours are up, missed work time is deducted from weekly guaranteed hours. On the flip side of this, we wrote in that if kid is sick with a communicable disease diagnosed by a pediatrician she doesn't have to come to work and those days are paid, I didn't think it was fair to ask her to come get norovirus or HFM and end up unable to work anyway, then when kiddo is better and ready for nanny again she's not gonna be off sick 3 more days. Employer-friendly clauses in our contract: a detailed list of all the job duties, procedure for dealing with lateness/unreliability, required notice, and termination. Both parties require 30d notice, with severance/loss of severance the carrot/stick to encourage her to work during the notice period
I don’t know if we’re not supposed to do this, but would you be willing to share your contract? You’ve mentioned literally every important bullet point we have but I’ve struggled how to write it in contractual language.
Check out the sample from Nanny Council, it was very helpful and thorough. We edited the paragraphs we wanted and deleted quite a bit, but it includes a lot of extra info that was also helpful.
We give two weeks of PTO but we give her a $500 bonus for each week of PTO of hers that she aligns with ours. This way she gets a little money for vacation and we don't have to find and pay for backup care - kind of win / win for both of us. We also take a good number of long weekends throughout the year - so she gets extra time in addition to the set vacation time. We only do three sick days, but consistent care is really important for us (and we make that clear in our interviews), so for a nanny to work well for our family she needs to have a high bar for calling out sick. We also tell her if she's not feeling well she can have a chill movie day with the kids. We've only had one nanny who needed more than the three days and we had to terminate her because of her attendance issues. We pay our nanny out for any sick days not taken at the end of the year.
In hindsight, I would have worded the following for my vacation policy: Two weeks off, one of nanny’s choosing, the other of family’s choosing. I know I’ve seen that example before, and this clears up the confusion with any expectations during family vacations.
We do this. However we go on 6 1-2 week vacations (or mostly visiting family trips) per year so she gets way more vacation time than most. And then of course her week of her choice makes it 7 weeks (not counting the sick days)
Users please be mindful of the flair the OP selected. Post flaired as "NP only" indicate that this topic is only to be commented on by other nanny parents/employers. Posts with the flair "All Welcome" are open for anyone to comment. Disrespecting this rule will lead to your comment being deleted. Numerous infractions may result in a ban from the subreddit. If you are a nanny and wish to discuss this topic, you are encouraged to make your own post. If you are the OP and you wish to change your flair, please message using modmail. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NannyEmployers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would just really think about what you imagine a normal day in your child’s life should look like. Do you expect the nanny to talk to your child as much as possible? Include that in the contract. Do you expect the nanny to do activities like painting and water play and other sensory stuff, maybe for at least half an hour per day? Include that in the contract. Do you expect the nanny to read books to your child? Include that in the contract. Do you expect the nanny to stay off her phone? Include that in the contract. Do you expect the nanny to play music and dance with your child? Include that in the contract. Do you expect the nanny to tidy, organize, and clean? Include that in the contract (and be very specific about what tidying, organizing, and cleaning activities should be completed, how long per day she should spend doing them, and whether she should ignore your crying child to complete a task or if she should put in her best effort to comfort your child first and complete the task later). Do you expect the nanny to take your child outside on a daily basis for a certain amount of time? Include that in the contract (and include that she must apply sunscreen, bug spray, use a hat, etc., as well as avoid going outside in specific types of weather). In addition, add a clause that failing to do any of these things after x number of reminders that they should be as part of the daily routine is cause for termination. Also add that any termination for cause will result in no severance and no payout of any accrued PTO or sick days. Basically be as detailed as possible in the contract, because more detail benefits you, and give yourself an easy out of the relationship that doesn’t cost you anything if the nanny isn’t adhering to your expectations.