Pay Sitter/nanny for Holiday Off?

I'd pay her for the holidays and pick up mug for coffee with a starbucks gift card for like $20.Gift doesn't have to be something major just a little somethin' somethin'.

I think a nanny should automatically get all holidays off paid if you are off. She shouldn't be expected to work on Christmas when you aren't working. Also, a gift to show her you appreciate her would be the kind thing to do.

We had a nanny for a year - she was wonderful and always there and available. We wanted to be a good employer - so we paid her for the two sick days she took (she had been with us for 6 months at that time and was really sick - she offred to come if needed but didn't want to get the baby sick) and we paid her for holidays if it fell on her work day. We also gave her a Christmas "bonus" thinking that a good employer does that for his/her employees. The few hundred dollars didn't matter in the long run.

I was a nanny after I got out of college. I would have loved paid vacation / sick time, but that was not our agreement.

As far as Christmas gift, they gave me a very expensive scarf one year, and some expensive make-up/face cream another year. I would have preferred a trinket (maybe a box of Godiva chocolate) and a cash bonus. Don't waste your money on an expensive gift.

Overall... if you like her, be as generous as you can.

It's fine that you have a nanny. Here's my take on nannying, which is different than having a housekeeping service. You pay for holidays just like your job pays you for holidays. If you had your child/children in a daycare center, you would have to not only pay for holidays, but for days that you just didn't take your child in, including when your child is sick.

If you don't have a contract with her, maybe you should be thinking about that. When you have family vacation is when she should make plans for her vacation. For that you need to give her notice and tell her that this is when you expect her to take her vacation. If you cannot afford to pay her for vacation, then you put "unpaid" vacation in the contract. If you want to give her a certain amount of sick days per year, that would be a nice thing to do. She's more likely to come in to take care of your child feeling like death-warmed-over if you aren't going to pay her. Then your kids will likely catch what she's got.

It is normal to pay a Christmas bonus of a week's salary. I would not get a gift, other than perhaps a picture of her and your child. To be honest, this is the way you keep a good nanny. If you don't have the money in the budget, then perhaps you should redo the budget and cut some things so that you CAN do this.

And yes, I do think that she expects to be paid for Christmas. It will be Scrooge-ish not to.

It depends on the agreement you made when she was hired. Please tell me you DO have an agreement for things like this????

If your children were in a day care setting, you would pay by the week and you would be paying for that day, use it or not.

I'm assuming your nanny is paid by the week therefore, YES pay her, especially if you want to keep her around. Give her a gift and a cash bonus as well.

We didn't use day care or a nanny but I did have a sitter for once a weekend for our date night. Because our sitter planned around us for that 1 night a week, she was paid for that night, even if we cancelled or changed plans for the weekend. It was the right thing to do.

I think you already know the right thing to do and you are testing the waters here to see if you can ease out of that without looking bad. Nope... do the right thing if you want to keep your nanny, if not, someone else will.

If you truly don't have an agreement.... sit down and communicate NOW so that everything is on the table and there are no surprises on either party.

ETA: I don't understand why you would feel judged because you have a nanny. In many families, both parents work, hence the need for childcare. Some families use day care facilities, at home day cares and some use nannies. No biggie

If she is your regular nanny as in you have contracted with her to work "x" days per week at "x" pay per week you should be paying her that rate weekly regardless of whether you take days of our not. If a holiday falls during the week it is a paid holiday for her. Most nannys get 8 paid holidays through the year.

Good Friday
Memorial day
4th of July
Labor day
Thanks giving and day after
Christmas day
New year's day

In addition to that after one year they get 1 week of paid vacation. Those are very basic benefits you get as a professional in your field. They are not Christmas bonuses or gifts. They are what you would get if you worked in any other field. A Christmas gift or bonus would be anything you give over those things. She likely has a set budget as well. You will not hold a good nanny for long if you try to short her on days you take off and really did you expect her to work on those holidays?

As a nanny I can say yes she IS expecting her regular pay for those days. And if she does a good job for you then a gift in a monetary form world be in order for birthdays and holidays. Just as a bonus would be in an office setting. I have been a nanny for years. I receive a week's pay in a Christmas card in addition to my weekly pay for Christmas as well as a gift on my birthday, mothers day and usually throughout the year small gift cards for coffee, gas etc.

Since she isn't really a baby sitter (someone you hire on a day-by-day/event-by-event basis to watch your kids so you can do something specific) I'd say you really should be paying her for holidays. She's a domestic employee... you expect her to work regular hours, regular days... taking care of your child is her JOB, not just some side gig she picks up on the occasional Friday night. You expect your employer to pay you for November and December, despite the holiday, and she should expect the same.

I know that isn't the answer you wanted, but it's the one I have.

T.

My understanding is that most nanny contracts give paid holidays off. A nice cash gift is also common for Christmas.

You need to read your contract and abide by it. If you don't have a contract, you're wrong and you need to draft one up quickly. Contracts protect both of you.

What was your agreement when you hired her? Even if you don't have one I would pay her. Based on my experience with day care and what I've read and heard the usual practice is to pay for holidays. If you are pleased with her work it seems like the right thing to do.You mention Scrooge. I think not to pay her for these two major holidays Scroogis. Not to give her a Christmas gift also feels mean. The gift doesn't have to be expensive. It is the thought that counts.

I would probably tell her that I would pay her for Thanksgiving because she is available to work and the Christmas pay is a bonus for the year's good work. By wording it that way the amount wouldn't have to be the total day's amount.

I agree with the 8 paid holidays per year which most employers give as paid holidays. A holiday bonus for a nanny I would say is standard and a way to show how much you appreciate their work during the year.

you need to work out the deals of nanny.. when you hire her.. when I had a 4 day a week nanny.. I paid her for 4 days whether she worked or not. if the child was sick.. I paid her.. if there was a holiday I paid her.

for a basically full time nanny position.. where nanny is counting on making X dollars a week.. generally you pay for holidays that fall during her work week.

We LOVE our sitter who works every morning from 615-815 for us. We pay her for those hour 5 days a week, she never has to work them. But that's not her choice and she accepted the job, so we pay her for the days. It doesn't matter if it is a holiday or anything else, she gets the pay.

For Christmas last year, my husband and I worked from home for two weeks (split the days) and then we went on a week long vacation. She got the three weeks off PAID in addition to her $200 cash gift (what we pay her for two weeks).

Money is tight for us as well (especially last year when that $500 would have come in handy on rhe cruise), but this girl is amazing and loves our kids. We do whatever we can to make her happy and show our appreciation.

So yes, I think you need to pay her and gift her.

ETA: Our agreement with our sitter is that if she isn't there, we don't pay her. We don't need her every other Friday, so we wouldn't pay her. We don't need her for holiday breaks often, so we wouldn't use her or pay her. After her being with us a few weeks and seeing how awesome she was, we pay her for every day and the hours she is or isn't there. It's worth it to us.

I don't have a nanny but I do have a housekeeper and I try to treat her like a "real" employee which means, yes, I do pay her for a few days off throughout the year.
She comes every Thursday, so if it's a holiday, or we happen to be out of town that week and I don't need her to come, I still pay her.
It only ends up being about three times a year, and I know she appreciates it. Happy, well paid workers are more reliable workers!
For future reference I think this is something you should discuss up front, so there's no awkwardness or false expectations.

Coming from someone who nannies and runs a sitter service with over 60 families this is up my ally.

I have always gotten holidays paid if it falls on Adam I work. As well as all the nannies I know. If money is tight could u offer her to work a different day that week?

All the families I have nannied for have given 50-300 cash for Christmas. If u can't afford a lot do a gas card. She will appreciate that more than to somewhere else. Paying gas is a killer when commuting to families if it's a good distance

When I had my kids with a private sitter I didn't think about paying those days as well but she had no problem informing me that yes I did have to pay her just as I would if they where in daycare. They don't pro rate just because they are closed. I would say pay her for the time and maybe have your daughter give her something as a gift.

Really, this all should have been negotiated before she ever started working for you. One of my friends used to nanny and she got paid for holidays if they fell on the days she normally worked and she got 14 days paid time off.

I would pay her. It's one day. If your daughters were in daycare, you would still have to pay the same amount.

I think you should pay her. Do you get paid for holidays and vacation days? If you had your kids in a daycare you would pay.

I'd pay her too. Daycare would charge you for a full week,regardless of the holidays, they rely on the income and she does too. The gift is entirely up to you, but, if it were me I'd give her at least a small token of my appreciation for taking care of my kids . Yes you pay her, but if she's worth keeping as a nanny ,I'd let her know with a small gift, you can't put a price on someone who goes the extra mile and is good at what they do when it comes to our kids.

Do you like her? Does she do good work? I think the big picture has to be taken into account. From what I understand, in certain areas of the country, being a nanny is a pretty competitive field. If you have a rep for being a good nanny it can lead to better jobs with better hours with families that pay more and will take you on vacation with them on their dime and all kinds of grand stuff. Is it worth keeping her happy? I would pay her. Part of me says that you should pay her for the day if she is available and not pay her for the day she isn't, just like any other day that she takes off. Having said that, if you love your nanny and want to keep her and want her to feel she is appreciated and her job is secure, I would just go ahead and pay her for the day and throw in a little gift to boot - operative word being little.

We always used daycare but my understanding has always been that nannys receive paid vacations and holidays just like everyone else does. At daycare, one doesn't pay less the weeks that there are holidays. Same for nannies.

If I were you, I would ask around and see what the standard practice is in your area and write it into a contract. That way there is no ambiguity or awkwardness.

It depends on what her "package" is. We paid a flat rate each week, based on regularly scheduled hours, even though there was sometimes a bit of a fluctuation in hours. This covered her working over and her leaving early or arriving late, or needing a day off. When it came to the holidays, my husband and I worked out our schedules to be at home and give her time off, but we always paid her that same flat rate. I don't celebrate Christmas, so I didn't give a Christmas gift, but I gave her the day off for her birthday and would get a gift that I could afford.

Do you get paid holidays? She definitely needs to be paid for the holidays and a gift.

We always give our nanny holidays off.
She also gets paid for days that we choose to take off, and vacations we take.
And she gets 2 weeks of her own paid vacation.
But, this is all built into the contract that we have with her that we established when we hired her. So there would never be any confusion.

We will get her a small gift, but no bonus or anything like that.

yes, i'd pay her. they are her regularly scheduled work days, so she should be paid, especially since they're holidays.
was this not negotiated when you hired her?
since nannies are so integral to families (in your home. with your kids.) i would certainly get her a gift. doesn't have to be expensive. but geez, we gave daycare operators christmas gifts too. i can't imagine having someone in to help with my kids on a regular basis and NOT giving a holiday expression of gratitude, KWIM?
don't ask. just pay her, and get her a little basket of bubble baths or fancy teas or a yankee candle or something. let her know you appreciate her.
khairete
S.

If both days fall on days during the week when you would normally have her working, then yes, pay her. It is the right thing to do and would should some good will towards her.

This is such a small amount of money when you compare the fact that you are trusting her with your children.

Does your nanny get paid sick and vacation time off? If not I would pay her. I'm sure she has a budget that she needs to stick with too and needs Christmas off to be with her family. I say pay her. Since she is working for you I would give her a gift too since she seems to be a good employee.

When I was a nanny I only got paid for the days I was there.

Since you have a set schedule for her if you pay her by the month go ahead and give her the full amount but if you don't pay her for days she isn't there normally then don't pay her.

I guess my question would be two fold. Does your Nanny need the money and can you afford to give it. If the answer is yes to both then I'd pay her.

I think a good contract is needed up front to avoid any confusion later.

And, since money is tight, do check if the nanny is the best deal. It might be, but if daycare is cheaper, go that route. The kids would probably have more fun and not just home all day, kind of thing. Same old, same old. Centers vary in costs, of course.

I think giving the Nanny a gift is a good idea, but it need not be $$$$$$.

Did you discuss this when you hired her? If not, you should discuss a general policy to cover all days off.

When I had a nanny, our agreement was that if I cancelled her, we paid her. But if she cancelled us, we did not pay her (because we had to find and pay someone else). So applied to your situation, I would have paid her on Thanksgiving (because you cancelled her) but not on Christmas (because she cancelled on you). That said, since it's Christmas, I agree with you that I'd give her the pay for the day as a gift anyway, along with a card.

Alternatively, if you have a weekly fee set up with her with no exceptions for holidays (like most daycare centers do), then you should pay her the regular amount for both weeks and that will not be a gift, but part of the regular contract. And I'd get her a gift card to a coffee shop or some other place you know she likes as a gift.

So - it all depends on how you pay her (weekly or daily) and how you handle holidays in general. If you are new to having a nanny and haven't discussed holidays yet, use this as an opportunity to discuss it. You are going to have the same question at Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, etc.

Would you rather give money to the woman who loves and cares for your children or spend it on more stuff for your kids?
Always take care of the caregivers first. They usually need it most and they deserve it!
If you don't have a contract with your nanny, I recommend getting something in writing (doesn't have to be threatening, just basic guidelines) that outlines expectations for paid/unpaid days off.

I plan to nanny when I retire. I will get paid by the week. On short weeks or holidays, I will not get paid. I will not have a true contract as I will get paid under the table.

She is lucky to have a flexible job. Pay her or not, it's up to you.

January 2014, make somewhat of a contract...