Have a wonderful Mother’s Day everyone and I’ll see you in June.

Deborah Smith, Editor

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Q Hi, I am on the verge of hiring a nanny for my 14 month old twins. I have

questions re benefits. In addition to the standard 2 week vacation, there

will be 7-10 days when my family will be out of the country; my nanny will

not be able to come with us because of visa restrictions. That said, I

will have to hire childcare when I am out of the country. What is a fair

compromise with my nanny for such times? I don't want to pay her at full

rate, given I have to pay for additional childcare. And, I don't want to

leave her high-and-dry for 7-10 days. What's a fair compromise? Offering

her 50% wages during this time? Asking if she taking her vacation at this

time would work? In addition, I am wondering what a fair sick day policy

is? Obviously in the context of how the first question gets answered (ie.

if I paying full-time for the 10 days I'm out of the country, I not

inclined to offer a generous sick day policy.)

Thank you so much for any guidance you could offer me.

A Dear Mom of Twins

It’s great that you are asking these questions before you hire your nanny.

We advise nannies to make any prearranged vacation plans known to the

prospective new employer before accepting the job, effectively making it a

condition of acceptance, you should do likewise. Let the nanny you are

considering know that these two weeks are planned and that as a condition of

employment, she will have to take those same two weeks as her paid vacation.

Nannies, like any other person in the workforce rely on a regular paycheck

when they accept a job. Nothing will disrupt an otherwise decent nan/fam

relationship more quickly than the employer announcing that the family has

planned a last minute vacation & won’t need her to work next week & then

expecting her to go without her paycheck. As far as sick time is concerned,

five days is what we usually see effective after three months of employment.

Good luck with your new nanny!

Anne

Q Hello, I am in need of a p/t Nanny, approximately 3 half days or 15 hrs/wk.

It was my intension to pay her under the table (we are not looking for a pre-tax savings),

however I do not wish to make the arrangement so informal as to not have

some sort of written agreement. Is this sort of payment advisable if both

parties are agreeable? Any related suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

A I’m not clear about why you would want to pay "under the table" and just

FYI, that’s a term we avoid in the nanny industry because so many people

have been offended at the suggestion that they would be a party to this kind

of arrangement.

For the minimal number of hours you are looking for I don’t think there is

any advantage to avoiding the taxes. It has been an issue for parent’s who

require a 55/hour/week nanny at $16/hour since at those numbers, the tax

consequences are substantial. At 15 hours a week I think the risk of

exposing your family to potential problems down the road far outweigh what

you would have to pay in taxes. At the same time I also understand that many

nannies don’t want to have taxes withheld. I am aware that parents have

handled taxes in many different ways. Sometimes they are paying a nanny

$600/week and only writing a check to her for two hundred, withholding

taxes from the two hundred and paying the rest in cash. Sometimes they

figure out what the nanny needs to clear and they pay her the net directly

and deal with the taxes separately.

Be advised that there have been nanny/family situations where the nanny was

being paid "under the table". For whatever reason, the family & nanny had a

falling out and all of a sudden, come tax time, the nanny is asking for a

W2, claiming that she believed taxes were being withheld. The employer

always loses in this kind of a situation.

Probably the most compelling factor is that you want your nanny to be in a

successful relationship with your family. It serves you, your children, and

the nanny to have this happen. To that end, ask the nanny what she needs to

"clear" and provided your budget will allow it, make sure she clears the

amount she needs to live on after the taxes are paid.

My family has never been wealthy, but I can tell you that I have always

made sure that my nanny was feeling as though the job she had with our

family was a GREAT job. We paid her at the high end of what we could afford.

It created more security for the entire family.

As far as a written agreement; you certainly don’t want to write an

agreement that contains an admission of tax fraud. Further if an agreement

you have with someone is based on fraudulent terms, the entire agreement can

be rendered null & void. Bottom line, work the taxes into the figures, you’

ll be glad you did down the road. I hope this was helpful.

Q A family has asked me to be a nanny for a year, starting in june- I am

worried about my liability if harm or death should come to the child under

my care.

A Dear Worried

I am not an attorney, but I would think that liability would be directly

related to the circumstances. I am familiar with two cases of SIDS occurring

in family day care homes. In both of those instances the day care provider

was not held accountable after an investigation. When choosing an employer

I suggest that nannies avoid any parent who used physical punishment, or

seems to have radically different child-rearing philosophies. Keep a daily

log and document the details of the day. Note any behavior changes, or

anything else unusual in a daily log notebook. A good Daily Log outline can

be found in "The Nanny Textbook", available at Amazon.com If you suspect

any kind of abuse; verbal, sexual, physical, etc. report your suspicions to

the proper authorities immediately and waste no time finding a new job. If

Louise Woodward was innocent; I'll bet she probably wishes that she was

either more observant, or had spoken up since it was determined in that case

that the infant had signs of previous abuse.

Laws in different states vary so perhaps you could contact the Office

for Child Care Services in your state and ask if family day care providers

carry insurance. They would be more knowledgeable since they must have this

question posed to them by the day care providers they oversee. My experience

with insurances for child care providers is that they contain so many

exclusions that the policy renders itself useless, but if you are concerned,

make some calls to the licensing authority in your state.

Q Hello, My nanny has been taking care of my two and a half year old

for seven months now. I am expecting a second child in 2 1/2 months.

What is the typical raise, if any, given to a nanny who's responsibility

increases from taking care of one child to taking care of two children?

Our nanny will be working for us for 10 months by the time the second

child comes. I will be working two less days a week (from 5 to 3 days)

when the second child comes and my first child will be attending nursery

school in the fall two mornings a week.

A There really isn't a "typical" raise that I can quote since every nanny

job is different. It sounds like you don't have a Work Agreement with your

nanny, or if you do you never addressed salary increases. What I do know

is, a second child dramatically changes the dynamic in a home, not just

among family members, but for the nanny as well. It's not so much the

extra work, but the change in your nanny's usual daily routine, dealing with

sibling rivalry, a post-partum mom - and in your situation a part-time at-home

mom. Your nanny's job description will be changing pretty significantly.

I will assume that the essence of your question is how to make sure your

nanny is happy with all the upcoming changes. For starters, I would sit down

& talk with her about the upcoming changes. Start now mapping out what the

daily routine will be like. Determine who will be in charge when both of you are

there. Ask her how she feels about you being there a few days a week and

discuss any concerns she may have. It's common for experienced nannies to

prefer to work independently, but with sensitivity and consideration on both of

your parts, it can work.

Back to the issue of the raise. I am a firm believer that parents - to the extent

that they are able - should pay their nanny at the top of the range

(pay range in your area), or more & here's why; You want the person who cares

for your children to feel that she has a Great job, a job that she wants to remain

in as long as possible, a job she wants to be able to brag to her friends and family

about. You want continuity for your family. Talk with your nanny to get a sense of

how she's feeling about the upcoming changes. Ask what her expectations are for

a salary increase. Find out what the pay range is in your area for a nanny caring for

two small children. You should be able to make a decision based on all of the

information you have gathered. If you don't have a work agreement with your nanny,

now would be a good time to get that done. Good luck and congratulations on your new baby!

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