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Ask the Experts Q & A Archives
Click on the Topic Below
How do I know I've hired the right nanny?
Nanny Job Description, how much cleaning can be expected
Taking a Nanny Job in another state
Responsibilities of a household employer
New Nanny/child Adjustment time
What do we pay nanny when taking her with us on Vacation?
How do I know I've hired the right nanny?
It may be a bit more complicated, but that's why we're here to help. If no red flags emerged during the interview process. If you have checked her references thoroughly, done a comprehensive background check, had her over for a trial-run with the kids, and generally feel you both "click" then it's probably safe to say that you have made the right decision. When you hire a nanny to care for your child there is a certain amount of gut instinct that comes into play in addition to taking every step I just described above. When your nanny starts, spend a few days home with her to get her familiar with your house, kids and schedule. Have her keep a journal of the day's events. See our sample journal here. Do some spot checking the first week or two and keep those lines of communication open at all times. Get feedback from family or friends who come in contact with nanny. Hear about her day and show appreciation for a job well done.
If, on the other hand, your gut is telling you something else, talk to your new nanny about your feelings. If things do not change in a short period of time, begin looking for a new nanny.
Q: I'm investigating retirement options for my nanny/household employee. Are there cost-effective 401(k) plans with low administrative fees that I can offer? Can household employees contribute pre-tax dollars? I've found references that say only post-tax dollars to an IRA are allowed. I'd like to give my nanny the option to contribute $3,000.
A: Yes, you can offer a savings plan to a nanny. A 401(k) is not
available to an individual. The plans available to you are those
that are structured for individuals, and you have several options:
1. Roth IRA: This plan is after tax, and only the employer
contributes to the plan. Although there is no tax savings for you,
it is very simple to setup and administer. And because taxes have been paid at time of contribution, there is no deferred tax payment to make at time of withdrawal.
2. SEP IRA: This plan allows both employer and employee to
contribute with pre-tax dollars. A deferred tax payment is made at time of withdrawal. This plan is more complex, as it is tied to the payroll process and can be complex.
If you are familiar with savings plans, how to contribute correctly,
and how to administer them, you can setup a plan with any investment company, such as Fidelity, on-line. If you are not well-versed in this area, I suggest you use a broker. Any bank or investment company can provide this service, and the administration fees are very low for these types of savings plans.
I hope this helps,
Stephanie Breedlove
Breedlove & Associates, L.P.
Household Payroll and Tax Experts
888-BREEDLOVE
www.breedlove-online.com
Q. I was curious to know how to handle this issue of paying a nanny when I don't use her services, but couldn't find much information about it on the web. Most sites just state that a nanny typically gets two weeks of paid vacation. That left me hanging because I wasn't sure if it was necessary to pay my nanny while I am on vacation. I agreed to give her two weeks to take at her discretion, but I really can't afford to pay her for four weeks of vacation a year. Would it be fair to count some of my vacation days that I comp her towards her total? I didn't think it was necessary for me to have to pay her while I vacation.
Thanks for your help!
A: Dear How Do I Handle
If it is possible I would discuss with your nanny the fact that you didn't think ahead when you signed the work agreement. Therefore just realized that you should have stipulated that she take her vacations at the same time you take yours.It is the employer's responsibility to outline the terms of the job and if you were not thorough enough you can't really blame your employee. Nannies, like anyone else in the workforce depend on their weekly paycheck.
It is implied that your nanny will get a regular paycheck unless it is specifically stipulated otherwise in the work agreement. Think of it this way; you are employed I assume. What if your employer mentioned to you that you would not be getting paid because he/she was shutting down the business for two weeks and going away? It is likely that your finances would be negatively impacted. In addition you would likely be angry, any loyalty you had would be seriously diminished and it's a good bet you'd be keeping your eye on the job market to make a move. Again, if you didn't stipulate in the agreement in the beginning that she wouldn't get paid while you are away it would be unfair to pull the proverbial rug out from under her now.
You can make coordinated vacation times a condition of employment for any future work agreements.
Good Luck.
Anne Merchant
Employer/Nanny Expert
Nanny Job Description, how much cleaning can be expected
Q: I am new to professional "nannying". I accepted a position with the understanding that cooking for the entire family and cleaning (a 7000 sq ft home) were "optional" but am now being told that these are part of a nanny's responsibilities! There are 3 children; (the 3 year old is still in diapers). I live in and have a small bedroom but do not have my own bathroom. The family is vegetarian (I am not) so I do not eat many meals with them. I am expected to work 14 - 15 hours a day, 6 days a week; clean the entire house; cook all the meals (I am expected to learn to cook vegetarian meals) and clean up afterward (use of the dishwasher is not allowed); get the children (11 and 5) up for school, take them to school, take them to many scheduled activities; make sure all homework is done and is 100% correct (which often entails doing the work myself to make sure their answers are correct); do all the family wash and ironing; run family errands; have the meal for my day off cooked the day before and ready to reheat ; and teach the 3 year old to read.
I am being paid $350/wk for all of this and have use of the family minivan to take the children wherever they need to go. I have some sort of health insurance but it is not the regular kind - it is one which pays a portion of the cost and I pay the rest. I am to have 2 weeks paid vacation, but not to be taken consecutively. Is this a fair wage and are the expectations really those of a Nanny? I always thought Nannies dealt only with the children and their needs, not general household responsibilities. Help? I'm confused.A: Dear Confused
The short answer to your question is No.
If your employers expect you to clean a 7,000 sq ft house, that is a full time job.
Nanny salaries vary across the country but you are being grossly underpaid for what you are doing. As a general rule nannies take care of children.
Most nannies work an 8-12hour day, not 14-16 and they get 2 days off a week, not 1. You are being paid slave wages. It averages out to about $4 an hour.
Did you get this job through an agency? If not, you might want to go through a reputable agency in the area. You might have a better chance for finding a more realistic position.
You can not do this job for very long before you burn out.
Good Luck
Glenda Propst
Nanny Expert
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 Merchant
Nanny/Employer Expert
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!
Taking a Nanny Job in another state
Q: I am trying to become a nanny and I am going with an agency. I am feeling a bit uneasy about making a big move (Wisconsin to New York). How can I protect myself and feel more comfortable about my decision.
A: Dear Big Apple Bound
Well first of all, have you been a nanny before? and before you make a big move like that do you think that you might want to try something a little closer to home to be sure you will like it?
What about working in Chicago? That would be a big city but a little closer to home. It is one thing to take a job out of town but if you are not even sure you are going to like it once you begin, you might want to rethink it.
If you have your heart set on moving to New York, then you really need to do your homework. Are you confident with the agency you have chosen? Why did you choose them? Do you feel they are being fair and helpful to you? Are they trying to find you the kind of family that you want?
IF you don't feel comfortable with your agency, find one that you do. Here is an article on what to look for in a nanny agency.
http//nannyassociation.com/what_a_good_agency_does_for_you.html
There are more nanny articles here
http//nannyassociation.com/newsletter.html
Once you have a comfort level with your agency, you should make sure you understand the ins and outs of being a nanny.
There are lots of nanny lists on yahoogroups.com that you can join that give you connections with other nannies around the country.
Doing your homework and being sure that you know exactly what you are going to deal with in your job should give you a better comfort level about what you really want to do.
Let me know how it works out or if you have more questions.
Glenda Propst
National Association of Nannies
Household Employer and Paying Taxes
Responsibilities of a household employer
Q: Hello! I am currently hiring an individual to care for my 2 children. I want someone who will come to my home, and provide childcare while I am at work. I would refer to that individual as a caregiver or babysitter, but nowadays the terms Nanny and Au Pair are being used. The individual would work 40-45 hours/week. As for benefits, there are none. She and I have spoken, and she refers to herself as a babysitter or caregiver also. Salary is an issue that we are negotiating.Is it necessary for me to purchase software to do bookkeeping for this job? Will I be responsible for cutting her checks and withholding the required taxes and amounts, or is this a scenario in which I can pay her on a weekly basis, with a personal check, and both of us can claim the income paid (her) and the money paid out (me) on our taxes? I understand that an individual must have a Federal ID number for taxes, so I am guessing that she would have to request one?
I currently send my children to a home daycare, in which I write out a personal check each week for the amount I owe her. She has my children 40 hours/week, but I am not her employer. I do not cut her any payroll checks or withhold any taxes, etc. Why would having an on-site babysitter be any different?
A: When you hire an in-home caregiver to care for your children, you are classified by law as a household employer and she is your household employee. This is different from taking your children to an in-home licensed day care, because the owner of the in-home day care is considered a business owner and is responsible for all income, expenses and taxes for her business. When you hire a caregiver into your home to care for your children, your caregiver is under your direction and you become responsible for administering her payroll as your employee. It is illegal to classify your caregiver as an independent contractor in which she would be responsible for all payroll taxes - as if she also had her own business.
You are responsible for administering the payroll process for your employee. This means that you need federal and state tax ids as a household employer. You are responsible for withholding federal and state payroll taxes from your employee's pay each pay period. You are also responsible for matching social security/medicare and paying federal and state unemployment taxes. Your employer taxes will be 10% over and above her salary. However, by handling the payroll process "legally", you are entitled to a tax break called the Dependent Care Account. This program is administered through your cafeteria plan through your work and will save you approximately $2300 per year. All taxes are reported and paid quarterly to the IRS and your state, and you will provide your caregiver with a W-2 at year-end.
I hope this brief explanation gives you an idea of your legal requirements.
Unfortunately, the process is time-consuming. Breedlove & Associates offers a very cost-effective service to handle the entire process for you, and we do this for thousands of families nationwide. Please feel free to give us a call with any additional questions.
Stephanie Breedlove
Breedlove & Associates, L.P.
888-BREEDLOVE
www.breedlove-online.com
New Nanny/child Adjustment time
Q: How long does it normally take for a toddler to adjust? How can I reassure the mom that it will work out. I love doing this and want to continue. Do you have any suggestions for the child?
A: When I was a Pre School Director and had crying children, what I always said to the parents was this: This is my job and I am going to be with them all day. The longer you stay, the harder it will be. Tell them goodbye and leave. As long as the child knows that mommy is going to rescue him, he will keep doing it.
She has hired you to take care of her child, and she is not letting you do your job. If she needs to call you and check in to see how he is doing, that is fine but she can't do your job and her job at the same time and she needs to give you a chance.
I would sit down with the mom and ask her to give you at least 2 weeks where you deal with the crying instead of her rescuing the child. One thing you might want to do, is try to think of things that child likes and enjoys to distract him and get him interested, this will also send a clear message to the mom that you are trying to work this out.Maybe you could go in with a puppet one morning, and have the puppet talk, or sing to the child. If you are creative, you could make a puppet, and then tell them child that you will help him make one too. If he likes airplanes, bring a book about an airplane, get a cookie cutter and cut his toast in an airplane shape. Line up the kitchen chairs and fly on an airplane.
I am not sure what your day is like or what your routine is, but it would help if you had an activity planned each day for either when you get there, or shortly after you get there. Then you could say "Guess what I have today!, or guess what we are doing today!"
If the child has been through other caregivers then he has succeeded in his goal to be able to stay with mommy by crying.
Communication is a huge part of a successful nanny / parent relationship. I suggest you sit down, talk to the mom, tell her your plan and ask her to work with you for 2 weeks. If after 2 weeks, the child shows no improvement, then you might have to consider that this job won't work out but I have never seen a child who did not respond to planned activities, music, games or songs.There are tons of games and activities you can play with children. If you have access to the internet, you have great resources at your fingertips. Familyfun.com is one of my favorite resources for activities.
I have included a link to my article on nanny/employer communication. I hope you find something there that helps you talk to your employer and work this situation through.
http://nannyassociation.com/communication.htm
Good Luck and let me know how it works out.
Glenda PropstNanny Issues Expert
Q: We have a part-time nanny. We are taking her on a week vacation to Florida. What should we pay her to travel with us from Sat. to Sat? She will have a lot of down time, but our two children are very demanding.A: Dear Going to Florida;
As far as her schedule while you are away, I can't stress enough how important it is to plan, discuss and document what her schedule will be before you even buy her tickets. Everyone should understand that if this were Nanny's vacation, she'd be taking it with her family or friends, going where she wanted to go and she wouldn't have children to care for. I have heard countless horror stories about parents taking nanny away on vacation with them, with the expectation that they (the parents) would be free to really enjoy themselves, while at the same time the nanny's expectation was that she was going on "vacation". As it has turned out, the nanny was disappointed and so were the parents because both parties had unrealistic expectations. Be certain to make it clear that she will be working. It would also make sense to get online and find out what kinds of kids programs/activities are available in the hotel or in the area where you will be staying. Find out what kinds of things are available that your nanny would enjoy on her days and times off. Planning ahead is vital.
Best of luck, I hope you have a great vacation.
Anne Merchant
Nanny/Employer Relations Expert
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