It's Fall! Prepare your Nanny for upcoming changes!

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Parent Category: Nanny 101

Category: Nanny Relationship Advice

Lots of you are sending your kids to school in the fall and your nanny is transitioning to a child attending pre-school, Pre-K, Kindergarten and beyond…

We here at PSP started jotting down some things you might want to cover with your nanny but WELCOME any other ideas.

Here are some top of mind things:

• Give your nanny a list of all the school holidays (the DOE calendar can be found here). There are 6 full-school holidays (and some early dismissal days on top of that) before December so plan accordingly if you need or don’t need your nanny. 
• Discuss any Thanksgiving plans, winter break plans, plans for all the school holidays, and any other time off your nanny may receive so she can plan accordingly.
• Introduce your nanny to any teachers or caregivers. Fill out appropriate paperwork about permission to pick up, etc.

Have a sit-down meeting with your nanny about anything related to school transitions including:

• Phase-in schedule
• Afterschool programs/classes your kids might be taking
• Your feelings about homework (e.g., playdates are okay, but both kids must do homework before playing)
• When it’s okay to miss an afterschool class/activity (e.g., “I don’t want to go to karate today”)
• Taking on extra responsibilities such as playdates with other kids (will the nanny be compensated if there is a friend over?)
• Policies about having other people over for playdates or dropping off your kids at one of the child’s friend’s house? Do you want to know about either? Do you want them to ask permission?
• Ask your nanny if anything has changed on THEIR side too (e.g., if they have a child applying to middle or high school).
• Update your work agreement if appropriate.

A note about Nannies transitioning to fewer hours but the same pay:

• If you are still employing a nanny full time but they are only taking care of kids part-time have a heart to heart about responsibilities and feelings. Some employers will feel like they can ask for extra favors since, “we are paying them full time but they are only working part time so my nanny should be thankful;” “the raise is built in since they are not working as many hours.”  This is an area we’ve seen a lot of animosity arise on both sides. Then again, your nanny may welcome feeling like they are able to help with things like prepping dinner, restocking diapers or doing a load of laundry.
• Don’t broker your nanny’s hours.  We’ve seen this happen too—a nanny who has mornings free will work for a different families a few mornings a week but the employer handles the finances. That’s backfired too.

Related reading on PSP:

Changing Nanny's Job Description and Figuring Out What To Do With Nanny When the Kids Transition to School

Transitioning a Nanny to Part-time

Q&A With a Better Balance About the New Paid Family Leave Laws in New York State

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Category: Working Parents

Paid family leave in New York goes into effect on January 1, 2018. And those who have kids in 2017 may take paid family leave in 2018, as long as they take leave within a year of the birth (https://www.ny.gov/programs/new-york-state-paid-family-leave).

 In response to the many questions on various Park Slope Parents listserves, Park Slope parent & ABB Board Member Elizabeth Saylor put together the below question and answer. Molly Weston Williamson, a staff attorney at A Better Balance (http://www.abetterbalance.org/), helped her with this. If you are an employee or independent contractor and have additional questions not answered below, we recommend you call ABB (212-430-5982) or the state’s paid family leave hotline (844-337-6303). Employers, including household employers of nannies or housekeepers, should also call the state hotline for more information.

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The 2017 Park Slope Parents' Nanny Survey Results

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Parent Category: Nanny 101

Category: Nanny Surveys

The 2017 data is here! PSP conducted its 6th Nanny Compensation Survey of employers who employ a nanny. These results are based on 870 parents from Brooklyn who employ live-out nannies who are not part of a nanny share.

IMPORTANT FINDINGS:

PAY:

▪ $17.05 per hour for 1 child ($1.99 more than 2015)
▪ $18.33 per hour for 2 children ($1.89 more than 2015)

Part-time nannies continue to make a higher hourly rate than a full-time nannies, paying a premium for fewer hours:
* $18.30 per hour for 10-20 hours
* $17.90 per hour for 50+ hours

TIME OFF:

▪ The average agreed upon days off is 14 days, while the reported days actually received is 21 days. (The vast majority of nannies are paid for all 21 days they receive off.)
▪ 1 in 2 (58%) let their nanny schedule time off at the nanny's discretion (something for which PSP advocates.)

RAISES & BONUSES:

▪ The average raise given is $1.28 per hour.
▪ Giving bonuses continues to be standard, with 1 week's pay given the most common amount.

See the full survey results

THANKS TO OUR NEWSLETTER SPONSOR:

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