Received Tuesday, November 6, 2007- Perspective & Opinion
I have been working for the same family for a year, and I want to ask for a raise, but I am having a hard time deciding how to go about it,and also trying to figure out what the appropriate amount would be to ask for. I would love some advice!I work 40-45 hrs a week, and get paid $20/hr. (Live and work in SF,CA) There are 3 school aged kids. I do all of the grocery shopping and cooking, run errands, help with the laundry, do some cleaning, pick up kids from school, run carpools, play dates, help with homework, bathe kids, make whole family dinner every night and much more!On top of that, I am always available to stay late/come early, I am never late, and never call in sick. Also, I travel with them.Does anyone have any idea how much would be appropriate to ask for??? Thanks!!!
31 comments:
Let me start this off by saying, in case people don't know this- San Fransisco has the highest paid nannies in the country. Not NY. So keep that in mind.
And good luck OP. NO matter what you make, as long as you continue to excel, you derserve a raise of recognition every year.
Since you are also doing the majority of the cooking and much of the cleaning(keeping a house clean everyday which most nannies end up doing beacuse it makes our job easier and it's also a way of being personable) you need an immediate bump up.
Are you over or under the table?
It is appropriate to ask for a 5% raise every year. Please make sure they are either providing a car for you to drive, or reimbursing you for gas, and possibly some basic car maintenance.
It is also a good time to bring up having a nanny contract, so you don't have to feel awkward when a question like this comes up. Also, a family that is paying a nanny (finally!) what they are worth, probably are people who respect and care about you. So they won't be offended when you ask, because they "get it."
The pay seems good, but I know in SF the cost of living is very high. Your doing too much work, besides a raise, I would ask if someone could come in once a week and maybe take some of the pressure off of you.
Just think of how much time and stress you're saving for the parents.
Ask for what you're worth. I would say $45/hour. If the parents don't want it, just walk. There will be another family that sees the value in such a wonderful sounding nanny.
I'm a nanny in NYC, and here the usual raise is one dollar. I think with all the non child related duties you have you are really a housekeeper/nanny, and $21 an hour sounds low for that in SF. GL
Wow! $20 an hour seems insane, but if that's the market in SF, more power to you. Is it $20 take home pay or $20 gross?
Either way, I would say that 5% is probably right. So, $21 an hour.
To be honest, I'm not that impressed with your non-childcare tasks, since the kids are in school. You're just a housekeeper/nanny, which is fine. I'd frankly expect a nanny to do full housekeeping if I had school aged kids.
To the person who said to ask for $45/hr - that's hillarious. I think I'll go ask my boss if he will double my salary too so that I can pay my nanny.
This is for 12:21
Shes not just a housekeeper/nanny. Its sounds like shes a housemanager. Yes, the kids are in school, but what about the days they are not. What about sick days, half days, etc. Shes still doing alot with cooking, laundry, errands, and baths at night. As you must know time flies during the day. They are more likely in school 6-7 hours, thats not alot of time to to everything.
re:
"You're just a housekeeper/nanny, which is fine. I'd frankly expect a nanny to do full housekeeping if I had school aged kids."
She's make more money and have more professional respect if she didn't do any housecleaning.
A nanny is not a housekeeper.
And people who can afford to hire professional nannies (the only people who should be able to use the term nanny) always have housekeepers and/or cleaning people!
I got this off a nanny website in San Francisco:
The placement fees are not due until we place your nanny.
Nannies in this area make between $12-18 per hour. They do not get paid by the hour, but you can use the hourly wage to gage their weekly salary.
We look forward to working with you and your family.
Please Note:
We only represent professional Nannies looking for full time position. If you are looking for part-time care please try:
Thanks Mom,
I have worked for the same family for 2.4 years now. I started at 24 an hour and now make 26 an hour.
What you also may not realize is that people around her are real people who do the right thing when it comes to the environment, their children and their country. Every nanny I know is paid on the books and every nanny I know has health insurance. My best friend makes $30 an hour.
Oh, and we don't clean. Most people have full time housekeepers that clean and do all the family laundry 5 days a week! Shout out to Essi.
I, a fellow nanny, believe you are more than entitled to ask for a raise to $22/hour. You do a lot of work, and you deserve to be well compensated for your contribution.
There is a huge difference between spending your day cleaning and doing (someone else's) laundry, and spending your day caring for children. I am surprised that so many parents assume a nanny would be willing to do housework, rather than move on to a new nanny job.
I agree a nanny is not a housekeeper, but there are other tasks a nanny can take on as children age and go to school fulltime to insure that their family does not feel the need to reevaluate their childcare needs. Evolving from a straight nanny to a nanny/household manager is a good approach. A household manager does things like sort mail into junk, reading material and bills. She opens what appears to be cards/invitations and responds to them accordingly. She helps with planning activities and social engagements and assists with party planning. She handles repairmen visits and does errands like trips to cleaners, grocery, gas station and drug store for the family as well as other odd errands and tasks (picking up and wrapping presents for upcoming parties, sorting out clothes children have outgrown for charity or storage, etc) and plans meals.
As for the OP, it sounds like she already is a nanny/household manager, and should be paid far more than the average nanny. Ask for a 5% raise and know you are fully entitled to it.
My housemanage doesn't have any childcare responsibilities,except if another employee is out sick and she makes over 100K.
I find it disturbing how petty people are when it comes to the people caring for their children.
melamonk,
I am usually very careful not to make any comments on people's income level...
However, I don't think it is fair for you to call others petty for trying to figure the best way to make a nanny situation both fair to the nanny and also workable within their household budget. Not many can afford to pay $100,000 to a housemanager, let alone afford a nanny on top of that and additional staff for every little thing. Great for you that you can...I begrudge you nothing. But you might try to take into account that your comments are pretty unrealistic for the vast majority of people, and actually come off as sort of offensive.
Which brings to mind...you obviously must know that. You don't sound stupid...just really, incredibly pretentious. What's the point you are trying to make anyway?
My point was that some of you parents seem to think you can roll your nanny into any position you might like, and she should just accept it. A professional nanny has a specific job description, as does a housekeeper, as does a house manager. I realize that many people succesfully combine positions and that works out better most often-for the employer. If your "nanny" is fulfilling multiple roles and doing a great job, I would strongly suggest you reward her generously. But if you cannot, you should be satisfied to have a wonderful person in your home who is dedicated to the sole pursuits of your children.
Melamonk, you took the words right out of my mouth.
I am a nanny because I love working with children. If I wanted to manage a household, or be a personal assistant, I would have pursued jobs in those areas. I love my charges, but I know they will outgrow their need for me, and I will have to move on to a new family.
I know I will get slammed for this, but I find it distrubing (sort of referring to Melamonk's 12:20 comment, but NOT referring to Melamonk specifically in my rant) that people have a nanny, housekeeper and a house mananger.
Can't you do anything for yourselves anymore? What's next? Hiring someone to wipe your butt?
I don't begrudge anyone help with their kids, and while I would never have a nanny, I'd love a housekeeper and may hire one at some point, but do you really all those people to run your lives?
No one can possbily be THAT busy, and if somehow you are, maybe you need to rethink your prioities.
I just dont get it.
I agree with you Meme. I guess some people are so wrapped up in work, social events, etc they need someone. Look at the Trumps. I believe they have a full-time live-in nanny. A chef, butler, housekeeper, and a driver. And she doesn't work either. What do these people do all day. I guess thats why they never looked stressed, or tired. Always beautiful.They get all dolled up to go out to parties, raise money for charity, etc. While someone else is raising their flesh and blood.
It makes me wonder only how much time the kids are getting with mom if she can't do anything around the house..is she at least using that extra chore free time to devote to raising her own children?
I wanted all the time with my kids for myself (excepting the occasional ladies night out with, ironically, all of my mommy friends from the park and school...hehehee, or "dates" with my husband.
Meme, I finally hired a housekeeper to clean my house, which freed up my personal time to be a better and less exhausted mom to my kids. It never dawned on me to hire a nanny because I felt it an extreme pleasure and a gift to be able to be with my kids at all the special moments and milestones of their lives. This might be the way for oyu to go when the time is right. You sound like you also very much enjoy your little ones company.
I have more respect for a mother with a housekeeper, personal chef, masseuse, driver and house manager than I would a mother who relegates the raising of her children to the nanny. Or to any staff she has fulfilling the task of a nanny. It is but great luxury to have free time on your hands and to have people at your beck and call to help with the mindless tasks of day to day living, however the greatest pleasure is being a loving and involved parent to your child. Regardless of what you can afford, there is no excuse for these women who hand responsibility for raising their children off to a revolving door of staff members. Frankly, it makes me ill. My children are my number one priority. Yes, it is easier to make them my bumber one priority, but instead of devoting myself to helping them with their studying and volunteering at their schools; I could lather myself in still more ecstastical delight. But I need to be able to look myself in the mirror in the morning and I need my children to respect me as their mother.
Mom and Eric's Mom....thanks. You guys both hit the nail on the head. I had children because I wanted to raise them. I find great joy in my children and being with them all day. Of course, we all need the occasional break, but I could never imagine hiring someone else to care for my kids. My house, maybe. My kids, NEVER.
Melamonk, I see your point and I do agree to a point. Especially on the part about children. But the whole multiple staff member thing was not really a matter or respect for me. I am just comeletely baffled as to why anyone would need it. Other than pure laziness.
Melamonk,
I like your style. I have been on a very tight budget, and I have been "exrtemely comfortable." I have had friends in every range of the economic spectrum. The truly classy people...even among the rich, are the ones who do not look at money as a way to value themselves or other people. Nor is it at all factored into the friends they choose to have. They would never judge anybody by the price of their stroller or their car....either by turning their nose up at a "clunker", or by making a snotty comment about somebody else's expensive car. That stuff matters not to them. It's only stuff. The super classy, in my book anyway, are the ones who don't use money as an opportunity to pamper themselves at the expense of spending A LOT of time with their children...enough time that, whatever help they may have, they are the number one caregivers for their children, and their children are the number one priorities in their lives.
Money is merely a tool. Sure, it makes most everything easier, but it does NOT bring happiness. I am no happier today, when money is no longer such a concern, than I was when I had to flinch inside and make emergency rearrangements to my budget when my son brought home a note form school saying that he needed to bring $10.00 to school for something or other and I had only $25.00 left to make it to the end of the month.
What has made me ecstatically happy for years and years is the ability to be a mom to my children every day. I have felt almost guilty at times for the joy I have had in "getting away with" having the most wonderful "job" on earth. No amount of money can buy back the precious time some people miss with thier kids.
I'm so happy to hear that the great deal of money you obviously have has not corrupted you sense of priorities. Sadly, you're kind of a rarity.
Beautifully put, Mom. 100% agreement here.
This has been a good read!!!! to the OP.....if you're doing all you say you are.........you deserve that 45 dollars an hour suggested by 10:34.........that's a heck of a lot of work for a nanny.....I'd ask for a the title of house manager. too!
At first I was going to say $20 and you want a raise?? ...but you are like a household manager and doing much more than just childcare. You should get a raise, but I wouldn't know how much or how to go about doing it. I hate talking about money/pay. Even an extra $2 would give you almost $90 more a week. I wouldn't go much more than tat if any.
Anonymous would expect a " nanny " to do full housekeeping along with the nanny duties, yet still thinks $20 an hour is insane? A nanny is a nanny, not a full-time housekeeper. While the kids are in school, SOME light housekeeping is reasonable, but keep in mind that since the nanny is generally expected to see to the kids until they're in bed, her duties in the morning before school, then for the 5 or 6 hours she's with them after school is close to full-time then. The nanny should have at least a couple of hours of that in-school time every day for her own needs. There's only so much a person can do about dentist appointments, library, shopping for her own needs, car servicing, etc. in the middle of the night. As an ICU nurse who doesn't make too much over $20 myself, I probably do think $20 an hour is a bit much FOR A NANNY. If she's expected to do all that other, non-nanny stuff though, it may be OK.
OP here...
When I was hired, I was hired as a nanny/cook. I love working with children, but I also love to cook, so it works perfect for me. The family I work for also has a full time house cleaner, but I help keep the playrooms clean, help with the laundry and keep the kitchen clean.
I get paid on the books.
Thanks for all of the responses...
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