My employer wants me to stay over 3 nights next month, when she has to travel for work. I normally work 7 am to 5 pm. She said she felt 4 hours extra per day would be fair? The baby goes to bed at 7-730 BUT she does not sleep thru the night. (14 months old) I havent stayed over before but Mom tells me shes often up 1-4 times a night with her and some mornings is very tired due to only getting 4-5 hrs of sleep PLUS Im sure baby may be even more stressed and wakeful since mother will not be there. Dad will be there but hes next to useless and never gets up with baby plus he leaves at 6am and often not home till 8 pm. So Im thinking I may be working a lot more than 4 extra hours per day PLUS losing sleep and having to work the whole next day. Plus Im not at home with my things, my bed etc. I'll be off duty supposedly 12 hours but with TV, no computer, cant leave house ect because babies asleep.What is fair seeing Im expected to deal with a crying child on and off the entire time?
24 comments:
I feel like this isn't a question anyone else can answer for you. Some people pick a number like $100/night or go to half time for hours they'll spend asleep. But you have to think about what your time is worth to you. No one is going to be able to fix that number for you, although they can give you examples of what they've done in the past.
I do not think it is fair pay!!!!
tell her you want a flat rate for overnites: I would say at least 50 dollars a nite on top of your regular pay.
In your type of situation, I'd always get pd by the hour thru the night since the baby still wakes up. If I stay overnight for a family where the children sleep thru the night, then I charge an hourly rate for the hrs I'm up with the children and then an extra $75-100 for the overnight portion. There is no way I would do it for an extra four hrs pay.
I would tell her that you want it to be fair for both of you, and so you've done some research and let her know what you've come up with.
I used to get a flat rate of $200 for overnights (and that counted as time the kids were asleep- any awake time was the regular hourly rate). That figure might not make sense for your family, but I think 4 hours of pay is too little. Talk to your employers again, and bring up the fact that you're still going to be on duty the time the baby is asleep. You don't work for free.
Wow..I was just going to post a question here on ISYN about overnight rates as I am having a situation myself and saw this and thought..great, I am not the only one, though my situation is a bit different.
I watch a 3 yr old and make $10 p/h. Well, last night I did an overnight and the family only paid me $70!! I got there at 6PM, she went to bed at 11PM, slept until 8AM, then I had to stay until 1PM. So she was awake 10 hrs, slept for 9 and all I got was $70!! Is it me or is this not right?
At the agencies I work for in texas, it is usually pretty standard to get $100 for an overnight, but that is for 12 hours whether or not the kids are asleep the whole time. So if you are there from 7am to 5 you get your regular pay, plus hourly pay until say 7pm and then it is a flat $100 until 7am the next morning when your regular pay would start up again.
Sometimes you get your full hourly rate for an overnight (if the child is a newborn and up more than he is asleep and you are feeding, changing, etc.) but usually it is $100 for 12 hours, at least for jobs I've worked.
4 hours of pay is WAY too little. The highest paid nannies of all are the baby nannies, aren't they? The baby specialists who usually just stay the first year of life? They make a fortune.
I think $350 to $400 is more like it. I wouldn't do it for less than $100 a night. You didn't say how much you are making, but assuming it's $10 an hour, she is offering you $40 a night. Hell no. I wouldn't give up my evening at home for $40, perhaps stay up all night, and then do that for THREE nights?
You just have to tell her you don't work that cheaply. Four hours pay for 14 hours work? Is she crazy? I'm wondering if $100 is enough. That would be below minimum wage. If you are in her house, you are on the clock. If she balks, ask her if she would nanny for free.
I get regular pay for 12 hours and half pay for 12 hours per 24 hour stretches. Ocaasionally I will work out a deal for the overnight depending on the family I am working for. I live in the New York City area so pay is a bit higher.
I think it also depends on where you live. I live in the dc area. For a baby who isn't sleeping through the night I would charge a flate rate of $150 for over night and my regular rate $17 an hour during normal waking hours.
We have done this many times as employers in NYC. I pay full rate for awake hours and an overnight flat rate of $75-100. I have also at certain times had a weekend/24 hr nanny and paid a flat rate of $225 for 24 hours, but this is with 3 kids. When I've advertised for positions like this with these rates I've always had a huge number of qualified applicants to pick from, even during the boom.
I used baby nurse rates to help me set my pay scale also. Baby nurses here charge about $200-250/24 hrs for a singleton; as much as $300 for twins.
Rates aside, I think this is a tough job. I would not want my nanny up half the night, then caring for my child full-time. The reason I have had childcare, apart from work, is because two of my kids are terrible sleepers (as am I) and I was not able to be a good parent while exhausted. I know parents have been doing it forever, but given the luxury of a choice, I preferred to have a well-rested nanny and a well-rested mom! I would set the rate you think is fair, but insist upon some block of time 8pm-2am; 2am-8am; etc in which you would be guaranteed at least 6 hours of sleep. During this time, Dad would be responsible for baby if she wakes. If you divide the night up in half, both you and Dad should be able to get a reasonable amount of sleep and be able to function at work the next day.
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I would sit down and talk with your employer, and explain that you can charge her based on 2 different scenarios.
1) You are on duty from 6 am to 10 pm, paid at your normal hourly rate, and then absolutely NOT on duty (IOW, dad gets to step it up and be in charge) from 10 pm to 6 am. That would be whatever your hourly rate is times 16 hours. I would add in that if you are called on to work at any point in those 8 hours you are off, the 24 hour rate will be charged.
2) You are on duty 24 hours a day, and you will charge $300 (or more, depending on what you charge hourly - I am basing this on a rate of $10 per hour) per 24 hour shift. Dad gets to skip being in charge, and you get paid enough to make it worth your time and the inconvenience of working around the clock.
If neither of those work for her, then let her know you will gladly work your normal hours when she is gone and she is free to find someone else to work the other time.
Nannyhood's suggestion sounds good.
Seriously, does the mom feel that she is "off duty" and not actually "on-call" to attend to her child during the 8 hours between midnight and 8 am? If her husband had to be fully responsible for the baby during those hours, would she feel the duties were so negligible that 4 hours of pay would compensate him for being the parent 24 hours at a time for 4 days straight? At somebody else's house?
Honestly, since the dad will be home, I see no reason she should even have to pay for extra help. Why can't he handle his parental duties for a few nights?
When I do overnights I get my regular daily pay, then $100 for each night. However both of my charges sleep about 11 hours straight through at night, so while I have to listen for them, I usually do not have to get up in the middle of the night.
4 hours is way too little. I would ask for your hourly pay until bedtime, then a flat rate for each night. If mom won't go for that then I'd refuse to do overnights. Dad is there anyway, maybe he should take care of his child for a few days.
I charge $75 - $125/ night for overnights depending on the ages of the children. More if they are younger because it involves more "work." 1-4 hours extra isn't enough unless you make $20 - $25/hour.
I think these parents sound super cheap.
The way I typically do it is to charge my regular hourly rate until bedtime and then a flat rate of $100 per night. Sometimes the kids sleep through the night; other times, they are up most of the night, so over the course of 3 days it should even out.
Also, make it clear to mom that you reserve the right to nap when the baby does since you will be up with her in the night as well.
This is ridiculous. You should be paid through the whole night. You are sleeping and the baby is sleeping yes...but you are on-call. If the baby cries in the middle of the night or the child needs help or wets the bed are you going to do that work for free? or are you just going to ignore them because youre not being paid? If you're not getting paid you should be sleeping in your own bed getting a comfortable restful sleep!
I have been a nanny for over four years now and my current employer often schedules me for overnights. The going rate in CA is 100 dollars for the night. In addition to your regular hours. For example I work from 7-4 so I am paid for the 9 hours of reg. pay plus 100 dollars for staying over. It's not just an issue of the child not sleeping through the night. You are offering your employer the convinience of having someone they know and trust stay the night AND you are giving up a night at home with your significant other, or dinner with friends etc. It's a huge gesture to spend 24 hours at work and you needs to be appropriately compensated.
If the kids sleep thru the night I always give the parents a break and only charge for hours "I" sleep not the hours the kids sleep, or if its my regular family I charge a flat rate. But if there is a baby who wakes up thru the night I charge hour per hour, since I wont be getting much sleep. There are always exceptions.
I have another scenario that I need advice on pricing for. I've been asked to do an overnight (about noon Saturday til 4ish Sunday) and am wondering what to charge. There are four girls under the age of 9 plus a 16 year old exchange student who is pretty self sufficient. I will be picking them up from activities, etc. They are a handful so I want to charge something reasonable, but I also don't want to offend the family by asking for too much. Help?!
I have a question, I have been a nanny for 4 years and the family is asking to go away with them for the 1st time. I'm going away with the family for 2 nights. Wenesday to Friday. And I am driving my own car there and back. Because they are going to stay longer. I care for 2 children (1 yr. Old & 4 yr. old) my hours are 8am to 7:30pm. What should I charge them to stay over night? .
I get my hourly rate for ALL hours I am there regardless of it they are sleeping or not. I am still on the clock, I am not in my own home and bed, and if something were to happen I will give that child full care. If charging half rate should you only give half the care if the child needs you? If the parents are home and I am NOT in charge but am required to stay because we are traveling or something and I can't go home, then I get my regular hourly rate until they take over, then $100 per night just to be there since they see I am there for them. And of course, usually if you are working an overnight, you are putting in over time, so I get my over time rate.
Do not take less than what you are worth! And what their children are worth! The best care deserves the best nannies, which are not cheap!
I am a parent of two teenage girls, 14 and 16. my husband and I will be away for a week and we've asked the girls' former babysitter to pick them up from school, make dinner with them (not for them :) and the girls will do the dishes and feed the cats, etc. ), sleep over, and take them to school in the morning. My calculations make it about 8.5 awake hours, plus the overnight; she will have most of the day free. What would be a fair rate to offer her? We like her enormously, she and the girls get along very well, and I know this is a big imposition on her, but the girls are self-sufficient and easy. I prefer to be generous with her, because she is so wonderful, but I really have no idea what the right thing to do is. I have seen the suggestions of $100/night for the sleep over part, which seems reasonable. And then whatever her hourly rate is for the day time part? please advise.
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