Hi everyone. As the holiday parties and New Year's Eve are coming up, I was wanting to know how much other caregivers are charging? I am going to care for 3 girls who I have watched once before. Since it is a 'holiday', should I ask for double? What do you all do?
Tuesday
Holiday Pay
Received Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Hi everyone. As the holiday parties and New Year's Eve are coming up, I was wanting to know how much other caregivers are charging? I am going to care for 3 girls who I have watched once before. Since it is a 'holiday', should I ask for double? What do you all do?
Hi everyone. As the holiday parties and New Year's Eve are coming up, I was wanting to know how much other caregivers are charging? I am going to care for 3 girls who I have watched once before. Since it is a 'holiday', should I ask for double? What do you all do?
I still charge the same hourly rate I regularly would.
ReplyDeleteFor New Years eve I usually charge an extra
ReplyDelete$5 an hour( for up to two children. I think it
really depends on your area.
They're talking about this on UrbanBaby. http://www.urbanbaby.com/talk/posts/52415409
ReplyDeleteI charge the same hourly rate, which usually is 5 dollars an hour per kid. New years I don't charge more but they do end up paying me an extra 50 or so
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on where you live.
and skipped school and student loans if I had known you could ask for (get?) double for a holiday babysitting gig. Where I work, as an RN, only full timers who work both the day before and after the holiday are entitled to holiday pay - which is time-and-a-half. Everyone else, and there are mandatory holidays, even for part-timers, is straight pay. And this is for up to 25 patients and a lot of cleaning up!
ReplyDeleteIn suburban Denver, I charge $18/hour minimum for Christmas Eve/Day and New Year's Eve. Last year for 3 (sleeping when I arrived) infants and 4 young school-age children, I charged $25/hour and that was with the parents downstairs and a usual rate of $15/hour for twin infants.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm weird but I still charge the same amount but I also think it depends where you live.
ReplyDeleteI charge time-and-a-half for all hours worked (awake or sleeping hours) with a minimum of five hours charged.
ReplyDeleteI would charge time and a half, and if they are really great employers,they will tip well since it is holiday.
ReplyDeleteIf you actually have to babysit on Christmas Day,that would be an exception to the rule. Most definitely charge double for that.
How hard could it have been to babysit on new year's eve? You were up with the kids for what? an hour? two? POSSIBLY 3? So you had to clean a closet out for 25 bucks an hour instead of watching TV? Poor you. That's a tough life.
ReplyDeleteGive me a break. Night-time babysitting is one of the easiest jobs you can do. I understand it's a holiday and you could be out getting wasted and spending money with your friends, but really? 25 bucks an hour was beyond generous. Stop bitching.
Jacqui: As a Nanny, I take great offense at your comment that "night time babysitting is one of the easiest jobs to do!" I have heard all the lines, "Since my child will be asleep, all you have to do is BE HERE. You can watch T.V., read or use your laptop." I have had families pay a very reduced rate for this "doing nothing" type job. Well time is time Jacqui. A nanny's time is just as important as a parent's time or anyone else's for that matter. And as long as a Nanny is on the clock, she should be paid for it. Responsibility is responsibility..NO EXCEPTIONS!!!! If (God forbid) a fire breaks out, an intruder enters or there is any emergency of any other nature, the nanny still is 100% responsible for YOUR child. She is in YOUR home and cannot even run out to the local 7-11 and grab a coffee or such. She is obligated to you. The time she spends watching YOUR child is time that she cannot be with her own family, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think if both parties agree to it, a flat rate can be applied to night time babysitting, but I do not think it is one of the easiest jobs out there due to the fact that taking care of a child involves such a high amount of liability and it's not like you can purchase liability insurance for the child.
Oh relax. This is the reason I don't come here anymore. You're all so self righteous. I am a nanny. Have been with the same family for 4 years and for the 10 years prior to that worked in childcare. I know what is involved with night time babysitting. Don't be so dramatic. Of course our time is valuable but this babysitter is getting paid 25 bucks an hour to sit on her ass. I'm not suggesting she shouldn't get paid time and a half for new year's eve, but to then bitch and moan because the parents asked her to clean a closet? It's ridiculous and I hate how entitled some nannies can be.
ReplyDeleteAnd give me a break with the "if there's a fire, an intruder" crap...chances are, none of that will ever happen. And if they do, you're getting paid a pretty good amount to deal with the crisis.
Ridiculous.
Jacqui,
ReplyDeleteYou sound bitter and resentful. Do you not
get paid very well?
Umm in almost every other position employees get paid time and half for holidays and double on christmas. So i would go by that. If you are doing an overnight come up with a set amount.
ReplyDeleteJacqui,
I must be missing something because I have no idea where cleaning out a closet came from?
I believe people charge more on holidays because they won't be able to celebrate. Mainly it's because most people don't want to work holidays, so the pool of babysitter options is very small. And if you want a sitter your gonna have to pay.
Night time babysitting can be easier depending on the age of the child, some children wake in the middle of the night for feedings, nightmares etc.
Also if its so much easier why do people pay almost double for night nurses? They just have to feed and put the infant back to sleep every few hours. Then they go home and have most of the day to do what they please.
I was referring to an anonymous post that stated she was upset because even though she was being paid 25 dollars an hour, she had to clean out a closet, I presume while the kids slept...and really, comparing a night nurse's job to babysitting kids while they sleep? Not once did I dispute the rate of holiday pay. 25 bucks an hour for New Year's Eve? Generous but not unreasonable. I was pointing out how ridiculous it was that the anonymous poster was whining about being asked to clean out their closet. I have a great relationship with my employers and they do things for me and I do things for them. We're adults. No one acts bratty or entitled.
ReplyDeleteAs far as me sounding bitter and resentful....you ask if I don't get paid much? Wouldn't I be AGREEING with the anonymous poster and not defending the parents if I was an underpaid, angry nanny? I think you're a little mixed up. Logic, it's not your enemy.
I'm not bitter or resentful, just sick of entitled nannies that think they're somehow better than every other person who makes an honest living. We have an enormous responsbility, bigger than most, but we don't need a red carpet rolled out for us everytime we enter someone's house.
bostonnanny, employees usually get time and a half for holidays if they are full-time workers in my experience, not if they are just part-time or doing an occasional care date like a babysitter would have on New Year's Eve.
ReplyDeleteI think that first poster was upset that the parent hoisted the closet cleaning when the poster was expecting to do a regular night time care date, so I can understand that.
Let's not pretend though that night time babysitting is some super hard job. For the most part you might play with the kids, feed them then put them to bed. After that it's your own time which you are still getting paid hourly for until the parents come home. No need to add an exorbitant amount just because it's a holiday. Maybe it goes by area, but I disagree that there is a small pool of sitters available for holidays or in this case NYE. In my area, there are many people doing babysitting so if a parent doesn't like a sitter's high holiday rate, they have 10 others they can go to and pay a regular rate.
It is a question of supply and demand. If there are a lot of sitters available parents won't need to pay more. If there is more demand than there are sitters, then it becomes something of a bidding war. In my area most of the college student sitters go home for the holidays, and many nannies want to spend New Year's Eve. with their significant other, so it means $$$$$$$$ for the few who are available.
ReplyDeleteI would not ask my work family for more than my regular rate, because they give me a very generous holiday bonus but they always spend the holidays out of town anyway. Some parents of my charges' classmates have offered me obscene amounts for NYE.
Well I have to say I have been registered with a nanny agency over the years, even though I do not rely on them for jobs anymore, and we always got double on New Years Eve. The going "regular" rate for one child here in the Atlanta area always started at 11.00 per hour and went up from there depending on the circumstances. Several years ago, any of us could easily make 100-200.00 per evening or more sitting for combined families in one home, or even just one family in their home. But in the last few years parents would book you and instead of going out early, say around 5 or 6, they began to start really cutting back, and not needing us until 9 or 10 p.m. or so, which got ridiculous. So after being booked for what you believe would be a fairly profitable evening at 22.00 per hour or more, these clients would use me for just 4 or 5 hours and be home right after the big countdown, stumble around in the dark kitchen to write my check for a whole 88.00! Although I appreciated the work and could have turned down any such job, I'm just making a point of how it can sound great, until the slacking economy figures in and you have to wonder if it is really worth it.
ReplyDeleteYou can't compare an administrative job with a nanny job. The employer to employee relationship is A LOT more personal. Again, maybe I'm just a different type of nanny, but I have no problems doing some things around the house when the kids are asleep or in school, and my employers have no issues helping me out with hours, doctor's appointments or really, anything else I may need. I'm sorry some of you have don't have that great dynamic with your bosses.
ReplyDeleteHi all, nanny here. I refuse all holiday jobs because I would rather do my own thing on the holidays. But I have been asked to work New Years eve and even though I said no, I would have charged about $30/hr. Kids are expensive, so the parents need to bite the bullet if they want to go out on New Years eve. Everything has a price. I also work in a city, so people in that part of the city tend to pay more for nanny services.
ReplyDeleteI also won't work on New Year's Eve. No one even bothers asking me anymore.
ReplyDeleteSorry you have not been here much Jacqui (JerseyJacqui, right?). I, for one, have missed your input!
ReplyDeleteMy vote is that nighttime sitting is MUCH easier than daytime. I think nannies should get paid whatever the market will bear and more power to you if you land a sweet deal. But I still think nights are much easier than days.
Regarding night nurses, in NYC they do not make double rate. They make about $250/day and work 24 hours a day, usually 6 days a week. You can hire them just for nights, but you pay close to $200 so people tend to just hire for the full 24 hours.
Aw, thanks nycmom :-)
ReplyDeleteI get double time for any holiday I work. I did 13 hours on Thanksgiving and earned $800 for the day. But guess what? The family I work for has more money than desire or ability to look after their kids so it wasn't a big deal for them to pay that much.
ReplyDelete