I live on Long Island. My nanny gets $600 per week for 4 days per week. 2 days are 10 hours each and 2 days are 8 hours each. She gets breakfast and lunch at my home and i pay for 50% of her commute in addition to her salary. She gets paid vacation (3 weeks) and she does her laundry at my house. She uses my car to take the children places. She just asked me for $100 dollars more a week which would be $700. Am i crazy to pay this much?
Thursday
Is MB Paying Nanny too Much?
I live on Long Island. My nanny gets $600 per week for 4 days per week. 2 days are 10 hours each and 2 days are 8 hours each. She gets breakfast and lunch at my home and i pay for 50% of her commute in addition to her salary. She gets paid vacation (3 weeks) and she does her laundry at my house. She uses my car to take the children places. She just asked me for $100 dollars more a week which would be $700. Am i crazy to pay this much?
You let her do laundry at your house! can I come work for you?
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ReplyDeleteYes, that is over a $3/hr pay raise!!! Ridiculous! She sounds greedy to me. What is her reasoning?
ReplyDeleteYou give her a 3 week paid vacation and 50% of her commute? Can I work for you? Anyway, how many kids do you have? How high is the cost of life in Long Island? How much does she do for you while working? How good is she as a nanny? How many years has she been working for you? Getting b-fast and lunch at your house has nothing to do with her pay, neither is doing laundry at your place. So that shouldn't even be mentioned. I assume you let her do those things because you're nice and you like her and want to help her out, not as a reward for her work.
ReplyDeleteIt also depends on the situation, if you lived in rural Ohio, I'd say it's too much; but if you lived in NYC I'd say it's fair. So it all depends on where you live and what are the standards there.
In my opinion $600 a week for 36 hours and a 3-week paid vacation is more than fair, only based on the info you've given.
Long Island is the most expensive place to live now. Sounds about right.
DeleteIs she good at what she does? Do your child(ren) like her, and respond well to her. Do you trust her, and know that she doesn't abuse your children? Is $700.00 more than you are able to afford while still keeping a roof over your childs(ren)'s head, or put food on the table?
ReplyDeleteThis works out to $20/hour. Although it's a large jump from $16 she is making now, what is the going rate for nannies in your area?
Where I live (not a great nanny market) the going rate starts at $10-$12, but I still know nannies that make upwards of $20.
I would suggest you make a decision what this nanny's worth is to you. If you don't want to spend more because you are cheap and don't really care if your children's care is sub par, then refuse the raise. If she is great with the kids and you know that finding someone else that works as hard, and is loved by your family as much will be near impossible, then pay up. For the record there is a price on good care and she just told you what it is.
however if you aren't happy with her job performance, then you are free to let her go and find someone else you feel more comfortable with. just be aware that when a nanny is great at what they do, they generally value themselves at a higher rate than other nannies.
I think what she is getting is more than generous. I wouldn't pay her any more....she is already making $16 an hour. I can understand that she may need $700 to make ends meet, but then she needs to look for a job with more hours. She is only working 36 hrs a week.
ReplyDeleteYou are not being cheap to turn her down nor do great employees determine their worth. BTW you never said she was great. Why do nannies always think that they set their worth becaus they are "great?" The market and the market alone sets pay, along with negotiating skills.
ReplyDeleteLook at today's jobs report. You can surely find someone by next week at $12-15 hour, that you don't have to feed, wash their clothes or pay to get them to work. Your nanny is overreaching and if you give her this, what will she ask for next?
How many children?? I get paid 720 and I work 5 days a week 55-60hrs, no transport. No vacation only sick days.I am under paid I know. I provide my on food (vegan/vegetarian). I drive. I work over time 90% of the time for time exchange (not my idea).If your Nanny does an exceptional job she deserves it. A raise should be given once a year and in moderate increments. If you know anyone who needs a Nanny feel free to respond.
ReplyDeleteI think that depends on how many kids you have and if she does other things besides childcare, like cleaning and errands. Do you make her stay late? Do you take more then 3 weeks vacation a year and don't pay her for the extra weeks? How long as she been with you? Have you ever given her a raise if she has been with you for more then a year? Do you pay taxes? Do you offer health insurance?
ReplyDeleteAllowing her to use your car to take your children out is standard and your responsibility. Meals and commute is a perk you provided I assume from the beginning. I dunno why you allow her to do her laundry there but that's a perk too.
I'd say if she's been with you for awhile, if you have more
then two kids and she does clean regularly then she prob does deserve a raise of some sort.
"Why do nannies always think that they set their worth becaus they are "great?" The market and the market alone sets pay, along with negotiating skills."
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the market sets pay. But as in any other job, a great performer gets paid well. If you work your butt off and are good at what you do, you'll usually get a raise. The one thing I disagree about this whole situation is the fact that she's the one asking for the raise. I don't think it's appropriate.
Not reading before responding...
ReplyDeleteWell, she's currently making $16.67 an hour gross (since of course, you DO pay her on the books, right??), plus getting benefits and extras like food, paid commute costs, and laundry access.
How many kids do you have? Any special needs? How much experience does nanny have? What does she bring to the table that is outstanding?
Is she due for a raise? How long has she been with you? If she's been there more than a year, what did she get as an annual raise? What were her reasons for deserving more money when she asked for this raise?
I do think, unless she is simply outstanding and utterly irreplaceable, that paying her $19.44 per hour would be a bit much, unless you have lots of kids or all special needs kids.
You can check out the most recent INA salary survey at nanny.org to see what the average rate is in your area, and call local agencies to see what they say you "should be" paying.
Good luck!
NO! You can never pay your child's care giver enough.
ReplyDeleteI think what your nanny is currently paid is reasonable especially since it sounds like you have more than 1 child. For the raise, I think the question is more about the timing of her request than the amount (because $20 an hour is a very fair rate as well).
ReplyDelete-Have you recently passed a 6 month or 1-year mark that would merit a wage increase? Have the circumstances of her job changed (such as another baby, children out of school for the summer, etc.)?
I was a live in nanny in nj for several years.
ReplyDeleteI made $600/wk (445 after taxes,) had a car, insurance, room and board taken care of.
Had I lived on my own, had to pay rent, car payments, etc on my own in that high cost of living area... I never would have survived.
Do you think YOU could afford to live your life on $600 a week?
And how much is your child's health and well-being worth to you?
If you can afford the 100 dollars extra a week, I would say do it. Especially if your nanny is awesome and treats your kids well. If that's not an option, suggest something else... 50 bucks with a review in 6 months? Health insurance?
Anonymous, it is not the parent's job to make sure nanny can live on her paycheck. That job falls squarely on Nanny's head. If nanny cannot pay her bills on the salary offered, then she needs to not take the job.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, if a job is turned down due to low salary often enough, then the parents will likely either realize they can't afford nanny care or they will raise the salary on offer.
Taking a job and then guilting/manipulating a parent into a raise never works long-term.
I've heard that NY has very similar pay rate for nannies as Boston. Currently I make $20 for 2 children (no cleaning or errands) plus benefits like mbta pass, 4 weeks paid vacation etc. I wouldn't take a job for less than $18 for two children and $22 for three.
ReplyDeleteSo I don't think $20 per hour is over the top for two children in that area. I think the nanny shouldn't have agreed to that pay if she thought she deserved more. Unless she's been with this family for multiple years and has never gotten a raise or they added extra duties on then why shouldn't she get $20?
But if I were her I'd prob just find a better paying job and quit.
I didn't read all the comments yet, but I think some other factors need to be considered- How long has she worked for you, how many children do you have, does she also do housework, when was her last raise, does she do a really great job?
ReplyDelete$20ph is not outrageous for LI, but it's quite a steep increase percentage-wise.
Going pay in the NYC area is $45,000 - $90,000/year, as quoted to me by a high profile NYC nanny agency about 1 1/2 years ago. Another quoted $800 - $1500/week. And yet another quoted up to $1000/wk. because of the economy (and yes, these jobs really do exist). And according to the care.com childcare calculator, depending on how many children you have and the nanny's years of experience, the pay scale in your area would be between $13 and $21.50 an hour. If you have 1 child and the nanny has 0 - 1 yrs. experience, it's $13/hr. For 1 child and 10+ yrs., it's $16.50, with a range in between. For 2 children it would be $14 and $18.50, retrospectively. Check it out here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.care.com/child-care-babysitter-pay-calculator-p1140.html
Also, how long has she been working for you and how many raises has she received? If she's been working for you for a while and hasn't received any raises, she might feel justified in asking for so much at one time. She also might have been talking to other nannies who earn the amount she's asking for. Have a conversation with her and ask her how she came up with that amount.
The NYC area is one of the highest paying markets in the country. Do your homework, then have a conversation with her to negotiate the raise, if one is warranted. Consider her years of experience, education level, how many children she cares for, and how long she's worked for you without a raise. If you're satisfied with her performance, if your children adore her, she has not had a raise in a while, and you can afford it, why not give her what she's asking? Good luck in your decision!
I agree OP that we all need more information in order to give you better advice. How many children do you have? Also, is the nanny required to cook/clean/run errands/drive, etc? And how long has she been w/your family? Do any of your children have behavior problems or special needs? This all factors into how much you are paying. If your nanny has domestic duties along w/driving duties, then she is asking for a fair wage. Also, if she has been with your family for a while and has not had a raise in years, she is being fair. If she is basically irreplaceable to you and your children love her dearly, if she shows up on time and hardly ever calls in sick, AND if your children are happy and the house is tidy when you come home, a million dollars would be fair? How can you put a price tag on a good nanny? You can't.......
ReplyDeleteWow,
ReplyDeleteAs a mom employing caregivers in NYC for 9 years now, the numbers the agency is giving you are WAY high. Care's numbers are more accurate. The Park Slope Parents 2010 survey is spot on for new hires IMO and the even the INA survey comes in at a similar range.
You are correct that the 90-100K jobs exist. I know two families/nannies with that arrangement, one a celeb and one just very wealthy. Both nannies work ridiculous hours something like 70-90/hrs each week including weekends and being available 24/7 no questions asked. These "high profile" jobs are real, but they are very, very far from the norm and MUCH more demanding than the average job.
Anyway, I agree with above that we need answers to the questions before knowing if the raise is reasonable. Your nanny is paid well, but not outrageously high. I'm ashamed to admit that with my first true ft nanny, I didn't know that annual raises were the norm. So when she finally asked after 2.5 years, I gave her a $125/week raise because I realized I had made a significant mistake in not giving the prior raises.
Get Real,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think nannies don't set their worth? That is the problem. I work 36 hours/week as a nanny, and this year I also started my own small business. In both cases I have seen other people in my lines of work who don't ask for or charge as much as I do for the exact same job. I have never had a problem getting what i ask for, because I know I am worth every penny. All of this while I live in a low paying market. (nannies start at 10-12) I earn well above that, and although the market dictates that maybe I don't make as much as is possible in Europe or maybe the major US cities, because I know how much I am valued as a trusted employee I have the confidence to set my own pay. I have had some prospective employers choose to not hire me because of price, but generally that is a good indicator things wouldn't have worked out. I have never had a problem being employed by great families. In my small business its the same thing, all I have to do it is show my clients why they couldn't live without me, and why I am so valuable and when they understand that, it usually works out perfectly. If a family, or a client can't see the value that I see in myself it wouldn't be a good fit, so why would I work for them? If more nannies had the confidence to ask for what they were worth, maybe as a rule we wouldn't be offered peanuts, and would be respected in our line of work.
Wow, agencies generally "lure you in" by talking about all the high paying jobs they have, and then once you are using them to find work they suddenly have only the lower paying positions available.
ReplyDeleteAnd as nycmom said, with high end pay comes high end expectations. The (now former) owner of a truly high end agency spoke at the first Nannypalooza conference about the "100K Nanny" and emphasized that those jobs do exist, but that a nanny lives, breathes, eats and sleeps work, and many nannies who get that 100K job burn out after a year.
Agencies generally like to get paid a percentage of the nanny's yearly salary for their placement fee, so they'll go as high on the salary as possible, but there are a limited number of families with the cash available to pay nanny 75K plus a year.
Heck, I bet brangelina's nanny turnover rate is at least yearly, and they pay fairly high end salaries for 24/7 availability!
Anyhoo, if OP's nanny feels she is worth $20/hour, more power to her, and she needs to either convince OP of that or find a new position.
That's too much. Why don't you meet her in the middle? $18/hour
ReplyDeleteAnonymous
ReplyDeleteWhere do you live? Because in major cities 12.50 is crap for all the work you do. NYC and Beverly hills are not the only areas that pay well. Starting pay for a new nanny with no experiance of one child with no duties besides childcare is $12 in Boston but typically starts at $15.
Why can't I find a job like this!! I am a great worker and everyone loves me. Right now its so hard finding a job!! Or the ones I interview want to pay $120 for almost 12 hours of work!!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone needs help let me know. I live in Bergen County NJ
Can we send private messages on here???
Agreed with those who note number of kids and how long employed factor in. I would do cost of living increase and that is appropriate if it has been a year of employment.
ReplyDeleteWell, it depends, in my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteAre you filthy rich? If you are, give her the freaking 100 bucks a week. It's no skin off your nose. Do you like this nanny? How long has she been working for you?
On the other hand, she is your employee. If she wants more than you can give her, tell her. If she walks, I'm sure you can find someone else to do it for that rate, or even lower.
I'm suprised that so many nannies are saying this nanny is overpaid - all we ever read about on here is how nannies are underpaid, and do so many extras for the families. It comes off a little jealous to me.
ReplyDeleteDoes your nanny have a degree? For a professional nanny, $20 is not unreasonable. For those who are saying $10-$12 per hour for a nanny, that nanny is getting exploited or is probably one of the infamous "bench nannies" everyone complains about on here. Retail employees and fast food workers make $10-$12 per hour... THAT's what you all say a nanny should make????
nycmom and Tales...
ReplyDeleteI called 4 agencies in NYC. Some of the jobs WERE very demanding. I've mentioned on other posts before about the 24 hour/day jobs 5 or 6 days a week. I've been called about a few of those. One payed $250/day, 5 days a week, one was 4 days a week at $350/day and one was (get this) $170,000/yr. 24/6, with extensive worldwide travel. All except the 24/6 involved leaving on days off. All were with twins and all except the 4 day a week job involved lots of travel and basically giving up your life.
The idea of working 24 hrs. a day is ridiculous to me, so I agree there. However, jobs in the $50,000 - $60,000/yr. range were 50 hrs./week, live-in jobs. One was with twins, no mom and a work from home dad in an apartment (not an arrangement for me). The other hired someone before the agency sent my info.
My main complaint with those agencies was the way they did things. It seemed like the families went with several agencies at one time, and the agencies threw nanny profiles at them, hoping one of theirs would be chosen.
I've decided I do not want to work in NYC, mostly b/c I don't like the city. Reminded me why I left big city living in the first place. But it was a good experience seeing what was offered through those agencies. And I did accept a short-term assignment in another state with one agency, that was a great experience.
I also suggested care.com because it considers years of experience and different areas of the country.
Wow, were these nanny jobs or "baby nurse" newborn care specialist jobs? Those pay ranges sound appropriate for an NCS! I knew of an NCS who earned $10,000 per month for working 24/7 with appropriate breaks each day.
ReplyDelete? confused, speaking for myself only, the impression I got from the OP was that her nanny had just said "Hey, I want a raise, and I wsnt to be paid almost $20 per hour!" Granted, that's just an impression, and I wanted to know a lot more detail before saying nanny was or wasn't, IMO, deserving of that rate.
Nanny pay is subjective. My belief is that nannies who get paid a high rate without DESERVING that rate because of their extraordinary qualifications and/or their job description actually do a lot of damage to the profession. If a park bench nanny gets $20 per hour, people will scoff at the idea that nannies deserve higher pay because that lazy nanny will be their touchpoint.
As I keep saying, nannies need to show their employers that they are worth $X by discussing what they bring to the table that is special and unique. Why should we expect our (business-minded!) employers to just toss more money at us on demand? That's not how they generally get their raises, right??
Tales...
ReplyDeleteThey were definitely nanny jobs. When I questioned the lady at the agency about the 24 hr./day hours, she said the people were offering the nannies baby nurse hours and pay. Each of these families were transitioning from baby nurses. Babies were 5 - 6 months old.
My guess is they wanted to pay like that because they traveled and didn't want to keep up with hours, overtime, etc.
Also, it's illegal for an employer to expect anyone to work 24/7, including household employees. Must have at least one 24 hr. day off each week. So if your friend was working 24/7, her employers were in violation of that law.
Confused, I don't think everyone is jealous. I think that is such a cop-out thing to say. Sure, I can say I'm jealous, I'd love to make $700 a week but it just seems unreasonable, especially for my area, which has one of the lowest costs of living in the country.
ReplyDeleteI am currently considering accepting a position for $8 an hour which is even considered low for here but the family is fantastic and the benefits are hard to come by. On the other hand, I also interviewed for a $16 per hour job, which is almost unheard of it is so high. But the mom seems kind of iffy and so far no benefits have been offered, but I think I might be able to negotiate something.
My point is, every family and every nanny is different and pay needs to be a personal decision between the two. OP has a lot she needs to take into account before making her decision, the most important being, can she comfortably afford this raise and does she really feel the nanny is worth every penny?
Let's look at things from a different perspective. How can you ever put a price tag on the security you get when you have a good Nanny..one who you trust w/all of your being. If your Nanny shows up on time (is NEVER late, thus you never have to be late for work), does not call in sick often, is loving, responsible and trustworthy and your child(ren) love her to death...then no amount of money can be too much. To find a Nanny who is responsible and loved by your children is priceless. If you are one of the fortunate parents to find this, then treat your Nanny like she is worth her weight in gold. If she wants a certain salary, then give it to her. It's a wise investment that will pay high dividends later on in life. (I.e., happy kids, happy parents, etc.)
ReplyDeleteWow can I go work for you lol? 600 dollars a week for 36 hours of work. Of course I don't live where you do so things might be more expensive there but I took a temporary job where the mom balked at 450 for 6 weeks of babysitting and it came out to 15 dollars a day for 2 kids. I was doing my friend a favor as it was her neices I was watching while she had surgery and recovered from it. I would love to earn 600 a week. Give me a place to stay and I'll go for less and take my own food too.
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