Not a tip but question. Is it expected to give nanny a bonus at completion of employment? Our contract ends the last week in August with school starting. We give holiday bonuses but I don't know if something is expected other than a thoughtful thank you gift when contract is completed. If so, what is an appropriate amount?
Saturday
Should Nanny Receive a Goodbye Bonus?
Not a tip but question. Is it expected to give nanny a bonus at completion of employment? Our contract ends the last week in August with school starting. We give holiday bonuses but I don't know if something is expected other than a thoughtful thank you gift when contract is completed. If so, what is an appropriate amount?
Is the nanny starting school or is your child?
ReplyDeleteI have never gotten a bonus at completion of employment but when I stopped nannying to go to college, I was given a cash present to help with expenses at school. I really appreciated that... Otherwise though, it is just nice to get a present to remember the kids by especially if the kids are old enough to really make crafts.
I got a bonus once at the end of my job and it was nice since the job was only two weeks (temp.) I think it is a nice gesture and would be greatly appreciated by the Nanny. It would show that you appreciate all she has done for you, her work ethic, reliability and punctuality, etc. It doesn't have to be huge..even $50 or so would cut it w/me. I am very simple.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's expected, but it would nice. How long has the nanny been with you? When I left my job of five years, the family gave me a bonus equal to one week's pay, plus a couple of really thoughtful gifts. I still have a great relationship with this family!
ReplyDeleteCash, like chocolate, is always good.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Village. How good was this nanny? Is she worth some severance pay? If you can afford it, the obvious answer to me is yes: give her at least a weeks pay. More if you can afford it.
ReplyDeleteMy kid starts school, not the nanny, so we won't need her anymore. She has been our nanny for three years and is wonderful. We paid almost two weeks every holiday for bonus, which is about the same as I spend on holiday presents for the rest of my family combined, so I was hoping it would not be expected for me to pay out another week or more as completion bonus. I always tried to treat my nanny as I would at my job - paid sick days, vacation days. The job is done and contract completed, so it isn't like she was laid off and thus getting severance. I know everyone likes money, I certainly do, so it isn't as though a bonus would be refused, but I don't want to go crazy if I don't have to.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you already know the answer to your own question. You are just trying to get others to agree with you and say "no" to ease your guilty conscious.
DeleteOP you seem like a wonderful employer, but if your nanny was with you for three years and you didn't have any problems with her, then why not give a farewell bonus to her? She deserves it. It would be like indirectly telling her you appreciate how well she cared for your children.
ReplyDeleteI'm a college student, so all of my nannying jobs have been either limited to the summer or part-time during the school year.
ReplyDeleteEvery single family I've worked for has given me either a bonus or a (nice) gift when my time with them was done. And none of these jobs have been for longer than a year, many for just a few months. If your nanny has been working for you for 3 years, I would definitely say you should do something nice for her.
OP: No one is saying you "HAVE" to get your nanny anything. But, I think that you want to do the right thing, otherwise why would you bother to ask this question in the first place. If you want to do right by her, have the children make her a card, and give her AT LEAST a few hundred bucks in cash...a week would be better.
ReplyDeleteLike Student Nanny, I also have done a ton of summer gigs over the course of college. I have always been given a gift at the end of my work. Usually gift cards, and thoughtful little presents. Nothing extravagant. It truly shows the family's appreciation of the work I do, and makes me feel good as well.
ReplyDeleteIn grad school now, I have had a full time nanny position since my classes are at night. This job ends (sadly!) in a few weeks as I graduate, but I have to admit, I am expecting at least a little something.
I think a thoughtful gift of some sort is absolutely appropriate, especially after 3 years! It does not need to be expensive by any means, and you don't necessarily have to give a bonus, but some sort of thank you gift is nice.
If it were me, I would prefer a thank-you card, a homemade gift from the children and a letter of recommendation. Those would mean so much more than a cash bonus. Just seems so impersonal, almost like you're paying her off to leave. When I left a job to move out of state, the mother made a lovely DVD of videos and pictures of the children set to music. That was 6 years ago and I still have it. What are the odds your nanny is going to remember what she'll spend the cash on?
ReplyDeleteWhen I left my nanny family after nearly 2 years it was because their youngest was starting school full time. They gave me over 3 weeks pay as a bonus...totally unexpected but they know how much I adore their children and were always very appreciative. Also, the kids made me some really sweet gifts. =*) I had to leave my latest family when offered a full time promotion from my part time night job (not as a nanny) with benefits. They gave me a very sweet gift from the baby and a gift certificate to get a massage (which was just what the doctor ordered!) I have been very fortunate.
ReplyDeleteif you can afford it - do it - particularly as she did her job well.
ReplyDeleteI received cash at the end of a job twice - the kids loved me- and each time it was a surprise and very helpful
I have always received a bonus. I have gotten 3 weeks pay at the end of contract, 2 weeks pay, or $500 plus gift
ReplyDeleteIf she did a great job, and if you are not letting her go for any reason other than that her contract is up, why not offer her a cash bonus for a job well done as well as some heartfelt gifts from you and your kid(s)?
ReplyDeleteI've been with my family for almost six and half years. Both children are on the autism spectrum and the yyoungest who is almost 5 has been with me from birth. I work very long hours, some weeks I work over 70 hrs. I do everything icluding taking care of doctors appointments etc... I cook, I clean, I wash, I Iron, I organize, I turn myself upside down for the entire family and I really mean the whole family, even the ones visiting. I have done training to work with special needs kids while at work. Overall, I work my butt of! Although I work a lot I also love these children as if they were mine. I just recently got married and I am moving ti a different city. I gave my family 6 months notice I was leaving. My last day is in two weeks from today. I truly hope that my family reapects and appreciates me enough to give me a decent and fair goodbye bonus. I have given 6 years of my life to this family and in the process I didn't live mine. I was lucky to even find my husband because my time off was absolutely very limited. But I did it for the children not the parents. Every situation is different but loyalty, dedication and loving nannies combined with hard work isn't always easy to find. I wasn't always treated fairly so I am not sure what will happen in two weeks when I leave. But I garantee you, that if all I get is a gift I will be extremely disappointed. I don't work for gifts and money can help a great deal as I'm starting a new life plus I deserve it. "My boys" are wonderful and anything they give me will be treasured forever but the parents owe me the respect to give me a decent goodbye bonus.
ReplyDeleteI recentl
Sorry about the typo errors...at work and on cell phone and gotta get back to work fast. Good luck to all the nannies and parents alike :)
DeleteI agree with you, you deserve severance pay for the 6 yrs or a very generous bonus to hold you till you get another job . Some folks wouldn't agree because they just do it for a couple dollars or they are going to school, so until they get the job they really want they'll do it, that's cslled a babysitter .. A nanny job is equivalent to a career. I can see that you loved your job to sacrifice your time and 6 yrs if it, because you love what you do. I am saying this Because I to am a Nanny and I love what I do and we deserve just tge best as anyone who works in the co-op world.
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