I work 7 hours a day, Monday through Friday. I just returned from 5 days of traveling with my nanny family. Here is my question...I can be compensated any way I like. Before we left I mentioned to them that I would just like to trade for a paid week off to attend a family vacation out-of-state this summer (in addition to my regular vacation week). But at that time, I thought my traveling work hours would be the same as at home. We all thought that. As it happened the parents needed a lot more from me.
The breakdown:
Normal work week: 5x7=35
The traveling week:
Mon. (at home) - 7 hours
Tues. (driving with child and family) - 8 hours
Wed. 7am - 10pm - 15 hours
Thurs. 8am - 7pm - 11 hours
Fri. 7am - 5:30 pm - 10.5 hours
Sat. (childcare) 7am - noon; then driving home until 6pm
61 hours Plus, 4 overnights away from home but not being responsible for children while I slept.
My nanny family was very accommodating, giving me carte blanche with a debit card to decide on outings, eat meals out, whatever I wanted with the children. They brought me a beautiful gift from the conference one night, and they always asked me to choose the restaurants when we shared meals together. Before we left, they even sent me their top 3 rental choices at the beach and let me pick the house I'd be most comfortable in. It was an enjoyable week as far as work goes, but it was exhausting to be "on" for so many hours by myself. It becomes hard because there is a double bind. I want, as a dependable employee, for the parents to be able to relax within their work and not to worry about the children. I think that is a huge part of my professionalism as a nanny. I stay upbeat, tell them about fun hi-lights in the day and let them know that the children were really great (because they were)..But it seems to slip easily into the mindset of "Look how much fun this is, a nice vacation for the nanny too." And while it is fun, it is exhausting and not what I would be doing if I wasn't working.
That being the outline of the story, bottom line, they have asked me how I want to be compensated for the trip now, considering the hours were more than expected. I would love some ideas on how you would handle the situation. Of course, I want to be fair to all of us. Moms? Dads? Nannies? Ideas? Thank you!
- Lucky Duck on a Beach
I can definitely see how this would be a little confusing. Can you offer a little more information- what did you mean about "Before we left I mentioned to them that I would just like to trade for a paid week off to attend a family vacation out-of-state this summer (in addition to my regular vacation week)."
ReplyDeleteThanks
I think it sounds like you're in for an extra week's worth of paid vacation. :)
ReplyDeleteEither propose a couple extra days off in addition to your week off or get paid for 35 hours and then the remainder can be used as your week off. You do sound like a lucky little duck, that's great =)
ReplyDeleteI would just ask for 2 weeks paid vacation, or 61 hours at your regular rate.
ReplyDeleteSo you worked 26 hours overtime. The week off you are getting in exchange is 35 hours, so you are actually getting the equivalent of nine extra hours off, so that part of the deal works in your favor. The problem is that the four nights away from home would normally be compensated for, at anywhere from $75-$150 a night, so that is where you are losing out, as that would be considerably more than what you would be paid for the 9 hours.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you work for a very nice considerate family and they want to be fair. If I were in your position, I would tell them I am fine with the week off, as that is what we originally agreed, and that in the future I would like to be paid overtime for extra hours, and an overnight fee.
I'd ask for my paid week off plus somewhere around 20 hours paid since you ended up working so much during their vacation. Being short about 9 hours for the week using this pay seems ok to me if they are as nice and generous as you describe them to be. I'd want to be as accommodating as possible to keep my job for a long time but not sell myself short!
ReplyDeleteWhen I expressed concern about the train, not interest.
ReplyDeleteStruggling Nanny - I think your concerns are valid, however you will get both better and more feedback if you ask MPP to put this up as a new thread. I promise to reply if you do! (I did A LOT of travel with one of my previous employers.)
ReplyDelete