Hello fellow nannies and MB's I need some advice. I currently work for a family that I absolutely ADORE. They are in the process of closing on a new home and moving thirty minutes away from their current house at the end of the month. I want to stay with them.. they have asked me to and I agreed. We still have to chat about more pay, hours.. etc., so this is where I need advice.
It usually takes about ten minutes to get to their home now which means I will be driving about forty minutes one way to get to their new home. Taking the time and gas money into account how much of a raise should I ask for? Also, their son is in a private preschool class and they want to keep him enrolled to finish out the school year. Which means I will be driving to their house (40 mins) back to child's preschool (same city I live in) back to their house and then back to the school for pick up three times a week until June. I think this is too many miles on my vehicle. I currently take home 1,200/biweekly. I drive an SUV that eats gas like crazy.. I'm estimating I'll spend well over one hundred bucks/paycheck just to get to and from work which does not include pick up and drop off to preschool. My car has 130,000 miles on it currently and the added miles make me feel uneasy. Any advice?
10 comments:
I would ask for use of their car for transporting their children.
Nannies in my area don't get compensation for driving to and from work.
If you use your car for the boy they need to pay you for mileage .
Do they work in the same city you live in? Can they not drop their son off at your house in the early morning on the way to work, then you drop him at school then back to their house? And yes, they must reimburse you for driving their son around
yeah really use their car.
Well you will need to be compensated for your gas and your miles driven. Also the wear and tare on your car. You will need oil changes twice as often. A bit of advice put synthetic oil in your car. It is a little more expensive but it will save you if you don't get it changed as often as needed. I drove one of my cars 30,000 miles without an oil change. The only thing that saved it was that I used synthetic oil. The mechanic was amazed that my car didn't have issues.
Figure out how many more miles you will be putting on your car driving to and from work. Use the IRS mileage rate (55.5 cents per mile) to figure out your "raise". And start getting mileage compensation (at the same IRS rate) for all miles driven FOR work.
FWIW, I have never heard of any family actually offering to pay a nanny to commute further. So, if you don't get a lot of response on this issue, that might be why - it's outside practical experience.
You were a little unclear--have your employers already offered you a raise as an incentive for you to drive the extra half-hour? If not, don't bother asking because that is very presumptuous. It is your choice to continue working for them and it is also your choice to drive a gas-guzzler. However, if they have offered a raise and just want you to figure out the exact number, I think an extra $100 a week sounds fair. Also, I would ask to drive their son around in their car because of all the wear and tear. If that is impossible, then ask for mileage, which I believe someone said was 55.5 cents per mile. Write down every mile driven with him in your car! Don't get complacent about it, I have made that mistake before and the parent shrugged it off and said "It will work itself out" Believe me, it did not.
Op here,
I want to make a point that I'm not walking in a demanding a raise. MB already hinted that we would negotiate more pay. I almost do not want to use my car her kid use due to the added miles for commute.
I couldn't use their vehicle either, they both work from home.
While it is standard that people do not get reimbursed for their commute to work and home from work, this is a bit of a different case since they are choosing to move, not the other way around. Had this job originally been 40 min away and you accepted it, then that would be different too. I would definitely factor that increase in commute into your raise but if they don't go for it, I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe they would be willing to pay for half the mileage?
Yeah, just a tip about the IRS Mileage rate-it actually adds up pretty quickly, and is kind of a pain to keep track of on a monthly basis. My family and I have found it much easier to just have a set amount for mileage every month vs trying to keep track of miles. It just gets sticky and I have a WONDERFUL relationship with my family . .
that said, I would not consider that your longer commute time is merit for a raise. That's wonderful that your employer is hinting about giving you one, but I would look at it more from the angle that they are giving you a raise because you have been with them a while and are willing to travel more than you currently do. I would, frankly, be embarrassed to say that "I deserve a raise because I'm going to be driving further and my SUV eats gas like appetizers."
I'm sure you do, but try to keep an attitude of thankfulness that you have a job that you can keep; get a friendlier vehicle for gas mileage, and negotiate the raise on merit of you being a great nanny who is willing to be flexible with them, not that "Oh poor me, I need to get oil changes twice as often."
In summary, you have a job that you WANT. Don't nickel and dime the folks that you work for because you drive further and have to get more oil changes. Figure out together how much extra you'll be using in transporting their child and so forth. If MB has already hinted about more pay, hang tight.
I agree that asking for more pay regarding commute time to and from their home would be unfair. Most people I know, myself included, do not get paid gas/mileage for commuting to their jobs nor can they deduct it from their taxes.
But if you have to commute for your job using your car, they NEED to reimburse you not just for gas, but for mileage as well which means you are wearing out your engine, transmission, tires and the like in a more timely manner. Since your vehicle already has a lot of miles on it, you have to ask yourself if it is worth it to drive the amount you will be driving due to their move.
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