Sunday

Bait & Switch

I was hired to work 44 hours at 625 per week. The hours got changed around, later and earlier. They ended up more like 50. No correction to my salary was made.

I was to do light housekeeping, meaning clean up after kid's meals, load dishwasher, and keep the kid's toys and closed organized. Every Monday, I receive a list like "can you tackle the pantry? the cubbies? The laundry room? Can you get the guest room ready for my Mom? There's something sticky on the floor can you mop the kitchen? Can you just run a mop over the kitchen at the end of the day? Do you know how to work the central vac? I noticed Emmy's shelves are really dusty, can you hit that? Can you clean off the patio furniture and sweep the back porch? I'm sorry to ask you this, but before the Donaldson's come over, could you take a quick peek around the backyard and make sure Devin got all of Coco's poopies?

I've decided I will leave if need be. But before that, I am going to give them the chance to adjust the salary. I figure that the salary should be more like $725 for the hours alone and more like $900 for the responsibilities. I hate being asked to do this and that. I'd rather just get a fair salary and do what needs to be done.

Any tips? And if they balk and say no, then would they be technically firing me? Do I have some protections? I work in Irvington, NY.

3 comments:

Nan said...

Classic job creep! Nip it in the bud asap! Mopping and vacuuming are not part of this nanny's job description!

You're already underpaid at 14 dollars per hour, but I'd advise you to ask for hourly pay plus OT. Right now, you're doing 10 hours of OT per week. That's money that should go in your pocket! Salary pay only benefits the family. Nannies end up overworked as parents keep adding in hours without additional pay. Either way, you need OT pay.

As to the extra work, look at your contract. Only do child related work. No mopping, vacuuming or deep cleaning of any kind. Clean up after kids. Don't leave messes that you make for your NF, but that's it! And for heaven's sake, no picking up after the dog.

Anonymous said...

Job creep is harder to stop once it starts. Best way to keep that from happening is to have a clearly written work agreement which includes hourly amount and hours to be worked, as well as what the overtime rate will be. If you don't have a work agreement, insisting upon one will get you the money you are looking for. They can find a template on line or you can even draft it yourself.

In the future, insist on a work agreement and job description. When something falls outside of that (hours worked, extra duties), refer back to the work agreemnt. Tell them you would be happy to do as they request, but it will take you x amount of hours at y rate. Be fair in your assessment of the task. If it is something you find odious, again refer to the work agreement.

Former Nanny said...

As Nan said- definitely classic job creep!

I think the light housekeeping you originally described plus anything required to clean up after messes you/the kids make while you’re there is fair. For example, vacuuming wasn’t originally agreed as one of your duties but if y’all did a craft that resulted in glitter getting all over the carpet, of course you should vacuum that area.

If you break down your original pay/hours terms, you were hired at a rate of about $14.20 per hour. For 50 hours, the new weekly rate would be $710 so I think that’s the first/easiest thing to discuss. From there I would say if there are certain housekeeping tasks they’d like you to do regularly that you are willing to do, negotiate for each those but make sure it’s very specific. I’d rather agree to, “An extra $100 a week to sweep/mop the kitchen and dust the kids’ rooms every Monday and Friday” rather than, “$900 for 50 hours of childcare and some housekeeping as needed.”