Sunday

Suitable Weekend Stipend

OPINION
What is a decent rate for a weekend? I am a live-in nanny for a wonderful single mom and her elementary school-age autistic son. The mother travels for work and is typically gone anywhere between 2-5 full days per week, during which I am the only adult at home and the sole caretaker of her son. When I was hired, it was agreed upon that I do not work weekends and she is very considerate and professional about sticking to our contract. MB has a wedding coming up that she would like to attend and I'm wondering what a fair rate is for working from Friday 6am to Sunday at midnight. My currently salary is a base of $1000 (plus benefits), plus the following while she is on a business trip: $30 per morning school drop off, $50 per evening and $100 overnights, so for a 24 hour period she is gone on a weekday, I make $180. Because I will be working through my weekend, what's an appropriate rate to ask? - Anonymous

9 comments:

Tales from the (Nanny)Hood said...

I'm a bit confused OP. Your base salary per week is 1K, plus you get extra when your MB travels? I am absolutely NOT asking this to be mean, but what work do you do to earn the 1K? Is that to cover your regular duties? If so, what are your regular duties?

I could better answer your question if I knew what your hours were, and whether the 1K base was weekly/biweekly/monthly. I would also need to know what you expect your "working hours" to be for the weekend, versus your "sleeping hours". With that info, I could break down your salary to your hourly and OT rate, and then help you figure out what you should charge.

With the info you provided, I would say you charge $200 per 24 hour period. Of course, that would exclude the time on Friday that you normally work.

So, basically, I have nothing for you without more info. I'll check back and see if I can actually help when you post again!

Pgh nanny said...

I usually do the normal daily rate (for me it's 200) then charge a flat 100 for 5 to 7 am..hats still a lot of money

CollegeStudentMissDee said...

I charge $10-15 per hour for awake hours and a flat rate of $50/night:

Friday: 6a-10p @ $12/hr=$216
Friday night: 10p-6a @ $50

Saturday: 6a-10p @$12/hr=$216
Saturday night: 10p-6a @ $50

Sunday: 6a-12a @ $12/hr=$240

Based on $12/hr plus $50 for overnights, I would say $770-800 for the weekend would be fair.

nycmom said...

I've done this many times as an employer due to working nights and a husband that travels.

If my regular caregiver opts to do the extra hours, and I usually offer it to her first, I do regular rate for all waking hours (for us 8am-10pm) then $75 for overnight. I have also done a flat rate of $250/24 hours though would now offer more like $300/24 hours. This is in NYC or SF.

However, in general, if my nanny already works full-time, I prefer to give her a break and at least have someone come and give her 6-8 hours off midday, even if she sleeps over. I am a big advocate of not overworking your nanny, even though I realize some nannies are glad for the opportunity to earn more money and I am always open to them bringing their kids. I just believe everyone needs a break to function effectively.

OP said...

Sorry, typo! My salary is $1000/MONTH

Village said...

$250

Tales from the (Nanny)Hood said...

So, OP, how many hours do you work per week to earn your weekly pay of $232.56?

I really can't give you any help without knowing your actual hourly rate.

OP said...

I work 25 hrs as a live-in except when the mother is on business trips.

talesfromthe(nanny)hood said...

Ok, so you make about $10/hour. Then I would charge $10/hour for "awake hours" you'll be on duty that fall OUTSIDE your normal work hours, and then charge your normal $100 overnight rate for his "asleep hours".

I am going to guess that you mainly work after school, from say, 1 - 6. So you'll be taking your charge to school Friday ($30 for school drop off at...8 am(?)) working your normal 5 hours after school Friday, working Friday evening ($50) and working overnight Friday ($100), The start your $10/hour rate when your charge wakes up Saturday AM (7 am?), and continue that hourly rate until he is in bed asleep Saturday (10 PM?), add your overnight pay of $100, and then start the clock again on Sunday when your charge wakes up.

So your extra pay boils down to:

Friday - $180
Saturday - ~$250 (~$150 hourly plus $100 night rate)
Sunday - Same as Saturday