Do You Need a Nanny Contract?
The benefits of having an official employment agreement with your nanny.
When Megan Anderson* of Newton, Ma., hired a nanny, she was so happy to find someone who would come to the 'burbs that she didn't want to scare the nanny away with a contract (and didn't know about Care.com's nanny-finding service). But when her nanny didn't show up to work on Veterans Day, it left Anderson scrambling for kid coverage. "I should have listed all my vacation days on paper ahead of time, so we could have agreed on them from the start," she explains. Anderson also decided her next nanny would have cell phone usage rules listed in her contract to make sure she never hired another chatty-Cathy.
We all hate paperwork. And a nanny contract might sound like yet one more thing to write and file. Plus, if you've got a good nanny-family relationship going, you're understandably reluctant to rock the boat. Like Anderson, many families are afraid a formal contract will tarnish the relationship they are trying to build with their nanny. Utter the words nanny contract and it can make some as squeamish as a pre-nuptial agreement.
But a handshake and a smile won't protect you when a disagreement inevitably arises. And taking the time to draft and sign a contract can protect both parties, whether you're the family hiring household help or the nanny. "The contract is essential for clarifying [salary] matters and detailing all the conditions necessary to ensure a healthy and productive work relationship," says Priscilla Gonzalez, director of Domestic Workers United (DWU), an organization of Caribbean, Latina and African nannies, housekeepers, and elderly caregivers in New York. When everyone is clear on a nanny's responsibilities and privileges, it reduces confusion and makes disputes easier to solve amicably when they do crop up. Gonzalez also notes that a too-informal work arrangement is more likely to hurt you both in the long-term than one where everything is ironed out and made official from the get-go. "Contracts promote lasting, mutually respectful employment relationships," she says. "They also promote quality of care because nannies who feel recognized and respected will do their jobs better."
But are they legal? "Absolutely," notes Bob King, founder of Legally Nanny, a law firm in Irvine, CA, that specializes in assisting household employers with contracts and taxes. "A written contract is enforceable in any court." So if your nanny quits without giving the agreed-upon four weeks' notice, or the family won't honor your request to take your accrued vacation days, the legally binding contract will enable you to take them to court -- and likely win.
For more information on nanny contracts and taxes, call our Care.com HomePay experts at 888-273-3356.
What Should My Nanny Contract Cover?Your best bet is to hire a lawyer specializing in such matters to write your contract for you (fees will vary). Just be sure to consider the following:
Duties and Responsibilitieso Work hours and schedule: Will your nanny live-in or out? Will she work full or part time hours, on weekends or weekdays? When can she take breaks during the workday?
o Responsibilities: What is the scope of your nanny's childcare responsibilities? In addition to childcare, will your nanny handle any cooking, cleaning, laundry or transportation? Make sure this list notes all daily duties as well as any recurring but less frequent obligations and emergency plans (like what to do on snow days or when a child is ill).
o Nanny Privileges: When can she use her cell phone, the house phone, and any house computers/Internet? Are guests allowed?
o Meals: Should your nanny bring her lunch from home or will you provide her meals? If she lives in, what is the grocery arrangement? (Who buys, who pays, where can she store her supplies?)
Compensation and Benefits
o Hourly rate of pay (and overtime pay for full-time nannies)
o Frequency of pay (weekly, bi-weekly)
o Benefits (vacation, sick days, personal days, paid holidays, plus any restrictions on when your nanny can take her time off.)
o Family vacation requirements (Must your nanny travel with you?)
o Health benefits
o Schedule for annual employment review and reassessment of compensation
Transportation
o No cell phone use while driving a car with kids in tow
o Seatbelt/ child car seat requirements
o Nanny's car
- Must have valid driver's license
- Require regular maintenance of reliable car
- Require appropriate type and amount of insurance
- Plans for employer reimbursement for gas mileage and wear and tear on the car when it's used for work-related purposes.
o Family's car
- Must have valid driver's license
- Add nanny to household insurance policy
- Outline acceptable use of family car for work
- Outline acceptable use of family care for nanny's personal use
- Agree to regular maintenance of car
- Employer will pay all car-related expenses or will pay for one tank of gas per week and anything additional must be covered by the nanny
o Rules for the use of public transportation, if relevant in your area.
Discretion and Confidentiality
o Personal, medical, career, and financial information of family will not be discussed outside of the family
o Nanny will not disparage family in any media
What about Notice and Severance?
There is some debate about whether your contract needs to address notice and severance. Here are a couple of options to consider:
An "at will" contract means that either party can end the work arrangement at any time. "In a worst-case scenario where your nanny injures your child, this ensures you can sack her right away," says King. It also enables nannies to escape an abusive or exploitive work environment without feeling obligated to give notice.Notice: Domestic Workers United encourages employers to require both parties to give three weeks' notice upon termination, as this helps prevent you getting left in the lurch and gives your nanny time to find another job. (You can also provide three weeks' pay in lieu of notice, which enables you to get a nanny out quickly in a worst-case scenario situation like theft or abuse.) But King notes that there's no hard and fast rule here. "Whatever you do, avoid ambiguous phrases like 'I agree to provide two weeks notice, unless the arrangement is terminated for cause,'" he explains. "Your definition of 'cause' may not be the same as your nanny's, so you're more likely to end up with a dispute."
Severance: Again, King notes that severance is not required, and situations may arise where you'll wish you didn't promise this. But DWU encourages employers to provide one week's salary as severance pay for every year the nanny has been in your employment.
What Do I Need to Know About Labor Laws?
You should familiarize yourself with the Fair Labor Standards Act, so you know which federal standards you'll be obliged to comply with to ensure fair employment. While your nanny contract does not need to include passages from the FLSA, you should be aware of a few key rules and regulations as you determine her work hours, wages and other details of employment. Check minimum wages. "The key federal law to know is that the national minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, so you'll have to pay at least that or your state's minimum wage -- whichever is higher," explains King.
Read employment laws. Some states do have specific employment laws for domestic workers -- New York, for example, passed a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010, which requires household employers to pay overtime after 40 hours (44 hours for live-in nannies) and guarantee a minimum of three paid personal days per year. Contact your state labor office for more details. You may also want to find an employment lawyer licensed in your state to walk you through your state-specific employment laws and make sure they're upheld in your contract.
*Name was changed
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I also am ananny that has used a contract , I and my employers draft one together, But your contract covers things that I never thought of. I never thought i was entitled to insurance paid by them. I will think deeply about what to cover in my next contract as result of reading yours.
Are they legally entitled to vacation days, holidays, sick days, salary raise, etc. Many parents also terminate their employees without prior notice and use the babysitter as a housekeeper, messenger and sometimes as a company to go to the children's doctor appointments.
With such a high demand on nannies nowadays because working mothers do not want to take their child to daycare centers, it is very urgent for the Government to get involved in this area of work because if not, it will get out of control on both sides nanny/parents.
There always has to be a way of supervising the parents as well as the nanny. Who is paying social security or medicare for the employees? Is this money taxable? If the nanny has an accident during the job, is she entitled to work compensation, is she entitled to sick leave? So many areas uncovered.
I think it is time for the Employment Commission to do something about this new trend that is arising so fast.
I'm a mom and a Grandma looking to change jobs. I have worked at the Cambridge school with special needs children and a para, also I have worked at a local daycare. Just ready to get back into helping parent's that have jobs. I miss working with children and enjoy children a lot. I'm in the process of getting a daycare license. I would love to take care of your children.
I've read all of these comments and see a lot of people complaining about their "rights" as a nanny. I personally think it depends on how you are employed. If you are a full time nanny, then you should be entitled to some paid holidays and paid vacation. If you are a part time nanny, the same way if you were a part time worker elsewhere, you would not get paid time off or paid vacation (though we plan to pay our part timer for holidays, just to be nice). Both parties employer or nanny/babysitter - should give sufficient notice when terminating or cancelling an engagement; that's just common courtesy. To do otherwise is to burn bridges! These are reasonable expectations of both sides, all of which could be addressed up front in a contract. Great article, and enlightening comments!
- Also on a side note, make sure that if the head of the household pays you cash, you get a reciept of payment as well. If your boss does not provide this, then provide your own and ask them to sign it.
Thanks for all the guidelines, it has been a useful read.
That's a great question and we are currently in the works of posting an article about this exact topic. If your nanny is "on call" for you and your kids, you would need to pay her. While you might not be asking her to run errands, she doesn t have complete freedom. What if your daughter gets sick during school and has to leave early? Your nanny has to be there to step in. But whether you keep her on call is up for debate. Some people need their nanny "on call" for sick days, school vacations, summer vacations and certain holidays when school has off but the parents don't. So these parents can't have the nanny take a second job and not be available. In order for parents to make it work financially, some ask the nanny to help out around the house or with errands between drop off and pick up. Is this something you could consider? Your nanny might do grocery shopping, make meals and freeze them, do some laundry, organizing, research activities, etc. However, some families work out deals where they "loan" their nanny out to other families during the school hours. But this can get tricky and might start to make your nanny feel less like a person, so you would want to be very delicate and make sure your nanny has a say in who she works with, etc. This is something you should discuss with your nanny and make sure everyone is on the same page. Then make it a part of your nanny contract.
--Confused in Dallas
Have you considered working for your states aging and people with disabilities office. I currently am working with them and if I can get my hours up to 80 a month for 3 consecutive months I can get benefits. I also have workmans compensation and my taxes are taken out of my paycheck. It gives you time to train for your nursing degree also because you can set the hours you work. You don't have to work as a live in if you don't want to but it does pay better.
A comment to any other prospective nannies reading this, being willing and proactive about a nanny contract to the family is almost always a point in your favor!
The family you care for now, wants you to do a share job... Depending on what you are being paid for 1 child (also the age) can determine what to charge for 2. Some nannies have a flat fee per family others charge by # of children in care. Ask your current family what they think would be fair to charge the other family. Or you can charge 1 1/2 of what you get paid with 1 child. Example: 1 child 10.00 an hour. 2 children 15.00 an hour... Hope this helps?
In regards to contract or agreement , I believe it best to bring up at the interview (at the appropriate time of course) is best so everyone is on the same page from the get go and there are no surprises post interview.
Communication is critical with these type of work/family relationships.
Thank you for this article it was very helpful, we can all learn from each other as well!
I outline all the essentials such as rate of pay, taxes, overtime, work week schedule, the nanny's responsibilities, sick leave, mileage, severance, and vacation etc.
This contract can be open to adjustment where all parties are happy.
This has worked for me and the families especially as it gives all parties security.
Norma A