How many paid sick or personal days should I give my nanny? Should I offer my housekeeper a healthcare stipend? It can be overwhelming just to find the right nanny, housekeeper, butler, chef, assistant, household manager, tutor, etc. If you’ve been lucky enough before to find a candidate that is a great long term fit for your family, then you know the stressful part really comes next. You are now this person’s employer!
Here’s the good news- having a solid benefits package will professionalize your job description, as well as incentivize your position over others with similar titles and pay. First and foremost, which benefits you provide can vary. They can be based on (at the very least) the following: type of position (short vs long term, part vs full time, home employee vs home office employee) and the client (how much time off they have from work, if they are putting this employee on payroll or paying cash, how much they appreciate their employee). Professionalizing this job does not put you into a contract that you end up paying someone out if it’s broken. However, providing a set of written expectations, an appreciation for your employee, and a solid work environment will make your employee feel comfortable in their position, and much less likely to leave your employment.
Should they ever choose to leave your employment, they will also be more likely to provide you with a fair notice. On a regular basis, we hear from new clients that their previous nanny left with little notice, and most of those clients did not provide much or any benefits. When we work with clients that understand how to properly professionalize their own household or home office positions, we very often see current housekeepers, nannies, or assistants helping the family with a search for their next one. These clients and their employees communicate well and are on good terms with each other, which means a good reference for the candidate. For the client, it means more stability during change in their household.
Now- what benefits does Nanny PoppinsTM recommend providing your household employee with? We can best narrow this down based on a full time, long term position. This is just what most of our clients are looking to hire for and we are best set up for this type of search. For a full time, long term household employee, we recommend providing:
- 2 weeks paid vacation (1 week of the family’s choosing, 1 week of the employee’s)
- Guaranteed Hours- most domestic employees are paycheck to paycheck and need to know exactly how much they can count on bringing home each week.
- 3 to 10 paid personal and/or sick days (this can vary depending on the client’s own paid sick and personal days or their backup childcare plan)
- At the very least- the following holidays paid and off (New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day & day after, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day or Preferred Winter Holiday Dates)
- Healthcare Stipend- we at the very least recommend that our clients be open to this on a case by case basis. Some candidates may not need healthcare benefits or stipend if they are under 26/on their parents’ healthcare plan, have access to a partner’s healthcare plan, or have access to healthcare as a current student.
- Gas Reimbursement- if your employee will be using their own car for any work related duties, we recommend providing them with at least the current IRS standard mileage rates. As of 2024, this is $0.67 per mile driven for business use.
Feeling overwhelmed? Let’s go over some options. You can both agree to giving notice for specific situations. Outside of an emergency, for example, you can ask a nanny to give at least two weeks notice to take use of their PTO. Here’s another: contributions don’t have to be offered right away. You can start to offer some or all of your benefits within 90 days as long as the work partnership is going well, meaning the first 90 days is seen as a probationary period. Some states have labor laws that state that you must provide x amount of vacation time per x amount of hours worked, so you can offer benefits up front or some can be accrued/earned.
Are you ready to make your decision on which role to hire for your family’s new addition? Or maybe you still need our guaranteed free consultation to help make a final decision. Don’t bother googling “nanny near me”! We are a nationwide agency ready to help you today. With nearly 3 decades of experience, we are here to carefully cultivate your household needs, as well as completely customize your search.
Enjoy the article but looking for another role to fill? While many think we are only a nanny agency that supplies nanny services, Nanny Poppins can staff any one of your household needs! Housekeeping, nannies, personal assistants, butlers, house managers, personal chef, estate managers- we do it all.
Visit our website nannypoppinsagency.com or give us a call today- 888-849-6090 to speak with one of our seasoned professionals.
