Taking our nanny on holiday with us - what do I need to think about?

[justaphase]

We have rented a cottage in the midddle of nowhere and will be taking trips from there - to different places but sometimes hiking etc.

We will have our ds (16 months) and our friends' dd (6yrs) with us.

The nanny will not have to do very much - just perhaps have the kids for a couple of 6-hour streches when we want to go hiking without them and maybe babysit for one or two evenings.

We are obviously paying her as normal and will be buying her airplane ticket and food.

We are flying on Saturday - back on Saturday... do I need to pay her for this as well?

Is there anything else that I need to think about?

Any advice appreciated.

I have been away with lots of familys and the best way we found to sort out extra days was that I would take some hours off at a convieniant time for both of us.
I would say to get it sorted before you go though as she may already be expecting to be paid overtime.
I did go away with a family for 2 weeks, over bank hols, and they paid me normal weekly wage for whole time and I was still keeping close to my normal hours but they did pay for ski pass and lessons for me.
I always enjoyed my " nanny hols" as everyone is relaxed.
Have a great time

I just had to respond to this because have just returned from the most awful 2 week nanny job working for a british family on holiday in switzerland.

Now i was just a nanny for the holiday so i didnt know the family...so i'm sure you and your nanny are happy with each other already which is a great start!

However..think about...

-babysitting - make sure you pay extra or however you usually do it

-flights - definately need to be payed for by you i'm afraid...remember this is ur holiday and not hers!

• money - yes you will need to pay her for the day u leave and arrive because they are both days she is working

• friends child - remember this is an extra child to look after and babysit for...maybe the child's parents could chip in a bit? just a thought!

• sleeping arrangments - if ur nanny is expected to be 'on call' in the night (eg sharing room with baby) then pay a fixed nightly rate for that

Thats all i can think of for now...just dont fall into my employers trap of using me to the point of advantage and almost abuse, just because I was there basically at their dispense! But i'm sure you wudnt do that so dont worry!

Most importantly have fun!

Agree have to be very upfront about what duties/ hours nanny will be doing, and think about what nanny will be able to do when not working.

If she will be housebound while you are all out enjoying yourselves so I think it would be fair to pay her for the whole week, even if she will be going out and tagging along on your outings she is still on duty really as she can't just do her own thing. If you pay her for full weeks any way than this should cover the time away, with extra for the nights aby sitting if you normally pay extra for that.

Another thing to consider, what do you want your nanny to do when you don't need her? Are you happy with her 'tagging along' or would you rather she went elsewhere? If it's the latter she's going to need things to do and that might be a bit more difficult if you are in a remote setting with limited transport.

You definately need to pay her from saturday to saturday as this is all part of the time you require her services. If her normal days are mon-fri then you will also be employing her for three extra days- Sat, sun and sat. I know she won't be 'on duty' the whole time but it is still your holiday, not hers so she may be expecing to be paid extra for these days.

It might help to think of it this way. Your boss sends you on a 7 day course away form home. You have to attend two 2.5 hour 'sessions' everyday, the rest of the time is your own. Would you expect your boss to pay your normal weekly rate, even though you will be there sat-sat?

Hope you all have a lovely time, when are you going?

You ned to think about people calling you "so f***g middle class" for having a nanny.

Think about where you want her to help the most. Do you want a lie in the most? If so, ask her to do the mornings and you will take over earlier than normal in the afternoons/evenings. And agree with everything else, if she's working, you pay her. Absolutely. And don't forget, you'll have to cover HER holidays during the year too (I'm sure you've thought of that though)

and lol at unqdad

When we took our nanny to the back of beyond in scotland with our 1 year old she hated it, she had nothing to do with our son when we went out without them, she was a city girl and totally out of her environment.

DS got a stinky cold and we ended up having to take him to the local doctors, he was up most nights so it was all a bit traumatic

So IF we still had a nanny don't think I would do that again.

kaz23

i rehularly went away with my old family to there hosue in the middle of nowhere in wales

there was NOTHING (except cows) within wlaking distance, and even the nearest shop was 15+ miin drive and nearest supermarkeet was over half an hour a way!

They had a farm.... and i LOVED every minute of it!

but i didnt do much 'nannying' the kids and DB spent wmost of the day in the fields with the tractor...

me and mb were in the kitchen baking yummy traiitonal food! practcally self sufficient! I LOVED it

and every night we would all sit down to some delicouse home made / mostly home grown meal!

when-ever they went out as a family i would always go to!

I didnt even have ANY mobile phone reception!

though after a few times i learnt that i HAD to have my car there... it was a 5 hour drive, but worth it, cause it meant i could get out! They tried to insure me on theres but at the time i was under 25 and the insurance company said no way! (on their fast cars!)

Thanks for everybody's thoughts.

We are absolutely paying for her flight, food and everything else and paying her her normal salary and this is not counted as part of her holiday obviously.

We do not actually expect her to work very much at all - when we are with the kids they are our responsibility. As I said she would only need to do a couple of nights babysitting and if we go on any more serious hikes we would ask her to stay with the kids - but this will be no more than twice for 5-6 hours at a time.

The reason we are taking her with us is because the extra cost is very little (we have to pay her for the week anyway) and it would be nice to have the option to get out without the kids.

We get on really well and expect her to come with us on all our outings (only if she wants to, of course). But we are a relaxed bunch and to be honest I view it more as a bonus for her - she will be able to explore the place at no cost.

pinkandsparkly - when I go on business trips for work they make me fly on the weekend and do not pay any overtime for this but then I am in a different line of work.

I was not planning to pay her for the weekend - is this totally unreasonable?

No not unreasonable. travel with employers is generally seen as a great perk. I used to do travel features for the mags I worked on and as I was having a lovely time away on the company payroll, I wouldn't have dreamed of complaining about 'giving up' my weekends to travel! (and no, it isn't just a holiday when you travel, you have to go on tours of hotels, be nice to PRs, meet local dignitaries, attend ghastly local events etc, and you have no choice about your itinerary, so if a trek begins at 6am and every fibre of your being is saying, 'I want to get up at 11am and lie by the pool with a mindless book' you still get up at 5.30am)

And I've been to absolutely horrible work conferences that took up weekends, and there was no question whatsoever of extra pay!

Mind you a remote cottage in a place where you can go 'hiking' (aaargh!) is not quite the same as a trip to St Lucia or Perth!

I get paid for the extra weekend days i work when away. Wouldn't do it otherwise, but then i work really hard when we go away and don't have any time off.

I suggest you negotiate the weekend pay. Bear in mind that you'll have a week off work, plus two weekends, but she'll be working .... 13 days on the trot? Even if she's not actually working, she's still in a work-type environment.

Personally, I'd have jumped at the chance of 2 x 6 hour days and a few babysits for a week's pay. But then I am a very boring fart who would have taken a pile of books! If she's a party animal, er, she may be a bit bored?

Whatever you do, a nice bunch of flowers/bottle of wine/box of chocs upon your return in thanks for her coming would be a smart move.

I do think you have to pay for her 'traveling days' as she couldnt be doing her own thing on these days.

However lovely your idea of a holiday is, could be her worst nightmare.

When we take our nanny, I give her the option of taking the weekend off or being paid and working. time off = Turks and Caicos, working = Isle of Wight (she gets bored of this scene)!!

You must remember even if you give her the weekend off, if her phone doesnt work or she is not adventurous you should compensate.

Make sure ALL these things are gone over before you go! Spell it out then you or she will not be embarassed during the holiday.

Agree on deciding absolutely everything before you go, it would be horrible for everyone if once there, there was a problem that put a dampener on your holiday.

I guess I've displayed my shocking lack of knowledge of business trip protocol

I do think the location of your holiday may be a factor to consider when deciding whether to pay her anything extra for the weekend though. If you were going skiing or somewhere with beaches and tourist attractions then I think you would already be offering her a great deal- less hours per day with lots of free time to go off and enjoy herself, whilst still getting paid her normal salary. Obviously you are still offering her less hours, free time and normal salary but free time is only really free if you can spend it the way you choose.(IMO)

It sounds like you have a brilliant relationship with your nanny though (you want her with you on holiday after all!) so you'll know what she is likely to think reasonable, as long as you're happy and she's happy before you go, you should have a fab holiday!

Hi, I agree that you should talk about expectations before you go...I've done many family holidays, some great & some awful (usually depending on location)...I've always been paid for travelling days or had days off in exchange...Have a great holiday!