Top Seven Issues Nannies Care About Most – Episode #5: Benefits

Hi everybody! It’s Laura back with Episode #5 in our “Top Seven Issues Nannies Care About Most” series.

The topic today focuses on benefits for nannies. Nannying is just like any other job. Nannies are professionals that expect to be treated as such. The vast majority of nannies across America are looking for benefits in addition to their hourly rate.

Not sure what benefits to offer? I’ve got you covered!

Watch to learn what benefits are considered to be nanny industry standards. Parents – if you have been looking for a nanny and are disappointed with the candidates you are finding, make sure you are advertising not only an hourly rate but what benefits you are offering as well!

In Episode #1, we discussed fair pay. Watch that by clicking here.

In Episode #2, the topic was job security. Find that by clicking here.

In Episode #3, I went over respect and recognition. Click here to watch that.

In Episode #4, I discussed clear communication. Watch here.

To check out the results of our 2023 Nanny Pay Rate Survey (which has some great information about benefits), click here.

Click the button below to launch Episode #5 and learn all about nanny benefits!

Click Here To Watch!

A transcript of the video can be found below: 

Hi everyone, Laura from Nanny Parent Connection here.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been talking about the top seven issues nannies care about most.

So far in this series we have covered: fair pay, job security, respect and recognition, and clear communication.

Today for Episode #5, I will be discussing benefits.

Nannying is just like any other job. Nannies are professionals and they expect to be treated as such.

It’s no wonder that nannies are looking for benefits in addition to their hourly pay.

In fact, there is what’s considered to be a nanny industry standard compensation package that includes things like guaranteed hours, paid time off, paid sick time, paid holidays, mileage reimbursement, and sometimes even a healthcare stipend and/or continuing education stipend.

Some nannies are even looking for retirement plan options as well.

So, let’s break down and discuss each part further.

Guaranteed Hours

Guaranteed hours are the set number of hours your nanny will be paid each week. It can be 20, 30, or 40 hours/week, or whatever number of hours you need the nanny to provide care. As long as they work the number of agreed-upon hours – or fewer – they get paid the same.

By offering your nanny guaranteed hours, you are are allowing them to be able to depend on their income each week.

If your nanny loses out on their income because you’re away on a vacation, and you don’t pay them that week for example, I can almost guarantee you they will start job searching for a family who does offer them guaranteed hours and that sense of financial security.

Paid Time Off

Two weeks if paid time off in a year-long contract is pretty standard.

You can use the model of two weeks, eight hours per day of paid time off in a year-long contract to calculate out hours if the contract is less than a year long, or if the hours are part-time.

And yes, you heard me correctly, even part-time nannies are looking for paid time off.

And it’s also worth noting that a more experienced career nanny may be looking for even more than two weeks of paid time off per contract year.

Paid Federal Holidays

These can include New Year’s Day, MLK, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, or Indigenous People’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

I do recommend consulting the calendar for the year that this contract with your nanny will span, consulting the calendar for any school schedules your children might have, and also checking in with your nanny to work together to figure out what holidays you are going to offer as paid holidays.

Some employers even give the day after Thanksgiving off, or Christmas Eve off as well.

If you need your nanny to work any of these holidays, it’s a nice thing to do to offer your nanny pay at one and a half times their normal hourly rate if you do ask them to come in on any of those federal holidays. However, this is not a legal requirement.

Paid Sick Time

Many states have specific requirements with how much paid sick time you should offer your employee. Make sure to check all the local laws to ensure that you are following and fulfilling those requirements.

If you’re using a payroll company, they can help you to track those paid sick time hours if those are accruing.

Mileage Reimbursement

The federal government sets the rate for mileage reimbursement per miles driven when the nanny is using their own vehicle for transportation on the job.

Sometimes (as was the case in 2022) they can even make a mid-year rate change if they feel that economic factors warrant that.

These miles the nanny drives can easily be tracked with a mileage app such as Mile IQ. This will be a simple reimbursement with your nanny, this is not taxable pay.

Healthcare/Medical Stipend

Because the nanny family is a small employer, it’s often difficult to come up with some sort of health insurance plan for your nanny.

Most often, nanny employers give a health care or medical stipend that the nanny can use to help cover the cost of any self-purchased medical insurance plan or any other medical expenses.

Be sure to talk to your payroll provider to learn about options for giving this stipend to your nanny tax-free.

In our recent pay rate survey, we found that over 50% of nannies were receiving between $200 and $350 per month as a medical/health care stipend.

And because fewer families are offering health care or medical stipends, adding one to your compensation package is a fantastic way to attract more and higher quality candidates to the position with your family.

Continuing Education Stipend

I don’t personally see this being offered or asked for as much by families or nannies, but I do occasionally see some nannies asking for this.

This could either be a simple reimbursement or a stipend that the nanny could spend as they choose on continuing education courses.

Offering continuing education to your nanny is greatly beneficial to both the nanny and family.

If the family would like the nanny to learn a new parenting philosophy for example, they can pay for that course, and then they will reap the benefits of that care philosophy being put into action during the day.

And of course, the nanny can take that knowledge with them forever as well as list that course training, or certification on their resume for future positions.

Retirement Savings Plan

Some nannies are interested in retirement savings plans, the problem with this is families employing nannies are of course small employers. It’s more typical of larger companies to be able to offer 401K retirement plans.

This is starting to change however because of the growing gig economy and some people are figuring out ways that this can be delivered in a sustainable model. Hopefully, there will be some solid options for nannies to have retirement savings plans moving forward in the near future.

I absolutely recommend offering all of these benefits that are listed in the nanny industry-standard compensation package, those benefits being guaranteed hours, paid time off, paid sick time, mileage reimbursement, and paid federal holidays.

Now, those of course are the standard benefits. If you really want to put the icing on the cake, you can offer healthcare or medical stipends. You can also offer a continuing education stipend, and hopefully soon you’ll be able to offer your nanny a retirement savings plan in their benefits package.

Families, if you’ve been advertising for a nanny and you’re not including those industry-standard compensation package items. That could be the reason you’re not able to garner as much interest in your nanny position.

By offering an industry-standard compensation package, you will be able to land that fantastic nanny your family has been looking for!

Alright everyone, that’s it for today.

I hope you found this video helpful, if you like this video, please click the like button, subscribe, or ring the bell so that you can be notified when more of these videos come out in the future.

Also, make sure to tune in next week for Episode #6 in this series where we will discuss “Workplace Safety”.

Also make sure you don’t miss this video about how to be the best nanny employer.

Thanks everyone, bye!