A
female
age
30-35,
*oeismeanyou
writes:I've worked for this family for a bit over a year now. I'm honestly starting to feel like I'm underpaid compared to other Nannies. I m a certified nanny with CPR/ First Aid training. Hence I get paid 300 a week with no taxes taken out (7.50 an hour), but now I see that the cons overweigh the pros. I have no paid sick days, no vacation days unless its a holiday (I had to take 10 days off to go see my family up north for thanksgiving and didn't get paid at all) ,and no lunch breaks.The mother works at home. I work 5 days a week for 40 hours, sometimes more if that helps any. What should I do? PS. My tipping point was that I had to work on MLK day and most of the Christmas/ New Year Holiday, and the father was home the whole time and I wasn't released early or given not a single day off.
View related questions:
christmas Reply to this Question
Share |
Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (29 January 2015): If they pay you 300$ a week for 40 hours undertable, it mean you would be making around 360$ gross pay, that's about 9$ per hour. Nannies usually work for cash and nannies don't usually get paid vacation. The fact that you worked on Chrismas is it unusual? So you guys have an agreement that you sold be off on Christmas and new year? So father was home but what does it have to do with you working your regular hours? I know several nannies who are paid 10$ an hour cash for 2 kids.
A
male
reader, CMMP +, writes (28 January 2015):
They are effectively paying you around $6/hr because it's under the table. You are earning no unemployment, social security, etc.
Where I live there are burger places that start at $10.25 and you get benefits including health and tuition reimbursement.
You are way underpaid. Look for another job and give your employer a chance to beat the offer. You can feel free to embellish your offer a little bit.
...............................
A
male
reader, Xearo  +, writes (28 January 2015):
I would honestly to find another family to work with and beef up your resume. I believe that managers should be proactive about their employees and offer betterment at all points of job milestones. If you bring up such discussions with your employer then you should be willing to accept that they may not give you what you want so you will have to look else where. No hard feelings after all business is business.
...............................
A
female
reader, YouWish +, writes (28 January 2015):
 There are two things you can do.
One, you can negotiate with your current employers for higher wages and/or benefits such as vacation, sick time, or health insurance.
Two, you can update your resume and search for better paying, better treating employers and go that route.
You've worked there for over a year now, and every year adds to your resume as a nanny. In everything you do, always speak with respect and professionalism, because nannies are very dependent on letters of reference and recommendations. It's a very personal choice to choose who will care for your child, and that sort of thing goes well beyond a simple criminal background check.
If you negotiate with your current employers, keep emotion out of it. Sell your benefits (i.e. if the kids love you, what makes you more valuable).
There's another issue here. I don't know which state you come from, but there are laws regarding hiring employees or independent contractors. Is your employment there following all state laws, where you are paying federal and state taxes as well as social security/medicare tax? Are you being paid with the withholdings, or is it "under the table"? If you are an independent contractor, have you signed a contract clarifying you as such, and since you work full time there with no other employment (I assume), is it legal to even classify you as a contractor? You say there are no taxes taken out?? You do realize that that doesn't mean you don't pay them, right?? You still have to file. You still have to declare. Does your employer file a W-2 or provide you with a contractor's 1099?
You should know the answers to these questions before entering negotiations. Consider what you declare as taxes, how your employment came to be (written or familiar, like a babysitter), whether they are matching SS contributions or paying unemployment insurance in case you're let go or fired.
From looking online (and I only skimmed), you may be right about how much you're paid. But take in mind your college education, whether or not you work with an agency, whether you are live-in or not, how many children we are talking about, if you have proof of nanny certification, and all that.
You may consider working for an agency if you are certified. There are reasons why agencies are there - and it's precisely to help with salaries and peace of mind for both parents and the employees themselves.
...............................
|
