Summer is coming up fast which mean families will be traveling with their nanny on vacation. Confusion may arise on how to properly pay the nanny for her time and accommodations. Here are 5 tips for paying a nanny when she travels with a family.
Talk about expectations before the trip. The nanny is going with the family for a reason – to watch their kids. A vacation probably throws her normal schedule off quite a bit. It’s important that both parties go over the itinerary of the trip in advance. She needs to know what times of the day she’ll likely work, any activities that are planned for the kids, and when she can expect to have free time of her own.
Airfare, meals and hotel are paid by the family. A nanny is a household employee. If she’s required to travel with the family, they must pay for her airfare, food and hotel accommodations. It’s essentially the same thing as a business trip.
Know when she’s on and off the clock. This can be confusing for some families because the worksite isn’t their home. The nanny is on the clock for the time she is traveling and any other time she is not able to come and go as she pleases. This even includes time spent sitting on a lounge chair by the pool watching the kids with a lemonade in her hand.
Don’t forget about overtime. While the family is on vacation, it’s important to keep track of the nanny’s hours in case overtime needs to be accounted for. Nannies are paid overtime for all hours worked over 9 in a day and/or 40 in a week. Also, a nanny’s hours can’t roll over to the next week to avoid overtime. That’s a violation of federal labor law and can get the family in trouble.
Make sure the nanny has some time off. This is vacation for the family, but it isn’t for the nanny. She’s still working and needs a break every now and then. Families should plan to let their nanny be on her own for a few hours and take their kids on several family-only activities. This will this give the nanny some time to recharge her batteries and do something that interests her.
We know that keeping track of hours and remembering some of these labor laws may be difficult while trying to focus on having fun on vacation. If you need a timesheet, help with determining on-the-clock versus off-the-clock hours, or getting an idea of what your nanny’s pay may be during an upcoming vacation, HomePay is here to help! Just reach out to us at (888) 273-3356 or visit us online at www.myhomepay.com.
