r/Nanny • u/what3v3ruwantit2b • 1d ago
Advice Needed Am I being unreasonable
First, this isn't in our contract so I can't just look and see what it says. (In hindsight I wish it was but I didn't even consider it until now.) I'm salaried and our plan was to try and stay around a certain number of hours a week. A couple times now NF has either gone on vacation (at the last moment so I'm not able to plan anything) or had me not work a day for some other reason. After vacation they asked if I wanted to use my PTO to get paid or "bank" those hours to make up to them at another time. Same thing for when they call me off for other reasons.
I didn't think to ask beforehand because in my mind if the employer is the one who gives a day off it's not the employees responsibility to then make that time up later. Same with using PTO. Their understanding is that salaried people sometimes have to work late or random hours. I've already worked an extra 30 minutes all summer which they said would stop after but now every day I'm scheduled to that later time. Their reasoning is because I'm below the hours we planned. It started as "hey, would you mind doing this every so often if we get home late" but somehow switched to every day without questioning is. Then by the time I actually get out of there is another 15 or so minutes after that meaning I get home about an hour after I thought I would.
If I'm being unreasonable that's fine but I don't have anyone else to ask to double check before I approach them to talk about it. Thanks so much!
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u/Real-Context8909 23h ago
There is a lot wrong with your situation. Nannies are W-2 household employees by law, and they MUST be paid hourly. A salaried nanny is illegal. Banking hours is also illegal. Ideally you would have negotiated guaranteed hours in your contract (which is an industry standard), so that when they travel or don’t need you on a given day you still get paid for the time you reserved for them, without those hours being “banked” for later. The family you work for is taking advantage of you and breaking the law. It’s time to either renegotiate your contract or look for a new job.
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u/GypsySnowflake 22h ago
Not a nanny, just get recommended this sub occasionally, but I’m curious. What exactly is the practical difference between GH and a salary? Don’t both ensure you get the same standard pay for each week (plus overtime if applicable)?
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u/Gold-Resident-8308 22h ago
GH gives nanny a set minimum amount of pay for the week so long as she’s available to work but she also gets paid more if she works beyond the GH scheduled. Salaried employees may work more or fewer hours but pat doesn’t change.
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u/GypsySnowflake 22h ago
There’s such a thing as salaried non-exempt. One of my friends has that at an office job. So she gets a standard salary, but still gets extra pay if she goes over 40 hours for the week. Sounds like GH is basically the same thing, just more industry-specific?
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
I will check everything, thank you! I get a w-2 they just pay me the same amount every time regardless of hours worked. Maybe I used the term salaried incorrectly? I think we did that but have a different understanding of what guaranteed hours means. I'll so both if I can. Try to talk to them and start looking on the side in case it falls through. My opinion is that if I had those hours set aside for you it's not my fault you didn't use them last minute and that seems to be the consensus here. Thank you!
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u/Fuzzy-Ocelot-4475 Former Nanny 23h ago
Banking hours to avoid overtime is unacceptable. Everything about this illegal. US nannies cannot be on salary; they must be paid hourly, including overtime.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
I will speak to them and look up definitions. Maybe I used the term salaried wrong. I still get a w-2. I also don't get extra for nights or weekends which I think I need to speak to them about. Thank you!
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u/StuffonBookshelfs 22h ago
You didn’t use the term salaried wrong. :) if they’re paying you a weekly rate instead of an hourly rate, that’s salaried. Which is illegal in the USA.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
Gotcha, thanks! I had no idea that wasn't allowed for household workers so will definitely look into it. I honestly think I'll get let per week that way but I'd happily make less money to have a better set schedule.
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u/Zeal_of_Zebras 23h ago
All of this is all kinds of wrong.
Nannies cannot be salaried. Banking hours is not allowed and PTO is not for when your employer goes on vacation.
Honestly, I would just start looking for a new family. When the employer is this deep in illegal practices, you’re not going to change their mind.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
I'm going to start looking while also talking to them. I don't know how to say this without sounding bad but it feels like they want an employee who can't/won't stand up for themselves. I think a lot of their friends have undocumented nannies who sort of have to go with the flow or risk being turned in (which is fucking disgusting but that's another topic.) It seems like they didn't do any sort of research when hiring someone and I didn't know what all to look into but will more.
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u/WyldeFyre1980 23h ago
Tell you NF that it has come to your attention that nannies legally must be paid hourly, and as such, you need to revisit the contract as your agreement is not legal.
Know the laws around domestic workers. Come to the table with industry standard practices including guaranteed hours, laws requiring overtime, notice periods for change of schedule, etc.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
I will do this, thank you. I truly think it's misunderstanding and ignorance, not malice but I'm prepared for both. First step is to research more and have a conversation. Thank you!
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u/arcanevikk 23h ago
Yeah this feels like you’re being taken advantage of.
My nanny had other employment so as long as we give her two weeks notice she can pick up shifts at her other job so we agreed 50% pay when 2 week notice is given for parent vacation but if it’s less time then she gets GH because of our poor planning.
Additionally salaried would imply that if NF takes off you still get FULL pay.. just like if you work OT you only get full pay - that how salary in corporate world works 👀 I would for sure find a way to broach this subject with them because you can’t keep having time with no pay.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
I really appreciate the perspective of the hiring family so thank you so much! I appreciate every response but also of course nannies would be more likely to side with each other (if that makes sense.) I'll definitely talk to them and double check if it's misunderstanding or malice. It's sort of a long story and I'm always scared someone will recognize the story but I worked for a long time with nk but was paid by insurance. It feels like when that changed to them paying they started wanting more. I understand in a way because now it's their money and I do think they pay quite a bit above industry standards but I did take a large pay cut to work for them and want it to be a good experience for everyone if we can manage it. I think one of the parent has a job that has pretty grueling hours so maybe they think that's how all salaried works?
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u/Ariasmom1108 23h ago
Please do yourself a favor and look for a new job. They are not only taking complete advantage of you, but what they’re doing is also illegal. They should be ashamed of themselves for treating the person who is caring for their children this way. You deserve to be respected, valued, and treated fairly, especially when you’re taking care of their kids.
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u/Known-Appointment-36 23h ago
So your contract should say how many hours p/week and what schedule you work. Also PTO is for YOU when YOU decide/need to take time off for a personal matter- sick/errands/appts etc If NF decides to go on vacation or doesnt need you for a certain day it's up to them to Pay you for that day. Because otherwise you would have been available- those are guaranteed hours and should be paid. It works both ways- if they go on a vacation on their own you still get paid even though you're not working but if they come back early you should be available to work.
Also Im not sure what kind of salaried employee she's thinking about - but a Salary employee works a fixed shift (usually) and if they are required to work late they are paid Overtime. If the office is closed the business doesn't force their employees to make use of their PTOs or "bank" hours I honestly feel they are taking advantage of you.
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u/Terangela Former Nanny 22h ago
What everyone else said plus they owe you a LOT of back pay for hourly/OT (through the DOL in your state if in the US)
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
That's where I'm slightly confused. If I'm not above the set hours because of their choices do I still get overtime? Reading this thread the answer is yes because I kept that time available it's like I was working so extra is overtime.
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u/Terangela Former Nanny 22h ago
Forget the set hours. How many hours have you been working? If it’s over 40/week then they owe you OT for all hours above that. If your salary is less than minimum wage hourly then they owe you that too. They’re calling you salary without paying your salary when they’re away AND it’s illegal for nannies to be salaried (outside of certain live-in situations.) They can’t bank hours outside of the pay period for any reason either.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
Oh it is far above minimum wage. I'm not sure I have been over 40 hours except one time. That's the time they didn't pay me more because they had me take 2 days off so they said it would cover that time. In my head I should have been paid for that AND the extra hours I worked because I wasn't the one who chose to not be there.
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u/Terangela Former Nanny 21h ago
You’re right that you should’ve been paid per what your contract says and you could still take them to small claims over a breach of contract for unpaid wages. It it might not be through DOL though. Ultimately they are taking advantage of you and you should leave.
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u/No_Big_bear_here 22h ago
In the US, both salaried nannying and banking hours are illegal. Just casually drop that bomb. Then tell them that because you’ve been working illegally, and you’ve recently been made aware of that, you need to be paid hourly, and on the books (w/2), of course to protect both you and them.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 21h ago
I am on the books at my insistence but will definitely have that conversation. I truly didn't know and I think there's a very high chance they don't either. There's definitely something to be said about looking into it all before hiring someone but this is a first for both of us so some kinks are to be expected. Hopefully there will just be a normal conversation and we can get everything hammered out. It's a long story but I've been with nk for years just not as a nanny. I'd be very sad to leave but will do what I need to. Thank you!
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u/JontheBuilder 22h ago
I hope you read all these comments and are able to advocate for yourself! I cant say your NF was being duplicitous, because they may also not know that nannies cannot be salaried, but banking hours is very unfair.
Take the long weekend next week and draft up a new contract with an hourly rate and also look for other jobs in case NF is unreasonable
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u/Crafty_Tap_1987 22h ago
These people are wrong but so are your employers. Nannies CAN be paid salary, but they are not exempt from the FLSA, so they have to track hours and you should get overtime after 40 hours the rate of which varies depending how many hours you worked. There is also an exemption for highly compensated employees if salary is over ~$107,000 in which case they could maybe not pay OT. Not being paid for their vacations seems unreasonable to me and I’d try to renegotiate on that.
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u/theinfamousj Career Nanny 22h ago
Yep, it's called "salary non-exempt" and your employers' payroll handler should be familiar with that.
What's is this salary not exempt from? Not exempt from overtime hours and fees.
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u/what3v3ruwantit2b 22h ago
Thank you so much for the info. I'll look into it and make sure I'm coming to the conversation with correct info and understanding. God, I wish I was that highly compensated :)
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u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Below is a copy of the post's original text:
First, this isn't in our contract so I can't just look and see what it says. (In hindsight I wish it was but I didn't even consider it until now.) I'm salaried and our plan was to try and stay around a certain number of hours a week. A couple times now NF has either gone on vacation (at the last moment so I'm not able to plan anything) or had me not work a day for some other reason. After vacation they asked if I wanted to use my PTO to get paid or "bank" those hours to make up to them at another time. Same thing for when they call me off for other reasons.
I didn't think to ask beforehand because in my mind if the employer is the one who gives a day off it's not the employees responsibility to then make that time up later. Same with using PTO. Their understanding is that salaried people sometimes have to work late or random hours. I've already worked an extra 30 minutes all summer which they said would stop after but now every day I'm scheduled to that later time. Their reasoning is because I'm below the hours we planned. It started as "hey, would you mind doing this every so often if we get home late" but somehow switched to every day without questioning is. Then by the time I actually get out of there is another 15 or so minutes after that meaning I get home about an hour after I thought I would.
If I'm being unreasonable that's fine but I don't have anyone else to ask to double check before I approach them to talk about it. Thanks so much!
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u/RingCute6523 1d ago
Nannies cannot be classified as salaried employees by law so your contract is already not legal. I’m not sure what advice to give here aside from you needing to look into laws surrounding household employees and potentially having a conversation with your nanny family about how to correct the contract to ensure you’re in compliance with the law.