Nanny pay rises and bonuses
Nanny pay rises and bonuses
As we approach the end of the calendar year, you may be thinking about giving your nanny a pay rise and / or a bonus. Or it could be that you’ve never contemplated it before and you want to know how to go about it.
Here are my thoughts and, as always, I’m available to talk it through with you, just get in touch.
The nanny contract
Let’s go right back to the beginning when you’re drawing up a contract with your nanny. In that contract, it’s common to include that salary will be reviewed annually. ‘Review’ doesn’t mean that a pay rise will be given. It’s a good idea to include information about when the pay review will happen and cover a number of scenarios when a pay rise might be considered, for example, a new baby, a change in daily chores and going above and beyond their duties.
The nanny then knows what to expect and when the conversation might happen. If you don’t include it, it leads to uncertainty, a nanny possibly having to request a rise, and it could impact nanny retention.
You can include bonuses in the contract if you like, although I would bear in mind that a bonus is just that, a bonus and so you might not want to make it contractual.
When to give a nanny a pay rise
As I said at the beginning, people often give pay rises annually (but it’s not obligatory) and the end of the year appraisal can be a good time – a chance to look forward to, perhaps, new responsibilities as well as reflect on the year that’s passed.
However, if a situation arises, say, mid-April that warrants more pay, the end of the year may not work. Hopefully, these eventualities have been covered in the contract but if not, be considerate of your nanny.
Nanny pay rise situations
There are a few scenarios in which you might give a nanny a pay rise – some are obvious, and some are more ‘at your discretion’.
A year of service
If the nanny has done a good job and you want her to stay with your family, it’s a good idea to give them a pay rise. You might not want to stipulate the size of the rise, but you may want to mention that it’s dependent on the role being carried out to a high standard.
The cost of living is rising, and we see it in the news a lot at the moment. It’s a very real problem and could be impacting your nanny more than you realise. I’m not saying that you should raise pay monthly as a result but do be mindful of your nanny’s needs. Check in with them and see how they’re doing. And nannies, do bear in mind that the cost of goods and services impacts everyone including your family – they may want to give you a pay rise but are unable.
Assuming that your nanny has carried out their role well during the year, a pay rise should be given. I would suggest a 3-6% increase. If they have gone the extra mile, performing more duties then you may want to consider giving more.
Extra child
If you have more children during the course of employment, then the nanny will have additional responsibilities too. You’re adding to your family but also adding to their workload.
If you’re a blended family and perhaps have another child half the week, or just for school holidays, that needs to be taken into account too.
The nanny is employed to look after your children but if the family size increases, then the nanny should be compensated accordingly.
Extra responsibilities
A nanny isn’t a housekeeper, and their household tasks should be based around the children – children’s laundry, room tidying and preparing the children’s meals, for example. But if you decide to ask them to perform some chores for you, such as prepare your evening meal or iron some of your clothing, and they agree, they should be compensated.
More examples:
- Longer hours than contractually agreed.
- Driving more.
- Getting a pet
You’re not paying enough!
This shouldn’t happen if you have recruited a nanny through me and provided annual pay increases but sometimes it does, especially if the role has changed.
If your nanny is not satisfied with their salary and they bring it up with you, listen to what they have to say. I would recommend that you acknowledge their point of view and say that you’ll get back to them in a few days (try to be specific with a day/date so that they know they’re not being fobbed off).
Then, do your research. Give me a call if you need and go back to them either matching their request or with a proposal. If they’re still not happy then you need to have some more conversations to understand their point of view, but this is a good starting point.
Take the request seriously and demonstrate that by booking in the follow-up meeting and subsequent chats.
Giving your nanny a bonus
A bonus is at your discretion and will always be gratefully received! But be careful about setting a precedent. It’s hard on the nanny if you’re very generous one year and then not so much the following year and could lead to anxiety over job performance.
You could give a bonus at Christmas, their work anniversary or even their birthday – whatever works for you.
Money is a complex subject so if you have any questions do let me know. Remember any pay increases and bonuses would need to go via your payroll company who will be able to handle it all for you.