Author Topic: Nanny Christmas Bonus  (Read 6108 times)

COlady

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Nanny Christmas Bonus
« on: December 22, 2015, 11:23:14 AM »
If you have a nanny what do you give them for Christmas?

I paid my nanny for a regular 40 hour week plus $100 when she only worked 8 hours this week because we're home. I thought I was being pretty generous compared to some of my friends with nannies.  She seemed kind of disappointed by what I gave her. I don't know if she wanted a material gift or what, I know some people appreciate gifts more than others...but I don't even get my husband a gift. I'm not a gifty person and I don't feel like I should feel obligated to get my nanny a gift. She came to the house yesterday with a huge gift bag of toys for my 9 month old twins.  I told her a couple times that she shouldn't feel obligated to get them gifts. I've gathered through discussions with her that she has no concept of money.   

elaine amj

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2015, 11:24:27 AM »
Sounds generous to me.

trailrated

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2015, 11:32:21 AM »
I think you did good. Maybe she is someone that likes an actual gift rather than $? If so you could throw together something really quick like this for her. http://lovegrowswild.com/2015/11/homemade-hot-chocolate-mix/

COlady

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2015, 11:41:13 AM »
I just looked on care.com and it said the customary Christmas bonus is 2 weeks salary. Holy cow!!! That's a ton of money! Maybe that's why she's disappointed...

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2015, 11:49:45 AM »
As an employer giving a Christmas bonus, I think 5% is normal... But the internet is throwing out a lot of percentages.

And many places with a Christmas shutdown still pay employees.

As a boss, a card and some chocolate is nice, but not necessary,as long as the boss treats all employees equally.

It sounds like she didn't complain, so I'm sure she understands that she isn't entitled to a bonus. You just read emotions on her face. So please don't judge her harshly for letting that show.

And I agree with her regarding giving to her charges. It's a nice thing to do and made her happy, and was her money. As a gifter myself, I couldn't care less if my gifts aren't reciprocated, as long as they are opened and I get a gracious response.

okits

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2015, 11:54:27 AM »
Err...  If Christmas is only one statutory holiday and she got four days, I'd be pretty stoked by that.  (If she has no concept of money, though, maybe she doesn't realize your gift = X number of presents she might have wanted.) Maybe it's a cultural thing (some cultures cash gift is normal, others may value large consumer products wrapped up with a bow?) If she showed up with a big bag of toys for your twins maybe she finds more meaning in a physical gift.

Practical consideration: how good is your nanny and how competitive is the local market for nannies?  I don't have a nanny but hear that around here, poaching is a real worry.  If nannies are in-demand, sometimes you just have to pay and gift visibly better than the competition (yeah, it contributes to wage/expectation inflation, but is probably worth it to avoid her jumping ship.)  I know it's a cut-throat way of looking at it but I would think of it as part of her overall pay and what it takes to attract and keep a desired employee.

COlady

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2015, 11:59:15 AM »
Err...  If Christmas is only one statutory holiday and she got four days, I'd be pretty stoked by that.  (If she has no concept of money, though, maybe she doesn't realize your gift = X number of presents she might have wanted.) Maybe it's a cultural thing (some cultures cash gift is normal, others may value large consumer products wrapped up with a bow?) If she showed up with a big bag of toys for your twins maybe she finds more meaning in a physical gift.

Practical consideration: how good is your nanny and how competitive is the local market for nannies?  I don't have a nanny but hear that around here, poaching is a real worry.  If nannies are in-demand, sometimes you just have to pay and gift visibly better than the competition (yeah, it contributes to wage/expectation inflation, but is probably worth it to avoid her jumping ship.)  I know it's a cut-throat way of looking at it but I would think of it as part of her overall pay and what it takes to attract and keep a desired employee.

She is absolutely fabulous with my babies and helping around the house but she isn't super reliable (which obviously is a huge part of the job). She routinely leaves me in a tight spot 1-2X per month by calling in sick with a number of different ailments (throwing up, headaches, broken arms twice in the last 6 months). She called in sick on Tuesday of last week and then got in a wreck on Thursday that was her fault. Last week was kind of a disaster for me work wise...good thing my work is VERY flexible.

Kitsune

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2015, 12:12:16 PM »
Err...  If Christmas is only one statutory holiday and she got four days, I'd be pretty stoked by that.  (If she has no concept of money, though, maybe she doesn't realize your gift = X number of presents she might have wanted.) Maybe it's a cultural thing (some cultures cash gift is normal, others may value large consumer products wrapped up with a bow?) If she showed up with a big bag of toys for your twins maybe she finds more meaning in a physical gift.

Practical consideration: how good is your nanny and how competitive is the local market for nannies?  I don't have a nanny but hear that around here, poaching is a real worry.  If nannies are in-demand, sometimes you just have to pay and gift visibly better than the competition (yeah, it contributes to wage/expectation inflation, but is probably worth it to avoid her jumping ship.)  I know it's a cut-throat way of looking at it but I would think of it as part of her overall pay and what it takes to attract and keep a desired employee.

She is absolutely fabulous with my babies and helping around the house but she isn't super reliable (which obviously is a huge part of the job). She routinely leaves me in a tight spot 1-2X per month by calling in sick with a number of different ailments (throwing up, headaches, broken arms twice in the last 6 months). She called in sick on Tuesday of last week and then got in a wreck on Thursday that was her fault. Last week was kind of a disaster for me work wise...good thing my work is VERY flexible.

... Probably not your concern, but: if she's flaky and injured, is she in an ok home situation?

Perspective on the gift: I send my daughter to a group daycare, which costs 125$ per week before government subsidies (we wind up paying about 40% of that out-of-pocket. Yes, I am aware that we are fortunate). The daycare is closed for the 2 weeks around Christmas, so we don't pay but have to take care of our daughter (yay vacation!). We gave the lady who runs the daycare a card with 60$ (logic: our mail lady gets 30$, and she only delivers our MAIL, she doesn't take care of our kid every day! 2-3 days of pay seemed reasonable, if slightly under-generous, but finances being what they are, that's what we settled on). She was extremely surprised, and protested that it was OVERLY generous. I asked my SIL what she did: her family produces maple syrup, so she gave everyone 3-4 cans (value: 20-25$CAD) as presents. My colleagues, when polled, either gave in the 50$ range, didn't give anything, or gave an 'easily re-giftable' present (wine, food, hand soap set, etc).

4 days of vacation + 100$? Lady. I have a corporate job that pays really well, and I'd personally be stoked over that as a Christmas gift from my employer!

COlady

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2015, 01:54:59 PM »
Err...  If Christmas is only one statutory holiday and she got four days, I'd be pretty stoked by that.  (If she has no concept of money, though, maybe she doesn't realize your gift = X number of presents she might have wanted.) Maybe it's a cultural thing (some cultures cash gift is normal, others may value large consumer products wrapped up with a bow?) If she showed up with a big bag of toys for your twins maybe she finds more meaning in a physical gift.

Practical consideration: how good is your nanny and how competitive is the local market for nannies?  I don't have a nanny but hear that around here, poaching is a real worry.  If nannies are in-demand, sometimes you just have to pay and gift visibly better than the competition (yeah, it contributes to wage/expectation inflation, but is probably worth it to avoid her jumping ship.)  I know it's a cut-throat way of looking at it but I would think of it as part of her overall pay and what it takes to attract and keep a desired employee.

She is absolutely fabulous with my babies and helping around the house but she isn't super reliable (which obviously is a huge part of the job). She routinely leaves me in a tight spot 1-2X per month by calling in sick with a number of different ailments (throwing up, headaches, broken arms twice in the last 6 months). She called in sick on Tuesday of last week and then got in a wreck on Thursday that was her fault. Last week was kind of a disaster for me work wise...good thing my work is VERY flexible.

... Probably not your concern, but: if she's flaky and injured, is she in an ok home situation?

Perspective on the gift: I send my daughter to a group daycare, which costs 125$ per week before government subsidies (we wind up paying about 40% of that out-of-pocket. Yes, I am aware that we are fortunate). The daycare is closed for the 2 weeks around Christmas, so we don't pay but have to take care of our daughter (yay vacation!). We gave the lady who runs the daycare a card with 60$ (logic: our mail lady gets 30$, and she only delivers our MAIL, she doesn't take care of our kid every day! 2-3 days of pay seemed reasonable, if slightly under-generous, but finances being what they are, that's what we settled on). She was extremely surprised, and protested that it was OVERLY generous. I asked my SIL what she did: her family produces maple syrup, so she gave everyone 3-4 cans (value: 20-25$CAD) as presents. My colleagues, when polled, either gave in the 50$ range, didn't give anything, or gave an 'easily re-giftable' present (wine, food, hand soap set, etc).

4 days of vacation + 100$? Lady. I have a corporate job that pays really well, and I'd personally be stoked over that as a Christmas gift from my employer!

Pretty much the gist of it is that she's 27 years old and she lives with her mom and mom' s husband because when she was 18 her mom took out parent PLUS loans for around $50k for her to attend culinary arts school at Art Institute in Vegas. She verbally agreed to pay her mom back for the loan. She was promised that she'd land a high paying job in Vegas after completing the program which obviously did not happen. She lives with her mom rent free and gives her mom $500 per month towards the student loans (I don't agree with this - her mother shouldn't have taken out $50k in loans she couldn't afford to pay back herself). Her home life is volatile with other siblings that do not get along. Pretty much she needs to move out but cannot afford to rent another place while paying her mom $500 per month and pay her $250 car payment plus insurance. She's made some REALLY terrible money mistakes but they are not my business (she just tells me all about these things).  I think her stress causes her to suffer from migraines, etc. She broke her arm twice playing roller derby.

mm1970

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2015, 11:42:48 AM »
If you have a nanny what do you give them for Christmas?

I paid my nanny for a regular 40 hour week plus $100 when she only worked 8 hours this week because we're home. I thought I was being pretty generous compared to some of my friends with nannies.  She seemed kind of disappointed by what I gave her. I don't know if she wanted a material gift or what, I know some people appreciate gifts more than others...but I don't even get my husband a gift. I'm not a gifty person and I don't feel like I should feel obligated to get my nanny a gift. She came to the house yesterday with a huge gift bag of toys for my 9 month old twins.  I told her a couple times that she shouldn't feel obligated to get them gifts. I've gathered through discussions with her that she has no concept of money.   
We use home daycare not nanny.

Our gift is generally approximately 1-2 days pay.

So, our home daycare gets paid every 2 weeks, whether she's working or not (so essentially she gets paid vacation, that's typical around here).

Our cost per day is about $65. 

Her gift was $50 and a nice bottle of wine.
In the past it has been gift cards or cash, generally between $50 and $100.


mm1970

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #10 on: December 23, 2015, 11:46:24 AM »
I just looked on care.com and it said the customary Christmas bonus is 2 weeks salary. Holy cow!!! That's a ton of money! Maybe that's why she's disappointed...
Yikes!

I don't get a Christmas bonus and haven't had a raise in 4 years.  My dcp raised her rates last year, by 28%.

So...yeah

MsPeacock

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #11 on: December 23, 2015, 02:30:43 PM »
My nanny works 8 hours per week. I gave her $50 and she seemed very pleased.

I don't know where these 5% bonus sorts of numbers come from. I have never, ever, in any job, received a bonus (annual, not for xmas) of more than about 1% of my salary at maximum. Often I get nothing. Who the heck is routinely getting a 5% bonus on their salary, or two weeks pay? Where do these people work? I hear the same sort of things about giving the mail carrier hundreds of dollars (they aren't allowed to accept gifts over $10), or the trash guys, etc. The tips are more than my entire budget for gifts for *everyone* (including my children - who get most of the budget allotted to them).

Jschange

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Re: Nanny Christmas Bonus
« Reply #12 on: December 24, 2015, 06:43:19 AM »
I quoted the number I found online, and I certainly have never gotten a bonus that high. My boyfriend got about an extra month's pay this year.

I've gotten a movie ticket and nothing from employers, and bosses have given me heartfelt cards, chocolate, ornaments or nothing. All were appreciated but not expected.

When I was a part time Nanny to a toddler, I received homemade cookies and a craft. These were wonderful and I didn't consider that I might receive anything else.

I posted the numbers I'd seen online because I can imagine that if I'd received those gifts in the past, my face would show it for a second if I opened it in public.  I think the OP was very generous.