Room and Board
Food
Phone Costs
Cable / Satellite
Health Insurance
Cell Phone
Professional Organizations
YMCA or Health Club Membership
Professional Development Reimbursement
Tuition Reimbursement
No Cost Benefits
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Room and Board
Live-in nannies receive room and board as part of their benefit package. This includes comfortable, furnished living space, utilities (excluding private phone line), and groceries. This does not include personal items such as shampoo, lotion, etc although some employers do include those items in the family shopping as an extra. If you provide your nanny with a separate apartment (or separate kitchen facilities) she is still considered a live-in nanny and should receive a food allowance.
Food
The grocery component of a nanny job is a common cause of confusion and frustration simply because it is a unique employment issue and usually not discussed before there is a problem. To avoid any confusion, simply decide how you want to handle this issue.
If you have a live-in nanny, reasonable meals and snacks during work and personal time are a standard part of her benefit package. If you have a live-out nanny, reasonable meals and snacks during working hours are standard. It is a good idea to define reasonable before your nanny begins work so there are no surprises. If it is important to stay within a specific food budget, make sure your nanny knows that. Differences in cooking styles and eating habits can impact, sometimes significantly, the amount you spend on food.
You can handle the food purchasing in several different ways.
* If your nanny does your family grocery shopping, she can add what she needs to the family list.
* If you or another person does the family grocery shopping, you can establish a central location for an ongoing list and your nanny can add what she needs to the family list.
* Your nanny can do her own shopping using money from the household account or turning in the receipts for reimbursement.
* You can provide your nanny with a set amount per week or month for groceries.
Phone Costs
Generally, employers provide a private phone line in their nanny’s quarters and the nanny is responsible for the monthly bill.
Cable / Satellite
It is standard to provide your nanny with the same options you have throughout the house. If your nanny would like to add options such as an additional cable channel or pay-per-view, she is responsible for the additional costs incurred.
Health Insurance
Health insurance is one of the basic benefits that nannies often do without. Depending upon her age and location, a caregiver will pay between $125 and $300 per month for adequate coverage. This high premium makes it cost prohibitive for many caregivers. We recommend that every employer provide full or partial health insurance coverage. Health insurance premiums are tax exempt. You can find more information under Health Insurance in our Parent Resource section.
Cell Phone
If you have children in school or any program where they attend without the nanny, you should provide your nanny with a cell phone so she can be reached in case of emergency. Your nanny is responsible for paying for personal calls billed to the phone.
Professional Organizations
There are several quality childcare organizations that offer wonderful benefits to childcare providers such as professional journals, networking events, and continuing education. If your nanny is interested, we strongly encourage you provide membership to NANC, the National Association for Nanny Care and NAEYC, National Association for the Education of Young Children. You can find details on their offerings in our Other Great Stuff section.
YMCA or Health Club Membership
Most Ys, JCCs, swim clubs, and country clubs allow a full-time caregiver to be added to a family membership at little or no charge. They don’t usually advertise this policy but it is worth a phone call to your facility’s membership department to find out if this benefit is available to your nanny.
Professional Development Reimbursement
There are more and more professional development opportunities available for nannies. Besides offering time off, you can also offer full or partial reimbursement for the event and related costs. This is a great way to help you nanny stay current on childcare research and strategies and show you view her as a professional.
Tuition Reimbursement
There are a growing number of nannies that are returning to school for personal enrichment or to complete their degree. This can be an expensive undertaking and help from an employer is an attractive benefit. Nannies that are finishing their degrees often commit to family long-term in exchange for full or partial tuition reimbursement.
No Cost Benefits
Employers can make their compensation package more attractive by offering benefits that are valuable to the nanny but cost the employer little or nothing.
Use of Vacation Home
Many employers own homes or condo in vacation spots. These vacation homes are often empty for part of the year and offer the opportunity for a great nanny benefit. Since few nannies can afford a week of skiing in a winter resort or relaxing in an oceanfront condo, providing use of your vacation home for the nanny during a long weekend or her vacation is a wonderful benefit.
Use of Home When Family is Away
If you employ a live-in nanny and your family frequently goes away on weekends, you have a built-in, no cost benefit you can offer your nanny. Allowing her to have full use of your home to have friends over for dinner on Saturday night or host a Sunday afternoon book club seems insignificant to employers but to a caregiver that lives and works in another’s home, those activities help her feel at home and build a social network.
Frequent Flyer Miles
If you accumulate miles through business travel, you can provide your nanny with one or more tickets each year. She can use them to fly home for a visit, fly a friend or family member out to visit her or to travel to a professional development conference.
