Nanny Employer Responsibilities
Nanny Employer Tools
Nanny Industry
Information
Finding and Hiring a Nanny
If you are a new parent or a soon-to-be parent you may be
thinking about when it comes time to return to work what childcare options will
best suit your needs and give you peace of mind. It is natural to want to find
the very best type of care for your little one and you may find the idea of
hiring a nanny quite appealing. Yet the process of finding a quality candidate,
hiring and managing a nanny and protecting yourself from any possible risks that
may be associated with employing a nanny may seem a bit intimidating.
Jack Hungelmann, author of Insurance
for Dummies, and Michelle LaRowe, International Nanny Association’s 2004
Nanny of the Year, have teamed up to co-author this article with the intent to educate
potential nanny employers. Both authors have personal reasons for wanting to
share this information with you:
Jack-
“With over 30 years experience as an insurance agent and personal risk manager,
when my daughter told me that she was feeling overwhelmed with the process of
hiring and managing a nanny to care for little Sofia Isabel, my new
granddaughter, I began to research the risks associated with hiring a nanny. I
felt that I could find the ways to best manage those risks and thus ensure that
my granddaughter would receive the highest quality, least risky childcare
possible.”
Michelle- “As a professional nanny for more than 10 years,
I am quite passionate about my profession. 4 years ago I founded Boston Area Nannies, Inc., a non-profit organization
for professional nannies, our mission is to improve the quality of in-home
childcare in our area. Our association allows nannies an educational opportunity
that will enable them to provide the best care possible to the children they
work with. I have seen how wonderful a nanny experience can be, and I have seen
and heard about how poor of an experience it can be. One of the most effective
ways that I have found to improve the quality of in-home childcare is through
educating parents as well as nannies.”
Together Jack and Michelle hope that this article will
equip you with the necessary knowledge to make wise decisions and thus avoid
some of the potential pitfalls. Hiring a full time or part time nanny to care for your little one
should be a positive experience for you—and your child.
___________________________________
Selecting the proper type of childcare provider for your family is
one of the most important decisions, that as a parent, you will ever have to
make. If you plan on utilizing full-time childcare, this decision is especially
critical.
Studies
have proven that between the ages of birth to five years, a child’s social,
intellectual and emotional development is at its most critical period of
formation. It is for this reason that you should carefully consider what type of
care is best for your infant, toddler or preschooler, and you need to be
confident that the person who is influencing the development of your child has
the appropriate skills, dedication and temperament.
Nanny
care has several advantages but only if the proper nanny is selected to serve
your family. This one-on-one care provides your child with a consistent, loving,
nurturing adult that is a team player (could be considered a co-parent) in
raising an emotionally, developmentally and socially healthy child. Nanny care
meets your child’s individual needs and provides your child with the opportunity
to grow and develop in his or her own comfortable home environment. A child who
is cared for in their own home is not as likely to be exposed to communicable
diseases and so will have fewer visits to the pediatrician’s office and you, as
a parent, will experience less stress in your daily routine, allowing you to
enjoy your at-home time with your child.
Nanny care is unsupervised care,
and the nanny industry is unregulated, thus risks are present.
It is your responsibility to reduce the risks and if you do your due
diligence, you will no doubt find that employing a nanny, will be a wonderful
experience and an appreciated solution to your childcare needs.
Research the Industry
There
are several ways to find nanny candidates: nanny placement agencies, newspaper
advertisements, bulletin boards, personal referrals, Internet classifieds or
On-line nanny matching websites. Use caution when using Internet matching or
On-line website services that do not provide screening services or support for
their client families and nannies.
If you
really want to simplify the process for yourself and prevent possible serious
problems later, it is recommended that you contact a reputable nanny referral
agency. The International Nanny Association (INA) at www.nanny.org and
the National Alliance of Professional Nanny Agencies (APNA) at www.theapna.org
welcome to their membership nanny placement agencies that agree to adhere to
their commitment of excellence and to their code of ethical conduct. Both
associations post a membership list on their website.
The
Advantages of a Placement Agency
A
reputable nanny placement agency should be active in the nanny community, hold
membership in professional organizations such as INA
and/or APNA and be free of unresolved complaints
with their local Better Business Bureau.
A
quality placement agency knows their nannies. Knowing their candidates reduces
the risk of hiring an unsafe person. A good agency has a thorough screening
process. This screening process typically includes a criminal background check
(local, state and/or national), business and personal reference checks,
educational background check, employment record check, social security or identification verification,
driving record check as well as an in-depth personal interview with the
candidate. Most reputable agencies take time to interview the family with the
intent to find out what their individual search criteria are and then will only
send them candidates that meet the identified criteria. A quality placement
agency operates under a business code of ethics and does not hide, falsify or
embellish the records of their nanny candidates or the family that has employed
them. A quality agency will provide its client family with the resources needed
to be a successful nanny employer, such as: state and federal tax information
regarding domestic employment based on current laws, referral to payroll and tax
service providers and health insurance providers, information on worker’s
compensation insurance requirements (if required in your state), guidelines for
a nanny/employer work agreement and other recommendations as needed. An ethical
nanny referral agency will either offer a trial period before a commitment to
long term employment commences or will offer a free replacement candidate if the
placement ends (for any reason) before a pre-determined time period.
Tips for Utilizing On-line Nanny
Classifieds and Internet Based Matching Services
With the convenience of the internet, many of today’s
nannies are turning to online nanny classifieds and internet matching sites that
have replaced the newspaper “childcare help wanted” sections of yesterday.
Many internet matching web sites,
free online bulletin boards, and for fee searchable databases have been created
to connect potential employers with nannies that are searching for positions.
However convenient, there are risks
associated with using these services. By using these virtual services, you are
replacing the “human” service component. You loose the middle man that helps you
walk through the placement process, ensure that ethical practices are being
followed, and the support of an agency if the placement doesn’t go as expected.
You are also putting yourself in a situation where the potential employers have
never been met, spoken to, or even verified as actual potential nanny employers.
Online Agency Referral Services
If you do decide to do an internet
based job search, consider using a site, like NannyJobs.com that
provides the convenience of internet searching with the reliability of using a
reputable nanny placement agency. NannyJobs.com provides a forum for reputable
placement agencies to advertise their listing positions on a national level. If
a nanny is interested, an application is completed and forwarded directly to the
agency, where the standard interviews, background searches and reference
checking takes place.
Hire Legally
Reputable nanny placement agencies will only refer
candidates that are legally able to work in the United
States
. They will have on file the nanny’s
proof of eligibility to work in the
U.S.
The Department of Labor
classifies nannies as domestic and unskilled workers thus individuals from outside of the
United States
are not likely to be able to obtain a work visa for employment as a
nanny. It is highly recommended that nannies speak English fluently, thus
enabling them to effectively communicate in emergency situations and understand
directions. Hiring an illegal immigrant also puts you at risk of having
to pay considerable fines and penalties imposed by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service or Internal Revenue Service. When hiring legally, you
also reduce the risk of having the relationship with your child and his or her
caregiver severed if your nanny is deported.
Pay
Legally
Nannies are employees and not classified as independent
contractors. An independent contractor is defined as someone who
supplies their own tools of the trade and works on their own schedule. Nannies
are considered an employee because they use the diapers, bottles, food, toys and
other supplies that are in the household, they also work on the schedule that is
set by the family, thus the family is their employer. Nannies must be paid
legally, which means legal payroll taxes should by withheld and paid to the
proper entities. Nannies are subject to the minimum wage law and live out
nannies are to be paid time and a half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Failure to abide
by legal hiring and tax withholding guidelines as outlined by the Internal
Revenue Service, puts you, the employer, at risk for significant fines and
penalties.
To
simplify your obligations as an employer we strongly recommend using payroll
service providers or research nanny specific payroll and tax software. Using a service makes
this process easier and keeps the financial and tax errors to a minimum,
reducing the risk of fines and penalties caused by incomplete, late or
inaccurate filings. It also significantly reduces your time involvement.
GTM, the Household Employment Experts offers a complete line of products to make
this process simple and stress free.
Buy the
Right Insurance
Many of the risks associated with hiring a nanny can be
minimized or eliminated with the proper insurance coverage. It is important not
only to buy the right kind of insurance but also to buy it in sufficient
quantities so that you're well protected in the event of a claim.
Workers’
Compensation Insurance: Workers’ Compensation is a type of insurance
policy that provides financial assistance to employees if injured on the job.
When an employee is injured on the job, Workers’ Compensation assists with lost
wages, as well as medical expenses related to the injury and recovery. In
addition, it protects employers from being sued. If the employer has not been
negligent, an employee that is injured while on the job cannot sue his/her
employer. Many states require that domestic employers carry workers compensation
insurance.
Workers
compensation has two significant advantages even if your state does not require
it. First, if your employee is injured on-the-job, the insurance will pay
his/her medical bills and lost wages, regardless of fault, and second, the law bars personal lawsuits against you if the injury
was your fault. In short, with workers compensation
insurance, your injured nanny is well taken care of and you are protected from
lawsuits. Because of these two benefits, consider optionally buying workers
compensation insurance if you live in a state that doesn't actually require the
coverage.
The best
place to buy the workers compensation insurance you need is probably from your
homeowner’s insurance agent.
Auto
Insurance: If the
person that you hire will be required to drive your child/children (even
occasionally), be sure to get the candidate’s driving history report, the nanny
can request his or her own record from the state where she/he is licensed or you
can ask to have a private investigator run the report for you, most nanny
referral agencies run these reports as standard procedure, or if you are going
to put the nanny on your auto insurance policy, your agent will check the
nanny’s driving record. Don't hire anyone that has demonstrated a careless
driving record.
If the nanny will be driving a vehicle that you own, you
should contact your automobile insurance agent to add the nanny to your policy
as an occasional or ‘on the job’ permitted driver. If he/she will be transporting your
children in her own vehicle, verify that she is carrying reasonable liability
coverage -- at least $250,000 per person for injuries. Make sure that you have
proof that her policy covers her when transporting children as part of her job
description. Many auto insurance policies do not.
Umbrella
Liability Insurance: It
isnot
difficult in today's quick to sue environment to get sued for more than the
amount of coverage you're currently carrying under either your car insurance
policy or your homeowner’s insurance policy. Having an extra person in your
household increases your lawsuit risk. For example, if a child is left for a play date in the care
of your nanny and while your nanny is pushing her on the swing she falls off and
gets injured. The child’s parents may bring suit for injury claiming negligence
on your or the nanny’s part.
An Umbrella liability policy provides $1 million or more of
additional lawsuit coverage. An Umbrella policy may cost as little as an
additional $150 per year. If you don't already have one, absolutely buy an
umbrella policy for yourself. If you have workers compensation insurance
coverage on your nanny, be sure that your umbrella policy does include
excess employer's liability coverage as well as injuries caused by employees to
others. The majority of umbrellas do not so you may need to shop around.
Use a
Work Agreement
By far,
the key to any successful nanny / employer relationship is effective
communication. This all begins with a solid nanny/employer work agreement. The
International Nanny Association has developed an
agreement that is available for purchase through its website, to purchase the
agreement along with additional educational information, go to www.nanny.org
and order the Parent/Employer Education Packet. Having a written work
agreement for future reference eliminates misunderstandings and also outlines
the roles, responsibilities and expectations of the nanny and the employer. The
work agreement addresses such things as; paid holidays, vacation and other
benefits, tax responsibilities, daily responsibilities, and in general define
the employer and employee’s obligations to one another.
Treat
Your Nanny as a Professional
As with
any good relationship, mutual respect, open communication and trust are very
important. Show your child care provider that you respect him/her as a professional by paying
them as you would a professional employee, offering standard benefits, (paid
vacation time, health insurance, annual raises) or possibly offering other perks
(such as health club memberships or frequent flyer miles). A nanny doesn’t want
to be treated as domestic help. She/he truly loves working with children and
wants the children to be the main focus of his/her responsibilities. In most
cases, a professional nanny should not be asked to do your personal laundry or
clean your bedroom or private bath. Respect your nanny’s privacy. This is
especially important if you employ a live-in nanny. It is inappropriate to enter
your nanny’s bedroom without her permission. Her weekend activities and other
areas of her personal life are not your concern. If you plan to use a nanny
camera, discuss it with your nanny. Nanny cams are meant to reduce the risk of abuse, not to
capture it. The laws vary from state to state regarding the use
of concealed cameras, such as where they may be located and whether audio
recording is allowed. It is not legal to have a camera in a bedroom or bathroom.
To avoid breaking
the law, do some research regarding your state regulations. If you have
the slightest doubt about your child’s well being, reevaluate your nanny and
take the necessary steps to ensure your child’s safety.
Have a
Backup Plan
Have a
backup plan for those days when your nanny is sick or unable to be at work.
This reduces the
risk of you being left without childcare when you really need it.
One good back-up
plan would be to register with an agency that offers temporary nanny referral
service, be sure to choose one that pre-screens candidates before sending them
out to families. Your nanny may also have recommendations of individuals that
can cover for him/her when an emergency situation arises.
Closing
Remarks:
Michelle: Being a nanny and making a difference in the life of a
child is an amazing experience. It’s not a choice; it’s a calling. The nannies
that I know absolutely love what they do and exemplify professionalism as well
as devotion to their vocation.
Jack: There are risks and insurance issues associated with
hiring a nanny. Workers compensation, personal liability coverage and auto
insurance issues are a few you may encounter. If you don't already have an agent
who is an insurance expert on your team of advisers, this would be the time to
find such a person. Agents with either the CPCU or CIC designation generally
have the expertise to give you advice on such matters.
Together: Providing a professional caring nanny for your children
can be a wonderful gift to them—and to you. If you follow our combined advice
and pay attention to the details, you should be able to rest in the assurance
that your child is well cared for and the time and effort you put into making an
educated decision will be well worth it.
Recommended Practices for Nanny Placement Agencies
To promote quality
child care and an environment for all children that nurture their well-being,
the International Nanny Association has developed
recommended practices for nanny placement agencies.