Understandably, you will want your nanny to travel with your family over the holidays. However, you should not assume that your nanny will want to give up their holidays to care for your children. To ensure your children will have a nanny this holiday season, we recommended reviewing the following tips for holiday travel with nannies.

#1: Review your expectations of your nanny during the holiday season.

Take the time to discuss your holiday travel plans with your nanny. You should let them know where you plan on traveling, how long you intend to be away, and why you want your nanny to travel with you.

Make sure to explain you will cover all related travel expenses. It is also a good idea to cover the costs for any meals during working hours. Most importantly, while traveling, if your nanny supervises your children, these should be considered paid working hours.

#2: Be open to negotiations if holiday travel is not part of your nanny’s regular job duties and responsibilities.

Suppose your nanny is not expected to travel with you and your family. In that case, you would want to be open to negotiations like you would if you were hiring a travel nanny. For example, your nanny may still want to be off on Christmas Day, even though she’s traveling with you.

#3: Be upfront about the expected work to be performed during the holidays.

Take the time to review job expectations and duties you want your nanny to handle while traveling during the holidays. For instance, you may want your nanny to manage your children’s dinner times, so you and your spouse are free to enjoy adult holiday meals and gatherings.

#4: Ensure your nanny receives holiday pay if she works on a holiday.

If your nanny is working on a holiday caring for your children, take the time to guarantee she will receive holiday pay. Holiday pay is usually 1.5 times or 2 times her normal hourly rate. Holiday pay should be paid in addition to any paid holiday compensation.

To illustrate, suppose your nanny works eight hours on Christmas Day and also receives paid holidays. You would pay your nanny eight hours of regular pay for her paid holiday plus 1.5 times or 2 times her normal pay rate for the eight hours she worked.

#5: Compensate your nanny with nanny travel pay.

Since your nanny will be away from home, special nanny travel pay should be considered. You may want to offer her per diem to cover daily meals. Additionally, you will want to offer a higher pay rate than her normal hourly rate since she is traveling. After all, she will be traveling with you during the holidays and taking time away from her friends and family.

#6: Make sure your nanny has their own separate sleeping accommodations when traveling.

Your nanny should have her own separate sleeping accommodations. If you are staying at a resort, ensure you cover their room. Providing a separate room allows your nanny to enjoy a private space during her off-hours.

What Can I Do if My Nanny Wants the Holidays Off?

If your nanny has already made plans to take time off during the holidays to spend with her family and friends, you could hire a travel nanny. A travel nanny is experienced in traveling with families and their children and can fill in for your nanny until you return home.

For help finding a holiday travel nanny, please feel free to contact our nanny staffing service, Staffing at Tiffanie’s, by calling 866-484-5550 today!