Is your nanny a part of the family Christmas?
You’d be surprised how often a nanny is considered to be a ‘problem’ around the festive season. Rather than a valued family member. The three big areas of concern are:
1. Should we pay our nanny a bonus?
2. How much time off should nanny have for Christmas?
3. What work should nanny do to help prepare for the holidays?
The nanny bonus
The bonus question is a very personal one. Some families do, some don’t. Families often see a week’s salary as the bonus amount. For many parents a half-week’s pay would stretch them to their utmost and some families simply can’t afford a bonus at all. The problem comes if you’ve given a bonus in previous years and can’t this time around and that requires complete honesty with your nanny so that she knows.
a – it’s not a reflection on her performance.
b – her job is safe because your financial constraints are to ensure you can continue to pay her on time.
It’s often suggested that people budget for an annual bonus. Which doesn’t need to be given at Christmas necessarily. Finally, it’s vital to remember that a bonus has to be declared and tax and National Insurance deducted.
Time off for nanny at Christmas
Holiday entitlement should be negotiated well in advance. The four weeks paid annual leave each year can often be best allocated by allowing nanny to choose two weeks of her holiday while the family chooses the other two. This means that you may end up hiring a temporary nanny for certain periods. A superior nanny agency will help you have a seamless transition into and out of temporary nanny’s period of employment.
Problems can arise where nanny’s culture doesn’t celebrate Christmas and she has other major festivals where she would like to be with her family and community. It’s important to be fair about such matters. If nothing else your children benefit from a multicultural perspective and the tolerance and understanding this allows them to build.
Plan for Christmas with Nanny
It’s good to get plans organised many months in advance. If you are a Christmas junkie and expect Nanny to get involved. She should either be given a bonus payment or some of her other regular duties should be cut back. It’s unfair to expect Nanny to take on board your own enthusiasm for the season. If, on the other hand, you’re lukewarm about Christmas but she comes from a big happy family. It’s not fair to expect her to curtail her own holidays to fit in with you.
Most nanny’s love to help children understand and enjoy the season but it’s important to talk about your family traditions and beliefs. Whether that’s the Elf on the Shelf or the fact that you say Father Christmas and she says Santa Claus. Her own upbringing and ideas may add richness to your own plans. Nannies can often help create an unforgettable atmosphere by helping the children to participate in Christmas planning. Decorating, writing letters to Santa, preparing for school plays and all the other events that go to make up a memorable Yuletide.
Helping children choose a present for nanny is a good way to focus on the special contribution she’s made to your family throughout the year. Ensuring that you, as an adult, involve her in the fun and seek her input on such things as how to decorate the tree mean she won’t feel left out at a time of year when most of us put family first.