I think this has been the most compromised issue in the nanny industry, simply because there just seems to be misunderstandings way of how to get it done the right way. Before you can decide on whether you want to take your nanny to a family vacation, there are some few things that need to be talked over, understood, agreed and possibly put on paper.
A nanny once shared with me her situation of where by she was invited by the family she works for to accompany them on a family vacation. She hesitated at first due to the horror stories from other nannies, but after much thought, decided to take the chance. Yes they sat down and discussed the logistics and made sure they had crossed every T and dotted every i on the regulations. But to her utmost surprise, nothing seemed to be as they had discussed, she actually had completely no time off, and worked the whole time she was there, and was not allowed to leave the premises, which was not part of the agreement, she was horrified by her experience and vowed never to do it again. Obviously the family lost another opportunity of having the luxury of the accompaniment of their very own nanny. Such instances are avoidable.
First of all, you need to know that your nanny will not be on vacation, she will be working, so even though you feel like you have privileged her with an opportunity to see the world, the truth is that she would much rather do in her own time.
If the position you have created requires a nanny that travels, it of course must discussed with the nanny the number of times and if possible, the time frames of those times you would need her, just incase she has her own family, she can if she is willing, to plan herself ahead of time. You will always come across some nannies that really enjoy the idea of traveling with the family, especially if they have no commitment to a family or children and also to no school commitments. That category of nannies are much more flexible when it comes to traveling.
Taking the nanny with you can be quite expensive, because you are required to pay for her travel fees such as visa fees and ticket fees, vaccination shots (if required), lodging expenses and food. Most families take their nannies just for the fact the peace of mind, plus for the flexibility of the parents having to be on their own on date nights while on vacation. Parents say at peace knowing that the children are with a person they already know versus a hotel nanny, plus they don’t have to worry about the child/children throwing tantrums because they have been left with someone they are not familiar with considering the children are not in a familiar place.
Even though you decide on taking your regular caretaker, it ends up becoming more challenging for her because it’s more likely you are going to a place where there will probably be a difference of time which of course plays a big part on regular sleeping patterns that the child/children are used to. Eating habits can also become an issue because most children don’t eat too well when traveling outside of their comfort zones. All of these play a major factor and can end up becoming more of a task even for the professionals.
Before the time of travel, make sure you and your nanny discuss what is to be expected from her during the travel and if possible, discuss the scheduling of what activities your family intends on participating in during this travel. This usually gives the nanny a rough idea of what to expect as far as her conduct with the children. Discuss workload, hours, nanny time off and compensation.
Nannies are usually compensated double pay or time and a half on the nanny’s weekly salary for travel. You have to consider that you are taking your nanny away from her everyday out of work responsibilities, so there has to be an incentive for her to agree to come with you. I recommend you make sure your nanny have some alone time within the vacation time just so you don’t overburden her leaving her extremely burnt out after you get back home.
Some families have the habit of having the nanny share a room with the kids, if this agreement seems suitable between you and your nanny then great, but this always seems to leave a bad taste in the mouth of the nanny.
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