Yes. Having a nanny contract encourages professionalism and accountability between you and your nanny. Nanny contracts bring clarity and agreements in what is to expected in her responsibilities. You’ll find that most people avoid having a contract because they think it will affect the relationship between you and your nanny, but the reality is not having one can affect your relationship and cause a lot of confusion between you and your nanny. Most conflicts that arise between a parent and nanny could have easily been avoided if a contract was drafted. Issues such as holiday pay, vacation pay, sick pay and overtime pay always seem to be the number one issue that causes tension in the nanny industry. Such concerns have to be drafted in a contract that way there is no confusion or misunderstanding.
A professionally written nanny contract can also protect both parties if any legal situations were to arise and must comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act employment law in regards to salary, taxes and worker’s compensation insurance.
A Nanny contract generally display:
- Nanny’s duties and responsibilities,
- Salary rate and work hours,
- Terms of holiday pay, sick pay,vacation pay and overtime pay.
- Frequency of pay(weekly, bi-weekly, e.t.c.)
- Boundaries that relate to usage of family car
- Requirements of Nanny’s car & work related car expenses
- Termination regulations- making sure each of you gives a two week or a month’s notice.
You can always draft a nanny contract yourself based on what your family needs and specifics are, there are no limits to how detailed you would like it to be. The more detailed it is the better. You can also get some sample online contracts which you can alter. Make sure you both read, sign, date the contract and create copies for each of you.
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