How to Handle Snow Days with a Nanny

Jan 11, 2019 | Household Employer Policies

Snow days for a nanny can cause frustration and resentment for both you and your employee. Here’s how to create a policy that is fair and will benefit all parties.

When bad weather makes commuting to work potentially unsafe, professionals in the traditional workforce have some options. They may be able to work from home or take a paid or unpaid day off. Their office could close and they would not have to go to work. Nanny “snow days” are a different story.

Nannies obviously can’t work from home, may be reluctant to take an unpaid day off, and could be required to make every effort possible to get to their job so their employer can go to work.

With a snow day policy as part of your work agreement, clear communications with your nanny, and proper planning when bad weather is forecast, you can reduce the frustrations and possible resentment over snow days that can harm your employee relationship.

Consider weather and commuting when deciding on a candidate

If you live in a part of the country where bad weather is expected each and every winter season, that could impact who you hire for your position. Do you want the candidate who has a long commute or needs to travel back roads, which may be unplowed or treacherous in winter, to get to work? Or someone who lives in town or could rely on public transportation to get to work? You want to hire the best professional caregiver for your children and that is your primary objective when bringing a nanny into your home. But part of that decision-making process could be the reliability of your nanny when the weather turns ugly.

Put your snow day policy in writing

How you will handle snow days for your nanny should be part of your work agreement or nanny contract. Create a policy that is reasonable and considers both your needs and those of your nanny. Review your snow day policy along with the rest of the agreement before your nanny starts work and make sure there is a clear understanding of responsibilities.

Communicate your expectations

Beyond the written work agreement, clearly express your expectations when there is snow or bad weather that may delay your nanny’s arrival or prevent her from getting to your home. This is especially true if you work in law enforcement, as an emergency medical technician or at a hospital where you’re expected to be on the job no matter the weather situation. In that case, there will be very few instances where you’d have a snow day for your nanny.

Or, perhaps you’re a teacher who can be home on school snow days or work-from-home parent or have more flexibility with your job when the weather turns bad. Then maybe it’s ok if your nanny errs more often on the side of caution and decides not to come to work.

There could also be times when you work from home in bad weather and need your nanny to take care of your children so you can focus on your job. Make sure your nanny understands this type of situation should it arrive. She may wonder why she even came to work if you had planned to stay home.

When your nanny is consistently missing work because of snow-related reasons – even when the weather isn’t that bad – it may be a sign of bigger issues. If you have concerns, address them with your nanny, try to clear up any problems, and come to a joint understanding.

Define a snow day

You may view bad weather differently than your nanny. While you may think the roads are fine and you want your nanny to show up for work so you can get to your job, your nanny may think it’s unsafe to travel. Then what?

It’s a good idea to define what is considered a snow day. Is it when the local school district closes schools? Or when government offices are closed? When your company says to stay home? Or when a state of emergency is declared? If your nanny depends on public transportation to get to work maybe it’s a snow day when the subways and bus lines are closed or delayed.

The point here is to make the decision on declaring a snow day more objective than subjective. However, there will be times when you will need to make the assessment rather than waiting for some type of closure or state of emergency.

Your definition of a snow day should be part of your nanny contract and agreed upon by both parties.

Plan ahead

More often than not you know in advance when a major snowstorm or hurricane is headed your way. If you know you’ll need to get to work no matter what the next day, then you may want to consider having your nanny stay at your home the night before the expected storm. Or if the storm develops during the day, have her stay with you that night so she doesn’t have to make a potentially dangerous trip back to her home. This can get tricky if the nanny has children or pets and they have nowhere to go if your nanny is not at home.

If you’re going to require your nanny to spend the night, give her as much notice and make every accommodation possible, including taking in her children and pets as well, so it’s not a hardship for her. You could provide extra compensation so your nanny can arrange care for her dependents.

Another suggestion would be to ask a family member or neighbor ahead of time if they could provide temporary care (whether in their home or yours) for your children on the bad weather day so you can go to work and your nanny can stay home.

Decide how your nanny will be compensated

Compensation for snow days is another factor that should part of your nanny contract and clearly communicated before your nanny starts working for you.

There are a few ways to approach days when there is bad weather.

If it meets your definition of a snow day, you could consider it an extra paid day off at your nanny’s normal hourly rate. If your work closes or it’s not critical that you’re on the job, then this may be the way to go whether it’s technically a snow day or not. It’s also fair to pay your nanny for the day if you told her not to come to work. Another way to look at it is… if you’re getting paid, even if you’re home and not working, then your nanny should be paid too.

But what if it’s not a snow day as defined by your nanny contract and your nanny says she’s not coming into work because of the weather? You could pay her for a normal day. You could count it as one of her personal days where she gets paid for the day and you deduct it from her allotted paid time off (PTO). If your nanny is out of PTO, then you could decide not to pay her for the day.

Another idea is to provide three to five “snow days” as part of their PTO package. This could help when you live in an area with bad winters.

If you’re requiring your nanny to come to work in bad weather, you may want to give her extra time for her commute. Maybe allow her an extra hour or two. Again, whatever you decide should be part of your nanny contract’s snow day policy and agreed to with your nanny.

If you require your nanny to spend the night, you may want to compensate the nanny for those extra hours even though she may not be “on the job.”

Offer an opportunity to make up missed work

Another approach to the compensation question is to agree on a plan for your nanny to “make up” unpaid hours. Perhaps she works a weekend day so you can get work done around the house or run errands. Or maybe it’s a couple of evenings to give you and your partner “date nights.” This way your nanny gets her normal paycheck and you have some extra time for fun or knock items off your to-do list.

Be safe, considerate, and smart

Bad weather is an inconvenience to just about everyone and controllable by no one. It may not make sense to put your nanny on dangerous roads so you can get to work. If she’s not going to get paid, she may feel obligated to get to work even if she feels unsafe driving especially if your job is her full-time position. She relies on those wages to pay her bills, buy groceries, and take care of her rent or mortgage. Your nanny may also have childcare needs of her own that get thrown out of whack when bad weather arrives.

Bottom line, you don’t want bitterness over snow days to creep into an otherwise healthy relationship with your nanny. If you (and especially your children) like your nanny and consider her honest and trustworthy, is it worth it to possibly create resentment over something so relatively minor? According to our recent survey of nannies, a trustworthy and ethical employer is the top quality they want in a family (even more than their rate of pay). Having a fair snow day policy will go a long way towards showing that and not leaving anyone out in the cold.