Do’s and Dont’s of Traveling with a Nanny
Summer is here and travel season is in full swing! One question we get asked frequently is how it works to travel with your nanny. Bringing your nanny with you on vacation can be an amazing experience so you get quality time with your children but can also relax and enjoy your time away! It does take some good communication and planning beforehand to make sure everything goes smoothly. We are here to let you know the do’s and don’ts of traveling with a nanny from pay, accommodations, setting schedules and more!
Tips for Traveling with a Nanny
All of the nanny’s expenses should be covered while traveling with your family such as transportation (airfare or mileage reimbursement if they are driving their own vehicle), meals, hotel room, and outings. The only thing the nanny would pay for out of pocket would be personal expenses during their off time.
When traveling with a nanny, it is common for the nanny to have their own bedroom if it’s a shared house or hotel room if you are staying in a hotel. There are times when the parents might ask the nanny to share a room with a baby or child and be responsible for waking up with the baby overnight. In that case, the nanny would need to be paid for all overnight hours.
If you are traveling to a destination where other family members or friends’ children will be present, it’s important to discuss whether your nanny will be responsible for all of the children or just yours. If they are responsible for all of the children, they should be compensated accordingly. Even if they aren’t fully responsible for other children, they will probably end up helping out with them in some way or another. They should be compensated additionally for that.
Give your nanny set times that they will be working and time when they have off. If they are working during the day with the kids and you need them to work that night so you can go out to eat, make sure they have some downtime between “shifts”.
It’s also a good idea to discuss how you feel about the nanny having an alcoholic beverage while on the trip (not when they are caring for your children!). Are you comfortable with them having a glass of wine or beer with you at night after the kids have gone to bed?
Make a Plan
We highly recommend sitting down with your nanny well in advance of your trip to make a plan and make sure you are on the same page. Make sure to discuss a general schedule you have in mind, compensation, travel arrangements, if there are any additional children they will be caring for and any additional info they need to know about the destination or travel arrangements.
Some families will also draft a “mini contract” if the trip is a week or longer. This is a great idea and something we recommend at Your Happy Nest to make sure everyone is on the same page before traveling!
Travel expectations should also be discussed when you are hiring a nanny and written into your initial employment contract. You might not have all of your travel details at the time you are hiring a nanny, but it is helpful to give the nanny an idea of what you have in mind for travel to make sure they feel they can fulfill those needs before accepting the position.
If your nanny needs a passport to travel, make sure you let them know as early as possible in case they have to obtain a passport or have theirs renewed. When we are doing a nanny search with Your Happy Nest and a family mentions travel, we ask if there is any international travel required. If so, we make sure the nanny is comfortable traveling internationally and let them know to go ahead and make sure their passport is valid and ready to go!
Compensation
Compensation can be tricky to figure out when traveling with a nanny because travel can look very different depending on the type of trip and there isn’t a “standard” in the nanny industry. Is your nanny going to be with your child the majority of the day while you attend a conference or work trip or will they just be an extra hand while you are on a beach vacation?
Most families and nannies will pay hourly for any hours the nanny is working and away from home (this includes travel time to and from the destination). Keep in mind overtime rates (time and a half) do apply when traveling if the nanny works over 40 hours in a week. Most families will pay a flat rate for sleeping hours, unless the nanny is sharing a room with a baby and will be getting up in the middle of the night with the baby. Some families and nannies will set a flat rate per day for travel which covers day and overnight hours.
Remember
This is your vacation, not your nanny’s! Even though it can be a job perk for many nannies to have the opportunity to travel with their nanny families, it is still work for them and can often be harder work than being at home with the kids! Bringing a nanny on vacation with you is a great way to get the most out of your vacation so you can get some much-needed relaxation time and also get the opportunity to go out for an adult dinner or excursion during the day.
