Babysitters working hourly on short term assignments ranged from 54% earning $15-$20 per hour, 22% at $12-$15 and 17% at lower rates of $7-$11per hour.

What is the breakdown of live-in verses live out Nannies?
Personally, I have seen a sizable increase in the popularity of live-in nannies in Phoenix since the recession, but the trend seems to be decreasing overall from 16% in 2006 to 13% in 2008. Perhaps this increase I see is from families moving to the area from the East and West coast and Canada, where these arrangements are more standard.

How did most nannies find their jobs and who are their employers?
Professional couples employed 66% of the respondents, and 12% of the families had an at home parent. Another 12% was a couple with one or both parents working from a home office. 46% of the nannies found their current position through a local brick and mortar nanny agency.

How do most families deal with taxes and Health Insurance?
Families withholding both federal and state taxes were at 61%. Fewer families are offering health insurance, as 100% fully funded healthcare dropped from 20% in 2006 to 17% reported in 2009. However, another 12% of in home childcare providers received 50% paid health insurance.

Most families, 63%, pay for national and religious holidays, and 62% give paid sick days. Twenty-nine percent give paid personal days. Over 86% offer one to three week paid vacations. Sixty -four percent receive reimbursement for use of their vehicle or use of the employer’s car for errands.

How much should nannies ask when traveling with their families?
Out of the 37% that did travel with their families, 13% reported receiving no additional compensation, and 15% of others received additional payment ranging from $150 to $50 per day. Eight percent received other types of compensation.

Overnight Care
When staying overnight, 25% of nannies received $50-$75 additionally and 37% were given between $100 to $150 extra. Fifteen percent received no additional compensation and 25% received other types of compensation.

When your employer doesn’t need you to work, do they pay you for the time you have off?
Three-fourths of nannies reported that they are paid their normal salaries and 15% said that if they aren’t needed, they don’t get paid. Eight percent are asked to make up the childcare hours.

How much does the average nanny receive in year-end bonuses?
One to four weeks’ salary was reported by 29%   No bonus or gift was reported by 16%. Twenty-nine percent told us they received a generous gift or gift certificate between $100 and $500 or more and 4% received an extravagant gift in excess of $500. Only 18% of employers reported financial year-end gifts as income that was taxed.

How much education do nannies have?
Nearly half have been to college! Nineteen percent reported having two years of college and 28% reported having a BA.

Professionalism
Nannies interest in investing in their professions has increased, as nanny conference attendance grew from 22% in 2006 to 29% reported in 2009. That seems to be a nationwide trend as the unemployed in all fields are increasing their skill sets to become more valuable to their employers.
Nannies are also researching child care findings online or in books at the rate of 79%, and 29% attend community colleges or continuing education classes, and 25% attended meetings of local nanny groups and 22% attended professional conferences.
Eighty-three percent kept current with CPR and First Aid training.

Our staff at Caring Nannies works hard to recruit the most qualified Nannies in the Phoenix area. It is wise to be aware of current market conditions when planning your benefits package for your nanny when hiring and at annual reviews so as to be competitive. To see the entire survey, click here.

First of all, the new legislation isnt in effect until 2014. Families are
exempt from the requirement to provide health Insurance for nannies,
since only businesses with 50 + employees are obligated.

Although the new legislation wont impact you directly, it is becoming
more and more important for everyone to get Health coverage.
There are benefits to offering your household employee health insurance.
Several of our families are offering insurance as part of their benefits
package and it is attracting nannies they may not otherwise have
access to.You can contribute up to 100% of your nannys premiums.
This is non-taxable compensation, meaning neither you nor your nanny
pay taxes on that part of the pay.

For a sample of the tax savings you and your caregiver,
download the PDF Health Insurance or give us a call.

We are here to help you, your family and your nanny with any
payroll, tax or labor law questions. And what we dont know,
we know who to refer you to.

Quick Tax Facts

$1,700: If Your nanny makes this much per year, you need to pay Social Security & Medicare
$2,500 : Total amount of tax breaks you can utilize when paying legally.
1.5: If your Employee works more than 40 hours per week, this should be her pay rate.
$0.50: Mileage reimbursement rate
$7.25: Arizona minimum wage
55: IRS estimate of annual hours needed to manage household payroll
$2: Daily cost to have a nanny tax service keep you in line with the law

We label our progress:

1. Doing Tremendous!

2. Making strides, but still a ways to go

3. A challenge area

4. Oops! Do I really have to do this?

You’ve had a good year if:

You spent more time evaluating your past year and planning for the direction of your life. We all have room to grow. How was your year?

Your family relationships strengthened. 
Did you spend more time of richer quality with your spouse and children?
Did you make more time available to your spouse and less to your hobbies or business? 
Did you spend focused time teaching your children values?
Did you eat dinner together as a family more and watch less TV?
Is your love and service to them greater than it was last year?
We can only bring to our career what we already have in our lives and in our homes.

Our outward achievements are only a reflection of our inward success.
If you saw yourself more as servant to your employees, clients, peers, and suppliers, with a goal to make them more successful, if you’ve made the effort to encourage and edify others, then you’ve had a good year.

You are even slightly less acquisitive. 
The urge to acquire things is very human, and there’s nothing wrong with having it, but stuff doesn’t truly satisfy. We know that there’s no joy or peace in material things. In fact, the more we get, the more were distracted, and the more work we have to clean it, organize it, insure it and store it. If youve extricated yourself, even a little, from its grasp, if you’ve reduced your debt, even a little, you’ve had a good year.

You are more grateful and content.
What do we have that we deserve? We live better than kings and queens in the past, so how can we not be grateful?  Can you say I have more than I deserve or need and really mean it?

You have more peace in your heart.
Its been a rough year economically for many.  If our peace depends on the Dow average, it comes and goes.
If you see blessings in all your circumstances, both good and bad, more clearly this year, you’ve had a good year.

You became more proficient in your job.
If you consider that your business or occupation is a gift that you’re to lead with passion and youve been learning and using better ways, you’ve had a good year!
 
You took better care of your body.
Did your exercise and diet prove you’re developing more self-discipline? Mastering yourself is a key to maturity.  If youre in better shape than a year ago, you’ve had a good year. 

I hope you have a wonderful 2010,

Beth Weise

We recently updated our Child Safety Quiz that every nanny takes when they come in for an interview to include questions about the dangers of internet safety and abduction.   We invite our families to take advantage of several internet child safety quizzes designed for children, their families and caregivers.

Internet Safety Quiz: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=714

Abduction Safety: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/missingkids/Child_Abduction_and_Missing_Kids.htm

For the Children’s Sake,

Beth Weise

Here are ten ways to use the holidays to develop new skills and values and have more fun year round.

Give to people who can’t give back.
We aren’t designed to be receptacles, but conduits of what we’re receiving. When we are giving, we feel like we’re really living. Look around you. Is there an elderly neighbor who lost her spouse this year? Invite her to your home for dinner. Holidays are a lonely time for many, and the gift of your time means more than you can imagine. Caring Nannies is collecting new children’s jackets for Neighborhood Ministries in South Phoenix, one of the four charities that we donate $25 of your Family Application to. You can drop off a jacket at our office or one of our staff will gladly pick it up from your home.

Involve the children in giving
Children are naturally self-focused. We have 12 + years to help them be other focused. Let them do extra chores, earn money, and shop a 99 cent store to pick out a gift for a needy child in the community or a sibling. The key is to have them pick out a gift they would like or that is similar to what they have. Make it a family event and go out for donuts afterwards. Have them make a gift for grandparents. Check out this website for some easy craft ideas.

Volunteer together
The best way to build character in kids is to volunteer. It seems like an oxymoron to give more time when you’re feeling so stretched for time just for the basics, but it gives you such a good feeling and nurtures the soul. Your church or synagogue may be volunteering at a soup kitchen, or you can go with another family. This reality check will soak in as kids serve food.

Delegate
Traditionally, Moms do most of the holiday preparation, so ask Dad to pick up gifts, and the kids to help with holiday baking, wrapping, and decorating.

Ask relatives to agree to cut back
Some families ask for a donation to a college fund or a donation to an organization in a developing nation in the child’s name. Kiva enables you to make a loan to an entrepreneur across the globe for as little as $25. H2OProject gives water to a village in a developing country–two other charities we sponsor. If you want to exchange gifts, consider scaling back by drawing names and exchanging gifts with only one family member. Give only one gift per person. Play the White Elephant Game, and give a gift you want to get rid of, or gifts set at an agreed on price.

Making Gifts
Our family enjoyed making gifts each year. We put on children’s character building story tapes, set up an assembly line, and painted, glued and wrapped home made crafts. The children also made Coupon Books for a free shoeshine, backrub, making dinner, washing dishes, going on a walk, or washing the car. Make your own wrapping paper with sheets of newsprint and potato stamps dipped in tempera paint.Kids can decorate place cards for holiday dinners. Offer your child’s teacher an afternoon of your time, or donate school supplies. Using your creativity makes for a more meaningful and memorable gift.

Create important family traditions
It doesn’t matter what you do, but do some family activities every year where you really connect with those you love. I always made a special pastry for Christmas morning. Together you can sing Christmas carols at a nursing home, attend services together or peel grapes for the holiday ambrosia. Consistency is the key—do the same things every year! My grown children still want to go to Grandma’s house to frost her cut out cookies and decorate them with sprinkles. Watch them create similar rituals with their children!

Lower the bar
From our childhood, we all have glorified expectations of what the holidays should be like. It can feel overwhelming to live up to those expectations. What will they remember 20 years from now? Probably not what gifts they received, but the feeling of closeness and those family rituals. So drive them to see the holiday lights in the neighborhood instead of shopping at the Mall. Go ice skating or ice blocking together. String popcorn on the tree. It is those intimate, warm moments that will make holidays to remember.

Get organized
Getting organized lowers holiday stress, and is a valuable life skill that can spread to other areas of your life. Start today and work at it consistently for 15 minutes per day. Then relax and enjoy the holidays.

Here are two helpful websites:

Flylady’s Holiday Control Journal

Christmas Countdown: Six Weeks to an Organized Christmas

Beth Weise, CEO and Founder, Caring Nannies

A fairly common myth exists in the household employment industry: it is acceptable to report some of an employee’s wages “on the books” and some “off the books.”  The rationalization is that both family and employee save some tax dollars and the nanny receives some of her benefits.  Additionally, because both parties file tax returns and appear to be compliant, they convince themselves they’ll fly under the audit radar.

While it’s true that your clients and candidates are better off reporting partial wages versus none at all, both parties need to know there is still financial and legal risk.  To the state and federal tax authorities, this practice represents a textbook case of conspiring to commit felony tax fraud and tax evasion.  Therefore, for your agency’s protection, make sure you and your counselors avoid any communication – explicit or implicit – that might be construed as condoning or supporting the practice of reporting partial wages.  This case illustrates the risk for clients, candidates and agencies.

The Mistake
When making an offer to a candidate, a family offered to report only half the wages in order to meet a desired “take-home pay.”  The employment agreement was finalized (and placement fees were calculated) based on a $30,000 annual salary, but the family and nanny agreed to set up payroll to reflect a salary of $15,000.  The agency counselor, knowing the deal was improper but understandably eager to make the placement work, silently oversaw the negotiations.  By failing to raise a red flag, the agency provided implicit approval of the arrangement. 

The Law
Employers are required by law to report all compensation paid to an employee. This includes regular wages as well as all cash allowances, overtime pay, bonuses, commissions, gratuities, etc.   (The only non-taxable forms of compensation are employer-paid health insurance premiums and employer-paid tuition for an accredited college or university).  Verbal or written agreements to compensate an employee completely or partially “off the books” is considered felony tax evasion, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
The Mess

After a couple of years on the job, the nanny became pregnant.  For health reasons, she was put on bed rest a month prior to her due date.  Following the birth, she planned on a two-month maternity leave.  Knowing she would need financial help in order to pay her bills during this 3-month period without employment, the nanny called the state’s disability benefits office to consult with a case worker about the application process, the amount she could expect, how long before she got a check, etc.

After talking to the case worker, the nanny was upset about what she considered to be an inadequate amount of financial assistance.  (All government benefits – including disability, unemployment, retirement, Medicare, etc. – are tied directly to reported compensation.  Since she had reported only half of her wages, she was due to receive only half of her benefits).

Frightened that she would be unable to make ends meet during such a critical time in her life, the nanny desperately pleaded with the family to pay for the other half of her disability benefits.  The family told her they would not be able to help her, claiming they would need all their money to pay for a replacement nanny during her time off.  Stressed, tired and emotional – and out of options for supplemental income – the nanny decided to apply for her disability benefits with a stated income of $30,000.  This triggered the following series of events:
• The case worker at the state reviewed all the tax records and noticed a discrepancy between the stated and reported wages.  The case worker then sent a notice to the employer to verify actual wages.
• The family was now trapped in a no-win situation.  If they chose to lie and maintain that the wages were $15,000, the state would likely audit the nanny and the family, ultimately discovering the conspiracy to evade taxes.  If they decided to honestly admit under-reporting of wages, they would be subject to expensive back taxes, penalties and interest.
• Upon learning the consequences of felony tax evasion charges, the family opted to come clean.

The Outcome
• The family was forced to go back to the beginning of the relationship and amend every quarterly state tax return using the corrected gross income of $30,000.  In addition to paying taxes on the unreported wages, the family was also required to pay penalties and interest.
• The family also had to amend two years of personal income tax returns and pay all the social security, Medicare and federal unemployment taxes.  Because they did not withhold the employee’s portion of the social security and Medicare taxes on the unreported wages, the family was forced to pay both the employer and employee portions of these taxes.  They were also subject to underpayment penalties on these federal taxes, which added two years worth of interest charges onto the bill.
• The employee was forced to amend her personal income tax returns to correctly report the total compensation.  This resulted in additional income taxes and interest on the unreported income.  She ultimately got the disability benefits she needed, but she had to set up a payment plan with the tax agencies to cover her increased income tax liability.
• The family contacted the agency repeatedly through this process, threatening to sue for a refund of fees and half the damages.  Although they knew in their heart that the partial reporting deal they struck was improper, they claimed that the agency gave them a false sense of security.  In their mind, the agency was complicit because they knowingly brokered an illegal placement.  The agency ultimately acquiesced to the family’s demand in order to avoid the cost and risk of a lawsuit.

How the Whole Thing Could Have Been Avoided
This situation might have been avoided if the agency had 1) explicitly warned the family of their obligations to report all wages, and 2) clearly explained to the candidate the benefits available to those who are paid legally and the risk involved in failing to report income.

A thorough understanding by both parties of the taxes, the benefits and the risks would have helped them make an informed decision.  Of course, the family and nanny might have decided to continue down the illegal path anyway, but at least they would have done so knowingly – thereby absolving the agency of all risk.

Everyone is back in school and the world runs at a more predictable pace with set routines and children in uniforms. Our entire staff is also back at school this semester, at SCC, on-line, as well as MCC, sharpening our computer and communication skills. Much of our weekends are spent laboring over our laptops. We also want to encourage you to send your nanny to school if she hasn’t already. Our valuable Nanny Boot Camp began in June of this year, and we have continued to receive encouraging feedback from nannies as well as families.

It’s also homework time for many of you also in the evenings, and research shows that when parents become involved in their children’s schoolwork, the children do better in school, as well as benefiting their self-esteem. When my children were young, we always used “Grandmas Rule”. It was reputed that Grandma said that there is no dessert until you are finished with your spinach, and hold off on watching TV and other fun activities until homework is completed. A helpful website to help parents motivate children with homework can be found at http://www.kidsource.com/schwab/ten.homework.tips.schwab.html.

When children start school, it can create a quandary for the family’s childcare arrangements. You only need a nanny for the few hours in the morning and when the children are home in the afternoon. With our service, we require that the nanny have a four hour minimum each time she comes, due to her travel time and gas expenses. Obviously, you don’t want to pay for childcare while children are at school. Some families will switch to an after-school nanny who comes in from 2pm to 6pm, and their nanny will move on to a younger set. Some nannies find they are so bonded to the children they don’t wish to leave; however, they can’t afford to only work part time. This may be the time when families consider changing their job description to Nanny/Home Manager. The variety and creativity of this new assignment may appeal to the nanny, and give her an opportunity to expand skills of multitasking and organizing.

A Nanny/Home Manager can do the marketing, keeping the household supplies fully stocked, plan and prepare dinners, pick up birthday gifts provide pet care, complete family laundry, run to the dry cleaners or Post Office, change the oil, manage the family calendar, organize after school activities, research summer camps, make travel arrangements, and provide extra supervision and security if a child has a sick day or early release. This Family Assistant provides additional value by giving you that indispensable time after work so that you are free to spend time with the most significant people in your life, as well as giving you that cherished time to recharge. Some nannies may be interested in providing full housekeeping as well during the time the children are in school, if that is an option you are seeking. Many families find a solution in letting their cleaning service go, and using a Nanny/Housekeeper to meet the total needs of the family.

This plan may not be in the budget for every family, but we at Caring Nannies want to undergird you and your family during these challenging years with all the tools and resources you and your family need. We are just a phone call away. Let us know how we can help!

Remember the fun games you played in summer growing up? Try some family games this summer?

There is Ante Over, where one team is stationed in the front yard, and half in the back, and you shout “Ante Over” to warn the other team to be on the lookout for the ball. They try to catch it. If the ball is not caught, any member of the team may pick it up and throw it back, calling “Ante Over!” as the throw is made. If the ball is caught, the person making the catch runs around to the other side and tries to hit some player of the other team with the ball. If a player is hit he joins the other team, till one team has all the players.

How about freeze tag, red rover, hide and seek? Or a family game of Marco Polo? When I was young, my siblings and I built tents in the family room with sheets and played Monopoly that lasted two days. Mom let us eat lunch in the tent.

When Erika, Jamie and Jeremy were small, we loved to play “Murder in the Dark”. It is like hide n’ seek, but everyone hides inside the house with all the lights out. My favorite hiding place was on the top of the refrigerator!