How to Make a Nanny Job Offer

You have interviewed several candidates, and spoken to one candidate several times. You are ready to offer her the job. What do you do?

Finalize a Written Work Agreement

Every family should take the time to write a work agreement. 4nannies.com makes a pro forma nanny work agreement available to act as a template. Full members may download a nanny work agreement in WORD format (doc) from the Member Toolkit and easily modify the form to meet their specific circumstances. The family should include a brief offer letter that states that the job offer is contingent on successful reference checks and a background check. Families sometimes offer employment subject to a trial or probationary period. This should be clearly stated in the offer letter if it applies. Full members have a pre-paid basic nanny background check included in their paid membership. Families must have the nanny complete a Release to Conduct a Pre-Employment Background Check before they can order the search.

The written work agreement should include the following:

• Start Date
• Weekly schedule
• General job responsibilities, both childcare related and housekeeping, if required.
• Salary offered, stated as an HOURLY wage with a weekly guarantee. This is very important. Most nannies work for a weekly salary that covers more than 40 hours. It is important to translate this to an hourly rate to protect the family from Wage and Hour Disputes should the relationship not work out. HomeWork Solutions' Hourly Wage Calculator for Nannies is a very useful tool.
• Benefits offered, if any.
• Paid Time Off policy, if any. Include specifically any paid holidays such as Labor Day, Christmas, etc. with a specific statement on how you will handle holidays that fall on a regularly scheduled day off.
• Expense Reimbursement Policy. Nannies who transport your children with their personal vehicle will expect mileage reimbursement at the current IRS mileage reimbursement rate.
• Confidentiality Agreement
• Live in positions should stipulate accommodations offered, house rules if any, and a general agreement about personal use of any household assets such as automobiles.

After the nanny has accepted the offer and provided you the signed consent to conduct a background check you should be certain to do the following:

• Personally contact all references provided. Families may consider having nanny references professionally checked. This is often done in addition to the family's checks as an additional level of verification.
• Order the background check. If the nanny will be driving your children, consider adding the DMV check also.
• Some families will require that the nanny candidate complete a Nanny Health History Form. This can only be required after a written employment offer has been made and when the family requires the same information from all nannies they hire.
• Should the actions above raise any questions, address them with the nanny. Make sure any and all concerns are answered to your complete satisfaction.

Please! Never leave your children with a nanny before you complete thorough reference and background checks. You are responsible to insure their safety.

Families can withdraw job offers made subject to references, criminal records checks etc, where the results are less than expected. If the family withdraws the job offer as a result of information contained in a Pre-employment Nanny Background Check, legally, the family must provide the candidate with an Adverse Action Letter.

Families who do thorough interviewing, reference checking, background checking, and enter into a written agreement with the nanny experience to best long term satisfaction with the arrangement. Don't take shortcuts.

Additional resources

 Professional Reference Checking Services Available
 About Nanny Background Checks
 The Behavorial Interview Approach
 Nanny Character Reference Checking Form
 Nanny Childcare Reference Checking Form
 Nanny Employment Reference Checking Form