Top 3 COVID-19 Provisions to Include in Your Nanny Contract
A thorough nanny work agreement is a valuable tool for any nanny-family relationship. It provides clear and transparent guidelines, boundaries, compensation information, house rules, and covers important job details for your nanny. You can see more about the three non-negotiables we recommend including in your nanny contract. Today, we’re sharing three more important provisions that all families should consider including in their nanny contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everyday Health and Safety Precautions
Families should incorporate everyday health and safety precautions into their nanny-work agreements. Everyone has a different risk tolerance when it comes to COVID-19, especially with mask mandates being lifted and public life going back to (somewhat) normal. Some people have their booster and some are not yet eligible, some kids are in school and others were just born, some parents have to go into an office, some nannies live with roommates or immunocompromised family members, and many people in metro areas like New York City take public transportation. Agreeing that both parties will practice the same level of daily precautions will help you and your nanny feel safe as the pandemic continues to evolve and change.
We recommend clear communication and a “no surprises” approach to any changes in risk exposure. Set aside a few minutes to go over how everyone is feeling about indoor dining, gatherings at home, concerts, visitors from out of town, and travel. The key is not necessarily to avoid doing these things if they are within your mutual tolerance levels, but rather to communicate about them clearly so no one is caught off guard. These requests can and should be written into your new or updated nanny work agreement, and we recommend revisiting the agreement periodically as conditions change.
For guidance on what to include, we refer to the most up-to-date information provided by the CDC, including vaccination for everyone in the home ages 5 and older including a booster when eligible, wearing a mask or face covering when on public transportation and in areas where community transmission is high, washing and sanitizing your hands frequently (especially when preparing meals or arriving into a new space), and avoiding touching surfaces and your own face while out.
Testing Protocols for Illness and Potential Exposure
In your nanny-work agreement, we recommend thinking through and documenting how you’ll handle symptoms of illness, as well as potential or known COVID-19 exposure. Decide on a testing and quarantine plan, or a plan in general, and make sure you’re holding yourself and your nanny to the same expectations. Keeping an open and transparent line of communication about everything, including some seemingly mild sniffles, will put everyone at ease and build a trust and bond that will inevitably lead to a successful and respectful relationship. If there is exposure or even a positive test, you may choose to have your nanny come and wear a mask if they and your family are all vaccinated and boosted, or you may both agree to a PCR (swab test), rapid test, or at-home test for any cold symptoms, regardless of whether there was a known COVID-19 exposure. It all depends on your mutual risk tolerance.
During high community COVID transmission in your area, we recommend implementing daily health checks with your nanny where you both check your temperature and confirm the absence of any common COVID symptoms via text before the start time. If anyone is experiencing symptoms that seem mild and not consistent with COVID, you may choose to continue as scheduled, perhaps even masked, or you may choose to cancel out of an abundance of caution. For example, if you are a fully vaccinated and boosted parent with fully vaccinated school-aged children and a boosted nanny, you may feel comfortable working together as long as there is no fever present. Alternatively, if you are a family that has an immunocompromised family member, your agreement may include something about performing a rapid test before coming in to work at the onset of any symptoms, even a slight sniffle. This is important to discuss in advance to make sure you and your nanny are on the same page. If your nanny is more COVID-cautious than you are, they may not be comfortable working when you expect them to come in, and this will cause a strain in your relationship.
Time Off for COVID-19
It is important to think about how your family and nanny might feel about working together if either you or your nanny test positive for COVID-10 and experience little to no symptoms. Some vaccinated and boosted families and nannies choose to continue working together and wear masks even during a known exposure or positive COVID test. Some will prefer to wait a certain number of days, do a PCR test, and return after a negative test result before resuming the regular schedule.
If your family has a positive test result and chooses to cancel, it is important for you to continue paying your nanny despite the cancellation. If your nanny cancels due to illness and a positive test, they should have enough paid sick time to ensure their salary isn’t impacted. We are seeing an industry trend of including COVID specific sick-time into nanny work agreements, or increasing the number of available sick days per year.
Should there be extenuating circumstances surrounding COVID-19, such as needing to care for a family member who has COVID-19, having a strong relationship and open communication with your nanny will eliminate the need for complex and emotional game-time decisions.You can openly discuss what is best for your family and the nanny and plan on how to move forward.
At its core, a nanny work agreement sets the stage for any new position, acts as a resource for existing nanny-family relationships, and simplifies many complicated situations by laying out plans in advance. Aside from outlining the important details of a new position, cover your bases in relation to the pandemic. These additions to your work agreement, along with an open line of communication between you and your nanny, will help to make things easier should any unforeseen Covid-19 related situations come up. Work smart, not hard, and sit down with your nanny to discuss these details today!