Guidance for Nannies and Families | COVID-19

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According to Patrick DiFiore, partner manager for GTM Payroll, there is still a lot of grey area surrounding the rules, regulations, and relief on both a federal and state level with regards to how the COVID-19 will impact household employers and employees.

Until there is defined guidance in place, the best things household employers and employees can do is open the lines of communication, abide by current work agreements and employee handbooks, follow local and national guidance, and make any and all decisions in the best interest of their families.

As you discuss the effects of the pandemic, questions nannies and parents consider may include:

Nannies      

  • What happens if me or a family member gets sick and must self-quarantine?

  • What happens if my employer decides to self-quarantine and has asked me not to work?

  • What happens if my employer works in a high exposure risk job and I don’t feel comfortable working?

  • What if my work family works at a hospital and gets mandated to stay at work?

  • How does our work agreement address paid and unpaid time off?

  • What happens if I am not paid legally and can’t access any government relief or unemployment benefits?

  • What if I am at work and begin to feel ill?

  • What happens if I get exposed while at work?

  • How will my boss working from home affect my day?

  • Do I have short-term disability insurance?

  • What if the family’s guidance regarding social distancing differs from the CDC recommendations?

  • What can I do to build my skills or knowledge while I am out of work

  • How will our daily schedule change if the children are out of school extensively?

  • I am supposed to start a new job, should we change the start date?

  • How can we best take care of each other and ourselves during this time?

Families

  • What happens if I don’t want my nanny to come to work because I am not sure who she has been around?

  • Can I have my nanny self-quarantine with our family?

  • How does our work agreement address paid and unpaid time off?

  • What happens if my nanny is not paid legally and can’t access government relief or unemployment benefits?

  •  What if my nanny is at work and begins to feel ill?

  • What happens if my nanny gets exposed while at work?

  • What is the protocol if the children get sick?

  • How will my working from home affect my nanny?

  • Does my nanny have short-term disability insurance?

  • What if the nanny’s actions regarding social distancing differs from the CDC recommendations?

  • How will our daily schedule change if the children are out of school extensively?

  • What if I work at a hospital and get mandated to stay at work?

  • We have a nanny scheduled to start work soon, should we change the start date?

  • What is my childcare contingency plan?

  • How can we best take care of each other and ourselves during this time?

We are in uncharted territories and for many families and nannies, the unknown of how this pandemic will affect their childcare and their wallets is frightening. Open and honest communication will set the foundation for establishing next steps until we know more.

To learn more about the evolving COVID-19 situation and for current CDC recommendations visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

Michelle LaRowe