Contracts! Taxes! Insurance!
There are some very permeable boundaries between the professional relationship between an employer family and the nanny they employ, and the personal relationship. I can be very warm, loving and affable. It's simply an aspect of my personality, and I love to work with families who share those traits.
However, it's also part of what makes me an amazing nanny: you are paying me to be warm, loving and affable, and as you may have guessed, I take what I do very seriously. The fact that I am being paid to be myself in no way suggests that I enjoy having that boundary smudged. For this reason, I have always found it helpful to have a contract that establishes exactly what my professional duties and your expectations are.
A nanny contract (or work agreement) can be easily found online and personalized. Mine have typically included the following information:
The names, home and work addresses, contact numbers and emails of both parents
The full names and birthdates of all children to be cared for, and ages in months at the time care begins
My name, home address, phone number, email and emergency contact information
When care is to begin, and the expected end/renewal date (in a long-term care scenario, usually a year)
What days and times care is to take place, number of weekly guaranteed hours
Where care is to take place
What childcare and development responsibilities you are expecting me to fulfill on a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis
What childcare activities are NOT permitted during my time with your children (some parents don't want the nanny to bathe or drive the children, or for the children to have play dates in the homes of families they don't know, etc)
Hourly rate of compensation (gross), payment method, payment schedule
Over-time payments
Taxes to be paid by each family, and by myself
Any non-taxable benefits your family chooses to offer
Information on personal, sick, vacation days and holidays
Who I should contact in the event of an emergency or your late arrival if I have an evening booking
Who you will contact for childcare in the event that I am ill, injured or using a vacation day
Contact information and location of your family pediatrician
A signed medical "permission to treat" form
Any physical or developmental disabilities or delays your child is working with, allergies, other medical conditions
Directions for any security alarms I would need to set upon leaving the house with the children
Any pets present in the home, and what level of interaction is expected with them (are they allowed to be with the children? Is there a walker, or will I be expected to let them out/in during the day, etc)
Scheduling of performance and salary reviews
Causes of termination
If needed, duration of trial period
Some families have also chosen to include a confidentiality clause, particularly those in medicine, legal services and law enforcement
Because I am seeking a position as a household employee, I must receive a W-2 at the end of the year, not a 1099. One often hears of families who either try to deliberately circumvent established tax laws OR are told by parents friends and accountants, "everyone gives their nanny a 1099, if they even worry about it at all!" The only time this has happened to me, I filed form SS-8 along with my taxes. It certainly wasn't a thing I enjoyed doing, but I felt that under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do.
Page 3 of IRS publication 926 specifically identifies "babysitters," "caretakers," "nannies" and "private nurses" as being household employees. Why is it important that I be legally identified as an employee, and provided a W-2 at the end of each year? Several reasons, but there are two big ones: although we may all sign a contract for a year, my (and hopefully your) reasonable expectation is that our working relationship will continue for several more, at least. Publication 926 identifies this as "permanence."
Quite frankly, I'm also dependent on being paid for a guaranteed number of hours, each week, from each family. I literally base my life around being paid on time and accurately by my nanny share families! Publication 926 identifies this as "economic dependence."