Paying for Transportation
Gas prices have risen (obviously) and it makes every single one of us cringe a little more at the pump, including commuting babysitters. Are you paying for your babysitter’s gas? Many parents pay for transportation costs, and it’s a wonderful perk for any caregiver, so let’s go through some guidelines for when to pay and how to pay fairly.
When to Pay
If the job is a short one and your sitter lives farther away, it’s a good idea to factor in transportation costs to your payment. Think about it: If it takes your beloved Susie 45 minutes to get to your house for an hour-long job, what she’s spending in gas might not be worth it to accept the position, leaving you in a sitter-less bind.
If the job is long enough to offset the cost of gas, the sitter may not mind eating the fuel costs, but with the rise in gas prices, that might be tough to assume.
Finally, if you ask your sitter to drive the kids anywhere in her own car, you should absolutely cover the transportation costs during the job.
What to Pay
What some parents like to do is pay the IRS standard mileage rate, which is roughly 50 cents for every mile driven.
If you’re a stickler for accuracy, you can calculate the exact amount of miles the sitter drives and then multiply that by .50 to come up with an appropriate transportation bonus.
If you’d rather not whip out the calculator, inspect the odometer and put your math skills to use, you can always estimate the amount of miles that the sitter will drive. Maybe she lives 10 miles away, for a total commute of 20 miles, and will drive about 5 more miles during the job. In that case, you’d pay an extra $12.50 on top of her hourly fee.
For nannies who are paid by the week, you may not want to recalculate the transportation bonus every seven days. In that case, think about last month — how many miles did your nanny drive each week, roughly? Estimate a fair weekly count and multiple that by .50 to get a flat rate for transportation to pay each week on top of her typical paycheck. Sure, some weeks she may drive more and some less, but have faith that it all evens out in the end.
However you choose to calculate transportation payment and whatever you choose to pay, just offering this perk can do wonders to help increase your sitter’s loyalty to your family. It’s certainly worth considering!
Sitters, do your families help with transportation?
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June 4th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Right now, no they do not. I’ve wanted to ask for a slight raise (a dollar an hour) but I feel weird about asking for it. I typically drive 30 miles round trip (leaving my house, picking him up at school and getting him home, then getting myself home afterwards) and I am usually only there for 2 hours a day. Any suggestions on what I should do?
June 4th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I would try to have a talk with the mom, letting her know that you love your job and have no problems with that. However, you are worried and have been held down by gas prices. Since you are driving around 30 miles and working 2 hours, you are trying to balance the cost of gas needed for the trip and the hours worked. Let her know that you are just hoping to get an increase of $1 an hour to compensate for the gas prices. Take the conversation slow and easy, you want to make this about the gas prices, not about the relationship you have with the kids or the mom. Also try to calculate how much extra gas you are using, use the 50 cents per mile calculation and try to figure out how much a pay check that would be and consider giving the mom that option as well if she is a more partial to numbers adding up.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Wow, I hope you are getting paid at least 15 dollars an hour. All of my families know that I have a 4 hour minimum at 10$ an hour. Is it even worth your time? There are so many families out there. If one of them isn’t paying you fairly why not just get one that will? I realize you may love the kids and be loyal to the family but you can still visit them from time to time. Babysitting is a job, for the purpose of making money and the sitters on this website are not highschool kids but adults that need money to live on. Well, maybe if you post your requirement on your page and your family happens to see it they will offer you gas money. Or maybe just make the comment, oh this other family I sit for had me take their kids to school and they gave me this much money for gas. Parents afraid of losing a good sitter to another family will more usually try to compete. When my one family that paid 11$ an hour found out I got a new family that paid 15$ an hour. She raised my rate. She gave me 16$ for when I had all 4 kids and 13$ for just 1 or 2 kids. I have been with her family for almost 4 years now.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I completely agree with this article. My families know I have a minimum duration for a babysitting gig and I usually ask for and extra $5-$10 for homes that are more than 10 miles away. The parents are usually OK with this, but it’s important to let them know your expectations ahead of time.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:12 am
I too agree with this article. I work as a full time nanny, and my commute is close to 40miles round trip. That doesn’t even include any of the daily errands and taking the children to activities and school and what not. I do get mileage reimbursement, but only if I leave the city limits with the children. They live in a pretty nice sized city, and most all of our daily activities are of course within the city. And of course with gas prices continuing to go up, I don’t have any money left for myself. Now I did receive my yearly raise back in March, but it has all been sucked down the gas tank. Should I ask for more gas reimbursement? How do I ask, without sounding greedy?
June 5th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
there are 2 agencies i work for and one charges 7 for travel and the other charges l5, one’s hourly rate is lower than the other, but then we pay the agency 20% of hourly rate. there should be a 4 hour min. for any sitter to make it work her while. every job is usually l/2 hour away. think about it
lois a furlan
June 5th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
WOW Finally a discussion in need of help……
I had that same exact problem withthe family I work for…I’m an aid for an autistic child and we drive about 126 miles a week plus some to therapy and back. I also drive in my own car/which has been difficult with the interior work and toll driving I was not compensated for. I had a hard time approaching my family about it, and ended up breaking down and coming right out saying it. It was not easy I did not get a nice response right away, saying this is my job and I should use my pay for my own gas. I did end up getting and extra $1.50 raise which did help. But also any suggestion’s on this one, I have a nice car and the kid has destroyed/making messes inside the car kicking spiling things his mom allows him to eat and drink in my car and the minute she leaves I toss it out. and I want a new car and am nervous to get one with driving him in it.??
June 6th, 2008 at 2:37 am
I’ve never heard of a family offering to pay for my transportation. Transporting their children in my car is something that is mandatory paid. I always negotiate it with the family and see what method they like best. Some people have me use their car. Some families calculate mileage to the places I will be going and add it up themselves. Some have me estimate daily or weekly mileage. Some just add a little extra each pay period. And some just up the hourly rate to include gas. Whichever method it is, it generally works out.
When I work through a nanny agency they have a 4 hour paid minimum (which is nice). But sometimes that means they keep me around for that last hour even though they don’t need me (yuck). On my own, I usually try for a 3 hour minimum to make it worth my while, but I’ll pass on that when they just want me to stay late with parents home.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Actually i do not drive ,but i think if parents try thier best to offer those who drive kids, that will be a nice thing to do.Even i myself do not drive, but i take all those things into considerations , before accepting job proposals.I do not go beyond 12miles. I also have to make sure that,i take jobs which are within my reach. sometimes if you follw money leaving those aspects aside ,it be comes a problem.thanks for reading my piece of writing.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
I’m paying a different rate with my sitter for short shifts (3 hours or less) than longer ones. We both thought that made sense on a total basis, as I have some days where it’s 2 1/2 hours and some days where it’s 10. I think rates also should be negotiated up front based on a specific workload, if that changes - in either direction - it needs to be talked about. Gas doesn’t affect me that much with my current situation, but for those where it does, I would think an extra “gas” compensation that’s fair would make sense. Hopefully, gas won’t be this high forever, and making a change in the hourly rate based on gas could be awkward someday if (crossed fingers) gas prices go back down to reasonable levels.
June 7th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I’ve never paid my sitters for travel since so far I’ve been able to use very local sitters although after reading this thread I will need to think more about paying for gas, especially since one of the sitters I use has just moved further away. However, I do have my sitters use my car for any driving involving the kids since I don’t think it is fair to have the sitter’s car take the brunt of my kids messes or for the sitter to use any of her own gas driving my kids around. Also, I don’t hire a sitter for less than 3 hours, and I do tip a few dollars up each time since I don’t use one dollar bills so I would hope that would help cover gas.
For Crystal - I think that you should respectfully tell the mom you work for that you are getting a new car and that you’ve decided in order to keep the car clean, you are not comfortable with food or drink within the car. The car is yours (not the parents’) so you should be able to make the rules for what happens to it. Personally, I can’t imagine not providing the car for my sitter to drive, but if I did have my sitter use her own car, certainly I would be receptive to hearing about the sitter’s concerns.
June 7th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I have been wondering if I should bring this up to my family as well. I love them and I love the job. I drive from Quincy to Salem twice a week right now. I get 10 dollars an hour, and they give me 1 dollar an hour extra for gas. I drive 53 miles there and 53 miles back, and work 9 hours. As of now, thats a little less then half of what it costs me per day in case. Now, I originally lived in Boston, so it wasnt SUCH a long drive, but it was still long. I understand its partially my problem for moving, but it wasnt expected and rather than ask them to find a new sitter, which would have put them in a real bind, I wanted to keep my commitment until at least May. I feel awkward asking about it, but I am spending 2 hours of my work day on gas alone… doesnt seem worth it.
June 8th, 2008 at 6:41 am
I personally think all should go back in the profiles and state that the payment of gas is expected. You should figure out how many miles your willing to drive and how many miles your using in transportation of their child or children.I f transporting the children the parents SHOULD NOT EXPECT YOU TO PROVIDE THE COST OF THAT GAS. Times are tough for everybody and we all have to survive ,we are paying in grocery stores the cost of transpotation of food. This is a job where you decide to take on or not ,just be clear of your expectations .I f they cant work with you then move on
there will be other offers,be slow and patient . Child care is a MAJOR RESPONEIBILITY,AND YOU SHOULD BE PAID ACCORDINGLY.
June 9th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Hello all~ I agree with paying for the gas for transportaion of my child I give my nanny extra gas money every week she does use her car to transport him but my son has to follow her rules of her car. I as a parent would feel terrible if my son damaged her car. I agree with Stephanie, Crystal if you want to get a new car it is your car and if you dont want food in it then that is your choice and it should be respected unless they are willing to let you use theirs:) But also as a parent some of the things I have read on here, I understand it is a job, I can’t believe it that it can’t be worked out between a employer and an employee. Maybe that is not a good fit for your family is another option. We love our nanny and if we thought she was going to leave for some gas money we would definately try to work it out. Good luck to you all!
June 11th, 2008 at 1:46 am
I drive a new Honda CRV that I bought to drive my charges around in. I previously had a Honda Civic and it was too small for kids. I work part time for 3 families, all of which I pick their kids up at school. I also drive 20 miles to work and 20 miles home. My problem I know, but I feel like the parents should be offering up gas money for the added trips to pick up their kids and take them on outings. Im waiting to see if gas goes back down alittle. If it reaches 4.50 or so Im going to have to bring it up. For now Im working extra hours to help offset the rising costs of gas. Oh…I have very strict rules about what can and cant be eaten and drank in my car. Water only to start with. And very little, if any food is eaten. I keep my car clean and vaccumed out. No cheerios or pieces of bananas..yuck.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:57 am
I factor gas rate in with my hourly rate (depending on how extensive driving requirements are of position) or let parents know right up front cost would be less if we utilized there vehicle. Being a childcare provider isn’t babysitting, for it’s having additional credentials one has to pay for to keep abreast of changes in the industry, and caring for each child to the utmost degree. Many of these things have to be factored in your hourly rate charged, and so forth parents need to be aware that continuing education does cost. It’s the difference between having the high school girl down the street sitting or a matured adult who knows what/how to react in a real emergency situation to care for your ‘precious’ ones!
June 11th, 2008 at 8:20 am
I am curious about covering travel for sitters who take public transportation, as I do. Do you think there is a reasonable protocol for us or should we be expected to pay for it ourselves, no matter how far we’re traveling? I understand it’s cheaper than gas, but it can be expensive, especially when both buses and trains or other transfers are involved.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I babysit for four different families in the summer. One family is twice a week, and the other three each get a day. All of the families are about 10 miles away…20 miles total commute. Last year, I babysat for a family about 40 total miles away for two days a week, and she paid me an extra 20 a week for gas. She also paid for two days vacation while they were away. I’ve been babysitting the one family for a couple years now, and have been thinking about how to approach asking for maybe 1 extra dollar an hour. Right now, my rate is $10 an hour. I am also missing out on four days of babysitting this summer due to their vacations. Also - anyone have an opinion on what someone’s rate should be if you are watching one extra kid? Three of the families are all related to eachother (all the kids are cousins) and sometimes a different mom will have me babysit their child as well. I’ve never asked for extra. What do you think I should do, fellow sitters?
June 11th, 2008 at 9:03 am
This message is for Crystal-I sympathize with you because it’s really not fair to you that you want a new care and your afraid to get one because of the kid that you sit with.This is my own opinion I would set my rules starting now with the family that for now own I would perfer that he eats before leaving .I would also let them know that I’ll be getting a new car and that he’s not allow to eat in my car .Not meaning to be harsh but set your rules .
June 11th, 2008 at 9:38 am
KDub99
One family that I sit for has 3 children in car/booster seats, so I can’t fit them all in my backseat. The mother and I have taken to switching cars whenever the kids and I want to go out. Since we both usually stay in town, I use a little of her gas and she uses a little of mine, no big deal. If she was going to be taking my car further away, however, I would expect mileage reimbursement.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:45 am
RE: Reembursement for public transportation.
I am a sitter who uses public transportation and I DON’T believe it’s the family’s responsibility to pay for your travel to and from the job. You should factor in your travel when deciding to take a job and figure out if it’s worth it…I usually make adjustment such as increasing my hourly rate for travel that’s more than 1 hr commute (I live in NYC)…This stance does not include NIGHT CARE…If I am sitting for a couple in the evening and they require me to stay past 10:30pm…I usually REQUIRE a car service….I state this in advance to my fmilies and they are usually very receptive…
Now…I have spoken to a couple of sitters who work in the same area that I work in…Park Slope and they have stated that some families give them a hard time about the payment for car service for the sitters to return home…but I think that taking care of ur sitter by showing him/her that you value their safety/and worth is a good step to encourage better relations and loyalty….
FYI
I have just moved and my cab fare use to be 12 now it’s about 18 per trip…I sit for about 3 families no one has ever given me problems about car fare…some families even include the tip for the driver…(that’s very generous
June 11th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I’ve had two occasions when I’ve had car problems, and families have paid $60+ for a taxi. Generally, I don’t have a gas charge or anything like that, though I do know one family who added $5 per job for sitters who live 30 minutes or furtjher away.
As for using the family’s car, I think that the parent should leave it up to the sitter. Sometimes, I prefer my own car depending on how comfortable I am driving their’s. Also, they may need their car, or they or I may need things that are in our own cars. I would like for parents to reimburse me for gas, though I haven’t required it. However, i am reluctant to raise rates now considering that the economy is how it is.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I think it’s a matter of being upfront before taking a job. I have never been compensated for my travel to/from a job and would not expect to be as I can determine where I work, if someone outside my normal range of driving wanted me to sit for them and I felt I needed extra compensation I would make that a stipulation upfront.
Whenever I have driven kids on the job I have always been compensated for gas and generally used my employers car.
For anyone on whom gas is becoming a burden I think like any job you have to figure out what you need in order to make your job worth it/what is fair and you deserve from your employer and ask. If they are not able or willing to oblige it may be time to find a new family.
June 11th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
If your boss ask you to work late after your designated time he /she should eat the cab.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
This article is very relevant to me since i have just been conteplating the issue. Right now i am not being compensated for gas, and i do drive the children around a fair amount. I don’t expect to be compensated for just getting to the job because i agree with the commenter above that it is my choice to take local jobs or ones that require a commute. But getting compensated for the gas used while i drive the kids around to their activities seems very fair. I will definitely consider approaching the families i work for on this and either ask for an hourly raise or for milage reimbursement.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I’m glad to see this article and the responces to it. I was afraid that it wasn’t acceptable to ask for compensation if I was willing to take the job knowing how far it would be. I do need an advice on my situation though. I took a job driving around 50 miles round trip, one day per week. I’m there for an average of nine hours at $12 an hour. The family recently moved to a new house raising my commute from 50 miles to 82 miles round trip. While they do add a few bucks for any activities I take the kids to, they have not offered anything for the added distance. Normally I would speak up about this, but I recently gave notice that I would be moving to Minnesota to attend Bible College. I only have seven weeks left, and I’m afraid that if I ask for more money they might just let me go all together. I really need the small amount this job gives to make my downpayment for school. What should I do?
June 12th, 2008 at 6:33 am
I drive 20 miles to get to their house, so it’s 40 miles a day for me. I told the family in the beginning that I would charge an extra $10 a day for gas, and they were/are completely fine with it. I work 3-4 days a week so it really helps out with gas!
June 17th, 2008 at 8:16 am
I don’t even see what the issue is here - if parents want the nanny to drive the kids around , they HAVE to pay for gas . What’s more - even for milage . Just think - you put wear and tear on your car, it costs a lot to maintain it, a lot of people have payments , but if the car was to break down, how many parents do you think would offer to help to pay for repairs. NONE ! I don’t even use my car for driving kids. If you sign them up for various activities , you should have an extra car available. If you tell me you will contribute to pay for my car payment, maintenance costs, repairs , as well as for every mile driven with the kid - then we can talk about it.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I do agree that families should pay for gas if you are using your vehicle to transport their children back and forth. But, I don’t feel they should be responsible for our gas to there house. If the job is too far to travel because of the ridiculous gas prices, find one closer! We should all be fair, we are all suffering the “gas crunch”.
July 1st, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I recently had to leave a family I was with for over a year due to rising gas prices and major construction on my route. Round trip is 37 miles and used to be only 60 minutes. With the construction on the high way no matter what I take round trip is now 150 minutes. When accepting the job I did factor in an extra $2/hr which turned out to $20 a week for extra gas and wear and tear for the car. in the end, I did not ask for a raise, just sadly told her I would have to leave due to above issues.
I do not believe you should as for more money as gas goes up but do work it in your rate upfront at the beginning and let them know that.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:03 am
in this day and time sitters and nannys should be paid for gas and transportation as with all other people that have to incurr these cost for fuel , I have always paid my sitters for this cost they incurr .It is part of their cost an only fair .
parent
July 8th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I believe that the sitter’s travel expenses for his/her commute should be the responsibility of the sitter. My employer doesn’t pay me for me commute to the office.
However, I absolutely believe that the sitter should be reimbursed for all mileage driven as part of the children’s care. We pay our nannies the federally reimbursable rate. They usually provide their mileage to us monthly and we reimburse them.
July 25th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I am just starting my nanny job, it wont go full time till end of August but i go about once a week for about 5 hours. The trip is close to 40 miles round trip but the parents are paying me very fairly. I did start to worry though because when i start full time i am not going to want to stay at the house all day and i wont be able to walk everywhere. Also one child has a therapy session that he has to be taken to. I was revealed when the mom told me the other day that i could either take there extra car on the day her husband takes the train to work or that i can use my own and they will pay for my gas. I think driving to and from work is not the families responsibility but when are you driving your own car around during the day to help them out it is nice to at least have help with the expense of gas.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:26 pm
We’ve had sitters demand travel money and parking fees. I don’t hire them. I live in downtown San Francisco and there are about a dozen public transit lines that can get someone to our home. We don’t own a car, and wouldn’t ask a sitter to take our daughter anywhere they couldn’t walk to. Plus, as someone else pointed out, my employer doesn’t pay for me to get to work, and I’ve had co-workers who drive over 50 miles each way! If a sitter wants to be treated as a professional, not a glorified high schooler doing an afternoon job, then parents need to act like professional employers too.
September 30th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I am currently in a situation where I was leased a car by the family. I am now leaving the family (not for anything personal, but for my own personal accord) but the car is also up for it’s lease. They have paid for my gas these past four years but I myself have paid for insurance, all oil changes, and new tires. My oil changes alone are 60$! I live and CT and watch 2 children, one of which is special needs. I bring these children to NJ every week and commute back in forth to work as well as other “therapies” out of town. All this commuting results in over 300 miles a week (none of which is for personal use.) I do use the car for personal use resulting in no more than @ 50 miles a week (if that.) The car is obviously over miles and there is a charge for (a quite substantial charge) for any miles over what agreed upon for the lease. They want me to pay for this charge, even though barely any of these miles were put on there by me. I’m not sure what to do in this situation…is this my responsibility? The mileage of the car was never even an issue or discussed for that matter. Just a little confused and feeling a bit of anxiety. Can any one help?
October 7th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
First off if you were to be a childcare provider in a center your employer would not pay for your gas to get to and from work so why should your employer as a nanny pay for gas to get to and from work. Second if you use your own car to transport children then yes the parents should give gas money. They should also take into consideration wear and tear on your car, tire rotation, and oil changes. I was a nanny for a family once that gave me an extra $20 a week for gas yet I used more then that in gas. I also had problems with my car that needed to be repaired before I could drive it and they didn’t want to help me with the price of the repairs. Finally the family gave me a christmas bonus of one weeks pay which I use d in addition to my regular paycheck to fix my car. I learned a valuable lesson from that family… make sure to get reimbursed fairly for mileage put on your car and gas spent transporting their children. If I wanted to create more bills then I have I would have my own children! Good luck to all!
January 5th, 2009 at 7:33 am
I have read most posts and although I don’t think parents necessarily should have to pay for the sitter’s transportation but should have to pay for any travel needs where the children are concerned.
Now having said that there are very FEW ocassions when sitters get raises, health benefits, sick or vacation pay etc.
I recently moved from Jersey to NC and wow what a difference when it comes to hourly pay let alone parents paying for gas! Clothes and food are the same in every state so why would some parents think it’s exceptable to pay under $12.00 even when it should be more?
I have literally read about jobs where parents have 3 to 4 children and need a FULL TIME care giver BUT can only afford $60. to a $100. a week! They can’t be serious and believe me I read more of this kind of job description than not. So with this I would think that paying for gas would be out of the question.