What to Do When Your Nanny Calls In Sick

When your nanny calls in sick, your immediate priorities are: confirm whether they have paid sick time available, secure backup childcare, and avoid pressuring your nanny to come in when unwell. California requires paid sick leave accrual for most household employees. The families who handle this best are the ones who built a backup plan before they needed it.

This guide is part of our Managing Your Nanny resource for LA families.

Why This Feels So High-Stakes

A sick call at 6:45am when you have a 9am presentation is one of the most stressful moments in household employment. Work schedules, school drop-offs, and meetings all land on you at once. That pressure is real. It can also lead to decisions that create legal exposure or damage your relationship with a good nanny.

The single biggest mistake families make: pressuring a sick nanny to come in anyway. Beyond being unfair, it creates a sick child, a resentful nanny, and sometimes a wage dispute if the nanny later claims coercion.

Your Immediate Checklist

1. Acknowledge the call with a simple reply: “Thanks for letting me know. Feel better soon.”
2. Check your nanny agreement and accrual balance, do they have paid sick time available?
3. Move to your backup care plan (you should have one ready before this moment)
4. If no backup exists, triage your day: what absolutely cannot move, what can be rescheduled?

California Sick Leave Requirements for Nannies

Under California’s Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act, household employees who work 30 or more hours per week accrue paid sick leave at a minimum rate of one hour per 30 hours worked. If your nanny has available sick time, you must pay it when they use it. Refusing to pay earned sick leave is a wage violation.

If your nanny has no sick time balance, whether you pay for the missed day depends on your nanny agreement. Many families choose to pay regardless, particularly for long-term employees. Others deduct from PTO. Whatever your policy, it should be written down and consistent.

Building Your Backup Plan (Before You Need It)

The families who handle sick days without panic are the ones who built a plan in advance. Your backup plan should include:

• At least one vetted, authorized backup sitter your children already know
• A backup care service account (many employers offer this as a benefit)
• A short list of trusted parents in your network who might be able to help
• A clear understanding between you and your partner about which work commitments are truly immovable

Ideally, introduce your backup sitter to your children before there is an emergency. A familiar face dramatically reduces the stress of an unplanned coverage day.

A Typical LA Scenario

A family in Santa Monica has a full-time nanny with six accrued sick days per year. Their nanny texts at 7am with a fever. The parent checks the nanny file (kept in a shared folder), confirms two sick days are available, replies warmly, and calls their authorized backup sitter. Coverage is sorted by 8am. The nanny returns two days later, healthy, to a household that handled it professionally. No guilt, no pressure, no incident.

What Not to Do

• Do not call back multiple times asking if they are “sure” they cannot come in
• Do not ask them to work remotely or check in during the day
• Do not dock pay for legitimately accrued sick time
• Do not make them feel guilty, it erodes trust over time

Patterns Worth Paying Attention To

Occasional sick calls are normal and expected. A pattern of sick calls on Mondays, before or after holidays, or during school breaks is worth a direct, non-accusatory conversation. “I’ve noticed a few sick days around holidays, is there anything going on I should know about?” is the right approach. Document the pattern before you have that conversation.

Common questions about managing your nanny

Frequently asked questions

How do I keep a great nanny long-term?

Competitive pay, consistent communication, clear boundaries, and genuine appreciation are the biggest factors. Annual raises (3 to 5% is standard), acknowledging milestones, and giving adequate notice of schedule changes all contribute to long-term retention.

How often should I give my nanny a raise?

Annual raises are standard. In Los Angeles, experienced nannies typically receive $1 to $2 per hour annually or 3 to 5% of their current rate. If their pay has fallen below market rate, a one-time adjustment to market followed by annual increments is appropriate.

What is the most common reason nannies leave?

Pay that has not kept pace with market rates, scope creep without compensation adjustment, consistent boundary violations like routine overtime or last-minute schedule changes, and feeling that their work is not acknowledged. Most of these are preventable.

How do I handle a disagreement with my nanny?

Address it directly and privately, as soon as possible. Be specific about the behavior you observed, not a character judgment. Most nannies respond well to direct, respectful feedback. Letting issues build without addressing them is the most common source of sudden resignations.

Should I give my nanny paid vacation?

California requires a minimum of 5 paid sick days per year. Paid vacation is not legally required but is standard for long-term placements in Los Angeles. Most families offer one to two weeks of paid vacation after one year. Accrued vacation must be paid out upon termination.