The Importance of Household Employer Workers Compensation Insurance

There’s no doubt about it: privately employing a senior caregiver comes with its own set of logistical challenges. In addition to payroll and taxes, the ins and outs of worker’s compensation and benefits can be overwhelming for seniors and the family members coordinating their care. If you don’t understand your legal obligations as a household employer, things can get messy. Consider this case study of a senior caregiver that was injured on the job.

Are your clients with household employees draining your professional resources?

As a CPA, you may take on the burden of nanny tax and payroll management without realizing how much work you're agreeing to provide.  It can be that Friday afternoon call to calculate withholding taxes on a check that includes overtime. Or the questions about how to fill out a W-2 or I-9 form. Unfortunately, this may ultimately be more than time-consuming – it could also be eating away at your profits.

Fall is just around the corner and that means that millions of children will be getting ready to head to kindergarten for the first time. This is an exciting and sometimes nerve-wracking time for the children as well as the parents and their nannies! As a nanny, you have a special role in the child’s life in regards to preparing them for school. Here are some important tips and getting the kid(s) in your care prepared for their first adventure in school.

Working as a nanny is not only job, but it’s an emotional investment. Nannies come to love the children they take care of and when the children start school, saying goodbye can be hard. Even though the child may not need all-day care as they once did, keeping a nanny on full time can still be very beneficial for families. If that is what happens, then the family and the nanny will need to sit down and discuss job duties and how the routine and job will need to change. Kindergarten is either full day or half day, depending on the school and school district and having the nanny available for the child before or after school, as well as sick days and school holidays, can be extremely beneficial.

You’ve hired a nanny and you think she’s a perfect fit for your family. Great references and experience. You and your kids get along with her well and things are seemingly working out great. But then, she gives her notice. What went wrong? Maybe it’s not her, but it’s you. Here are some reasons why good nannies and caregivers often quit their jobs.

A HWS referral partner who operates a nanny referral agency recently contacted our office with the following question:

Newborn care specialists are a relatively new form of specialty nanny. Formerly known as "baby nurses," the NCS typically cares for a newborn for the first several weeks to the first several months of life. They are specialists on working with newborns, premature babies, and multiples such as twins and triplets. The NCS partners with the new parents, educating them as required on infant care, provides care for the baby so mom can rest and recover, and helps the infant develop good feeding and sleep schedules and patterns.

Your children are in elementary school full time and you and your partner are working full time. After school childcare is a priority. Your son wants to participate in an after-school computer program once a week, and your daughter wants to play fall soccer. Mom and dad have demanding jobs, and just getting a healthy dinner together can be a major challenge. You wonder, are there after school nannies?