Household employers are not legally obligated to pay for ANY holidays or time off. It is true, however, that some baseline provision of paid holidays is a general expectation of household employees. Many nannies, especially those working without a written work agreement in place, worry about their income during the busy holiday season. Will they receive pay on holidays? Will they be paid for those regular days when they are not needed due to holiday travel or entertainment?

Did you know that New York State requires that employers provide three paid days personal time per year to a nanny or housekeeper after one year of employment?

Federal Healthcare Reform legislation (Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act) creates some compliance issues that will begin impacting household employer's payroll recordkeeping in 2012. Effective January 1, 2012, all employers must report the total cost of all “applicable employer-sponsored coverage” provided to an employee for health insurance on the employee's Form W-2. Any non-taxable payments or reimbursements that the household employer makes to their employee(s) for health insurance coverage must be reported. If the employee pays for (funds) any part of his/her health insurance coverage that is partially sponsored by the employer, the total premium cost must be reported.