Summer is almost here! The weather is warmer, school is out for a while, and summertime activities are usually in full swing. But this year, things are different. Many events – including annual summer camps – are cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The changes to summer routines has left many kids disappointed. Not to mention, parents and nannies may be struggling to find some new ways to keep kids active during the summer. If there is no summer camp this year, don’t worry. Here are some other fun ideas!

Topics: nanny, agency

The upcoming summer is going to be a lot different than summers of the past for both parents and kids. Sadly, this year many day camps and sleep away camps are closed, leaving parents and nannies scrambling for ways to keep their kids happy and engaged in something besides screen time.

Topics: nanny

If you are working as a nanny and you have agreed to be paid as an independent contractor, it is important for you to know how to pay your taxes properly. Here are some important must-knows about filing taxes for independent contractors. 

Do be aware, however, going into this that 1) you will be responsible for tax payments that legally are your employer's responsibility and 2) you will be ineligible for unemployment benefits when the job ends. These are two compelling reasons to insist on legal pay.

 

Topics: nanny, agency

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented job loss and disruption to the economy. Household workers are some of the most economically vulnerable workers, as they live paycheck to paycheck in many instances. While some highly qualified nannies are landing on their feet as their college education provides a good baseline to help with home schooling, other wonderful caregivers with less educational experience find themselves out of work with no immediate prospects.

Topics: senior caregiver unemployment insurance, nanny unemployment insurance, nanny, agency, senior, CPA, COVID-19

A letter of recommendation is an essential part of a  nanny job separation, especially when the nanny is leaving through no fault of her own. Your children may have out grown the need, you may be relocating or, in the age of COVID-19, your circumstances may also have changed and you  simply don't need her any longer.

Topics: nanny, agency

Working through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for everyone. Working parents with young children in the household face their own unique and particular challenges.

Topics: nanny, agency

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act isn’t just about easing employers’ tax burdens. It also impacts employee benefits.

Topics: nanny, agency, senior, CPA, coronavirus, COVID-19

California Governor Gavin Newsom's Executive Order N-62-20 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic effectively means that a nanny, senior caregiver or other household employee with test-confirmed COVID-19 illness will be presumptively compensable by workers’ compensation.

Topics: nanny, agency, senior, CPA

Virginia labor laws have historically been friendly to employers. New legislation signed into law this year, however, significantly changes a worker’s right to redress in an area of keen importance to household employers – namely wage theft.

Topics: nanny, agency, senior, CPA

Returning to work in the age of COVID-19 requires that nannies and families consider and address matters that they have never had to in the past.  The following are questions we are hearing over and over again from the families HWS works with, and some thoughts.

Topics: nanny, agency