WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

Earlier this month I went back to work. I had to negotiate my days b/c I only had child care for two days during the week. The executive director agreed to let me work Saturday for the month of March with the understanding that come April I would go to three regular days. Before I negotiated this return to work I asked our comptroller to calculate my salary based on 3 days and 4 days so I would know what I was getting myself into and wouldn't have to negotiate with the ED twice. Her answer to me was "nowhere in my job description does it say I have to provide an employee with the kind of information you are looking for. I suggest you contact your own personal accountant." I was of course then forced to try and figure it out on my own.

FF to now. I've gotten two paychecks that are less than full time. There is over $100 difference. The higher of the two amounts is not quite enough to cover all the expenses that need to be paid, but if I made a few subtle changes (like my withholding) we could probably just scrape by. With the lower paycheck there is no way on this earth DH & I could make ends meet. The higher of the two is what I calculated when I did it myself.

I am pi$$ed that I negotiated a deal for myself without all the correct info and now financially (if the smaller amount is correct) it doesn't work at all. As a result I was forced to start calling around to daycare places. However daycare costs are so high that I would basically be working just to pay for it - and that is just for P/T daycare (2 days per week) not even F/T.

I work tomorrow and the ED will be in. The question I have is do I
1. go in and try to renegotiate and bury whoever I have to along the way (this would include my immediate supervisor who IMHO has been talking out of both sides of her mouth since I got PG as well as the comptroller whose email I still have)
2. go in and throw myself on his mercy regarding finances without trying to take anyone with me
3. suck it up with what I've got now and live hand to fist
4. pay for the daycare and work
5. something else . . . I'm open to suggestions.

As a footnote, I don't "officially" have 3 days worth of childcare now that April is here b/c my SIL's boss will not allow her to work every Saturday. (that was how I got him to agree to Sat to begin with - by promising I would have 3 days come April 1 and he already sent me an email to remind me that this coming Sat is my last one).

Message edited 3/26/2008 10:30:09 PM.

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

Not sure I follow. Do you know for sure that the lower of the 2 paychecks is correct? What is the reason for the difference between the 2?

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

bump for morning crew

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

Well, here's the thing...p/t daycare is very expensive and almost "not worth it" even if you can find it for an infant. Honestly, if finances are really the problem, I'd probably go back to work 5 days a week/9-5 (or whatever normal hours are) and get paid for FT and pay for FT daycare at a center.

Listen, DH and I tried everything to make it work so that one of us was almost always home with Christopher, but it just became too taxing on everyone and now he goes to daycare any EVERYONE is happier

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

I'd definitely check out the stubs, maybe it can shed some light. Does it say how much you make per hour? Although I'm salary, it does say how much I make per hour, that could help to see if they're paying you the right amount of hours, etc.

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

Shouldn't some one in HR be able to help you with that? And if not, wouldn't you take your gross salary and divide it by 5 in order to find out your "daily pay rate"? Then multiply that by three?

Finding day care is overwhelming! We are in the same position. I cannot wait until the babies are 3 and I can put them in an all days 3 program! That will make life so much easier!

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

I would do #1 choice and tell the director point blank that you had to figure out the finances on your own (if you feel it's appropriate or if you feel you need to, then show him/her the e-mail from the comptroller.) The money has not been what you expected and it is just not worth it financially for you to continue to work there. See what they say. That's what I would do. If they offer to pay more, then look for childcare. If they don't, see if you can stay home and find something part-time when DH or anyone else can watch DC for you.

Good luck!!

Message edited 3/27/2008 9:18:45 AM.

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

I'm not sure what you do, but I think some negotiating is in order, preferably without taking other people down. I think a lot is going to depend on what you do, what company, and what any official policies are.

I'm assuming that you are normally a salaried, not an hourly-paid employee? The problem with trying to turn a salary number into an hourly rate is that there are so many other factors (taxes, benefits, etc.) that I always find that when you do that, IMO, your hourly rate would never be one you would likely accept for your job.

Also, does your company have a policy as to how many hours qualify as full time vs. part time and what the benefits are to each? Is your job something that can be done from home?

When I first went back to work, I negotiated a consulting contract where I worked one day a week in the office and the equivalent of one full day at home (could be spread out over multiple days) for a guaranteed minimum total of 16 hours a week. I negotiated a rate per hour that had nothing to do with my original salary and had the ability to exceed those hours if my boss and I felt it was necessary. Trust me, that they fought me on my initial rate proposal. I had to point out that the # they wanted to pay wouldn't cover childcare, commuting costs, taxes, and my time. It has to be WORTH it for you to take any kind of cut in pay, even for reduced hours. Plus, they were no longer paying me benefits, 401K, bonus, etc. so it was actually still cost saving for them.

Every 2 weeks I submitted an invoice to my boss for approval which was then sent to accounting to be paid. In this situation, I knew there was a minimum amount of $ I was making every month, however, I was taxed as an independent contractor, therefore, I had to talk to my accountant to figure out estimated quarterly taxes. I had to set up a self employed pension plan to defer some tax costs. I had no health benefits and lost my title at the company. The good thing was that I worked on my time and was able to make enough money to help out at home and defray the childcare cost of hiring someone for the day I went into the city.

After a few years of that, the company and I came to a mutual agreement that since corporate policy was that full time meant a minimum of 32 hours a week, I was offered a full time position at the company whereby I would go into the city 2 days a week and work from home a minimum of 16 hours per week. In this scenario, because I was hitting 32 hours a week I became a salaried employee again, got all my health benefits back and my title. This was definitely the way I prefered it.

I was the first person they ever did this for and it did require a lot of negotiation. I'm wondering if your company is willing to consider options where you can make the money you need to make as well as give them the time they feel they need from you. I'm not sure that if all your money is simply going to pay day care if it is worth it. Is there anyone sympathetic to that concept you can talk to?

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

Posted by KateDevine

Well, here's the thing...p/t daycare is very expensive and almost "not worth it" even if you can find it for an infant. Honestly, if finances are really the problem, I'd probably go back to work 5 days a week/9-5 (or whatever normal hours are) and get paid for FT and pay for FT daycare at a center.

Listen, DH and I tried everything to make it work so that one of us was almost always home with Christopher, but it just became too taxing on everyone and now he goes to daycare any EVERYONE is happier

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

I'm confused, but if your hours were adjusted, you should take the salary you previously earned, divide it by 40 (if that's your typical work week) which will give you an hourly wage, then multiply that by how many hours you would be working with the adjusted hours. If that doesn't match up with what is on your stub, I would talk to someone in HR to find out how they calculated your salary.

As far as daycare, 2 days in a center is a lot of $$ typically since they usually charge you for f/t or a little less than f/t even if you only go 2 days. Maybe you can find a home based daycare? Those are typically less expensive since you are only paying for the days you need.

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

do you think you can negotiate to work full time, with few days from home?

If you worked from home say.. 2 days a week, and in office 3 would that help you out at all?

Re: WWYD - LONG- Work/Daycare related

Posted by KateDevine

Well, here's the thing...p/t daycare is very expensive and almost "not worth it" even if you can find it for an infant. Honestly, if finances are really the problem, I'd probably go back to work 5 days a week/9-5 (or whatever normal hours are) and get paid for FT and pay for FT daycare at a center.

Listen, DH and I tried everything to make it work so that one of us was almost always home with Christopher, but it just became too taxing on everyone and now he goes to daycare any EVERYONE is happier