You’ve been working as a professional nanny for three years. Your employer family is generally good to work for, and you’ve never had serious problems. So when a situation arises where the family claims you approved schedule changes you never agreed to, or disputes arise about compensation you’re certain was promised, you have nothing to point to except your memory against theirs. You learn the hard way that good relationships don’t eliminate the need for proper documentation.
After twenty years watching nannies navigate household employment from Washington DC to cities nationwide, we’ve seen countless situations where proper documentation protected professionals from unfair treatment, false accusations, or compensation disputes. We’ve also watched talented nannies lose jobs, money, or references because they couldn’t prove their side of disagreements that came down to “he said, she said” situations.
Documentation isn’t about distrust or preparing for conflict. It’s about professional practice that protects both you and your employer family by creating clear records of agreements, communications, and daily work. The nannies who maintain proper documentation throughout their employment navigate challenges more successfully than those who rely solely on verbal agreements and memory.
Why Nannies Need Documentation
Household employment operates differently than corporate jobs. There’s no HR department maintaining records of agreements, no centralized systems tracking your time and compensation, no institutional memory beyond what you and your employer family remember. This puts you in a vulnerable position if disputes arise about what was agreed to, what happened, or what’s owed to you.
Even families who hire you with the best intentions and genuine integrity can misremember agreements, fail to track hours accurately, or make assumptions about arrangements that differ from what you understood. Without documentation, resolving these discrepancies becomes nearly impossible because neither party can prove their version of events.
Documentation also protects you if the employment relationship deteriorates or ends badly. If you need to pursue wage claims, respond to false accusations, or defend your professional reputation, having contemporaneous records of your work and agreements makes the difference between being able to prove your case and having no recourse.
The nannies who end up in worst-case scenarios without protection are almost always those who trusted that verbal agreements were sufficient and saw documentation as unnecessary or awkward. The nannies who navigate challenges successfully and protect themselves from unfair treatment document consistently regardless of how good the relationship seems.
Your Work Agreement Comes First
The foundation of protecting yourself is having a comprehensive written work agreement before you start any position. This document should cover every aspect of your employment including schedule, compensation, benefits, responsibilities, policies for schedule changes, time off procedures, sick day policies, termination terms, and anything else relevant to your role.
Never start a nanny position based on verbal agreements alone, no matter how much you like the family or how uncomfortable it feels to request written terms. Professional employment requires professional documentation, and families who respect you as a professional will understand this without resistance.
Your work agreement should be signed by both you and your employer before your first day. Keep the original in a safe location at your home, not at the family’s house where you might not be able to access it if needed. Consider keeping a digital copy as well so you have backup if anything happens to the physical document.
If you’re already working in a position without a written agreement, create one now. Draft the terms as you understand them, send it to your employer family with a note saying you want to formalize your arrangement for both your protections, and request they review and sign it. If they refuse or keep delaying, that’s information about how they view you and how problematic situations might be handled.
Review your work agreement whenever circumstances change. If your schedule shifts, responsibilities expand, compensation adjusts, or policies need modification, document those changes in writing as amendments to your original agreement. Never rely on verbal modifications even with families you’ve worked with for years.
Daily Documentation That Protects You
Beyond your work agreement, maintaining basic daily records protects you from disputes about hours worked, activities completed, or situations that occurred. This doesn’t require elaborate systems or significant time investment. It requires consistency in tracking information that might become important if disagreements arise.
Track your hours every single day. Record your arrival time, departure time, and any breaks. Don’t rely on memory or assume your employer family is tracking accurately. Keep your own records that you can reference if hours are disputed or compensation questions arise.
For live-out positions, noting your exact arrival and departure times prevents disputes about whether you stayed late, left early, or worked the agreed schedule. For positions with variable hours, this documentation becomes essential for ensuring you’re paid correctly for all time worked including overtime when applicable.
Document any schedule changes including who requested them and when. If your employer asks you to work different hours, stay late, come early, or adjust your schedule, note the date of the request and the change agreed to. If you request schedule modifications, document when you asked and what was approved.
This protects you if families later claim you were unreliable or frequently changed the schedule when in reality they were requesting flexibility from you. It also ensures you can prove which hours were worked if overtime pay or compensation questions arise.
Keep basic daily notes about activities, situations, and communications. This doesn’t mean writing detailed narratives of every moment. It means brief records of what you did with the children, any notable behaviors or incidents, instructions you received from parents, and communications about household matters.
These notes protect you if questions arise about what happened on specific days, whether you followed instructions, or how you handled situations. They’re also valuable if you need to respond to accusations about your care or defend decisions you made.
Financial Documentation You Must Maintain
Compensation disputes are among the most common serious conflicts in household employment. Protecting yourself requires meticulous records of what you’re owed, what you’re paid, and what remains outstanding if payments are late or incorrect.
Keep every paystub or payment record. If you’re paid through a payroll service, save every paystub digitally and keep physical copies. If you’re paid by check, deposit the checks but keep copies of them. If you’re paid electronically, maintain records of each transaction including dates and amounts.
Calculate your own pay based on hours worked and your rate. Don’t just accept whatever amount your employer pays without verifying it’s correct. If discrepancies arise, you need to be able to show what you should have been paid versus what you actually received.
Track benefits separately including health insurance contributions, paid time off used and remaining, holiday pay received, and any other benefits provided. Families sometimes lose track of what benefits they’ve provided or miscalculate time off balances. Having your own records ensures you can correct errors without depending on their accounting.
If you incur job-related expenses that should be reimbursed, document them immediately. Save receipts, note the date and purpose, and submit reimbursement requests promptly with copies of receipts attached. Keep your own copies of everything so you can follow up if reimbursements don’t come through.
For nannies paid as household employees rather than through payroll services, maintaining detailed records becomes even more critical. You need to be able to prove what you were paid for tax purposes, ensure proper taxes are being withheld if applicable, and document compensation if you need to file wage claims.
Protecting Yourself During Difficult Situations
When problems arise in your employment, how you document communications and situations determines whether you can effectively advocate for yourself or are left without recourse.
Document any concerning incidents immediately while details are fresh. If a child is injured in your care, if you witness problematic behavior from parents, if you experience harassment or boundary violations, if safety issues arise, or if anything happens that could become disputed later, write down what occurred including dates, times, who was present, and exactly what happened.
These contemporaneous notes carry significant weight if situations escalate to legal matters or you need to defend yourself against accusations. Notes written immediately after events are considered more reliable than trying to recall details weeks or months later.
Follow up verbal conversations about serious matters with written confirmation. If your employer discusses schedule changes, compensation adjustments, policy modifications, or anything else significant, send an email or text afterward summarizing what you understood was agreed to and asking them to confirm or correct your understanding.
This creates written evidence of agreements that might otherwise remain verbal and disputable. It also gives families the opportunity to clarify if you misunderstood, preventing problems that arise from different interpretations of the same conversation.
If you need to address concerns with your employer family, communicate serious matters in writing when possible. This doesn’t mean you can’t have in-person conversations about issues, but following up those conversations with written summaries protects both parties by creating clear records of what was discussed and agreed to.
Save all communications with your employer family including texts, emails, and messages through any apps or platforms you use. Don’t delete communications even if employment ends positively. You may need to reference previous conversations months or years later if questions arise.
What to Document About Child-Related Incidents
Any situation involving potential child safety, injuries, or concerning behaviors requires immediate, thorough documentation regardless of how minor it seems at the time.
If a child is injured while in your care, document exactly what happened, when it occurred, what you did in response, what first aid or medical care was provided, when and how you notified parents, and any follow-up that occurred. Take photos if visible injuries exist, note what the child said about how they felt, and keep records of any medical visits or treatments.
This protects you if parents later claim you were negligent, didn’t notify them promptly, or handled the situation incorrectly. It also provides accurate information about the incident if questions arise later about what actually happened versus what people remember.
Document any concerning behaviors or situations involving the children even if you’re not sure they’re serious. If children make statements about abuse or concerning situations, if they exhibit behaviors that worry you, if they share information that suggests problems, document what they said, when they said it, and what you observed.
This information may become critical if child welfare situations develop, if custody disputes arise between parents, or if questions emerge about what you knew and when. Having contemporaneous records protects you from claims that you should have reported concerns earlier or that you’re fabricating information after the fact.
If you need to discipline children or handle behavioral situations, note what occurred, what approach you used, and what the outcome was. This protects you if parents later claim you used inappropriate discipline methods or handled situations improperly. It also helps maintain consistency in your approach and provides information parents need to understand behavioral patterns.
Technology for Documentation
Modern technology makes documentation easier and more reliable than traditional paper records, but you need to use tools that actually serve your needs and that you’ll maintain consistently.
Consider using a daily log app designed for nannies or household employees where you can quickly record hours, activities, incidents, and communications. Choose apps that allow you to export records so you’re not dependent on the platform remaining available.
Take photos when relevant and allowed by your employer family. Photos of activities, crafts, outings, or situations provide visual records that support your written documentation. However, respect family privacy policies about photographing children and never share photos beyond what’s agreed to with parents.
Use your phone to timestamp important communications or situations when needed. If you need to document that something occurred at a specific time or that you sent a particular message, the automatic timestamps on photos, texts, or emails provide verification.
Back up all digital records regularly. Don’t rely solely on your phone or a single device for critical documentation. Use cloud storage, email records to yourself, or maintain copies on multiple devices so you don’t lose everything if technology fails.
However, also maintain some physical records of the most critical documents. Your original work agreement, pay records, and documentation of serious incidents should exist in physical form that you can access regardless of technology availability.
When Documentation Proves Essential
The value of proper documentation becomes clear when disputes arise or employment ends badly. Nannies who maintained records navigate these situations far more successfully than those who cannot prove their version of events.
If you need to file wage claims for unpaid hours or withheld compensation, having detailed records of hours worked and amounts owed makes it possible to pursue what you’re owed. Without documentation, proving wage claims becomes nearly impossible because you cannot demonstrate what you worked versus what you were paid.
If you’re accused of negligence, misconduct, or any other serious problems, having contemporaneous records of your work and communications can disprove false claims or demonstrate that you acted appropriately. Without documentation, you’re left trying to defend yourself based solely on your word against the family’s claims.
If you need references for future positions after relationships end badly, having documentation of your work can support your professional reputation even if former employers won’t provide positive references. You can demonstrate to future employers that you maintained professional records and standards regardless of how previous positions ended.
Documentation also protects you in situations where families claim you violated policies or failed to follow instructions. If you have records showing what instructions you received and how you followed them, you can defend your professionalism even if outcomes didn’t match family expectations.
The Seaside Nannies Perspective
At Seaside Nannies, we’ve watched documentation make the difference between nannies who successfully resolved disputes and those who suffered unfair treatment with no recourse. After twenty years of placements across Washington DC and nationwide, we know that professional nannies treat documentation as essential professional practice, not optional or paranoid behavior.
We position every candidate we place to understand the importance of written work agreements and maintaining proper records from day one. Never automated, never one-size-fits-all. We’ve seen too many situations where lack of documentation left talented nannies vulnerable to unfair treatment they couldn’t prove or defend against.
The nannies who maintain proper documentation from the start of employment through its end consistently navigate their careers more successfully than those who rely on trust and verbal agreements alone. Professional household employment requires professional documentation. That protects everyone involved and creates the foundation for successful long-term placements where both parties understand and honor their commitments.
