Do I need a nanny contract?
Reviewed September 2026 against the same data that powers Kindred's free calculators.
Yes. Not because anyone expects trouble, but because the arrangements that go wrong are almost always the ones where pay, hours, time off, or ending terms lived in a text thread. A one-page work agreement covering pay and overtime, guaranteed hours, PTO and sick days, duties, and notice periods prevents most nanny-family conflicts before they start.
What belongs in it
- Pay: hourly rate, overtime rate, payday, and on-the-books confirmation
- Guaranteed hours: the floor you pay even when you cancel
- Time off: PTO days, sick days, and which holidays are paid
- Duties: what is included and, just as important, what is not
- Ending it: notice period both directions, and severance if any