What are guaranteed hours and should I offer them?
Updated November 6, 2026 · For 2026 · General information, not tax or legal advice
Guaranteed hours are the minimum number of hours a week you commit to paying, whether or not you need the nanny for all of them. If you guarantee 40 hours and send the nanny home early on Friday, or take the kids to grandma's for a week, the nanny is still paid for 40.
Why nannies expect them
A nanny's income depends entirely on one family's schedule. Without a guarantee, every snow day, sick day or family trip cuts their pay. Guaranteed hours are what make a nanny job a stable job, and the market has settled on them: nearly every professional nanny asks for them, and most nanny agencies require them.
How to word them
- "Family guarantees 45 hours per week at $25 per hour (40 regular, 5 at $37.50), paid regardless of hours used."
- Say what happens above the guarantee: hours over 45 paid at the overtime rate.
- Say whether unused hours can be "banked" for later. Most contracts say no; banking creates overtime disputes.
- Pair it with the nanny's own paid time off, holidays and sick days, which are separate (see PTO, holidays and sick leave).
Guarantee versus salary
A salary is one way to deliver guaranteed hours: the weekly amount is the guarantee. An hourly nanny can have guaranteed hours too; the paycheck is the greater of hours worked or the guarantee, with overtime on the actual hours. Either way, keep tracking real hours, because overtime is owed on hours worked, not on the guarantee.
In payroll
Pay for guaranteed hours is ordinary wages. It is taxed, it goes on the W-2, and it counts toward the $3,000 threshold. On the stub, show worked hours and guarantee top-up separately so the nanny can see both.
CareTab has a guaranteed-hours setting per employee: enter the weekly guarantee once, log the hours actually worked, and the paycheck fills the gap automatically. Try the numbers in the calculator.
Frequently asked
Are guaranteed hours required by law?
No federal or state law requires them, but they are the industry norm for nannies and most experienced candidates will not accept a job without them.
Do I pay guaranteed hours when we go on vacation?
Yes. That is the point: the nanny reserved the schedule for you. Most contracts also give the nanny their own paid vacation on top.
Are guaranteed hours taxed like regular wages?
Yes. Pay for guaranteed-but-unworked hours is ordinary wages for Social Security, Medicare, unemployment tax and the W-2.
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