Physician dad — is my on-call overnight rate structure fair? Would love nanny perspectives
Hi all — solo physician dad of two little ones (4 and 1), and I’m on hospital call every other week, which means roughly 14–16 nights a month where there’s a chance I get called in overnight. In reality it only actually happens 1–3 times a month, but when it happens I have to leave fast and I need someone reliable.
I have a great babysitter I normally pay $35/hr for daytime work. For call nights, our current arrangement is:
**•** $50/night flat to be on call — phone on, stays in town, able to come over if I get paged
**•** $50/hr if she actually has to wake up and come in, with a 3-hour minimum so a short call-in is still worth her while
**•** Most nights nothing happens and she just sleeps at home and collects the $50
She’s been doing this informally “when available,” and I’m now looking to formalize it into a committed arrangement — guaranteed pay for every call night on my schedule (calendar given a month ahead), with a written agreement, probably bumping the standby rate to $65/night for the commitment.
My questions for the nannies here:
**1. Does $50-65/night standby + $50/hr activated (3-hr min) feel fair for committed on-call availability? What would make YOU take a role like this?**
**2. Is a “be reachable and within 30-40 min” requirement reasonable for 14-16 nights/month, or is that a bigger lifestyle ask than I’m pricing?**
**3. For those who’ve done on-call or overnight work — what terms did you wish were in your agreement that employers didn’t think of?**
**4. Any red flags in this structure from the caregiver side?**
Genuinely want this to be a good deal for her, not just for me. Appreciate any honest feedback!