Our Policies

By registering and using our services, you agree to adhere to Our Terms & Conditions:

Service Policy:

We have a 3-hr minimum requirement for families and a 2-hr minimum requirement for organizations/groups. Even if you do not need your sitter/helper for the full minimum time, you must pay them as such. *The sole exception to this is if you hire a Pet Sitter for a "Short Visit."

All sitters/helpers are to be paid for the full time they were booked, even if you opt to let them go early. They are to be paid directly in cash, check, or payment apps are accepted. at the end of each sit. If you will not be home to pay them, please leave payment for them ahead of time & let them know where to retrieve it. Communicate with your sitter prior to paying her to ensure your payment is correct. Any mis-payments that need to be handled by our office will be charged to your account along with a $5 service fee.

All clients are to strictly adhere to the Pay Rates outlined on our Pricing Page, including a $2/hr additional fee payable to your sitter for any use of "flexible end time" going beyond the scheduled end time.

If you would like to use a "flexible end time" when booking your sitter, you must note it in the sit comments when you book the request initially. Let your sitter know in advance how much end time flexibility you will need, up to but no more than 2 hours.

Tipping is appreciated but not required. Should you want to additionally compensate one of your sitters/helpers who has done a fantastic job, you may opt to show your appreciation through tipping.

Cancellation Policy:

There is a $25 Cancellation Fee for any job cancelled within 24-hrs before its scheduled start time. (Jobs cancelled in advance of the 24-hr mark do not incur any additional cancellation fees). 100% of this fee is passed onto the sitter/helper to compensate for lost hours. A $5 service fee will also be included.

We will not issue refunds for any placement fees should you opt to cancel your request after a sitter/helper has been assigned. However, we will refund your placement fee if we were unable to find you a sitter/helper prior to cancellation.

Additionally, if you are unable to give more than 5-hrs notice and have to cancel, the full charge of the job is due to the sitter, along with a $5 service fee. The only time we waive this full charge within 5-hrs of the job start time is when our office is closed & you are otherwise unable to reach your helper, in which case the $25 cancellation fee will apply. If you can't reach your helper but need to cancel when we're closed, just let her know when she arrives that you had a change in plans but weren't able to reach her. Pay her the $25 cancellation fee plus a little for gas, then leave a message for us. We'll be in touch when we open the following business day.

Inclement Weather Policy:

Our clients can cancel due to weather conditions giving at least 3-hrs notice (from the sit start-time) without incurring any last-minute cancellation fees. There will be no refund for the scheduling fees for the sits that have been placed. If parents choose to cancel their sits because they aren't going to be heading out of the house or they don't feel comfortable having the sitters travel in inclement weather, just give Sitters Unlimited LLC a call. We allow sitters the same courtesy to cancel during this time as well.

Sick Child Policy:

We defer to (and strictly follow the advice of) doctors and nurses at Nationwide Children's Hospital regarding disease transmission so as to protect every single preemie, infant, toddler, and child in our care, as well as to keep our sitters safe & virus free.

TO PROTECT ALL CHILDREN, PARENTS AND SITTERS: Only if the illness is non-contagious will we send sitters to your home. If you have a sitter scheduled and your child comes down with a contagious illness (even if it is "just" the flu or cough/cold), you MUST cancel; even if no fever is accompanying the contagion.

If your child is sick with something that is not contagious and you have a doctor's note stating that he/she is of no risk to others, of course you can keep your sitter! Otherwise, our sitters become exposed themselves and then also become vectors of spreading the disease to other children in their care.

Washing one's hands isn't enough to prevent being exposed when you're in the sick person's home environment. Preemies, infants and others are at high-risk of infection and we simply cannot expose them to communicable illnesses.

Our sitters work with organizations such as hospitals and homes with high-risk children which require a sterile environment (e.g. children receiving chemo for cancer). Should one of our sitters arrive at a sit and be left with a contagious child or be in a home where a contagion is present, if their next job is to work with a 6-month old who is awaiting open-heart surgery, then we have already played a role in compromising that baby's health, as even a simple cold can be life-threatening in these cases.

With incubation periods lasting up to several days for many common bugs, this makes it even more dangerous if certain treatments are given to young babies without the knowledge that they have been exposed to "X" disease. Please contact Sitters Unlimited LLC as well as your sitter to cancel should your child become sick. This is just one of the many ways Sitters Unlimited works to protect your family and your children, and we very much appreciate your cooperation & understanding!

*Please Note: This means that if a sitter arrives and finds your child(ren) sick with anything that may be contagious (e.g. fever, chills, rash, cough, cold, vomiting, diarrhea, flu, etc.) and you do not have a written doctor’s note clearing the child of a contagion (e.g. is on allergy medication and has a script from the doctor declaring it as only “allergies”), then your sitter must be paid in full for that day’s work and sent home immediately so as not to risk infection to herself and/or other children in her care later that week. Therefore, it is best to cancel in advance if your child comes down with something and only be charged the $25 cancellation fee than to have to pay your sitter in full for the entire sit that she cannot do!

Client Responsible Use Guidelines Policy:

Upon registering, you are asked to agree to additional Terms and Conditions, all of which are outlined herein:

To participate in this service you agree to abide by the following appropriate use guidelines with respect to using a "sitter," which refers to all types of sitters, helpers, nannies, etc. within the network. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using this service you will not:

Schedule a sitter outside of the service. You may ask a sitter if they're available for a given date/time, but all jobs MUST be scheduled IN ADVANCE prior to the sitter's arrival through our service and not solely through a verbal discussion with a sitter. If it is not scheduled online, the sitter is NOT permitted to come. Therefore, please be sure to follow through with your formal online request in advance, and do not wait until our office is closed on the day-of to submit it, lest it not be honored.
- Clients can submit last minute requests themselves up to 4 hrs prior to the sit start time, so as long as you post your request & your sitter picks it up prior to arriving at your home, you can schedule short-notice requests yourself even when our office is closed. If it is less than 4 hrs notice and our office is closed, you will not be able to secure a sitter but we look forward to helping you next time.
Conduct illegal or child-endangering activities in your home such as drug or alcohol abuse in the presence of your sitter. This includes the presence of drug paraphernalia or conduct under the influence that may cause our babysitters to feel uncomfortable.
Keep in plain view inappropriate media. This could include materials that are sexually explicit in nature.

To make communication with your sitters clear & transitions of leaving the household smooth, we highly recommend you provide the following information to each sitter:

A schedule of naps, bed times, dinner/snack times, practice times, etc.
Medical and/or allergy information about your children
Expectations for your home, such as screen time, homework time, time outs, etc.
Emergency contact information
Your anticipated return time and contact information

If parents are late coming home & have not notified the sitter, we have an escalation process for the situation. If the family registration is missing any of the information needed below, the proceeding step will be followed at the 30-minute milestone. Ex: If no emergency contacts are listed, the police will be notified after parents are 60-minutes late without notification or contact.

After 30 minutes: Parent's mobile phones will be called
Additional 30 minutes: Emergency contacts will be notified
Additional 30 minutes: Police will be notified

By registering to use our service, you agree to the Terms and Conditions outlined herein.