Paying babysitter for time off

I'd love to hear what people generally do for part time babysitters--do you just pay a set amount, even if they have days off (because you're out of town, holidays, etc) or do you pay only for the hours worked?

Also, I started a new job just as I hired this babysitter and it's turned out I frequently don't use her for the full amount of time I originally hired her for--so same question, really--should I "update" what her hours are, maybe for next year, which will have her being paid less, or do I need to stick to the as-hired hours? Thanks.

I think it depends on how much you want to keep her. If you want her to treat you as her main job (if she thinks of it that way), make it the kind of job you'd like to have (predictable hours, pay during your vacations, etc). If you want to save money by paying her more like a freelancer, then know that you may lose her more quickly. So the question may be stability vs. cash flow.

Neither answer is wrong -- just different.

The way I looked at it was that I wasn't paying her for time off, I was paying her to be available. So if I didn't need her, I didn't reduce her salary.

I've had a part time sitter for years. If I don't use her on her scheduled days, I generally pay her anyway, but definitely if I cancelled. There will be times around the holidays where I leave it up to her - come and I'll pay you or take day off (no pay). But she gets a decent gift of $ at the holidays too. Since she's only called in sick once or twice in years, I would still pay her if she was sick.

I think you will need to pay her agreed-to hours for now with a headsup that you might need to / or are open to negotiation again next year, as your hours change.

When we had a pt sitter, if I was off, I'd still have the sitter come for a short time. I'd run errands or go for a run or do some cleaning - things I couldn't easily do with a little one. Paid her for the whole day, though..