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Original poster

Is £22,000 gross a reasonable nanny for London?

33 replies

staranise · 22/11/2010 21:43

I'm getting very confused as to what is a credible wage. Not helped by the fact that it seems whatever I offer, I'll be working at a loss!

We have three children but two are at school, youngest is 2 and pretty easy. No cleaning/household duties, the occasional cooking for the children. It would be full-time, 40 hours a week, paid holiday, plus NI/tax of course, I'm coordinate holiday with gps so the nanny would rarely have all three in the school hols.

The thing is, i know that gives a quite low hourly rate of £8.20 but is that compensated by the fact that it's full-time, only one school run (one would be covered by me or DH) etc?

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Laquitar · 23/11/2010 18:15

If you talk to her make sure you discuss what happens with sickness (your dcs and her dd)
Good luck.

Blondeshavemorefun · 23/11/2010 18:13

nwoc is prob the best bet, she will be happy to accept a lower salary and also be happy with shorter hours as be home at a nice time for her own childs tea/bath/bed

Original poster
staranise · 23/11/2010 18:05

There's a lovely nanny I know who might - her daugher is the same age as my youngest DC, she lives locally, has babysat for me before. I will have to start asking around and see what comes up! Thanks again.

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Laquitar · 23/11/2010 18:00

Some posters have mentioned nanny with own child. I thing it is a good idea, would you considare it?

Original poster
staranise · 23/11/2010 17:51

Unfortunately we have zero space at home (the joys of living in London!) - an au pair/nursery would be ideal for us otherwise.

I'm probably jumping the gun as haven't even got the job first but I like to plan ahead... I'm prepared to just break even, particularly in the short term (til DC3 turns three) but reluctant to actually pay to go to work.

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StarExpat · 23/11/2010 15:33

Oh yes, if you have some space at home, aupair and nursery combination is ideal for you :) Much easier and less financially draining than dealing with having to pay a full time nanny and all that goes with it.

StillSquiffy · 23/11/2010 14:31

If you could put the youngest in a nursery then I would go for a nursery/au pair combination personally. At the moment there are hundreds of spanish graduates around 23/24 years old desperate to work for a year or two to learn english because of state of Spanish Economy. aupair world a good site if you think this cold be a good solution. that way you at least see some of your salary at the end of each month...

Blondeshavemorefun · 23/11/2010 14:25

can you try and make your days longer and maybe do 3.5days for that wage so that the nanny could earn extra money elsewhere

frakkinup · 23/11/2010 12:38

Hm well there you've picked an in-demand language. If you'd wanted Eastern European languages then you'd probably have been able to find someone more easily! There seem to be a few Spanish speakers on Gumtree though, depending on which part of London you're in.

Original poster
staranise · 23/11/2010 12:17

I'm not so very worried about experience as they won't be dealing with a baby - as long as they are calm & competent. I'd prefer a Spanish speaker (I speak it), don't need a driver so can compromise on English/car.

My main concern is that I can't offer a living wage - I hate cheap childcare, think it's a false economy. I don't want to pay a really low salary and end up with a nanny who feels aggrieved/is looking for other work constantly. But I'd also like to go back to work without being annoyed that my nanny earns more than me (not that that is her fault of course)!

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frakkinup · 23/11/2010 12:12

There are increasing numbers of registered nannies and most nannies now are in a position to become registered regarding qualifications, first aid and insurance. Then it's just a case of you stumping up the £100 odd and waiting forever for the CRB check Grin

You're doing well to research it properly before going ahead with it. As a nanny pet hates of mine are:

a) we didn't realise how much it would cost, we can't afford it
b) we didn't realise we had to employ you with a contract/operate payroll/give you paid holidays (delete as appropriate)
c) X's nanny down the road gets £x/week (when x's nanny has less experience/is less qualified/does fewer hours - delete as a appropriate).

I could go on but I won't. Suffice to say you're off to a good start by realising that you have a budget and working out what you can realistically get for it.

An inexperienced nanny isn't a bad thing - we all started somewhere - and they're cheaper. They may well have a childcare qualification which is 2 years of FT study and placements, equipping them with the knowledge they need to do the job as long as you're prepared to handhold them. Or they might have worked in a nursery so have good practical experience, possibly a qualification, and have held a job before but then they might be fab on the activities front and less able to do cleaning/cooking (which isn't so much of an issue anyway). Compromising doesn't mean you can't get what you want, it just might not be packaged in the way you expect.

Original poster
staranise · 23/11/2010 12:01

I've never employed a FT nanny in the UK before so it's all new to me (and a bit of a shock TBH) - many thanks for your help with this.

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Original poster
staranise · 23/11/2010 12:00

I think DH's work has the childcare vouchers which would help - are many nannies registered? I'd be happy to pay for registration if it was straightforward.

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frakkinup · 23/11/2010 11:48

£34k gross is more likely to be for a 50-60 hour week, coming in at just under £10net/hour which is around the live out going rate for a nanny with 5+ years experience, high level of English/mother tongue, probably qualified and a driver. As squiffy said if you want to go below that you have to work out what you compromise on.

Original poster
staranise · 23/11/2010 11:29

£34k does seem like a lot, no? For a 40-hour week? I earn just below that and without the nanny perks of car/meals/paid overtime etc. Not to say that nannies don't work hard but I work in publishing, where you can have 15 years' experience/degree/lots of CPD etc and still struggle to earn £30k. No wonder there are so many SAHMs in London!

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Original poster
staranise · 23/11/2010 11:09

I mentioned paid holidays because the nanny would get way above the usual 5.6 weeks as I get a fair amount of help from gps (but they live far away so can do weeks at a time but not a regular dpw).

I worked out that figure based on what I earn plus nannies I know get £8-10 cash in hand - this would be more like £8.50 an hour but legal etc. Paying a kitty/activites/food not a problem.

Difficult to use CMs as my school-age children have activities after school I'd be reluctant to stop, school does no after-school club. Nursery would be much cheaper but doesn't help my older DDs.

I think I migth jsut have to be prepared to work at a loss til DC3 turns 3 (in a year's time). How does anyone who is not a doctor/lawyer etc afford to work in London?!

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StillSquiffy · 23/11/2010 10:59

Average for London is around 23k net so about 34k gross. you will find cheaper but will need to work out what you want to compromise on (language, experience, quals, ability to drive, etc)

snowflake69 · 23/11/2010 10:05

I think it is an extremely high wage but I dont live in London. If you did that job here (I live on south coast) you would get about 13k a year.

Laquitar · 23/11/2010 10:03

It is very low for London and over 5 days is not very attractive, 4 days 10 hrs per day would be more attractive.
I don't know why you mention 'paid holidays', it is not a gift everybody has paid holidays. You will need to throw in something else to make it attractive.

StarExpat · 23/11/2010 10:00

Could you not use a nursery or cm and afterschool clubs? Would be loads cheaper than a nanny. Especially as you only need care until 5pm.

mickytoo · 23/11/2010 09:53

I don't think it's that low. I'm in zone 3 London and paid my previous, 40-hour, 4 days a week nanny £25000 gross. She had 7 years experience. I've been recruiting again recently and have come across plenty of people with 1-2 years experience who would presumably be happy with £22K.

I found that those who have English as a first language tend to want more, so you might want to think about what level of English you want.

mostlycheese · 23/11/2010 09:11

Yes it is possible, if you are okay with a nanny who has less experience. Nursery assistants generally earn less than this in London.

frakkinup · 23/11/2010 05:54

I would also say it depends on the nanny. It would be possible for someone in their first job but it's whether you're happy with that. Remember that if you offer a car you need to add the cost of insurance, which can be steep for a younger nanny, a kitty for playgroups/misc expenses, food for nanny during the working day and the various other costs...

Sprogger · 22/11/2010 22:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BlockedPoster · 22/11/2010 22:27

Try looking for a nanny with a child of her own - you may get lucky wiht a nanny share, but with 3 children already, I think that's going to be hard to find.

A nanny with a child of her own will expect to earn less, if she's bringing her child to work with her.