"Minimum" rates for sitters.co.uk

Strix,

It's Likeminders. Just google it and you'll find them, they ara based in BAttersea but cover all London. As a nanny I really like them, they update us by emails regularly.

I work for sitters and i do not take any bookings that are less than 4 hours it is not well paid as it is.

I usually get the exact money some times they ask for about a pound change but i say I have not got any, one couple kept me another ten minutes finding change so they did not have to give me a pound too much, i did not go back to them when they requested me.

I am a parent and always round up. I believe that the terms that parents agree to is that if they return home early they still pay for the time booked so you should check this with the agency.

I also work for sitters and have had similar experiences.

Some parents round up but most pay to the nearest pound and I too have had many parents book me for 5 hours then return after 3...

i think very carefully when accepting jobs now as sometimes it is barely worth it when you factor in petrol.

I wish they would return to a minimum of 4 hours...

Lily, who is the other London based agency?

I work for sitters too, most round up to the next pound eg £24 instead of £23.60.
One or two have paid the excact amount by counting out the coppers!
One even daid 40 pence less.... I could not be bothered to make a fuss.
I think if you round up to the nearest pound it makes it easier as nobody needs worry about change.

Good luck!
I really enjoyed working for sitters but last months experience made it sour. I was also regular for most families which was great for them and me too. I am registered with other London based agency and they send me babysittings for a min of 4 hours, they are as good as Sitters.

Nick - no, I've never been offered one! Wouldn't bother me in the least but it's never been an option!

All lovely Ladies - don't the agency ever send you any men?

Again as a parent using sitters I always pay for the time I have booked, I always round up to the nearest five and if I slip over into another hour I pay that full hour.
I also have sitters who come again and again, all are lovely Ladies. We have one particular lady who is a primary school teacher on maternity leave who has been fab at helping us with DDs reading.

That's really mean, Lily - if i book for 4 but use 3 hours, I pay for 4, as that's what I asked for and what the sitter accepted the booking based on! It's quite mean of the parents not to do that, I can see why you would be annoyed.

I used to babysit for sitters but now that they changed the minimum hours of booking time I stopped. I got the exact amount most of the time, parents rarely gave me more than the minimum. It was fine by me as I knew how much I would get and wasn't counting on anything extra.

What really annoys me now is the minimum of 3 hours booking- it's not worth for us to babysit for £17 :(. Unfortunately parents have a loophole, they book us for 4-5 hours (so they def get a babysitter), come back in 3 and pay only for the 3 hours. I would have not taken a babysitting for 3 hours, so after lots of disappointment I decided not to babysit for them anymore.

Going back to your question, yes, the minimum payment is normal and the sitter is not expecting anything more than that.

Same as Christine: I round up a bit e.g if I owe £27, I'll probably pay £30. We have several sitters who come time and again so I guess that's OK!

I generally round up to the nearest fiver so pay £25 rather than £23.60 or whatever but wouldn't round up to the nearest tenner. My babysitters always come back :)