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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Original poster

how to deal with relatively unfair "pay" situation

28 replies

CarmineB · 17/05/2013 20:04

Hi everyone,

I have been reading some threads about wages while DC is at nursery and the nanny does pick ups, drop offs and there are a few hours of no work during a shift. All posts say that there is, at least, a 50 percent charge.

I have not been offered getting paid, even if I will be on call, and being there for sick days and school holidays.

And this is the moment I get annoyed; my wages are down, my routine is gone, I am running here and there.

So, I have been considering quitting the job. And it is very hard. I am not sure whether I should talk to the parents first and ask for a more fair deal. However, it is very difficult since they have never offered to pay while I am not on duty and they know I am losing those hours; I doubt I should continue with a family like this.

Have you ever approached parents and asked for a better deal? have parents been approached?
Please help.

Cx

OP posts:
SalIAm · 17/05/2013 20:55

Ah yes, my reply to OP above obviously refers to childminders (as per the thread in question) - I didn't realise the OP is a nanny. If you are indeed a nanny, yes, you're an employee and everything Outraged has said.

OutragedFromLeeds · 17/05/2013 20:48

First of all, that thread is about childminders, not nannies. Childminders run their own childcare business and set their own charges. This is different to a nanny who is paid a set wage.

As a nanny I would expect to be paid whilst the children are at school. It's probably helpful to look at your overall wage though rather than on an hourly basis.

If you're not happy with your wage you can try and negotiate a payrise with your employer. I have done this in the past and have always been successful. Or you can try looking for another job, I would wait until you find one before quitting the one you have though.

SalIAm · 17/05/2013 20:45

Surely you set the fees, and then parents can either accept it or look somewhere else? I think it's a bit bizarre that you blame the parents for not offering to pay you more. Would you go to a shop, look at the price and then ask whether they would mind you paying more?

Do you have any childminder friends that you could compare contracts with? It's standard practice to charge a retainer, but you have to treat this as a type of business. If you don't make this clear in your contracts, you'll continue getting cross at parents being "unfair" to you.