How on earth does anyone afford a nanny ... feeling despondent!

How does it compare with a childminder?

Lets say the childminder is £6 per hour, per child and does not give any deduction for when they or you are on holiday (In reality, if you went away at the same time as the childminder, then you may not pay anything for that period of time).

Lets say term time is 38 weeks and that you needed 1 hour in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon for the 2 school aged children.

During Term Time:
School child: 5 hours x £6 per hour = £30 per day. 5 days = £150
Toddler: 10 hours x £6 per hour = £60. 5 days = £300.
Total per week: £600

School Holidays:
Per child: 10 hours x £6 per hour = £300
Total per week: £900

£600 x 38 = £22,800
£900 x 14 = £12,600
Total before additional expenses: £35,400

Compared with a nanny at £12.91 gross per hour:
£37,091.91 before additional expenses.

Lots of other things to consider though, such as the pros and cons of having someone come to your home. Children doing after school activities/clubs.

10 hours per day, 5 days per week, so 2600 per 52 week year (payroll is done on a 52 week year).

(Net to Gross calculation by UK Salary Calculator for iOS)

At 11 net per hour:

£28,600 net per annum.
1100L tax code (this is the assumed tax code, the actual code could vary)
Tax Year: 2016/17
Gross salary £37,401.18
Employers NI: £4,041.91
Gross hourly: £14.38

With a full time job you can agree a Net salary but I would aim to agree Gross. You could look at something like £14 gross per hour, or £14.25 gross per hour, or something like that, or agree an annual gross of say £37,400.

At 10 net per hour:

£26,000 net per annum.
1100L tax code (this is the assumed tax code, the actual code could vary)
Tax Year: 2016/17
Gross salary £33,577.65
Employers NI: £3514.26
Gross hourly: £12.91

Do you have the room for live in? That is much cheaper

Childminders round here can charge £5+ per hour. So your nanny would work out cheaper than that.

How about getting a childminder to have the baby. Send older DC to breakfast and afterschool clubs and have as student or similar collect them from after school club and take them to your house until 6.30? Then during holidays send them all to childminder (you would have to pay a retainer to keep their places for the holidays)

I know it seems a lot but she is looking after 3 kids once older two come out of school. Paying a nursery or cm for 3 kids would probably work out a lot more expensive in London.

Do you get tax credits or does your employers do childcare vouchers? You could get up to 70% of childcare paid for if your nanny is registered.

We pay £8ph net, but worked out what the gross would be for that so the salary is quoted in gross, meaning we don't absorb any tax rises. Are you eligible for tax credits? We use an ofsted registered nanny so we can claim some (about 1/2) of the cost back.

What start and finish times do you need? A childminder could be a viable option and may cost less.

With three children a nanny is a viable option but you do need to compare with other things that might work such as childminder and before/after school and school holiday clubs.

Tax Free Childcare scheme starts sometime next year which with 3 children could be worth upto £6000 (subject to eligibility and childcare costs). Will you be eligible for that? Both parents have to be earning under £100k and children have to be under age 12.

We've had a nanny too and it is very useful in school holidays I must admit, north east though so lower pay. My youngest will be at school in September and I can't wait for the reduction in childcare costs!

Is there a childminder who can have your little one and also do the school pick up?

We pay our nanny £11.50 net outside London in SE. It is pretty common here. It is crazily expensive once you've added in employer NI, paying their insurance and sometimes yours too, first aid courses, petty cash, food, ...

But for us it is the only way we can function as a family.

Hi where are you based as that is a lot for a nanny. I am a nanny with nearly 20 yrs experience in all areas of childcare and I get £10 net a hour and I don't know any nannies who get more than that unless in the middle of London. Most nannies are on approx £8-10 net an hour. (Always remember to offer gross not net) how about a nanny who brings their own child with them? They will be slightly cheaper.