Am I right in thinking nannies are so expensive because so many people don't pay the tax/NI?

sorry re-read your post and i realise you want a nanny who does want to pay tax

i cant imagine any nanny agency would give you a candidiate who wants cash in hand.

It surprises me that you are having trouble finding a nanny who wants to be paid properly actually. simply as i myself dont know one nanny who doesnt!

YOU the employer are responsible for paying your nannies tax and NI and if you dont YOU will be fined £3k by inland rev.
(not the nanny)

For what its worth i dont know a single nanny whose employers dont employ them properly and i must know around 40 nannies in my area.

So if you choose to do it its your risk but there is no way i would let you do it to me and if you did i myself would report you my employer to inland rev, and it would be YOU who would get the fine.

If you want a nanny you legally HAVE to be an employer and that involves paying tax and NI for the nanny and employers NI from your pocket too

In my experience employers have always deducted my tax and NI for nanny jobs - that is for jobs which are permanent. Temp jobs are another matter, and really I feel it should be the agency which operates the payroll, in the same way it works when doing temping in nurseries.
It's not just full-time positions... I've had a 3-day per week nanny position and the parents operated full PAYE.
Perhaps it is something to do with your location... too many people who are prepared to accept their bosses not deducting their tax.

£90-£100 per day, for live-out is not unusual I feel. I'm currently negotiating a contract for a new job which is paying that amount Gross. I suspect the figures nannies are giving you are NET though, but in London area, then that is quite possible.

Cost of living must be having some affect - a live-out nanny would have bills to pay, be that rent, council tax, gas/electric, running a car, etc. So if housing costs come down, then so may nanny salaries.

I am in outer sw london and got lots of nannies not wanting to have the tax paid at interviews.

You need to specify gross wage in your blurb in your ad (so that they know that's what you are going to do in advance). I didn't put pay on my ad, I waited for nannies to contact me but did mention I would pay gross.

I think the figures you are being quoted sound about right. It is FARKING expensive but if you think about it, it is one person's salary that they live off.

Although it has got to the stage round here where nannies seem to earn more than teachers.

I am in Herts and charge from £12 gross an hour but I only work part time, temp and am self empolyed.

Nanny wages have gone a bit ridiculous though

NJ link

Nannies expect a good wage just because of the area they are working not and not because of their own experience or qualifications. I think it is shocking that they are only worried about their net salary and have no idea what the gross salary is!

Where in SW london are you and what are you looking for?

I am in south london and charge £8 per hour. I find that whenever parents WANT to pay tax/NI, they take it from £8 instead of on top of. So i end up getting £6 per hour.
I cant affort to work for that

Wow. I don't know - we're paying full tax and NI on a £72 a day net salary (live out) which I think is high - I believed what she asked for on the phone. Given the time again I would offer a bit less because I am paying her more than other people around here. She is, however, fully qualified, experienced and excellent at her job, plus the job is only 1 year long so in a way I feel I'm compensating her for job insecurity.

I have not come across a proper nanny who isn't having their stuff paid at all. What I have come across is people paying a nanny a low official salary and giving her the rest in cash. I don't know how you'd start bringing this up if you wanted to do it...

I find it so weird that nobody talks about nannies at a monthly gross figure like any other job - it's all hours, days, weeks, net. Is it to conceal how much it hurts??

I think the norm is to pay the tax. Well, maybe ot the babysitting/extra hours part.