Help - Nanny pay increase? Yes or No? I need your views!

She wants an 11% payrise? In this climate? Is she giving you any substantive evidence that she is so massively unpaid and that there are hundreds of similar jobs out there on that much more money that she could apply for? Thought not...

Oh dear! Whilst I appreciate your nanny will have bills and a mortgage, I do think £500 nett a week is excessive in this economic climate especially for those hours and only one child and given the fact she's not hugely experienced. I'm sure there are plenty of experienced nannies who will be just as good and very happy with £450 a week.

I almost think you should call her bluff and say no, you can't afford that or alternatively give her the pay rise but cut her holiday down to 5 weeks.

At the end of the day it boils down to whether you can afford it, whether you feel she is worth and whether you want to pay it. Is she going to expect a similar pay rise next year? I think she's being a bit cheeky tbh.

I just spat my diet coke on the screen

she wants £500 a week and she only has a total of about 3 years experience???
is she qualified?

as a nanny myself, I think she's having a laugh, sorry.

she'd be on about £12.50 gross an hour - is that correct?
that's an awful lot of money in this current climate for such cushty hours and one bubba!!

if I worked all week (I don't - I work 3 days a week ) I'd be on about £400 a week going by my part time pay and I have 8 years experience and I'm currently studying for an NVQ3
and I live in london so I'm fully aware of how expensive it is!

not sure how helpful my comment is but there you go!

She is being unrewasonable and could not possibly expect to get that sum of money (based on her experience) in the current economic climate. Furthermore, nanny employers will be in the 1% of the population that were hit by the tax rises yesterday. I think the financial consequences will cascade to other services that they use, such as nanny salaries.

Yes it would, wouldn't it - and especially MN

Of course some people are still getting payrises, most however, aren't. I am not blind to alternatives either

I am not even saying that she should not give her nanny a payrise but that in the current market it is fair to not increase employees salaries. Of course there are lots of variables within this but without being privvy to conversations/the interview etc it's impossible to comment specifically.

With high rates of redundancy (up to half a million predicted this quarter) and one of the highest rates of unemployment in years - approaching 6.5% - IMO it is not reasonable to expect a payrise. The OP has already said that she will be putting her salary up should she go ahead and have a second child, I just don't think it is necessary to increase her salary prior to that.

I would take my chances on the nanny not leaving if her pay stays the same, it is by far the very worst case scenario and seems unlikely. I am not suggesting that is what the OP does however, she just asked what is fair and I stand by the fact it is in my opnion fair to not increase her salary.

The OP is on a forum, asking for opinions and that is mine, she will of course as an adult and the only person in possesion of all the facts make her own decision.

The OP has said she is currently minded not to give a payrise and I agree for all of the reasons stated above. Life would be boring if we all thought the same

Ewe - some people are still getting payrises actually. If the nanny has been lead to believe that she will get a raise then why should she think otherwise unless the OP or her DH have had significant changes to their income/lifestyle (ie been made redundant, taken pay cuts etc).

'We are in a recession' cannot become a stock answer (excuse) for people/employers who are in a position to pay more but choose not to (OP this is not aimed at you!!).

Yes, there is a lot to be said for market conditions, however, as I pointed out before (did you read my original post??), there are many reasons to consider giving this nanny an increase in pay, some are financial and some are not.

I don't know about anyone else but I don't make a habit of increasing my outgoings just for the fun of it!

No, but do you consider increasing your outgoings when you have more to gain than lose by doing so, or are you so blind that you blankly refuse to look at the alernative option????

The OP has asked what is fair to do, but none of us can acurately answer that as we do not have a copy of the contract or know what the nanny has been led to believe do we?! There is more to it than being in a damn recession!

The OP needs to think specifically about her situation. IF the nanny has been led to believe she is getting an annual payrise and IF she has not been told otherwise and IF the OP/her DH have not been made redundant/taken significant wage cuts then the nanny would be well within her rights to expect said wage rise. If she doesn't get one, she may decide to look around for another job and IF she finds another job pays better and leaves, then the OP has to find a new nanny she is equally happy with - not an easy thing to do and something which could be avoided by a small payrise....

Once again OP half of this is now not aimed at you - sorry, and without some of this information it is hard to know what is fair

My partner is in the construction industry, and although he has a well paid job, he has had to make sacrificed, like a tranfer, in order to keep his job. So in a current recession where you're considered very fortunate to have a job, I cannot think of a single employed person who would be expecting a payrise. I doubt many employees have received a payrise in the last two years.

Speak to your Nanny, explain that given the current situation, would she be prepared to accept a cost of living increase and to be reviewed again in 6 months?

Seems fair to me. She's bloody lucky to have work at the end of the day- and no doubt she'll already know this and won't be expecting anything.

I just can't imagine that anyone would be expecting a payrise in current conditions, we're in a recession and if the nanny has any sort of vague interest in current affairs I see it as unlikely that she will be expecting a payrise.

Whilst we aren't sheep there is a lot to be said for market conditions. I don't know about anyone else but I don't make a habit of increasing my outgoings just for the fun of it! It's an employers market and the OP has asked what is fair to do, IMO it is fair to keep her on the same pay for the same conditions - like the majority of the UK workforce.

Ewe - what does it matter what 'everyone else' is doing? We aren't sheep. You have to do what is best for ewe you and giving her a small payrise and keeping her a happy nanny might be the best option and to not do this 'because no one else is' would be cold comfort wouldn't it, when the OP finds herself looking for a new nanny....

I'm not saying she should - just that her decision should be based on other things - not what 'everyone' is doing.

I wouldn't give her a payrise, very few employers are giving any payrises and I don't think you should be any different.

Are you getting a payrise?

and let us know the outcome of course

"weather"
I meant weather!

I would like to direct your attention here for a perspective on how people are whethering the storm in other industries.

I think you should have a chat with her at the one year review to let her know how well she is doing etc so she feels appreciated. If you are not planning to raise it then I would give the reason as something to do with business - e.g. you and/or hubby not getting an increase. Even if you are she won't know this and it sounds better that you have given her a reason for the lack of increase. You could also remind her about the fab salary she is earning and the great holiday entitlement etc so she remembers what a good package she is on already. In practice she may struggle to do better at the moment when many nannies are losing jobs and other employers are tightening their belts. Therefore, she'll probably stay. You could perhaps give her a token bonus, e.g. £200 to show your appreciation.

pearlym I think her pay/conditions are OK as they stand (esp 10 weeks holiday whether her choice or yours!! but you can't use that to pay the rent/bills/food), however, I also think that a 'truely wonderful' nanny is hard to find and something you might not even totally appreciate until you've been though 'childcare hell' in one way or another!! Mind you, as you want to treat her like Gold and think she's 'truely wonderful' you do seem to realise you have a good one

I think the things to consider here are 1. What is it worth to have her stay

1. What can you afford.

Having her stay is not only nice, it's cost effective!

It's easy to say she's well paid/overpaid or has great perks etc if you aren't living in London! It's an expensive place to live (and near London, still isn't IN London).

I think we all like to feel appreciated and if things stay the same, you don't really feel appreciated/acknowledged do you... so if you can afford a raise then great, if not (as buggylovin said) a bonus or if money is quite tight, what about a nice treat (tickets to something she'd enjoy/vouchers for a meal out), just 'something' to say 'we think you're great!!'.

Re another DC, yes it does depend on the contract, but also expectations. Your nanny might be happy with her lot with one small child, but might not think it enough to have a toddler and a newborn. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, it's if it's not worth it, to her. I'd definitely sound her out about it sooner rather than later.

THe trouble is not so much the net pay but the tax and NI on top, that is what makes it so much

She sounds like shes getting a great deal as it is. When i worked as a nanny i got a bonus at the end of the year with one family i worked for as they couldnt afford a payrise, maybe this could be an option instead.

Not sure I agree that she should get a payrise. Inflation is v low and many people in other jobs (myself included) are not getting a payrise because of this. The salary you are paying her is very good. However, I do think you should have a good conversation with her and explain the situation. There are other things you can do to make a person feel good about their job and these are not necessarily all to do with money

You pay her a small fortune already. £450 per week net is roughly £35k cost to youper year. Please tell me she is live out for that price. If you want to give her a raise and can afford to then there is nothing wrong with that. But you are certainly not obligated to on either grounds of legal requirement or common industry practice. Lots of nannies are looking for work, and those who are employed are probably happy just to keep their jobs. Just as those of us who work in other industries are happy to keep our jobs.

Why would you increase the pay when an another baby arrives? I think you will find the trade off is that you can expect her to do a few less chores. For example, she might not have time to cook everything from scratch alla Annabel Karmel. Or the laundry might get done weekly rather than daily. There will be give and take. But an increase in salary is not the usual practice when a new baby arrives -- unless of course you have already offered this.

As you have already established a precendent of paying her for babysitting, I would remove the swap from the contract. If £450 net plus ten weeks of hols is not incentive enough to keep a goood nanny around then I am most certainly in the wrong field of work.

Actaully, if you changed her pay by the current RPI or CPI, it is prob v small in percentage tersm,
we have v good nanny we have had for nearly 3 years, and have given good 8% style pay rises to, she is now on 100 net pday, the trouble is ,we are not now earning as much as we were wen she started, so the rises now seems massive. we still gave her about 5 % last time though, on basis that she was v good etc adn at the end of the day, she is in sole charge of yr most precious children so what is 50quid a month in comparison? we just don't go out anymore