Can anyone talk to me about hiring a nanny?

[Ameo]

I’m facing the possibility of needing to return to work full time and wondered about hiring a nanny rather than juggling nurseries with wrap around care. My children are 4 and 1. I only need care during term time.

Ideally, I’d like to know how much it costs per month? I realise this probably varies massively. We’re in Surrey. Also, when looking at adverts, some list £X salary gross. I have no idea of the implications of it all so if anyone could put this really clearly for me I’d be really grateful!

We are also in Surrey.

For a full time nanny we were paying around 30k gross. This worked out to approximately 2k a month salary payment and a 2.5k tax and NI payment to HMRC every quarter.

We also gave a cash kitty for toddler groups, coffees of around £50 a month, and paid expenses (mostly petrol as the nanny used her own car) of £80-100 a month.

We used nannytax to do all the salary and pension admin.

Thank you, I hadn’t even considered petrol/kitty costs. Good to know

As per previous posters.
Agree costs in gross rather than net rate if you can. Ensure everyone is clear on that when you finalise numbers.

I'm not sure how you employ someone for term time only in a nanny role however. It might be difficult to find.

I am a nanny so from my perspective,

• ALWAYS agree a gross salary. Loads of nannies now are asking for. £Xph Net but gross is much more Sensible. Make sure you’re clear on that from the start.

• For sorting tax/NI contributions, I recommend NannyTax or NannyPAYE. Yes you pay them an annual fee but it’s so much easier then sorting it out yourself

-When you work out what you can afford, don’t forget to take into account the kitty, activities, petrol mileage (if you want the nanny to drive),

-a term time nanny may be tricky to find but it could work if you Find a nanny who brings their own child with them (obviously that changes various things but may be a good option, term time only nannies are hard to come by)

-prices will vary depending on
• location (I’m in London and a 50hpw nanny is approx £36k)
• nanny experience
•If they bring their own child (Generally a nanny with own child is £3-4ph cheaper)

I only need care during term time

but most people need to earn all year round. A nanny who brings their own child might work as they might want holidays off but you'll need to pay more per hour if you're only employing 40 or so weeks per year.

You could ‘annualise’ hours if you’re lucky enough to find someone willing to work just term-time. Any good payroll company will calculate is for you I think.