Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be stunned at the rates some nannies expect to be paid?

171 replies

headfairy · 07/02/2011 14:45

Ok, I'm putting this here because if I put it in childcare I'll have hundreds of nannies hating me for evermore... However, recently I've had two nannies tell me they want in excess of £15ph net. Gross that up and that's what I earn, a graduate with 20 years experience working in a very high pressured environment with deadlines that have to be met every hour. Both of them have 10 years of nannying experience, but still....

I've had several more who want £12ph net, with less than 5 years nannying experience, and a few more who want £10ph net and yet they have almost no experience, and who've sent me cvs filled with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

I'm going to get flamed I know... I've got the hard hat ready.

OP posts:
Original poster
headfairy · 07/02/2011 19:26

breathslowly, most of the people I've seen who only have nursery experience are very young so I doubt they'd actually get £15 ph. I've seen a couple of 21/22 year olds I've been telling them that we're paying £7.50 ph, I would obviously give someone with more experience a higher rate.

OP posts:
Original poster
headfairy · 07/02/2011 19:29

staranise, we do provide a car for use during working hours, I guess that's not much of a perk. I also do provide all food, I wouldn't expect a nanny to bring food in with her for her lunch. I also try to give as many days off as possible, more than in her contract.

OP posts:
MoonUnitAlpha · 07/02/2011 19:33

Nursery work is a little different to nannying, as you always have the support of colleagues and direct management, you're in a very contained and regimented setting and you wouldn't have to deal with emergencies on your own. Some nursery nurses do become nannies, many wouldn't be any good as nannies, and many more prefer to be in a nursery environment.

headfairy I'm an experienced nanny in Bristol and earn massively less than all the wages quoted here Grin Plus I cook, I do laundry, I clean and tidy and organise. I'm now taking a 20% pay cut to take my baby ds back to work with me some am probably cheaper than a nursery now Hmm I've not met any nannies here earning more than £10 gross, let alone net.

Original poster
headfairy · 07/02/2011 19:35

Moonunit, can you manage a commute to Surrey? :o Your ds is more than welcome, dd would love a playmate :)

OP posts:
Xenia · 07/02/2011 19:37

Market forces. There are however huge numbers of very good people out of work at present, including nannies and you will be able to get someone good for much less, definitely.

Original poster
headfairy · 07/02/2011 19:41

xenia, yeah I know market forces must dictate these things. We are going to hold out because I'm sure there are some really good people out there who don't expect to earn staggeringly high salaries.

OP posts:
MoonUnitAlpha · 07/02/2011 19:45

I used to commute to London actually as the money was so much better Grin Not sure ds would enjoy it quite so much though.

Boozilla · 07/02/2011 19:46

I pay £10 per hour net and that's including cooking and children-related tidying.

We did give her a big bonus just before Christmas (about 14% of her salary) but she wasn't expecting that and was delighted.

I don't know anyone who pays more than about £11 per hour for their nannies and that's in London. I wouldn't pay £15 per hour unless I suddenly started earning stupid amounts and the nanny was Mary Poppins reincarnated!

I was inundated with responses to our job advert and I did quote the pay rate so I can't imagine there's a huge shortage of decent people out there, I met some incredibly good candidates.

Original poster
headfairy · 07/02/2011 19:46

Blimey, I was joking. If you can get a train to Reading, there's a direct service from there to Redhill. I'm sure he'd love the trains...oh gwan!!!! :o

OP posts:
Original poster
headfairy · 07/02/2011 19:48

dh has got a savings scheme he's had for 20 years which has got quite a bit of money in it, it was meant to be part of his pension pot, but we're seriously thinking about cashing it in and using it to pay for the nanny for the next couple of years.

OP posts:
Lily311 · 07/02/2011 19:59

Headfairy,
I'm a nanny in SW London (zone 2) and I don't earn nowhere near the £15 mark. For a nannyshare with 3 children I get £12.4 (net), and when I have only one child than £9.10 (net). I have level 4 qualification and currently doing BA Early Years degree. I do think as well that nannies nowadays want too much, I have many friends earning more than me per hour with less qualifications and experience and they tend to change their jobs every 6-12 months for better salary. For me this job is way too personal and great appreciation worth more than a pound or two extra per hour. You should stick with your budget, and advertise the job according to that rather than subject to negotiation. If I were to look for a new job now I would probably ask for £10 (net) an hour but would be willing to go lower for the right family. Good luck with your search.

beanlet · 07/02/2011 20:04

I'm afraid that's just taking the piss outrageously. 46K is about my salary, working in London as a University Lecturer at a world top-25 university with 8 years experience and four degrees, including a PhD. I am, though I do say it myself, a world expert in my field.

I CANNOT believe I would earn as much as I currently do working as a nanny! Fucking unbelievable.

Original poster
headfairy · 07/02/2011 20:10

Dammit Lily, I used to live in Battersea.. don't suppose you would jump on a train to Redhill would you? :o Our previous nanny was very similar to you, she loved my dcs and was very happy but she couldnt' afford her mortgage on just our money. She needed to either find work for the two days a week we don't need her, or earn more money.

OP posts:
frgr · 07/02/2011 20:17

beanlet, well put!

porcamiseria · 07/02/2011 21:22

I dunno, as if you pay Nursery for 2 kids you are looking at up to £2000 a month, so £24K a year! so to have one one one care, and the flexibility of a nanny...YABU

get cheaper option otherwise

and a better paid job!!!

granted · 07/02/2011 21:38

You're being taken for a ride. Loads of people within commuting distance who'll happily take far less - I'd offer £10/hour gross max.

I recommend advertising in Gumtree - you'll be inundated. Don't forget we're in a recession.

cinpin · 07/02/2011 21:39

I know for a fact than a specialist nurse is on a lot more than a nanny , I work in surrey and most of my nanny friends are on about 8 to 9 pound per hour net.

I do think this is a lot of money to find but there options out there that are cheaper.

BoffinMum · 07/02/2011 21:44

£1300 net a month for ours (live in)
Works out in the region of £1800 gross.
Top quality nanny, from a posh agency as well.

porcamiseria · 07/02/2011 21:46

granted, I dont agree! I dont think Nannies expecting decent pay is taking people for a ride

fine use gumtree to sell your cot, but for childcare, No WAY!!!!

I could never afford a Nanny anyway, but I think you get what you pay for

Original poster
headfairy · 07/02/2011 22:04

porcamiseria, easier said than done, I can't walk in to a job with no experience and get £32k a year. I've worked 20 years to get where I am, and currently my pay isn't brilliant, but it will go up when I can offer more flexibility.

I'll say it again, because of working hours and commute I cannot use a nursery as both dh and i get home long after local nurseries close. So I'm stuck with using a nanny, or I could of course get my poor 70 year old mother to do it Hmm

Just wish people didn't automatically assume that I'm using a nanny because we're too posh to use a nursery. It's our only option.

OP posts:
BoffinMum · 07/02/2011 22:04

Porc, you don't get what you pay for at all. It varies a lot according to the talent, commitment and background of the individual.

BoffinMum · 07/02/2011 22:05

Two of the worst nannies I ever encountered were Norlands.

porcamiseria · 07/02/2011 22:14

I hear you OP, I do

But this is what they cost,unfortunately

nowt can be done to change it, and yes maybe you could get a lovely girl that costs less, and if you do well good for you

I just did not like the idea of getting someone cheap off gumtree!

I am sorry its hard for you tho

mackereltaitai · 07/02/2011 22:17

I found my nanny advertising off gumtree. She was excellent. They're only people.

Xenia · 07/02/2011 22:34

There is no one good source and in a recession it gets easier and cheaper but there will always be discrepancies over pay - very good people in one profession earning not that much. Some actors quite famous ones get much worse pay than you think for stage plays.

It's not surprising a university lecturer at the top of their field might earn much the same as a nanny. It just depends what people are prepared to pay for certain jobs ni a free(ish) market. Nothing to stop anyone trying to do the jobs of others. Why is anyone worth £X an hour when someone else gets 0.0X? It's just how it is.