AIBU to pay the live in nanny/au pair this salary.

[SpagBolgs]

£300 a week for 7:30AM-5PM 5 times a week sometimes it may be a bit more. Then give her some money so she can treat herself. She will stay in our house and she get the chance to go to college/university. We will provide her with food, water a shower and internet. She will be treated like a member of the family and will be able to access the family car.

I live in south east England

Her free time seems to be whilst looking after two children......

Will you look after dc before 7.30 if they wake early?

Her tasks before school seem quite difficult and time constrained. Are you able to get the dc up earlier and ready for school earlier? 30 mins to organise 5 dc sounds like a nightmare to me!

After school sounds better, although helping 3 dc with homework whilst caring for the 2 little ones would also be difficult.

So it should be around 600 and OP wanted to pay half of that.

It's not fair to say she has nap time during the day as her free time. She is entitled to a lunch break and coffee break during the day. And children can be quite unpredictable with regard to nap times.

Op- how can u say the nanny will have free time when the children are at school when she have the two younger ones? Free time is when you are home or ur dh and she has no responsibility to be caring for your children as she has "clocked off"

30 min for getting 2-3 kids to get up and ready for school????

I think OP can't be a parent. A troll????

No small child I know sleeps from 8.40 to 4pm, be realistic.

To give you an idea of wages, 8 years ago I had a Hungarian au pair. She was 20 years old and untrained. She was free all day until 3pm (supposed to be at college but never went!). At 3pm she collected 3 kids, aged 4, 6 & 9 from school. She walked them home, supervised them (watched telly with them for an hour), and then gave them their tea, which I had prepared the night before and she just had to heat up. I got home at 5.30pm. She did that Mon to Thurs, and nothing else. Apart from sweep the kitchen floor every hour - it was her thing! So, 10 hours per week, for which we paid her £ 100per week plus board & lodging, & full inclusion in family life. No car, though, as we didn't have one. That is what au pairs do, not look after 5 kids for 10 hours a day.

"8:40-4:00- Give the LO their feed and their nap through most of the day so in a way this is her freetime."

freetime means she can go shopping, get her hair done, meet friends, take a class, go to the movies. she cannot leave the house hen your dcs are sleeping. she has no freedom at all other than sitting in the house keeping an ear out for your dcs- also as they get older they will sleep less. this is NOT free time. you are a joke!

The LO get tired and will have a 2-3 hour nap during the day, My other DC are older and get them self ready they do not need help. I will get the LO ready in the morning.

so she wont have to do anything in the morning? the dcs will get themselves fed and to school?

Let's hope the slave can get the children to sleep all day so the master can look after the very easy children after 5

But she will still be responsible for your child even when they are asleep? Therefore it's not free time.

TBH you have come across as a total nightmare employer, penny pinching and unconcerned with anything other than paying as little as physically possible for your childcare.

who is doing your childcare at the minute OP because it's clearly not you if you think that is an accurate description of what is involved in a day of looking after 5 dc.

Op were you a full time sahm before this nanny?

Currently I am a SAHM. My DH works full time and i look after the DC. Of course that not the actual day it just a estimate. The DC grandparents visit quiet a lot so she will get help and if it stressful I will certainly cut her hours.

I don't understand why paying 400 is against her human rights but the OP thinks it's ok to pay less than that.

Because bridge dwellers aren't the sharpest tools in the box.

Ok I guess you must be pretty organised if that is the timetable you follow as a sahm.

I do think you will need to vary/change it for the nanny, as both she and the children will be getting to know each other and you can't expect it to run as smoothly as it does with you.

You need to start getting all the dc up at 7am and you will to ensure that they are mostly ready and organised for the day by the time the nanny starts her day.

You will also have to understand that she may have difficulties getting homework done in the timeframe expected. So you need to be realistic about this and take on responsibility for ensuring homework is completed once you are home/under your care.

Also all the time during the day with the little ones is her work time, not free time!! She will use their nap time for her lunch/coffee break. It is not a lot of time and 2 young children are difficult as you cannot guarantee they will nap at the same time each day. Even if they currently do so for you!

Also if the older dc are sick I think you or your dh will need to take time off to care for them.

I think you need to do these ^ or else she will find the job too stressful for the pay she gets.

No this is odd. I hired a woman in Asia to look after my kids. I paid her probably over five times the local wage. But I liked her and I respected her . She was the person who I trusted to look after my children, I less felt that she did a great job. You can pay people less in Asia, but why would you? It's better to pay more and be happy.

how will you cut her hours? are you going to reduce your hours at work?

also- grandparents 'helping' often = grandparents undermining nanny, criticising, telling tales to you, interfering with routine, expecting nanny to 'host' them and creating a general feeling of being under scrutiny.

I think people are getting a regular office job mixed up with a nanny position.

While I agree with those saying that the idea of 8.40-4 as 'free time' is ridiculous, I've yet to come across any full time nanny position with actual free time, time to go alone to the shops for example, if caring for pre-schoolers. You eat with the children, or while they nap. You do nursery duties such as ironing, changing kids beds, while they sleep. I'm in the habit of getting the toddler to 'help out' if he has broken sleep or whatever, so I get everything done.

A nanny is not paid per child. Those of you comparing nannies to childminders are making the same mistake as mixing up Au Pairs and nannies- two very different roles within childcare. A childminder is self employed, in their own home, chooses their own rates and holiday policies. A nanny is an employee, is offered a job and employed to do the job stipulated. Very, very different. A childminder may well pick and choose what schools they pick up from, how they run their day, how many children they take on. A nanny considers the job presented to them, and decides whether to accept or decline.

As a nanny I have to disagree with a lot of what OP is saying, especially the extra money if nanny is good, that an own room and water is a perk!!!, that being a friend of the employer is a perk, eating with the family or going on holiday with them- all of this would seriously put me off a job. However- she has a job to offer. This is the wage offered, the hours and everything set out. Many nannies would go for this, many nannies are paid less.

OP- I am assuming you are quoting net pay? £300 net? Do not do this. You will be paying more than you should, especially if nanny has student loans. There is no reason at all that anyone should consider net pay instead of gross in nanny employment- it is a ridiculous, outdated habit that should stop being the norm.

However, if you are quoting gross then the mount is way, way too little.

£300-400 a week is an acceptable amount, if the nanny is willing to be employed for this it isn't exploitation or anything. Starting at a much lower amount is bizarre, I have an annual pay review in my contract and that is all that is needed. Or a pay review after a trial period. However this should be a small amount, not a third of the entire wage! Insane.

Holiday allowance isn't a perk. It is a legal requirement. As employer, you can add stipulations such as holiday may only be taken during term-time, or holidays, or whatever. Most nanny jobs do 50/50, my employer chooses half of my holidays and I chose the other. A perk would be to offer extra holiday, or occasional early finishes/ late starts.

And my daily nanny routine-

7.30 arrive at work, finish getting three eldest ready for schol and bundle toddler into coat.

7.50 leave for school run in car

8.20 drop eldest charge at school, walk over road and drop two younger ones at primary school/nursery

9.00 get home with toddler, get wash on, sort breakfast dishes.

9.30 leave for playgroup, toddler classes, park, whatever

11.30 prepare lunch, toddler in bed for 12.15-30

12.15- 2.15 Sort washing, ironing, clean kids bathroom, do shopping list, sewing, prepare tea, whatever else needs doing. Grab lunch, maybe read for half hour if time.

2.15 wake toddler if not already up, sort snacks for kids, leave by 2.45 for school run

3.20 pick up kids from two schools. Two days a week pick up is 5 as eldest two have clubs so youngest goes into after-school club so only one pick-up.

4.10 homework help, prepare tea

5.00 tea

6.00 bathtime, sort uniform for next day

7.00 youngest two in bed

7.30 boss home, handover, I leave. Often this is 8-9pm

Plus babysitting, works out about 4 evenings per month, and occasional weekend work. Sometimes including step-child too so five in total.

For this I get £32000 a year, gross.

So in comparison this job isn't so bad, quite an early start. But most definitely a nanny role, not in any way an Au Pair.