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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To pay £5 an hour for babysitting for the girls from nursery

57 replies

hellohelloididntseeyouthere · 31/10/2014 20:13

Or is that really tight for two kids!?!?!?! We have people who will do for free so don't want to pay too much

OP posts:
cheesecakemom · 31/10/2014 20:14

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Original poster
hellohelloididntseeyouthere · 31/10/2014 20:15

Yep putting big one to bed maybe one story and little one giving one bottle?

OP posts:
rookiemater · 31/10/2014 20:16

When you say "girls" I assume you mean the nursery personnel who are over 16 and trained child care professionals. Yes it is tight, I pay the teens who sit for us at least £6-7 per hour (rounded up) and a childcare assistant £8 per hour.
The fact you can get people to do it for free is neither here nor there. If you're going to pay that little then you need to let them know in advance so they can decide if they want to take the booking or not.

thewavesofthesea · 31/10/2014 20:16

Seems quite low to me, esp as they will presumably have childcare qualifications. If they are happy with it though....

Original poster
hellohelloididntseeyouthere · 31/10/2014 20:17

Rookie I said how much and she said you decide. A fiver an hour was how much we paid her friend

OP posts:
MrsTerrorPratchett · 31/10/2014 20:18

If you have people who do it for free, why are you paying this time? I make a point of paying at least minimum wage for looking after my DD, just because. Not the UK so the rules are different.

bedraggledmumoftwo · 31/10/2014 20:18

I asked in nursery how much to pay my next door neighbours teenager, and they said £5 an hour, don't know about their own charges

raltheraffe · 31/10/2014 20:19

You may find that they are breaching their employment contracts by babysitting. At ds's nursery I asked about a babysitter and was told it was in their contracts they are not allowed to babysit nursery kids.

bedraggledmumoftwo · 31/10/2014 20:19

Of course minimum wage is only over 21?

raltheraffe · 31/10/2014 20:20

As for the "how much should I pay" question, the correct answer is as little as you can get away with.

MrsTerrorPratchett · 31/10/2014 20:20

As I say, different rules here, not the UK.

m0therofdragons · 31/10/2014 20:21

I have a local nanny babysit. She charges 7.50 an hour as a nanny but 5.50 for babysitting and 4.50 if dc are in bed when she's sitting. She sets the charge and it's the same if she has 2 or 3 of my dc. In London that's probably tight but we're not in London.

raltheraffe · 31/10/2014 20:21

NMW is irrelevant here as the babysitter would be classed as s/e and so NMW legislation.
Just for the record, 18-20 year olds have a NMW of 5.13 an hour and older than that is 6.50

ILovePud · 31/10/2014 20:21

To be honest yes I think that is a bit tight, its also below the minimum wage. I'd second what rookiemater says about it being neither here nor there if you know people who'll do it for free, either ask them or offer to pay a decent rate for the child care professionals you're asking.

HappyAsASandboy · 31/10/2014 20:21

About £7 - £7.50 per hour is normal for the nursery workers who babysit here. Would probably pay a random teenager £6 ish. All rounded up to a sensible amount once time is known - wouldn't want to be standing there counting out the pound coins!

Littlefish · 31/10/2014 20:21

I would say £7.00 per hour minimum if you want the children to be put to bed, read stories, given bottles etc.

I would pay £5.00 per hour to a local teenager, but more for a nursery assistant, who presumably has early years and first aid qualifications.

queenofthepirates · 31/10/2014 20:22

I pay £5 an hour to my babysitters. My DC are in bed and I leave the Radio Times, a tray of snacks and the heating turned up so it's nice and snug. Easy job!

m0therofdragons · 31/10/2014 20:22

My dd's nursery is happy for their staff to babysit.

raltheraffe · 31/10/2014 20:22

should say NO NMW legislation for s/e workers

londonrach · 31/10/2014 20:22

Does seem very cheap. I might be out of date though as i got paid that per hour x many years ago to babysit one girl age 10. I had no qualifications apart from being a body old enough to look after a 10 year old. I remember it being easy work, watching tv, checked on her twice to make sure she ok (popped up stairs and listened then returned to tv) and eat choc biscuits then her dad walked me home afterwards. (5 mins walk, we talked about how cold it was outside, repeat several times)

cogitosum · 31/10/2014 20:22

18-20 min wage is still more than £5 an hour! (Just)

My cm's daughter babysits which is perfect as ds loves her , I trust her and if she got into a pickle she'd call her mum! I pay £6 an hour.

OiGiveItBack · 31/10/2014 20:26

How old is the babysitter. I used to pay older sitters more than younger sitters.

My untrained DD gets £6 an hour and double after midnight. Her employers always round up too. I think £6 is ok. £5 is a bit low but it's ok. Does the sitter have to come far?

Also, I think it's relevent how long the sitter comes over for. If it's only a couple of hours then I think a higher rate is needed than when it's a long evening.

WellnowImFucked · 31/10/2014 20:27

Honestly, I was making that at 15, well over 20 years ago.

Guess I was lucky?
2 kids only saw them awake once in 3years, always left lovely food. Always taxied home, usually 4 hours and standard was £25 a night.

MaryWestmacott · 31/10/2014 20:28

Seems very cheap considering you expect them to actually work. (putting the DCs to bed) if they were already in bed and she just had to watch your TV for the evening, then it still would be on the low side, but ok.

I'd ask again what the normal rate she or her colleagues charge is.

MrsTerrorPratchett · 31/10/2014 20:29

My theory is that if they are good enough to do the work, they are good enough to get paid NMW, regardless of age. It's just a thing of mine, though. It is an important job. If they were guarding my imaginary Ming vase, it would be less important.

I understand why other people don't feel that way.