Cost of baby sitting

[Niloufes]

Our baby sister recently told us that she is putting her costs up to minimum wage per hour, £7.20 an hour. Am i being unreasonable to think this is too much? She comes round when our 3 year old daughter is asleep and waits until we get home. Only once has she woken up and needed a drink and so the sitter is just sitting watching tv the rest of the time. Is this a normal amount to pay? we paid £6 before. aibu?

[Misnomer]

We pay £8 p/h for our current babysitter and I think the last one was about £7 p/h. It seems pretty reasonable, to be honest.

[Niloufes]

Vixx - I was mostly shocked that it has gone up £1.20 per hour just like that.

[YouSay]

I pay £10 per hour. I babysat when I was younger. Babysitting is probably one of the most boring jobs on the planet.

[Twistedheartache]

Definitely cheeky & trying it on but essentially if you want her pay otherwise vote with your feet & go elsewhere.

I don't think the min wage argument has legs tbh. Is she going to declare her income & pay tax& ni on it? If yes then valid, but somehow I doubt it!

I have wondered if I should up my babysitter from £7 ph (her request) but have gone down the route of just rounding up so far

[Vixxfacee]

For over 25's it went up to £7.20 not long ago. Would you work for £6 an hour??

[expatinscotland]

' Is she going to declare her income & pay tax& ni on it? If yes then valid, but somehow I doubt it!'

She doesn't have to if it's under the threshold.

What's cheeky is someone who is so tight they begrudge min wage for someone who is in their home with their child whilst they are out.

On second thought, go right ahead and say something, OP, so she just knows just what sort of person you are.

[SuperFlyHigh]

So you'd be happier entrusting your child to a teenager rather than an adult who is presumably a bit more experienced and responsible?!

[Niloufes]

Thanks for all your answers, it seems like its the going rate then. So iabu, which was the question, so ta.

[Just5minswithDacre]

We paid £10ph but haven't needed a sitter for 3 or 4 years. I'd expect to pay £11 or £12 ph now. I think local cleaners rates are a good guide; they'll be more than a nursery worker's pay but less than a nanny's.

[budgiegirl]

I think £7.20 is cheap! It really doesn't matter that she doesn't do anything when she is there. She's given up her evening to make sure your DD is safe, and in the meantime she can't be doing anything at home/be with her own family.

If you are that unhappy, then vote with your feet, but if she is reliable and friendly I think you'd be cutting your nose off to spite your face.

[NickiFury]

Christ on a bike just pay it you tight arse.

Honestly is this real?!

[willconcern]

I pay £5 an hour to my friend's daughter. She's in her teens, it's pocket money.

My DCs are 12 and 9, so yes, I'm happy entrusting [my] child to a teenager rather than an adult who is presumably a bit more experienced and responsible?. She's proved her worth - when DS2 was sick once, she dealt with it superbly, called me, we came home, job done. I paid her extra that time! If there was a really serious problem, my friend would be there like a shot.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I was paying 7 in London for a teen ten years ago!

[Artandco]

We pay our cleaner £12 an hr. I couldn't pay someone less than that when they have responsibility for my children.

Yes she might be asleep, but she might wake, might get a fever, might need medical help. I want whoever is caring for them to be paid enough they are checking on them and would know what to do in an emergency.

My children have never gone to bed before 9pm either. So a babysitter if we go out usually is there 6.30-11pm roughly. So they spend half with them awake, giving them dinner/ stories/ making sure they play nicely. The other half they are asleep but they check on them to make sure they have fallen asleep, then around a hour later to make sure covered up etc. Sometimes mine wake for a drink/ toilet.

[PPie10]

Gosh don't be so cheap and stingy. £6 is barely anything. It doesn't matter if she's sitting around doing nothing, you still need someone to mind your daughter. Very tight of you to make an issue of the increase given its still so cheap after.

[Princesspinkgirl]

£7ph I charge I'm Oxford I'm 28

[KayTee87]

Kay - if she was cleaning for those 4 hours then yes i'd agree with you but all she is doing is sitting watching tv. Its feels too much.

But that's not all she's doing, she's responsible for your child for those hours so that's her job.

Whether or not she is paying tax and ni will depend how much she makes in a year and is up to her to sort out as a 'self employed ' person. I don't think it would be fair to assume she isn't paying what she's due (or not due) to pay and therefore pay her less than minimum wage. Unless of course you want to actually employ her and deduct tax & ni for her ...

[purplefizz26]

You are unreasonable.

Minimum wage is the bare minimum somebody should earn for their work. MINIMUM. Would you work happily for less than that rate?

Ok she is 'just sat there' but she is giving up her entire evening so you can go out

Of course you are free to go elsewhere, but as far as i am concerned you can't put a price on leaving your kids with somebody you trust.

[urbanfox1337]

If its considered a job worthy of the minimum wage then you will also have to consider holiday pay, sick pay, pension contributions, etc etc

If you're going to pay the minimum wage they it would be reasonable for you to expect her to work during that time, so get her to clean, dust, iron, wash, and anything else you need done.

[purplefizz26]

Urbanfox
She is a babysitter, not a cleaner/ house keeper, you can't just add random jobs on to 'justify' yourself paying the extra! She can charge what she wants for the service she provides!

[NickiFury]

If you're going to pay the minimum wage they it would be reasonable for you to expect her to work during that time, so get her to clean, dust, iron, wash, and anything else you need done.

That's a joke right?

[Mari50]

YAB so U, 'all she's doing is watching tv', erm, what about the 3 year old that she's ensuring is safe. Your priorities sound very skewed. Over a night it's surely only an extra £5 or so? And you feel that's too much? Don't go out then.

[expatinscotland]

'If you're going to pay the minimum wage they it would be reasonable for you to expect her to work during that time, so get her to clean, dust, iron, wash, and anything else you need done.'

She's not a cleaner or housekeeper! And really, good luck finding one who doesn't charge more than min wage for that service.

If you don't think the safety of your child is worth min wage then by all means, try finding someone who'll do it for less, however trustworthy and/or unreliable.

[KayTee87]

urban so that would be a cleaner & childminder so the going rate would be far more than £7.20 ph. My very cheap cleaners charge £10 p/h.

I wouldn't consider giving up my evening for £7.20 p\h.

[toomuchtooold]

See this is why I hardly ever go out in the evenings. I'm paying someone to sit on my sofa, effectively. I agree they need to be paid minimum wage or more for that, but it's such a small benefit to me compared to say taking a cheeky half day's holiday and leaving the kids in daycare.