To expect to pay childminder minimum wage

[SMarie123]

Hello all,

I have had a very heated debate with a colleague and I would like to get an impartial view.

We do the same job in the same company, she looks after Asian clients and I USA. There is one day a week everyone in the department does 9-5. We don't need too much childcare given that DH's both do 9-5. , I have a lovely childminder who I pay a bit above average because she is amazing and flexible and loving. My colleague uses family, which I understand comes with its own challenges.

In the past she has used my childminder to plug some childcare gaps, which is fine for all parties. She does complain that I pay too much but she gets in with it. Anyway her mum is going in for an operation and she wants my childminder to take her Dd with my 3 DC (one is in school but I still pay a levy because the childminder will always pick her up if she is sick and doesn't charge more for holidays)

I said we would have to talk about logistics and pay before we spoke to the childminder. she said ok but I knew it wasn't going to go well .... it transpires she doesn't want to pay more for the childminder taking on 25% more children. She wants to split the hourly rate I pay and pay 25% if that, is that not outrageous? I made the point that in a work capacity you wouldn't opt to take more projects for the same money if you had a choice.

What do people think? I think it is too complicated already so I have to get out of it.

So the child I see gets no more pay for having one extra child?

I'd suggest she found her own childminder to be honest.

*child minder .. not 'child I see' 😆

Childminder or nanny?

a childminder would have their own fees policy though and would charge her separately to you though wouldn't she?

Sorry the minimum wage thing came from part of the debate where she said a child minder should be on minimum wage.... I said a good one should be on more!

She said it wouldn't be worth women going to work if they had to pay minimum wage.

Don't get me wrong... I am not paying the minder an insane amount of money. A Creche for 3 would be more.... I get that the minder doesn't work that many hours but surely you have to compensate for anti social hours

Mine charged a set fee per hour per child with a sibling discount. Is this a childminder or a nanny?

I don't understand this it's up to the childminder to sort out rates with your colleague and not to do with you and she'd charge the same rate for everyone

Don’t childminders usually have an hourly rate per child?

Maybe I mean she is a nanny...: she comes to my house and doesn't take any one else's children

Oh that's different then was a bit confusing

You pay what you've always paid. She ate whatever us left.

I would expect a childminder to have a £x per child price list though.

I kind of feel into this situation, the "nanny" is a neighbour.

More work for no more money? She's more than a CF. Remind her that the CM could have another paying child instead of her child and that's why she has to pay.

Surely childminders are self employed and decide what they charge and charge per child? That is how it works In l England anyway not sure about elsewhere.
Is your childminder more like an employed nanny? If so I agree with you your colleague can't expect her to take on more work and not get more money.
If she is a registered childminder then your friend will have to pay the childminders published rate.

You pay what you've always paid. She pays whatever the childminder charges her.

You don't even need to be part of the discussion.

Your hourly rate, which you pay, is entirely up to you and is a contract between you and your childminder.
Your colleague, if she chooses to use your childminder, must negotiate a rate , of her own , with your childminder. What your colleague pays has nothing to do with you.
I suggest your colleague deals directly with your childminder and negotiates her own deal. So give your colleague your childminder’s contact details.
What your colleague wishes to pay is her problem, not your’s.

She’s a nanny

Childminders charge per child so she is outrageous to think that she can piggyback off your arrangement. I'd be telling her to find her own childminder before your childminder is insulted by her ideas about pay.
Childminders are self employed and can set the rates that they like imo. If that's double minimum wage in areas where there's a shortage then good luck to them- it's capitalism and good to see a "poor" guy win.

Just seen it's actually a nanny. Just tell her no and avoid the issue.

Am I being stupid or are you saying you pay a bit more than min wage per hour for a childminder to have two or three of your children at a time? That sounds like a pretty low rate if it's what you mean.

Just read your update.

It's up to the nanny but I'd say that she should charge more per hour for looking after more kids. So if 3 kids is £9ph then 4 kids should be £12ph

Not a nanny but a neighbour? Is that right?

So you pay a neighbour x amount of money to look after your children exclusively?

Your colleague has asked you, not childminder/nanny/neighbour to look after her child?

Before talking money I would be checking that this was something she (childminder/nanny/neighbour) is willing to do.

The Childminder sets the fees surely?

You don't get to determine how much you pay.