To wonder why my job is so low paid and feel frustrated by it?

[eggsontoast9]

I’m a nursery nurse and I earn £8.72 an hour (minimum wage for over 25’s, I’m 26).
I’ve been in this job for the last three years and do enjoy it apart from the odd day but I’ve always wondered why it’s so low paid. It’s a hard job. I know a lot of people assume we just sit on our bums all day and play with children but that’s really not the case. I work in the baby unit and we can have anywhere up to 15 babies on a busy day, which in itself is bloody hard work. We have to deal with sick, poo, unhappy/unwell children, difficult parents etc. We have to complete paperwork now, normally whilst looking after the children because we’re short staffed and can’t always have time away from the room. We work long hours not because we want to but because we have to as the wages are so low (I work 7:30-6:00 four days a week and 7:30-5:00 another day). Holidays aren’t very generous. I guess the only bonus is we have weekends off unless we have training. I suppose it’s the same as health care jobs such as care assistants.

I like the job and work with a good team but can’t see myself staying here long term just because of the money which is a shame as it’s really hard to find a job that you enjoy sometimes. I was speaking to my younger cousin who’s 18 and she told me she’s just started a job in Asda earning £9.20 an hour and whilst I’m extremely happy for her and proud of her, it has made me realise my job is incredibly low paid and not very well respected in terms of how hard we all work. Before anyone jumps on me, I’m not saying my cousin shouldn’t earn that amount as I appreciate working in a supermarket is hard work to and any job should be paid a fair wage.

What is more frustrating is that we have to complete training each year and work towards gaining qualifications yet our wages are based on our age, so IMO there isn’t any progression available.

AIBU?

@Lottie2017

I have always felt that nursery staff work long hard hours, have lots of paperwork and deserve so much more. I have also spoken to really talented members of staff at our local nursery who have left the job for alternative careers such as retail, saying they love their job but it just doesn't pay enough. It's so wrong and I feel for you all.

It’s not just what they do for children. It’s how they serve the rest of the economy - especially career progression for parents, the importance of‘keeping your hand in’.

In fact, the role of these women can be bluntly described as follows:

“You earn a low wage in order to enable me to earn a higher one”.

@Iamthewombat

You are 100% right, everyone saying I feel bad the staff don’t get paid more would also be starting a thread that their bill has gone from 1k a month to 1.5k a month

I absolutely applaud all of you nursery nurses. I think you all work so hard. I drop my little girl off at nursery at 8 and pick her up at 5. The same staff are still on shift. I know I certainly couldn't do it and I often remark to our nursery staff that they have their hands full as they try to juggle crying children and speak to parents.

I certainly think the pay should be much more than the minimum wage - where would we all be without nurseries?

I am also amazed at times when I overhear other parents speak to staff - I always ensure that I speak to our key workers with dignity and respect. You deserve it after looking after our children all day.

xx

In fact, the role of these women can be bluntly described as follows:
“You earn a low wage in order to enable me to earn a higher one”.

Problem is that sentence could be applied to virtually every job in every sector until you reach very top management and CEOs. IE, it’s meaningless. You’d be better off questioning why women, who are in 2020 just as if not more qualified than men, still choose to enter lower paid careers/jobs.

I agree OP

I dont think it's always the nurseries being greedy though, I understood many were on the brink of shutting because the costs of insurance and the under funding of the government on the 'funded' places.

I do appreciate how hard they work and how poor their conditions are. Many parents find the cost of nursery are already high though and I think outside london if they increased enough to pay their staff properly that lots of parents wouldn't be able to afford to send their kids. I read once that you need to earn over £40k pa to break even if you have two children in full time nursery and don't qualify for any state funding, and this is much higher than the average wage.

I think the answer is state subsidies for nurseries to pay staff more and make it affordable for more

If you think the nursery staff pay is dreadful-what do you pay for a day of care? £40-£50? More in London, I’ll guess.

How much more would you pay?

I think the answer is state subsidies for nurseries to pay staff more and make it affordable for more

Once more, how much extra tax would you pay to make this happen?

Most jobs are low paid unless you have higher level qualifications. Looking around here there are minimum wage jobs in retail, care and teaching assistant posts and admin jobs paying under 20k.

If you do strongly believe that childcare should receive higher state subsidies, any of you can start a lobbying campaign, or stand as an MP with that as part of your platform. The only way to achieve that would be to build political consensus behind it.

This is the main reason I left the profession. We were barely scraping by. I was lucky enough to be able to retrain and spend years in the charitable sector. You literally have to study your way out though!

I really , really don’t understand this at all, in my dcs preschool they are paid just over min wage. They are in the primary school and have a fantastic program with the kids. The care is 2nd to none. Then one year later the kids go to school where the teacher gets a proper salary and sickness pay etc. The staff in the preschool here aren’t paid all summer etc. It’s an absolute outrage and also care workers in nursing homes . I just can’t understand it at all.

My little girl goes to nursery two days a week, she gas done since she was 10 months old. She is such a bright, pleasant, friendly hill and I genuinely believe part of that is down to her going to nursery.

We get regular feedback on how she is doing and she loves going in.

The staff there work long hours and I’ve often thought it’s a very much undervalued role. Nursery gets our children off to the best start in life, children are bloody hard work and these early years are important to shape their future.

I hope a lot of these messages from parents make you realise that you really are valued OP

What don’t you understand? The economic case has been described very clearly by several posters upthread.

Then one year later the kids go to school where the teacher gets a proper salary and sickness pay etc. The staff in the preschool here aren’t paid all summer etc. It’s an absolute outrage and also care workers in nursing homes . I just can’t understand it at all.

Teaching is a graduate/PG profession, that’s why.

I agree that's low paid for the work involved. Female centred jobs dont pay well because patriarchy. As a parent with a DD in nursery I couldn't afford to pay more for her to go so I guess that's a factor too, I think government should subsidise it.

The staff there work long hours and I’ve often thought it’s a very much undervalued role. Nursery gets our children off to the best start in life, children are bloody hard work and these early years are important to shape their future.

I hope a lot of these messages from parents make you realise that you really are valued OP

I think that she’d probably prefer a better salary to being told how much she is valued. Would you pay higher fees, or more tax, to improve salaries for childcare workers? How much more?

I’ve asked the same question of several posters with children at nursery, who were bemoaning the low pay of the staff. Not a single reply. Quelle surprise.

As a parent with a DD in nursery I couldn't afford to pay more for her to go so I guess that's a factor too,

You THINK??

I think government should subsidise it.

Governments raise money through taxation. How much more tax would you pay?

Nursery work is appallingly badly paid, because it is almost entirely done by women, and younger women at that.When you look at the responsibility involved in the work and the skills and knowledge required, it is shocking imo.

Care work is similarly badly rewarded, and for the same reasons. Society values "women's work" less than men's.

I think it's a bloody disgrace that those caring for our youngest, oldest and most vulnerable are paid less than an Aldi shelf stacker, but in these non-unionised days and scant protection of employment rights I'm buggered if I know what can be done about it.

I feel for you OP. 11 years ago I did childcare at college, and two of my friends are still there surprisingly.

One refuses to go into management due to the money. I think she slips into a supervisory role every now and then. Her nursery is with the council as it’s ‘better paid’ at £9ph.

My other friend was offered a more managerial role for a measley 50p more.

I did level 2 which you can’t get a job with. You have to have level 3 qualifications, first aid, EY training.. the list goes on. I feel for you I really do. It’s terribly paid and you have so much responsibility.

Would you pay higher fees, or more tax, to improve salaries for childcare workers? How much more?I’ve asked the same question of several posters with children at nursery, who were bemoaning the low pay of the staff. Not a single reply. Quelle surprise.

There are already lots of posts complaining about the cost of nursery. People clearly don’t want to pay more. The government won’t pay more so it’s unlikely to change.

Agreed, but I’m astonished that those posters boo hooing over the plight of the underpaid women looking after their children don’t get that they themselves are part of the problem.

@Iamthewombat

Agreed, but I’m astonished that those posters boo hooing over the plight of the underpaid women looking after their children don’t get that they themselves are part of the problem.

I don't think that they are part of the problem, the problem goes much wider than that.

The biggest part of the problem is that so many people are so poorly paid that they cannot afford to pay enough for childcare for those delivering the care to be paid at a rate commensurate with the skills required and the responsibility involved in caring for babies and young children.

It's the same issue that means that the taxpayer subsidises the high rents paid to private landlords and, indirectly, the low wages paid by employers in many sectors.

Plenty of posters have covered market forces and why pay is low in sectors where there is no shortage of labour. The question then becomes why are so many young women willing to go into/stay in a sector that pays so badly?

Is this an education (or lack of) issue? Is it societal (ie women feel they need to go into traditionally female roles)? Is it that kids aren't given opportunities to see other career paths/lack role models of women in other careers?

Rather than trying force the government to subsidise wages for a certain sector, why not try to understand the reasons so many women take this path and convince them that there are better alternatives? Reducing supply would push up wages far more effectively than subsidies (which are more likely to go to the nursery owners pockets or to reducing childcare costs than to the staff).

I work in an industry that desperately wants to recruit more women, but there just aren't that many that are interested. I can't speak for the entire industry but my company pays well, is very family friendly and is a very female-friendly employer. I guess these are things women only realise are important after they're committed to a career path; they certainly aren't factors I was considering at 14 when I was picking GCSEs.

For those that ended up in childcare and regret it due to low pay/lack of opportunity, what would have helped you pick a different path? How can 'male-dominated' industries convince more girls and young women to consider careers there to balance things out?

The teens I know (through being at primary school with my own kids) who have gone into childcare training roles have done so as they didn’t get the GCSE grades they wanted to do A levels, and having/wanting to stay on in education, this was an achievable path open to them. Some did it whilst resitting maths/English GCSEs.

@iamthewombat I use a nursery but no, I don't see myself as part of the problem. With 2 nursery age children, the fees eat enormously into my good salary even with some funded hours for the older one.

However, by working I am contributing more to the economy than if I had to stay at home because childcare is not financially viable. As well as paying taxes etc I'm also supporting jobs in the childcare sector which otherwise wouldn't be there. I just couldn't afford to work and use childcare at all if salaries and therefore fees were higher.

However I am also appalled at the salaries in that sector. I think really the only way to make it work fairly would be fornthe government to contribute more to childcare costs, as they do in quite a few European countries.

The whole system is set to mean that these jobs have to be low paid if they are to exist at all- but I can't accept that by working and using nursery I am directly contributing to the problem.