To not pay the babysitter?

[Coolcoolcool]

We know two 17 year old girls (sisters) through a hobby club that my family are part of. We’ve known them for 6 years and my DH and I, as volunteer leaders, have invested quite a lot of time into their lives over the years and consider them friends of our family. Anyway, they love our kids and have been begging for years to be able to babysit them. We always said when they turned 17 they could. We’ve asked them to babysit next week so that dh and I can attend a meeting for said hobby and they are delighted.
I wasn’t planning on paying them, just leaving them a meal or some nice snacks and drinks or something, as I would usually for a friend who babysits, but another friend thinks we should be paying them. Really we only need one of them to babysit, but they kinda come as a package deal - should I be paying for them both?! What’s the going rate? It would be for two hours and the kids will be in bed.
Wwyd?

Why do you feel you wouldn't need to pay them?

Entitled much!!!

@CloseYourEyesAndSee if you can afford to go out then there's no reason to scrimp on paying the babysitter.

We pay our 17-year-old babysitter £20 for 3 hours' work (she did get £40 once, but it was to cover 6 hours!). That's about £6.50 per hour. I wouldn't pay double because two girls want to come - decide what you want to pay, then make it clear that they either split that amount or only one comes. We have offered to get a supermarket pizza for our babysitter, but she prefers to eat before she comes.

[quote stingofthebutterfly]@CloseYourEyesAndSee if you can afford to go out then there's no reason to scrimp on paying the babysitter.[/quote]

Oh hush

@21budgies

At that age, minimum wage is around £4.20.

But at the moment retail and hospitality are desperate for people and paying much more. My 17 year old is on £8.80 an hour plus staff discount.

I'd pay them £10 an hour. If they're both there then it's up to them how they split it. One is there for the company of the other

Oh you need to pay them or you're a complete CF!

@ChloeDecker

I wasn’t planning on paying them, just leaving them a meal or some nice snacks and drinks or something, as I would usually for a friend who babysits,

I’m very surprised you already have a friend who you don’t pay, to babysit. Unless you babysit for each others’ kids?

I'm childfree and babysit for my friends for free. Because I like them. They do things for me without payment too.

Cancel the cheque, anyone?

Are the girls twins- hence they want to come together and seem inseparable?

I'd say, 'I usually pay £x per hour, but as I don't really need both of you, are you happy to split that?'

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

Cancel the cheque, anyone?

Oh god yes

We have a very similar situation. We always pay them both.

Of course you pay them ! and drop them home afterwards.

I'm childfree and babysit for my friends for free. Because I like them. They do things for me without payment too.

You say, ‘they do things for me without payment too’, which is fine and why I also wrote ‘unless you babysit for each others’ kids’, which is the same and therefore I assume you agree with me.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

Cancel the cheque, anyone?

😂

You pay the going rate eg £10 an hour, but they split it

I have twins that babysit. They split the gig.

£10 each is a piss take I got that 25 years ago!

Do you mean per hour?

@Smileyaxolotl1 It definitely is unreasonable not to pay somebody for a service because you’ve provided snacks, I’d imagine they have unlimited snacks in their own homes.

We give our babysitter a variety of snacks plus a takeaway if she is here over dinner time. Imagine thinking it was okay not to pay somebody because you’d given them a few Jaffa cakes or a packet of crisps.

Whatever you decide, I would message them ahead of time just to be clear on everyone's expectations so you avoid any upset.

E.g. "Hi xxx, we're so pleased you're keen to babysit next week! The kids are looking forward to it. Just to make sure we are on the same page - we would normally pay a sitter £20 for 2 hours, so we will be happy to pay you £10 each. Hope that's OK, looking forward to seeing you next week."

At least then if they are not happy with the arrangement you have a chance to discuss it beforehand, and if they're both expecting to be paid £££££ each, then you have the opportunity to make alternative arrangements.

Of course you need to pay them!

Here we go.

10 pages of idiots not bothering to read at least the OPS posts where she states SHE WAS WRONG SHE WILL PAY THEM!

I would pay them.. it just seems better than leaving them snacks etc. They would probably like bit of cash at that age.

Can I just take the time to point out that if you are the parent to a teen embarking on their lucrative babysitting career, this is the perfect opportunity to teach them how to sand up for themselves and their worth.

They should know the terms of their evening’s work before agreeing to do the job.

Look at all the different responses here, young ladies, especially need to get comfortable asking about things like pay and conditions, and not be taught through these interactions to ‘trust their employer’

Good on you Op for seeing reason, but since I haven’t crawled off my soapbox, this is definitely something you should have coached them into asking about.

And now I’m off my soapbox.