Nanny christmas bonus

[Letsgetouttahere2023]

I love my nanny and want to show her that this Christmas. Been googling Christmas bonus for nannies and a lot of people say they give 1 week net salary as bonus, which for us would be £500. I just can't afford this!!! Nannies is this what you expect? For context I don't get a Christmas bonus in my job, hence not sure.

Because this is MN! Conclusions are often reached with no evidence but accompanied by the utmost certainty. Maybe they’re all psychic?

I wonder if it originated with people filming themselves handing it over...

I had a weeks salary twice in 14 years of nannying, both from the same family, in the last 2 (of 4) years I worked for them. It’s very very gratefully received but it isn’t necessary.

What can you afford? £200? £100? I would try and do something significant like that if you can, it means an awful lot.

Give what you can. If that's £50, give that, there is no obligation to give one week's net salary.

A lovely card from your child (ren), you personally thanking them for everything they've done and a small gift would be perfect. I'm not a nanny but previously worked with children and a parent expressing genuine thanks for the work I did with their children was worth more to me than those he quietly gave me an envelope of cash.

I also don't get a Christmas bonus in my current line of work, although appreciate during a COL crisis, any cash you can afford to gift your nanny would be greatly appreciated!

There's often a weird attitude to nannies on here that nothing is too much and you should pay them every penny you possibly can etc

I think - you're an employer, think of it as an employer would and weigh up the factors:

How well she has done her job

How well compensated she is generally - i.e. if her salary is already top of the range, a bonus may be less needed

Her working conditions generally - if you routinely already pay her for longer than you need to so she regularly gets some time back, bonus may be less needed

How much competition there is locally - if you think she is a flight risk, the more you can do to keep her happy will be important

When I have been in roles where I have performed well and they really want to retain me, I have had bonuses and less so when I haven't - I don't think nannies should be any different.

This.

Give what you can afford. Even if it's 'only' £50 or £100, it's still an incredibly generous gift/bonus and a lot more than a lot of people receive.

It might be worth considering that if you give a voucher of no more than £50 in value, it's not subject to tax, but cash would be taxable, so that would be one way of making the bonus more valuable to her, without it costing you more. If you don't know where she likes to shop, I'd suggest M&S, as most people think it's a bit of a treat, and you can use it to buy clothes, food etc and it's not expensive and in limited locations like John Lewis is.

When I was a nanny the family used to buy me posh chocolates and a Diptyque candle (we were in France). It sounds frivolous but it was the sort of thing I wouldn't splash out on for myself so I loved it. Its been 10 years since I left and I've bought myself a Diptyque candle every December since then. It doesn't feel like Christmas without it.

Great, homemade tat, that she will say is wonderful and then chuck away at the earliest opportunity

Nice 🙄

Why do people think other people want photos of their children 🤦‍♀️

I also say give what you can afford without leaving yourself short at this expensive time of year.

I've been working for for 23 years and have never received a bonus - Christmas or otherwise. If I wasn't happy with my annual salary, I wouldn't have taken the job.

I was a nanny 20 years ago and I still treasure the photos I have of the children I cared for.

Same! Without even moving my bum, I can see 3 of my favorites right now!!

I love to have a nice photo of the kids I spent a lot of time with. However, all the pictures I’m viewing also came with a week’s pay 😩

I’ve worked with a lot of families and almost all of them were fabulous. Had a couple that were less than, and I didn’t stay with them because of that. Good childcare is in demand here and no need to be dealing with bad employers.

i used to give our nanny £100 and a physical gift (about £50). This was 5 years ago and she worked 3 days a week.

Hope thats some help. It didnt equate to a weeks wages but i dont think it was stingy.

It’s our first year having a nanny and only just hearing about this…if you give cash how do you give it? If it’s in a card I’d worry they lost / didn’t open the card without realising there was cash in it.

"A card expressing her thanks will be worth much more..."

😂😂😂

Nope, it won't.
She's working for money, not a signed piece of paper. 🙄

I'm a nanny. That's my experience. Interesting to hear that your experience of being a nanny is different, just goes to show there is no one right answer, we all value things differently.

Do what you can afford 🤷‍♀️

There aren't any rules

I think it's fair. As long as I know about it I would budget for it. I guess because I've gotten 12 times that amount as a bonus in my corporate job which to me is easier than being a full time nanny.

True though.

Just sitting on my sofa I can actually see 4 photos of children I've cared for and actually loved very much in my 45 + years as a nanny/childminder..(One is of a former charge with their own baby who I met up with this summer!)
I've kept in touch with many of them..

I think a lot of people have jobs where they can’t afford to be off work constantly because their baby is picking up bugs at crèche so they make the calculation that getting a nanny for a year or two is a better way to go. Having a nanny doesn’t mean you’re rich, you are unlikely to have one if you’ve not got a good income but that doesn’t mean you’re rich. I know people who have great incomes but they are still stretched at the end of the month because of mortgage, utilities and food bills. I think it would be a bit odd to be giving the nanny a give which is worth more than the gift you give each other for Christmas.

Anyway, I think if you are properly rich (rarely worried about money unless a very big expense comes up) you should pay the person who looks after your child as must as you can pretty much, 500, 1000,2000 etc. If you can’t afford it, something thoughtful and I’d imagine very good conditions the rest of the time is probably reasonable.

*gift

Thanks everyone for your replies. It seems a lot of the big bonuses are from America or people working abroad / for super rich.
im neither of those groups
£500 would be more than I'm spending on my kids and husband so glad to hear that's not the UK norm
I'll stick with what I can afford.
Thanks everyone.

Can’t believe the comments about being able to afford a nanny, must be for rich people.

If you’ve got 3+ kids of baby/preschool/young primary age a nanny is almost always cheaper and logistically easier than 2 x nursery and 1 x wraparound car or whatever else you might use.

Doesn’t meant you’re more likely to have an extra £600 at Christmas than anyone else!

Because I have to spend 2k a month on a nanny!! And eat!