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.

The last thing she’ll want is something the children made that cost a big fat zero. Nothing like cold hard cash to show genuine appreciation.

I think if you need/want to give something then make sure you'll be able to do it EVERY year, £500 is out of the question, how about £100 cash and a bottle of nice wine? Or if that's out then do something you can easily afford like an extra day's paid leave or something..

I give my cleaner, who comes every two weeks for 3.5 hours, a £100 Christmas bonus. I'd definitely budget for giving a more full time employee like a nanny a bigger bonus than that. If you know for next year you can put a bit aside every month so you have it for Xmas.
A decent bonus in a job is 5%, obviously some industries have insane bonuses....but I think even 2% or something would be nice, so you could take her annual pay and work it out as a percentage of that?

Exactly!

yep, she absolutely will not want a handmade thing f the kids! Like what is she gonna do with it?!

I had a live in nanny for 10 years. I used to give a weeks wages at Christmas and a present but I also used to pay for her flight home to her country of origin every two years and give her a month off (4 consecutive weeks) to do that.

I'm a lone parent so very big bonus wasn't doable. But she valued the other perks more.

A card showing you value her will be worth much more? Lol. I don’t think so! Put some cash in the card, too.

I’d go for something chosen by the children, a paid day off and if you could afford it £100 or so in either vouchers or cash. I personally think that’s more than fair.

A week's pay. Not negotiable imo. The only caveat being I would make it pro rata if she hasn't been with you the full year.

What are her other benefits: paid holiday, pension, sick pay, life insurance?

We give a week's pay to all regular employees - salaried or hourly paid. Hourly paid get a day off as well.

I agree and surely one of the reasons people gave huge bonuses in the past was in recognition of the fact that T&C were pretty crap. I think most workers would prefer to have the security of sick pay, maternity pay, paid holidays, NI contributions etc rather than a one off £500 a year. I say give your nanny a gift within budget and I am sure she will be happy.

The OP has made it clear she has a nanny because it's the most cost effective childcare solution compared to private nursery for 2 DC, not because she has the means to have 'staff'.

As someone who has never received any kind of Christmas bonus save for a basic buffet lunch, all these suggestions that the minimum acceptable bonus being a week's wages sound completely pie in the sky.

@hattie43 that’s about the same as 2dc in nursery. When I had 3 dc under 3 it was cheaper to have a nanny than send them to nursery. I was earning 24k a year and dh was on 35k so hardly the millionaires you are implying.

Exactly!

I don’t want a card for my bonus. I’m not a nanny though. Just imagine what most private employees think if all they get is a card. I get 2 weeks wages as bonus last year. If your nanny doesn’t get one at another time of the year, then do it at Christmas? One week isn’t a bad amount.

It depends what sector you're in, plenty of private sector employees get nothing.

God there's some callous, coldhearted fuckers on this thread.

Of course people who work with children appreciate the "presents" we get from them. Think it's sad so many people on here are professing to either have kids or look after them and not value their attempts at making presents because they have no monetary value. And the nasty way people are laughing at the idea of handmade gifts or heartfelt cards and saying the nanny would immediately bin them. I hope when you were children making things that no one laughed at you all and binned your crafts.

What happened to the real meaning of Christmas?

It's so easy to spend other people's money for them.

This might be the grabbiest thread I've ever read on MN.

I don't really see what's so difficult to understand. Yes the OP must have a decent household income but that doesn't mean she's got an extra £500 knocking about. All her salary could be taken up after bills, mortgage, nanny with not much left at the end.

This is a really judgy and uninformed comment 🤣. When i was planning to go back to work as a TEACHER, my childminder said by the time I paid for 2 children in child care with all my inflexible and long hours I might as well pay a nanny for the days / hours I worked.

So actually, child care is so extortionate that a nanny can (incredibly) be a more affordable option.

Absolutely staggered by all this. Had no idea this was a normal thing to do!!

I've worked several different career avenues in private, public and charity sector for 20 years and only once had a £500 bonus. It's not the norm for millions of people, even within a private sector.

In the homemade vs money debate. Of course money is much wanted, but when you receive it from someone you perceive as loaded it doesn't 'mean' a lot. (And nannies will see their employers as comparatively better off). Also bonuses are taxed at marginal rate so never 'feel' as much when you get them.

In your circs, OP, I'd suggest £100 JL voucher in a home made card from the kids (three figures feels generous to me!!), and, if you can, eg, 3 days extra leave she can take over the next year - which won't feel the same as 'costing you' even though it does.

Obviously a card saying thanks means a lot and I've always had this and a small gift from kids

But as someone else posted obv not going to say prefer a handwritten card v £500 cash

Anyone would want /prefer the cash

If you can't do it this year then save £10 a week and next year give £500 if you can

That's what I used to do. I used to always buy her flights home and gave her several months off every year (plus present). Sometimes my parents covered the time off and other times I had to get a temporary nanny. I'm also a lone parent.

That is really not a 'better still'.

If you pay a bonus, you’ll have to tax it. It counts as a taxable benefit.

We gave an annual bonus in the summer when we had a full-time nanny. Christmas and birthdays we gave about £100 in cash/ vouchers, plus a small gift from the kids of chocolate/ wine /perfume sort of thing.

Ours earns £200 a week (part time), and she’ll be getting at least a £500 bonus. I’d give her more if I could, but I can’t afford it. I love her to bits, she’s worth her weight in gold!

For those saying ‘if you can afford a nanny you must be rich’, ours is cheaper than nursery.

Really it is down to how much you are paying her, how much you value her and what you can afford.