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.

I always gave a weeks salary and and gift. I’m not American.

A bonus is not a Christmas present, so what you spend on gifts for others is irrelevant. It’s a reward for good performance and acts as a future incentive.

Where I live yes, this is usually what Nannie’s are bonus’d. Likewise I usually give our cleaner 1-2 weeks extra.

OP, please don't feel pressured by these last few messages. Despite what is being said, this is NOT the norm or expected.

I’ve been a nanny for multiple families and I doubt any of them were rich. I’ve had 3 teachers, an accountant, a landscape architect, etc. All college educated with professional jobs, but just jobs, not actual wealth. I had one family where the dad was likely a trust fund baby, but he didn’t have access to the money when I did care for them. He was the manager of a big company, but actually went out in the jobs himself in his jeans and work boots.

In the US it is generally cheaper to have a nanny once you get to child #2. Two kids in a nursery setting is very costly as infants here go to daycare at 12 weeks typically, and that is $$.

Wow! Just wow!

We have three children, employing a nanny was the most cost effective childcare option. Didn't make us rich or with money to burn..... A large number of people go back to work and employ a nanny because it protects their career / employment prospects in the future. A lot of people work for very little financial gain once childcare etc paid.

Because raising human beings is an important job?

I was a nanny and I don't think I ever had that much cash. I think I got about £100, plus small present in a job 13 yrs ago.
In more recent jobs, I just got small presents or flowers and chocolates, that type of thing. I would never expect £500!
My most horrible experience was a job I worked in for 5 years. One year I got flowers and chocs and taken out to eat, another year, a hamper. Really kind.
The other years I got nothing or next to nothing. Not even a card. I went above and beyond constantly and always bought them gifts.

Wow, that’s mad. We do not give this much and our (v experienced, been to lots of other families before us) nanny hasn’t resigned yet. She gets a very high annual salary and pension.

I work in childcare and got a bonus last year - 50. Seriously. I'm PT only but FT staff got 100. Previous years they sometimes got less. This is after working 40 hour weeks on very low wages, minimum holiday entitlement, no mat leave or sick leave policy. So sadly no, society generally does not think raising human beings is important at all.

Yeah, and a lot of people don't. If a company can't afford it you don't get one, same should apply here. Just because they can afford your wages, doesn't mean they've got spare cash to give away.

Because these days, regardless of what you earn. most people spend what they earn and have little left over at the end of the month. If you are spending to your limit then to find another £500 within a month would not be possible. We have no idea what their other outgoings are. Also if you work fulltime and have 2 or more children a nanny would actually be cheaper than nursery places. £500 on a Christmas gift for an employee though is utterly insane.

£500 on a Christmas gift for an employee, no matter how loved and valued they are, is insane, unless you are dripping in cash. You also need to be wary of cash gifts to employees as it will be taxable and NIable, whereas actual gifts as long as they are not more than £50 and £150 in any year would not be taxable.

I think there's a difference between a gift and a bonus. This is a Christmas bonus we're talking about. If you think £500 is insane you want to look into what bonuses some other jobs pay.

1 week net salary is £500 - in which case the Nannie's wage must be similar to a teacher. Funny how many on MN seem to believe teacher gifts are excessive, but a week's wages to a nanny is perfectly fine.

They're two completely different jobs! It's hardly surprising they have two different sets of terms and conditions.

Why don't we compare teachers and pilots? Or nannies and archeologists? Zookeepers and train drivers?

It's quite an odd way of looking at things!

I think they do......it's just totally devalued because it's women who mostly do it. That's why I'm so sceptical when right wing men go on about how important child rearing is, how valuable a mother is......and I'm like really??

You clearly don't have a nanny

@StripyHorse we aren’t the teachers employer. If teachers are to get a bonus, it would have come from the school.

We have had a nanny (not rich - it worked out cheaper than wrap around!) and a cleaner. We gave both an extra holiday day and £100 cash and a modest gift (usually something the children had chosen) at Christmas time. We are SW so London may be different? I think that’s quite a nice gesture.

We also tip window cleaner 50% on the pre Christmas clean. The postie and the bin men get wine or chocolate!

These people are so valuable and work so hard. I don’t think it’s an Americanism to tip when it’s deserved. It’s just decent.

Why on earth would
having money to pay a nanny 2k per month mean that you would have £500 to spare? Is it different to the £2k (or more) that you would have to spend on full time nursery for 2 kids?

I have just received a Christmas bonus as a nanny of one month’s pay £2000. I was blown away. I have been a nanny for 20 years and never received a Christmas bonus ever. I have previously got gift vouchers £50 or £100 or a lovely gift or flowers. I think just give what you can afford as everything is appreciated. I go above and beyond for all my nanny families, but I will go massively above and beyond for this one now!!

Yeah I also give a Christmas card and a small amount of cash to my bin men. We'd be lost without them and they are out in sweltering heat and lashing rain. They deserve to feel good about themselves.

My message above was a response to this

A bonus is also taxable and NIable though

I think just doing what you feel happy with is best.

When I was a nanny, some of my nanny friends would boast about how much money they were given. But for me, personally, I wasn’t ever bothered. A nice hand written card expressing how appreciated the nanny is and maybe a lovely gift or voucher would be nice.

My previous nanny family gifted me a white company candle one year, an afternoon tea voucher another year, a gift voucher for a department store another year. But they were all really lovely & unexpected.
All ranged between £50 - £100, depending what it was. But I was just as happy with the “smaller” gifts as I was the more expensive but it was the sweet cards that always meant the most!!

if you know where your nanny likes to shop or if she’s expressed what she likes then I’d get her gift or a voucher for those.

i’m sure that she will love what ever you get!