To ask what you'd pay?

[Barone245]

Due to changing work commitments, DH and I are looking at hiring a TA from a local primary school to do afterschool pickups, care and tutoring for our two children. DS 7 and DD 9. DS is autistic and she has great SEND experience with a child at the school.

The TA is a trainee teacher at university. She actually used to be our cleaner so we know her well and the kids like her.

We need her approx 3-4 days a week from 3:30-5pm. She will collect the kids from school in her car, do some tutoring and homework help then ideally I'd like her to do a bit of ironing or have a tidy/straighten up before we get home.

She has said £15ph but DH is saying this is too much for a babysitter? I am not sure as we have paid £10ph for a babysitter before but obviously you don't ask a babysitter to tutor, tidy and pick up your kids for you? It sounds good to me but I need help convincing DH.
Thoughts?

£15 ph sounds like great value to me

It’s a nanny role, not ‘babysitting’. What she’s asking seems reasonable: the hours are inconvenient and short and she has relevant skills. Very hard to find people willing to work those hours for that pay.

I think £15 is fair, but I wouldn't expect her to do any ironing. It's only an hour and a half. I'd rather her be engaging with the children.

That's a real shame your husband feels like that. Doesn't put himself in a good light at all. £15 is reasonable

You'd pay minimum £5 each in an after school club and then have to be there to collect them

also agree no ironing!

I was paid £20 as a student to tutor so £15 is a bargain but fully agree no housework

If she’s actually going to be tutoring them, £15 is absolutely not too much for her to ask for. It’s a bargain, in fact! I wouldn’t expect her to clean, either. Exactly how much do you expect her to realistically achieve in 1.5 hours?

You’d need to pay her at least NMW, so £12 an hour as a starting point. £15 an hour for somebody with teaching and childcare experience who is also going to help with homework and tutoring sounds very good value.

As a nanny myself I cannot stand it when I meet families for potential evening and weekend babysitting and they are shocked at me charging my normal wage.

if you want an inexperienced person who you u can pay £8 an hour hire the teenager down the road. As a childcare professional I am DBS checked, first aid trained, OFSTED registered and have years of experience.

your children are meant to be the most valuable thing in your life, therefore you shouldn’t be scrimping on what you’re willing to pay to have a qualified trustworthy person look after them.

This person already has a full time job and will then be taking on extra hours tutoring your Child and offering care the a child with additional needs AND potentially doing house work. I definitely wouldn’t call it babysitting.

Your husband is being tight AF to say £15 is too high. Where I am the living wage is around £13.50 so I would never dream of paying any less than that for a cleaner. She is not just a cleaner, she's a highly professional TA, not a 'babysitter'. I would say £15 is more than reasonable.

Your husband thinks all of that is equivalent to someone sitting watching TV while a child sleeps? 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄

I’d pay £20 and consider it a bargain - do not lose this incredible opportunity because your husband is being a cheapskate and correlating a babysitting role while child is asleep with nannying and tutoring thrown in. Tell him to look at what a tutor charges!

Your husband is being stingy. £15 ph is an excellent price for this. I’m currently paying £45 ph for tutoring (they are a qualified teacher and it is A Level tutoring but even so!)

I would snap her hand off at £15 an hour. I also would expect any ironing/ clearing. That's too much to ask

Lol

I pay my cleaner £15 p/h cash and they’re not responsible for the safety and educational advancement of my child

Your husband is being cheap

Would she get all that done in the time frame ?
Assuming that you live near school, I’d want her to give the kids a snack and drink and help with some homework /reading. The only clearing up I’d expect is lunchboxes, after school snack cups and plates in dishwasher plus school coat, shoes and book bags in designated place. I would be surprised if she had time for ironing and straightening things up, especially if the kids are the types who would want to play with her rather than with each other or on their own.

I think £15ph is a fair price.

£15 per hour is very reasonable. Don’t ask her to do the ironing though, that’s taking the piss expecting her to do that as well as look after your children and tutor them within the small timeframe available.

^ yes - in an hour and a half, there no time for school run, homework tutoring and all the getting changed / having a snack AND domestic housework unless you live next door to the school. Your husband’s/ your expectations are sky high.

In my opinion £15 per hour is too low.

Although my biggest concern would be what happens if she suddenly decides it's all too much. 3-4 days a week ontop of TA job and she's training to be a teacher. It's a huge commitment and I would worry she's going to burn out and leave you without any childcare.

It’s not babysitting if she’s tutoring etc is it

£15 sounds cheap to me

For context, tutors where I live charge £30 an hour. After school club is £5 for an hour and £10 for anything over this. And neither would contemplate doing your ironing!

You have 2 kids with additional needs and also want them driving in her car, homework doing, tutoring and your ironing completing (all in 1.5 hrs?) surely this is a reverse? If you want a babysitter, hire a babysitter!

15 is what she is saying she wants, if your husband thinks that's too much he'll need to find someone who'll work for less. He can't tell her no, you will work for £x.

You can't seriously expect her to tutor, tidy up and do ironing, cheeky fucker territory there.

Presumably, she'll be doing this on a self-employed basis; you're not paying her holidays/sick/tax or NI. She will be responsible for her tax and NI (and self assessment/tax return) on whatever you pay her, and it will also affect her tax code for her employed roles too. She will also have some expenses I suspect. £15 is not enough in my opinion. I would say £20ph, and no cleaning.