Cheeky babysitter?

[fairyholly]

Hi mumsnet. I don’t go out very often so I’m not sure if this is normal.

I used an app to book a babysitter. I’m a single parent and it’s a rare treat to go out without the kids. Didn’t have friends or family available.

An experienced babysitter with lots of reviews put herself forward for the job. I could see she was about 30mins away but I thought no issue as she’s put herself forward and I checked with her beforehand re the location etc. her hourly rate was within budget so all good.

When I arrived back, after a quick conversation it came out that she expected me to pay for her uber home.
I did not realise she did not drive, and assumed she had transport due to accepting the job. This cost me over £30. I felt too awkward to say no and obviously I couldn’t leave her late at night without a way to get home.

Is this standard or AIBU to think it was a bit cheeky?

To be honest if I got a bus to a job but then it was late and there was no buses I’d absolutely expect an uber home otherwise if she had to pay the £30 no point in her babysitting I’d say but I agree - she should have mentioned this beforehand x

If its a local teen they surely wouldnt live 30 mins away anyway.
These apos are basically agencies, I dont know of any recruitment agency that covers the cost of travel especially by taxi/uber
Its outrageous.

You don’t pay for a taxi for a gardener, plumber or any other service that comes to your house do you. Should be factored into the rates

It was late, but she knew what time the finish time was. I didn’t know she didn’t have her own transport or even that she got the bus in the first place. I assumed she had transport, otherwise why apply for the job?

I think landing you with a taxi at the end was dishonest.
She should have cleared it with you first.

The payment you agreed is meant to cover all expenses. If she wanted a £30 cab, she should’ve included that in the costing for the night. Who on earth thinks they get paid and charge for an unagreed cab?

She should have mentioned it but I do feel it seems standard. Next time check have they got transport and maybe choose someone closer.

It's not around here.

It not my issue how a paid babysitter transport herself. Tbh I couldn't care less.

I would definitely leave a review and mention the travel. £30 is a big amount to just spring on you at the end of the night. Most employers don’t worry about or pay employees to get to and from the place of work so why is she so special

what an idiotic comment

Complain to the organisation she works for and tell them that the £30 Uber taxi fare is a hidden charge which the babysitter failed to inform you about before you booked her It was not wriiten into the agreement as booking this babysitter should have meant there was no hidden fees and the fact you were unaware she was going to expect you to pay for the Uber, I think this baby sitter should be told to reimburse you as the uber fare was not part of the contract.

No way should you have been expected to pay for that

yeah she should have said upfront. Adds a lot of extra cost on. Guess she is young and doesn’t think some adults could be short of money. Next time, i’d check they have their own transport or live local enough that an uber is under £10 (or their parent can collect).

But why would you actively ask for the job in the first place? Requesting and accepting a job that you can't provide transport to and from - and reflect that in the charge that you offer the potential client - is YOUR problem; not theirs.

Anybody with a modicum of sense would have seen the advert and thought "Ah, that's 30 minutes each way and I don't have any transport... that one's not for me" and kept looking for something more local.

I don't understand this concern for how babysitters get home safe when no one gives a shit about hotel or bar staff, why are they so special. No employers or mine ever cared how I turned up or where I went after. My understanding was if the babysitter is young and unqualified and you are paying a reduced rate to reflect that, then it's your responsibility to see them home. Like the local teenager scenario. If someone advertises themselves as a qualified person then you presume they are an adult professional and what they do once they leave your home is up to them, that includes paying for a taxi if that's their choice.

Well, surely you don’t then put yourself forward for that particular job?!

I think it's a disconnect whereby people have it firmly in their heads that 'babysitter = teenager' - and most probably the DD/DS of family friends whom they've asked specifically. Therefore, you're only giving them a few quid for extra pocket money and they're not independent adults yet.

You can't have it both ways: be a fully-grown adult and mature enough to seek out work for which you're paid an adult wage, which you yourself have set; but then also expect to be treated like a 15yo who needs your help (and payment) to get home safely afterwards.

It's a bit like the ingrained mindset around tipping waiting staff - they're on (at least) NMW, like so many others in jobs that are often harder and more unpleasant; yet we persist with "We must tip the waitress... because we must tip the waitress".

I don't know if OP has said how young she is, has she (I might have missed it); but she's an adult who is actively looking for decently-paid work and not a friend's teenager who is doing it as a favour for a pizza and a tenner for the whole evening.

It reminds me of when young kids used to have paper rounds, but they couldn't carry the papers themselves or be out alone; so a parent would drive along behind them, using their own precious time and fuel, so the kid's earnings were actually less than the costs and not objectively worthwhile... BUT they did it because they were kids, they were their kids and they were learning valuable life lessons - and as far as the child was concerned, THEY had earned some money and that was all there was to it.

This adult babysitter should be well beyond that stage now - and she needs to understand that she has to stand on her own two adult feet. You can't just set a price that seems reasonable and then land them with an extra £30 on top. It makes no difference to the client as to why you need that extra money to enable you to take the job; it's just that you need to bake it in to the stated price from the start.

If she does this a lot, I'd wonder why she has so many good reviews. I can only think that people take pity on her, or wonder if they should have expected it and that they must have been at fault. Otherwise, maybe they do leave bad reviews, but then she tearfully begs them to remove them afterwards; or possibly they just laugh and say "Yeah, as if!" and outright refuse to pay for her Uber when she springs it on them.

@ParsleySageToiletDuckAndBinBags

I had similar thoughts about the good reviews; I wondered if she generally takes jobs closer to her home. But even if it's under a tenner the Uber is still a hidden cost which should be advertised up front. As mentioned in the terms of business.

Hopefully reviewers will begin mentioning it.

Yanbu, that is something she should have mentioned. Also common sense on your part would be to use someone local.
what if they were late coming to you. Silly to use someone 30mins away.
it’s very common to uber a sitter home if it’s quite late for safety reason. This should have been agreed upon before.
yes I would mention that in the review and never use her again

Which app was it OP? I use Sitters and they make it clear on booking that you are expected to fund a taxi (if they don’t drive) after 22.00. I live in London where a lot of sitters don’t drive so I sort of factor it in. Agree it must have been a shock if you live in an area where car ownership is standard. Annoying but you know to check next time.

Surely that's incumbent on the applicant for the job to tell you that upfront, though? No business transactions should ever involve having to guess the true cost.

Or, at worst, those who do have their own transport would make that abundantly clear in their bio/tender for the job - effectively meaning that the ones who don't will go straight to the back of the queue for jobs.

total piss take. but lesson learnt.

Defo get your money back, she sounds like a chancer and knew exactly what she was doing. She wasn’t embarrassed to take your money, so don’t be too embarrassed to ask for it back.

You can say you were caught off guard and taken aback by the request. This was not agreed beforehand and was a considerable amount.

She needs to reimburse you OP. I can just imagine all the people she has done this too who were too embarrassed to say anything. Very manipulative imo