CMs - if you have an assistant, how much do you pay them?

[looneytune]

I know this will vary across the country but just interested in hearing what people pay and where they are based?

TIA :)

im in scotland my assistant does 16 hours a week and gets paid minimum wage so £5.80 an hour.

Thanks for that.

Any others? I'm in SE myself.

Minimum wage in the SW. I wish I could pay more but it's not viable to pay more when there is no guarantee of all my spaces being filled. You also have to budget for assistant's holiday pay out of profits.

& National Insurance
& training
& sick days

Dead right KatyMac, and also they are entitled to meal breaks so you have think about keeping to ratios during breaks ie maybe employing an extra assisant to cover lunchtime.

Live in assistants are exempt from the minimum wage and meal breaks but would cost more to feed etc

Thanks guys, all very useful info. I can totally see why Min wage is what is generally offered. What sort of person will accept this money? Do you have younger assistants or other mums?

i have young assistants who are also mums and they can bring there child with them if there is space but they do have to pay for the space. my assistant is the same as me doesnt get a lunch as such but this all explained to her at the time when she applied for the job, that childminders dont get tea breaks and lunch breaks we just get a quick break when children are napping. so we just eat lunch with the children. i provide lunch as in she eats the same as me and the children.

Thanks for that. Doesn't the law say thay HAVE to have a certain length of lunch break due to being 'employed'?

i dont really know but i think as long as it is all in the contract and she is happy with it. yes she is employed but she is carrying out and childminding/nanny role job which doesnt get breaks. if children leave early one day she gets to finish early ,if we know a child will arrive late or be off then she starts later or gets day off but is still paid. if i need her a bit later one day she doesnt mind staying as that makes up the early finishes.if she needs time off for her childrens appointments i am flexible. i would say with us its a 2 way give and take but then we were friends before i employed her.

Good point about the nanny role actually, I guess they don't get an official lunch break either.

Yes Looney - it is a legal requirement. In some big companies you are not even allowed to voluntarily work through lunch.

If you are going to employ someone you need to be looking at the Business Link pages & also ACAS for specific legal advise - don't just take a punt at it, do it your own way & get sued when it all goes wrong.

Look at how many nanny employers on here say "well I thought it was different for nannies/people working in your home" (which it is of course for meal beaks but not for other things) or "I didn't know the rules"

Katy - don't worry, have no intention on doing anything like that. I'm getting bits of info on here at this stage but if I was to go ahead, I'd be researching it thoroughly for my own peace of mind :)

This is something we keep considering, but the pitfalls seem quite overwhelming. What if the assistant goes off sick all the time? What if they fall pregnant just as they are settling in? What if they are lazy slackers?

I seriously considered it once when a very reliable CM friend of mine was giving up, just so she could have her house back. She was going to come and be my assistant, but then they decided to move away. I knew her very well. I knew she had never taken a day sick as long as I had known her. I knew she was too old to have children :). I knew she was a CM I would be happy to leave my own DD with.

Good luck if you go ahead, I will help in any way I can. If it is someone you know well it might work better than a stranger (and yes, I know there are pitfalls with working with friends too).

HSMM - there is a person in mind (who I know very well and it's not for now but idea I've had for last few years looking into the future. I'm just one of those who likes to get all the facts WELL in advance