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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

What's a typical placement fee from a nanny agency?

13 replies

frakkinnakkered · 30/09/2010 09:32

Idle minds are wondering how much extra it is to use an agency? Or rather how much extra nannies cost when coming through an agency!

I've seen ranges from 4-8 weeks net salary or one-off fees from £500 to several thousand but I suspect there's a middle ground that most agencies fall into.

Is it something that parents look at when selecting an agency? Do nannies? Do either of you make a concious choice to avoid very expensive agencies?

Personally it's not something I've ever considered before (although I did have one woman tell me she'd 'paid a lot of money for me')!

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Blondeshavemorefun · 30/09/2010 10:13

varies in my area but generally 3.5 times weekly salary

so basically a months wages, which is a lot if a 5 day nanny

BinkyB · 30/09/2010 11:50

we were quoted 8 weeks net salary, but negotiated and agreed that if we only registered with them (they are the biggest anyway) we would only pay 3 weeks.

Even at 3 weeks it felt a lot when the bill came, and next time (our current nanny is probably going to leave at some point in next year as she is trying to start her own family) I'd probably persevere for a while longer with gumtree to avoid paying it.

Strix · 30/09/2010 14:16

Would never use one (as we all know) largely due to the cost. I imagine I'm not alone, especially in this climate.

Laquitar · 30/09/2010 15:28

What do you get for this money?
You still have to do the interviewing, check and phone references etc, no?

Strix · 30/09/2010 16:09

I think you get someone to collect and send you a bunch of (often unsuitable) CVs, many of which you can find yourself on nannyjob.

Mtorun · 30/09/2010 16:11

Exactly! You still have to interview, check references etc. You might as well place an ad. on nanny web site and pay only £20 or £30 max! It's a waste of money!

Laquitar · 30/09/2010 16:22

Thats what i thought Strix, if all you get is a list of nannies looking for job then surely you can get that from websites for free, in 15 minutes. And you get tips and contract examples on mn

But strangely they still have business despite the internet revolution! Unless we are missing something .

Are any parents who got something more for their money? Am wondering if anyone skips the reference checking??

Strix · 30/09/2010 17:07

Oh, I'm sure there are people who skip the reference checking. I know I have had several nannies whose next bosses never called me for a reference. Always makes me

WhatTheWhat · 30/09/2010 21:10

We're looking at two agencies, one will charge around £500 and the other around £2,500 (!). We hoped that by using an agency we would only get the 'professional' nannies - ie those with qualifications who're in it as a career with a genuine interest in helping a child develop, rather than falling into it as a way to pay the bills until the recession ends.
The cheaper agency has sent us people with excellent, pretty minimal and also no qualifications, but we're keeping an open mind as they all seem to have excellent recent references.
The other agency has only sent us highly trained qualified nanny candidates (in fact, two of theirs have dropped out before even interviewing as they have found positions elsewhere), but whether they will be so much better so as to warrant such a fee and the higher salaries is TBC at the moment!

WhatTheWhat · 30/09/2010 21:11

PS - I would not dream of mentioning the level of agency fees to our eventual nanny!

drinkyourmilk · 30/09/2010 21:33

I was placed in my last position without referee or certificate checks of any kind by either the parents OR the agency!

Original poster

frakkinnakkered · 02/10/2010 08:43

Drink that's crazy! What on earth do agencies think they're doing?!

I guess I can see the point if you don't have time to sift through squillions of CVs/are abroad and can't necessarily meet candidates to vet them yourself as it's less likely to be a scam candidate coming through an agency....

OP posts:

alsi · 09/10/2010 16:54

i am not sure how all the other agencies work but.... I run a nanny and maternity agency, and we charge 5 weeks salary. All of our nannies are qualified, have CRB checks, personal interviews, and reference checks. They also need to have all of the relevant qualifications.

Unlike many agencies we do not send loads of CVs out, we try to match the nanny and the family to ensure that there is no personality clash, and that everyone likes each other. The most important part in all of this is human dynamics.

Agencies that do not spend time getting to know their clients or their nannies definitely aren't worth their fees!

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