babysitting rates in london

[mamaJK]

Could other mums and dads please let me know what an acceptable rate is for babysitting in central london - and is there variation on weekends?

Thanks very much for your advice on this - I can only find an old thread and I'm wondering if rates have changed since then...

Hi, I either use sitters which is approx 7/hour for 2 children at the weekend and a bit less week day. They have a 4 hour minimum. I pay my nanny £8/hour, but she will often sit for less than 3 hours.

thanks! the 24 yr old i had last night said her going rate for weekends was 12 an hour so i just wanted to check - that was for one 2 yr old who slept the whole time so i was kind of in shock!
the rates you've quoted are much more in line with what i expected - thanks for the confirmation.

We always paid 10 pounds an hour (in Maida Vale so just zone 2). We also pay for taxi home.

Really! it adds up doesn't it when you have a night out...
I think I'd pay 10 with a cab as an upper limit if I really liked the person and they had lots of experience but i really thought 12 was over the top

I'm not in London but babysitting rates in Surrey where I am, can vary from £6 to £10 depending on what the person wants to be paid.

Comparing with an agency like Sitters is very hard, as the agency adds additional fees ontop of the hourly rate, such as booking fee and membership fee. It can work out cheaper to use an agency like Sitters if you go out often (such as several times a month). If you don't go out very much, then they can work to more expensive than paying a local nanny.

£12 per hour sounds high to me, though £10 per hour plus a cab (late at night) could easily be the same amount I would have thought... how much are cabs these days?

Ultimately I don't think it matters what local rates might be... what matters is how much you feel you should be paying. Then you need to find someone who will accept that pay amount.

£10/hour to the one with her own car (so no taxi home to pay)
£8 - £9/hour to the other ones

They all set their own rates.

£12/hour is a lot outside of central London imo, for evening babysitting. Maybe your sitter was confused about daytime and evening rates? I expect £12/hour is a daily rate at the weekend for nannying, rather than babysitting.

I charge £8ph, £10ph during the day at weekends.

There are some nannies that get £10ph + cab home so I was considering raising it by £1ph due to rising petrol costs, seeing as I don't require the cab.

Your thoughts on this Nick pls?

£8ph is about right. I end up rounding up though and so usually our sitter gets more like £10ph. She doesn't drive atm so if we can one of us will give her a lift home. I'd pay for a cab on top if it was v late. I should say that this lady sits for us a lot so it is worth keeping her sweet!

We are in West London (zone 3) and we pay a local teenager (17 yrs) to watch my DD in the evening if we go to a movie or out for dinner £5.00/hr. We pick her up and drop her home and are always have her home before midnight.

If we plan a later night we use a Childminder at £7/hr with a ride home.

magic - you can try increasing fees. Over the past few years I've done the opposite, I've reduced the fees. Hasn't helped get more bookings though.

I'm in N.london and chrge £6ph up until midnight then 7Ph thereafter and a cab home depending on how far way from my house

im in north london and i charge 8ph - most of my clients seem happy with this and im always asked back regularly. i have my own car so a cab is not necessary.

Sitters are good if you want a mature crb checked sitter with references. We also do not need a taxi home as we all drive.
I think the annual membership is about £50 with a booking fee each time of £4.
You can also request a favourite sitter each time, so often get the same one.
I have quite a few regular families.

I'm an experienced nanny in SW of London(Clapham Jun. Battersea area) and I get £10 ph on Friday and Saturday nights, £9ph during the week. If they come home late then a taxi home.

I never heard an experienced nanny charging £12 to be honest.

And also if you are in SW of London, there is a babysitting agency called "Likeminders". It is cheaper then Sitters.

Hope it helps.

We use Sitters. Fixed rate for all the sitters, and they drive themselves. I pay £6/h in Essex, think it might be £7 in London?? With the £4 booking fee, it in effect makes it a pound an hour more (assuming approx 4 hour booking).

I think it is good value.

Hello,

As mentioned by others, it depends on the number of kids, where in London and the number of years experience too.

Here's a handy calculator to help get a good sense of the going rate: uk.care.com/babysitting-rates