Gulp! Is this really how much a nanny agency charges?

[SpeedyGonzalez]

Around £400 (minimum) for finding me a p/t nanny?!

We could just about stretch to pay the nanny's costs but if it's going to cost this much just to find someone I think I'd better forget the idea altogether. .

Yes, it can be 4 weeks or more of salary and there can be minimum amounts

However you don't need to use an agency, you can do it yourself using internet sites like NannyJob.co.uk, Childcare.co.uk, Gumtree.com

I recommend self-sourcing. In addition to the sites nick mentioned try your local netmums childcare board as well.

MN will handhold you through the process. Honestly an agency does nothing that you can't do by yourself once you know what to look for and the right questions to ask.

sounds cheap.

Many are 4 figures

agree do it yourself. all agencies do is filter applicants and check refs. I assume you will check refs anyway, and id certainly be prepared to filter the rubbish applicants myself (yes you will bet lots of unsuitable ones but hey) to save myself £1000+!

You know what, I'd filter them for you for £50! Once you've seen enough CVs you can spot the totally unsuitable ones a mile off (and it will probably only take you 2 good examples, 2 probably good candidates but not good at selling themselves on paper and 5 or 6 truly dire to do that) as long as you've narrowed down what you do or don't want.

A lot of what agencies do is guide you into thinking about what you want or need and then entering those search parameters into their database.

Yes, I've done it myself both times - all the agencies just advertise on nannyjob and gumtree anyway.
I put an ad on nannyjob this morning and have already had 10 responses! A couple are utterly unsuitable but so far 8 look promising and thats for a part time job too.

Phew! Thanks so much for your responses (and nannynick thanks also for your post on my other thread a while back - have been ill so missed it before). I'd love to be able to hire a nanny even though we're far from loaded, as I think it's brill for kids. So I'm much encouraged to see that I don't have to use an agency and fork out yet more money that I don't have.

Will look at those sites.

Yes speedyagree with the other posters - I have recruited off gumtree, all I did was set up another e-mail adress so I wouldn't be bombarded at my normal email adress. I did get a load of rubbish - CV's for au pairs when I had specifically stated I didn't want an au pair and some that were just unbelievable. I quickly filtered them out and got 4 - 5 good ones in the first week and then eveutually recruited my first nanny who was fab. To my mind agencies are a rip off and there was no way I was paying them such ridiculus amounts.

def cheap. i've paid £900 and £1400 before now.

good luck x

just to add

every nanny i know who is looking for work will check nannyjob / gumtree etc daily! nannyjob emails nannys of every job posted in the area they want to work (if they set their setting right!)

You will not miss out on perfect nannies who are actively job hunting as we all look their too

Hi everyone.
Just out of interest, for those of you who DIY with your nanny search (good on you - those fees are mad!!), how do you agree a wage? Net or Gross?

Gracious at madwoman. Though if I were paying f/t I guess that's what it would cost.

cmere - there are sites on the net that let you see how much a nanny in your area would expect to earn depending on her experience/qualifications etc-. I think it may even be on nannyjob - can't remember now as it is two years since I last recruited. Also depends on factors like live-in or live-out and should always be talked about in terms of gross. There is a site called nannytax that has a calculator to lets you see the proportion of NI and TAX, plus they will so the payments for you for a reasonable fee - luckily my DP is an accountant so we never needed it! Go for it DIY - it's really doable.

You should always agree a gross wage, although many nannies talk net still Most will have an idea what they want to be paid and quick scout will tell you if it's reasonable or pie-in-the-skiy

To do the conversion our very own mranchovy has a very handy calculator

Very easy to find a great nanny without agency fees. Are you in London?

cmere a professional nanny will talk gross

as yes as nannyl said all nannies looking for work will check nannyjob/gumtree and netmums regually

if you did look yourself - you would be the nanny's employer and in charge of their salary and of paying their tax.
(just to let you know if you didnt already know)

I'd love to be a nanny one day!!!!!!

An agency wouldn't sort the tax/NI for you (mostly, there is one that will) - and you'd still need to pay it either way. However you can outsource that to a payroll agency at a fraction of the cost of the finders fee an agency will charge for looking through a few CVs and making a couple of phone calls.

Agencies have their place but nor worth it a fairly straightforward hunt where you have enough time and don't need anything too specific

Sassy, pretty much everyone who has a nanny is the nannys employer, regardless of whether they used an agency, so will have to sort paying tax /NI / contracts etc etc.

plenty of companies will deal with it for a small yearly fee, ie nannytax / nannypaye

thanks for that info!
didnt know that bit.
just what I have been told by my training provider (while studying for CCLD)
and reading various sites.

thanks