How realistic is a nanny share (in London)

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My friend and both have ds's the same age and are about to go back to work. Both of us are dreading putting the little ones in nursery full time. Between us we'll have almost £2,200 a month (ie the nursery fees for 2).

Any feedback on any of the following would be GREATLY appreciated!!

a) is this enough cash for a live out nanny ? we have no idea how much a full time nanny would cost! Could any London mums give us any idea of the monthly total (including isurance and tax etc).

b) we've heard horror stories of what nannies expect in terms of 'perks'...any feedback for the london area ?

c) how easy is it to find decent nannies in SW London

d) any other feedback, good or bad idea ?

Thanks everyone...

That should be plenty.

I reckon £375 - 450 a week take home is ample, that will leave you with enough left over for tax/ni etc

Call an agency, where are you in SW london?

Thanks CD..we're in Wimbledon. Do you have a nanny share or you're own nanny ?

Call agencies to get an idea of rate and go to nannytax website to see how much to allow for tax/NI. I think you will be there or thereabouts with your budget, don't forget you need to allow for 'running around money' - we do a £20 a week kitty for lunches and expenses etc. Benefits over nursery include flexibility on hours etc, disadvantages of a share can be around holidays - and who chooses which weeks (nanny will expect to choose two weeks, you and your friend one each)

I think nanny wages haven't gone up with inflation as the baby boom hits school there seems to be quite a supply for the demand, so sure you can find someone you both like! - Good luck.

OK - here we go (my specialist subject, at the moment). I'm also in SW London.

a) agree with CD, depending on hours. Mine works an 11.5 hour day 5 days a week and is towards the higher end of the range.

b) My nanny does not get any specific perks other than use of the car and use of things that we already have (for example we record things for her on Sky+ etc, lend her things like suitcases so she doesn't have to buy one, etc etc: but these are just common courtesies for someone you like). I do not think there are that many perks circulating among the nannies she mixes with (oh, I do give Christmas bonus of one week salary although I factor that in to the overall cost in my mind).

c) I would say pretty much the easiest place in the UK to find a decent nanny!

d) go for it - I think a good idea! We know several people who have done it successfully, although I'm sure there are some pitfalls and you need to think about those in advance (do you have same approach re naps and routine, where will the nanny be based; is one of you more unreliable than the other etc)

Thanks! Good to know the money may not be a problem. Holidays would be fine. My mum lives a few hours away but is totally free and would drop everything (sadly she doesn't have alot to drop) to come and look after ds to cover holidays...infact I would be happy not to choose any specific holidays for that reason as it hopefully will allow goodwill in another area!

thats brilliant Anchovy..I'm feeling really positive about this now!!

We live in Kingston and employ a live ot nanny for 10 hours a day (tho she frequently is free early ) for £350/week net.

It was pretty easy to find her and I think she is good

My only comment would be to discuss discuss discuss with your nanny share partenr. I have known several people who were friends before they entered into this arrangement. All except one couple (where the mummies were sisters) fell out to a greater or lesser degree ......

if you have a share will it work that 4 weeks holiday 2 weeks nannys choice 1 week your choice a one week other families choice .

Holidays aren't a problem for us...luckily for us my mum doesn't work and lives alone (not close enough to help daily) so will cover any nanny holidays which don't fit with what we need so the nanny and my friend can decide holidays between them.

Lemonstartree - do you know what kind of things the nanny sharers fell out over ? We aren't close friends, more friends of friends who know each other only because of the babies - we've only ever spoken about childcare and work which hopefully means we can be quite 'professional' about it. We also work exactly the same hours so won't be any issues of one of us demanding more time (neither of us want any evening/weekend cover etc) BUT would really like to know what problems people have so we can discuss discuss discuss as you say...

You could also try Simply Childcare. You subscribe and advertise your needs in that. Nannies also advertise and you can match up. Google 'simply childcare'.
Or try the Gumtree website.

There's an agency called Wimbledon Nannies which has been going for many years and seems to have a good reputation. I've had dealings with them - giving references for nannies - and they seem very professional to me. From talking to nannies, I think it would be an obvious agency to sign up with, if looking for work in the Wimbledon area.

Hi - fell out about food for children/ difrerent discipline ideas/ one set because one parent had another baby and they couldnt agree on a fair division of salary/time for the nanny thereafter....
I think 'aquaintances' will probably manage this better than friends - as they are able to be straight about potential problems - rather than trying not to upset friends and ending up upset themselves!
Good Luck

Don't want to be negative/alarmist, but you should talk in advance about how you would go about giving a nanny notice if you weren't happy, or if one of you wasn't happy; how you would manage the situation if one of you wanted to pull out/reduce hours/add another baby etc. Definitely a good idea to agree to regular 'meetings' to discuss how it's all going, including minor doubts and niggles before they grow into big ones. I've had two successful nannyshares, but I was the 'junior partner' piggybacking on someone else's nanny IYSWIM. I took ds to their house, and they were the main employer.

I'VE been in discussion about nanny sharing recently and something that made us think again was the other families expectations of what the children would be doing during the day. One of the reasons that we were considering a share is that dd has a long and very stimulating day at nursery and we thought she could do with a bit more 'chilled out' at home care...the other family wanted nanny to take the children out to a 'class' every morning, quick lunch then out to the parks for hours in the afternoon...no time playing with toys at home.

Also agree that you need to talk about holiday times and division of the salary (ie. make sure tax is split between you fairly) - also think about household insurance required if you have a nanny in your house, wear-and-tear on the house that's being used (you could even this out by alternating different house each week), and discuss what would happen if your child accidently broke something of importance in their house.

There is a government website that has good info on the more 'legal' aspects of employing a nanny (insurance, risk assessments etc). www.childcareapprovalscheme.co.uk/parents/parentsguide.pdf

I agree - there are many factors to be considered in a nanny share. While it can be quite difficult to agree on the how the child's time should be spent, they can offer great benefits if the right fit can be found. Companies such angelnannyshare.co.uk and childcare.co.uk can be of help here to new parents looking for good families to connect to.