How to calculate nanny salary when we don't need a nanny in the holidays?

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DH is a teacher and I am currently on maternity leave from my job in the City. We will need a full-time nanny starting in September when the school term starts, at which point DS will be 9 months old.

We counted up the number of weeks DH actually works and it's only 35 weeks a year. He would probably need the nanny to work some of the time on the first and last week of each holiday and half terms (but possibly she wouldn't need to work at all if we decide to go away those weeks ourselves) and he would look after DS the rest of the time.

This means we'd be looking for a nanny to work:
full time (50h/week on average) - 35 weeks p.a. during school terms
"flexi" time (anywhere from 0 to 25h/week) - 6 weeks p.a. half terms/school hols
and then 11 weeks p.a. (!!) of holiday during the rest of the school holidays.

Working out hourly rates in this situation is doing our collective heads in as we both just get salaries and are expected to work whatever hours we need to get the job done.

We looked up the starting salary for a primary school teacher and it's around £20,000 p.a. gross.

Given our circumstances, would it be unacceptable and totally out of step with the market to offer a nanny an annual salary of, say, £20k gross paid monthly (works out about £1,345 take home pay on the default tax code) and then just be really clear and set out in her contract which weeks of the year she'd be full time, which are "flexi" time and which are holiday? Can anyone see any problems with this approach? Any and all comments and wise words welcomed!!

Extra info in case it's relevant: we're outside the M25 and not looking for someone with loads of experience and qualifications.

Hi there.

When I worked for a teaching family, we agreed on a salaried lower rate of pay, for example, the average nanny wage then (2001) for full time was 270-280 per week.

I was paid 240 (net) 52 weeks of the year, even I didn't work for 19 weeks. Tis worked really well.for me, and if you employ a nanny with no children they could up their wages by temping in nurseries the weeks you do not require them.

A salaried post attract far more candidates than he which is unpaid during the holidays, IMO.

It worked really well, and I would work for a teaching family again in a shot!!

This is more common than you think, and the best way to arrange it is definitely a fixed monthy rate (apart from the certainty, both you and the nanny save on NI).

Just one modification: because of the way the law works in relation to annual leave, you should define bank holidays and the first 4 weeks of holiday during the holiday year as 'paid annual leave' and the remainder of the holiday as 'other annual leave' or some such.

Oh that's a great relief - it would save so much hassle if we just paid a salary and left it at that!!

Do you think £20,000 p.a. (gross) is reasonable given the hours and flexibility requirements we have? We did settle on that literally because it's the same as a primary NQT salary so no idea if nannies would turn their noses up at it.

iamamummy if you are looking for a job we are a vair nice teaching family, honest

MrA thanks for that - I will probably attach a schedule to the contract with the weeks of the year and will make it clear that anything above 4 weeks is "other leave" rather than annual leave - thanks for the tip! We will probably go with PAYE for Nannies or some such service to sort all that out.

Hi,

I'm just wondering how it would be worked out if for some reason
(I'm not wanting to be negative, just consider all aspects) the nanny
you employ doesn't work out from your side, or she decides the role
is not right for her?

They may have "worked" mainly only school term by that time, or alternately
been "working" school holiday periods.....
How are hours/payment worked out then as potential one party may have then been short changed??

I'm just thinking about it from a nanny perspective (I'm an ex-nanny)
and one never knows in the early stages, even if you are super positive,
family are great etc & vise versa, there are no guarentees,

I work 46 hrs a week 52 weeks a year and get 26000 gross a year so I think your salary/ job sounds great and one I would love. Where abouts are you as that will have an effect on the salary.

Oh shoul of said I have over 15 yrs exp and am qualified.

Why dont you use a cm term time only may save you ££ and with the change employ a cleaner

How are hours/payment worked out then as potential one party may have then been short changed??

That's why you have the 'paid holiday days' and 'other holiday days'.

When you leave part way through a year you have accrued X/365 x 28 days paid holiday. Take off the days bank holiday and paid holiday actually taken, and the balance is paid or deducted from pay at 1/260 of the annual salary.