what do nannies want most from employers??

[stella1w]

apart from as high a salary as possible, what are nannies looking for in a job? what kind of perks are expected, or just nice-to-haves? should overtime be double pay?
I have found my dream nanny and want to make her an offer that's realistic (I can't pay top end of the scal) and shows she is valued..

As an employer, I'm getting increasingly annoyed by the company that administer my childcare vouchers. I make sure our nanny receives the cash element of her pay like clockwork; it's taking longer and longer for the CCVs to reach her and I have to keep moving the payment date forward so the company has time to process them. I actually can't move the CCV payment date forward any further because now the same day as the CCV comes in from my employer, and I can't change provider because my employer only uses one firm.

Our nanny is wonderful. I happily bend over backwards to meet her requests, not least because I know she wouldn't ask if it wasn't important to her.

Oh I would just like to add with regards to as high a salary as possible

One nanny friend of mine earns £70 pw nett more than me for half the work load.

You know what? I wouldn't swap jobs under any circumstances.

I earn a good wage, it pays the bills and leaves a bit left over for treats and a small amount is saved each week too.

Money isn't everything. As long as I have enough to get by and some, then being with great employers who treat you right means the world to me.

CinnabarRed if you want to take advantage of the tax relief, it is up to YOU to make sure your nanny is not out of pocket. Most people using vouchers effectively hold them a month in arrears.

Thanks for the responses..going to look at mranchovy's calculator thing and come up with as high a salary as I can possibly manage..no way do I want to underpay the person doing the most important job I can think of..

Don't overstretch. You can give a pay increase at end of probation, end of year, that sort of thing. Your nanny won't thank you if you initially offer a salary which in 3-6 months time you realise you can't afford.

As has been said on this thread many times, it's not all about the money. Though until you come up with a starting salary figure, in my view the job does not exist and people can't really apply for it as it may not pay them what they NEED to earn.

I turned down a nanny job as the list of non-childcare related jobs got longer each time I spoke to potential MB (shopping, laundry & ironing, taking in dry cleaning, cooking lunch for working from home DB etc) and it dawned on me that I would be hard pushed to find any time to play with the children or take them anywhere. So for me the important thing is that if the job is described as childcare, that is what it is, not PA cum dogsbody.

Yes, I agree MrAnchovy, and that's what I've always done in the past - but the CCV provider has moved the payment date by more than 3 weeks over the past 6 months. I'm on maternity leave at the moment and it will hurt if I have to defer a month of CCVs in the future (and we've gone into debt to keep our nanny enployed while I'm off work). But as you say, it's my problem not her's. I don't think she's even aware that the CCV provider has been playing silly beggars.

Hmmm, voucher companies aren't generally permitted to do this. Are you sure it is not your employer that is putting back the date they hand over the money to the voucher provider? Either way, you should raise this with your employer.

Parents coming home on time, giving the nanny time off (if they are home then either letting the nanny go home early or letting them have a day off) being thankful, being fair but i think the main one is if they come home on time to let the nanny go home rather then shopping or doing whatever just to make the most of what they are paying for not to be burdened with alot of chores for example a nannies responsibilities are not the same as a cleaner. .If you want a nanny to keep her/his job then she needs perks in her/his job.

Backing the nanny up in front of the children. My boss did this she then phoned me later to talk about it as she didn't agree with what I had done.

Result was I went home happy she called me later when the kids were in bed. I don't remember what the issue was except I was happy to do it her way next time. The other thing was she liked the children's clothes folded like in gap, I wasn't very good at it we turned it into a little joke. Funny thing is she was right they do fit in draws better and guess what that how I fold my kids cloths.

The job I hated come the end (when I left to have a baby) had wanted to reduce my hours so they could employ a second nanny so that when I had a baby they could then just increase her hours. I was only part time (I had 2 Jobs) and it was my first day back after a miscarriage. Thought less

MrAnchovy - thanks for giving me a kick up the arse inspiring me to contact my CCV providers. Got an apology and a guarantee that funds will be with my nanny for her payday.

Imo, a "proper" payroll company would not just calculate the wages and generate the payslip, but would move the money on the specified day for you and debit your account.

I believe that there is a least one company that will do this, but it adds a substantial cost to the process and a time delay, so I don't think there is much take-up. I may be interested in canvassing opinion on this...

One of my main ones would being on time as many have said. In one of my jobs the dad came back over two hours late no phone call and his phone was switched of. Sticking of booze it had been very clear where he had been. And I didn't even get a sorry, that didn't last very long me being there. If parents think they may be running late if say a meetings looking like its going to run over etc it takes two mins to send a quick text, and not ringing saying your going to be late when you should of been back by then. Giving me the freedom to choose suitable activities and having 100%trust in the fact I know what I am doing. For me the two main things would be time keeping which I know you can't always relie on london transport, but just keeping the nanny aware. And paying on time..we all have stuff to pay for. Hope that helps a little.