London nanny advice needed please!

[Hannahelizabeth]

I am planning on returning to work within the next 3 months and want to hire a nanny for 2 days a week for 2 dd's aged 7 months and 9. Never used a nanny before, only childminder and nursery for dd1. I have loads and loads of questions about Nannies??..
How much is the going rate per hour? We are in West London W5.
What do you usually pay a Nanny when she is sick and for how long?
If she had a child of her own that she looked after with our children would she charge less?
Where's the best places to advertise and what's the cost? If we used an agency do they do CRB checks and get references for us? How much do agencies charge?
How much do companies like nannytax charge? Would this be split if we did a nanny share?
Will a nanny charge more when dd1 is on half term?
On average, what is a realistic time for a part time nanny to stay with a family if there is a good relationship? I don't want to be changing nanny every 18 months especially as we are planning another baby.

Sorry to ask so many questions, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

How much is the going rate per hour? We are in West London W5.
I would guess about £8 - £10 gross per hour, depending on experiance / age of nanny etc

What do you usually pay a Nanny when she is sick and for how long?
Many employers only entitle nanny to SSP.... some lovely employers say full wage (dont know how long) (i think most employers pay nannies sick pay as long as she is genuinely sick and not taking takes off for every cold / sniffle she gets etc!

If she had a child of her own that she looked after with our children would she charge less?
Maybe... depends on the nanny. Dont expects to pay that much less!

Where's the best places to advertise and what's the cost?
you can advertise on nannyjob.co.uk nannyselect.co.uk gumtree.co.uk (links take ages, google them!) also word of mouth etc But be prepeared to check all refs VERY carefully

If we used an agency do they do CRB checks and get references for us? How much do agencies charge?
Depend on agency.... agencies i have used have given me my CRB check for free (as i have got a job with them)... most charge around £50 etc ie the cost + a bit of admin...
if your nanny comes with the agancy tho, she will probably have a CRB done in order to be on their books in the 1st place!

How much do companies like nannytax charge?
I think if you do it all line it can work out almost free or you get a little profit !

Would this be split if we did a nanny share?
dunno!!!

Will a nanny charge more when dd1 is on half term?

She shouldnt do.... im assuming she'll be on call for incase they are ill anyway! Nannies generally get the salary per family NOT per child!

On average, what is a realistic time for a part time nanny to stay with a family if there is a good relationship?
My last job was super...... wonderful boss etc and i loved the kids to bits.... i only stayed 3 months.... but only because the PERFECT job appeared 5 mins down the road with less hours and more pay
1st job i stayed over 4 years (left when "baby" started school.)
current job been at over a year and have no intentions of leaving (until they start boarding school (as long as they are happy to keep me!!!!)

I think if relationships are good most nannies stay at least 2 years, and i dont many of us who have good jobs that we love who just leave for the sake of it !

A few answers from an employers point of view:

Sick pay: most contracts say statutory sick pay but most employers pay full pay for the odd day for a genuinely ill but normally reliable nanny.

Agency - nannies may come with CRB checks, many of the agencies we used sent us nannies without recent checks. Agencies round here (in the sticks) charge their clients several hundred pounds if they place someone with you.

Refs: even if the agency provide, check them yourself too! nannies should provide written refs from previous employers, but do call the referrees up and have a chat on the phone too (do they sound enthusiastic and say "it was an honour to have wonderful Nanny X looking after our children and you'll be lucky if she works for you" or sound quiet and say "well ... i can confirm that nanny X worked for us for 2 yrs and did ABC jobs" and sound as if they'd like to say "and we're pleased to see the back of her")

nannytax charge £250, nannypaye £150. There is a rebate for employers filing returns to the IR online, which at the moment is about £150 but reduces each year. If you use nannytax / nannypaye, they file for the IR on line on your behalf, thus entitling you to the rebate, which is what NannyL is talking about. You can do all your talking to nannytax / paye on the phone etc, it's just the IR filing they do for you which is online. Nannytax fees are per employer - not split for a nanny share.

nanny wouldn't be paid more in half-term unless she was working extra hours.

I think there are lots of downsides to nanny-with-own-child, so be sure the arrangement will work all round. As an employer, I'd expect a reduction in rates, depending on age of child (nanny with 9-yr-old daughter different to nanny with 2-yr-old-twins).

Thanks SqueakyCat and NannyL for the advice, I feel a lot happy about looking for a nanny now I have more of an idea what I am doing!

Any idea if its harder to find someone just for 2 days? I am actually going to be working 3 days but dh will be at home one day unless we have probs finding a nanny then we may consider using one for 3 days. Thanks.

Message withdrawn

Thanks for that, just had a quick look at their website, going to subscribe and put an ad in!

Anyone know of any other good websites for nannies?

Good websites I know for nannies are:

AskNannyNick - Provides advice for nannies and parents.

NannyJob Nannies Section - Nannies chat with other nannies.

If you are wanting to advertise for a nanny, then try the following (though as this is your first time you may want to use a Nanny Agency):

GreatCare - Online Recruitment Site for Nannies and other care staff.

MumsNet Nanny Share forum - You never know you may find a nanny via Mumsnet

NannyJob - Online Recruitment Site for parents looking for a nanny

Nanny Select - Another Online Recruitment Site

Had a look at the links, thank you, all the advice has been really useful