Anyone work part time and use a nanny??

[mama2moo]

I am struggling to find a childminder for my 2yo from September.

Nannies seem to be widely available (not sure if thats a good thing!) I am in the Somerset area. What is the hourly rate for just standard care?

Are nannies widely available in Somerset? Nannies salaries can vary... you as the employer decide how much to offer. It has to be at least National Minimum Wage. I'm in Surrey and here typical wages can be in the £8-£12 Gross per hour range, though some may get less/more than this.

As a nanny I've worked part-time... in that I've done jobs which are 3 days / 4 days per week. If by part-time you mean short hours over 5 days per week, then I've not done that, but some nannies might do it.

Keep in mind that you have costs on top of the salary to pay... for example:

Employers National Insurance
Payroll Admin (though you can do this yourself, if you have the time)
Activities budget
Expenses of nannies travel - such as taking your child to/from activities.
A bit of extra food, as nanny would usually eat with your child - such as at lunchtime.
Employers Liability Insurance (often provided as part of your Home Contents Insurance, but check policy as some insurers have removed cover over recent years).

Don't want to put you off having a nanny but I would expect it to cost quite a lot more than a childminder or nursery, if it's only for care of one child.

Nannies are enormously expensive, but if you can afford it then the ability to just shower, dress, kiss your DC, hand them over and walk out the door is priceless - pure luxury compared to the hassle of the nursery/childminder run. Even better than that, you don't end up having to take weeks of holiday allowance at zero notice on the worst possible day when your DC suddenly develops conjunctivitis / chicken pox. (obviously you'd want to stay home if they were really ill, but there are loads of situations when they're too ill for childminder/nursery but fine to lie on sofa with nanny reading them a story).

Thanks both, you have made my mind up on that one! I wondered if it would be an option rather then a nursery or childminder but it will be too expensive and too time consuming.

Thanks