sitters.co.uk another thread about a thread

[germyrabbit]

but was surprised to see they paid £22-27 for three hours for childcare professional babysitting

this is very cheap for qualified, mostly ofsted registered practitioners isn't it?

am a bit fed up to think that's the going rate. not really worth signing up is it

Wow only read the beginning of this thread and it being generous to sit in someones house watching telly.
I babysat last night in a hotel for a wedding. Between 3 of us we had 9 children and all of them woke up at some point, one was sick everywhere and they were all coughing and waking because of colds. I personally didn't watch any telly but was up and down with some very unsettled children. I'm glad I don't sit for the lady that felt that 6.25 is very generous for watching telly. How unappreciative.

I havent seen the previous threads but maybe it depends where about you are. Its very low in Central London, but say up north could be the going rate. I get paid £10 an hr, which i have never asked for, this is what i have been told by parents they will pay me, but i babysit for my nanny friends bosses when they cant babysit. Usually i would charge £8 an hr for my own bosses but my current bosses have said £10 and im not going to say no, you must give me less. I guess to them though, im not their babysitter im their nanny.

Well happy - in my house with my children that's what my sitter does - seriously - my children don't wake up.

And I've put them to bed before she gets there.

So I fail to see how I'm unappreciative and also if you read further you'd note I pay her £30 for 4 hours because I round it up.

So I feel your situation is pretty different to the one I described but perhaps you ummm can't see that. You know - arriving at a house and checking on sleeping children a few times to dealing with 9 children in a hotel who you presumably have never met etc etc.

6.25 sounds VERY good value to me. I never go out and never use a sitter btw. I just sit for a friend sometimes, or he has them during the day for an hour or two. Money is never involved.

My friend got a babysitting job in a hotel and wasnt even allowed in the room. she had to sit in the hallway all night with no entertainment but her phone). i have also had friends babysit in a hotel and have had to sit in darkness so 'the kids dont wake up'. I personally wouldnt do hotel babysitting.

Oh and I am appreciative of my regular sitter - have used her for 8 years so I guess she doesn't find me too hideous to deal with

Hotel babysitting does sound tricksy and a very different role to regular babysitting with a family you know who don't actually expect you to put the children to bed, read endless stories etc.

God I like my children asleep before I go out or at least the eldest in bed reading so I can relax when I go out.

I use to work for sitters, never again for several reasons, you never know what family you heading out to, i have had to deal with tweens refusing to go to bed, siblings fighting with each other, dogs being sick all night, parents being late back and under paying.

Also the company as a whole aren't that nice, its all well and good a parent cancelling you, but if you dare cancel due to something reasonable they are seriously not impressed, also if you are unable to as many bookings as the want you to, they take you off their books.

Unlike most people i can't have my phone on me at work, so often called them back on lunch breaks, finding out the job was taken which is fair enough, but then i was penalised as i didn't do enough jobs

And also the pay is not enough.

They don't specify that the children must be in bed - mine rarely are as they have an 8pm bedtime.

I pay £6.50 an hour through sitters.

I hate that. a nanny gets a text saying can you babysit tonight and if you dont reply straight away you are penalised. You can have a sitting at 7pm and get a message at 6.55pm saying its cancelled.

Do you not get any cancellation pay?

One of the 2 sitters I used lives in my village so the only time I did cancel I gave her the money the next time I saw her as it wasn't her fault and I guessed she'd have turned down other bookings.

No not with sitters, or didnt years ago, i dont use them now so maybe its changed.

You get cancellation pay if they cancel within a certain time limit i can't remember what it is though. None of the families i worked for ever cancelled, so i have no idea how you would receive the money if they did cancel as you wouldn't be seeing them

I have babysat for years and the kids are never in bed when I arrive!!

but I'm paid very well and dont mind settling children for the night, I like the parents to come home to a nice quiet house!

I don't generally do babysitting for the reasons I gave. Also I'm so tired the next day I'm no good to anyone especially for my own family, just another reason why it's such a pain.

My 15 year old wants to do babysitting for money but she would be looking to get £5 per hour and would be happy BUT she's 15 with very little experience. At the end of the day you get what you pay for and you want someone experience who could cope in a crisis you pay more, for the just in case.

I don't use 15 year olds - particularly not when my children are small.

Still finding it amusing happy that you think I'm so unappreciative.

would never use a 15 yr old

God I used to babysit at 15 and I was utterly clueless.

im with cookie love

the pay was rubbish.... i earnt nearly double babysitting for myself, and had plenty of familes wanting to use me and pay me what i charged (£10 / hour, min 4 hours)

so id get give or take £20ish for an evening with sitters / £40+ babysitting for myself

I thought that Sitters set a higher rate for hotel babysitting, presumably to reflect the lesser level of comfort compared to sitting in someone's home?

Do sitters take a cut from the babysitters they use? I mean I pay them a quarterly amount too so assumed what I give to the babysitter goes straight to them?

wont work for sitters, it is crap pay - yes some may argue that sitting on someone sofa watching tv and being paid for it is easy money

but sitters pay almost half what i charge (and get asked many times that im booked so find a friend of mine to do it for them) so obv dont charge too much

the sitters keep all the hourly rate money

I use them & I'm happy with the service
I don't have to ring round trying to find a sitter and I don't have to faff around with paying for cabs home or provide a lift home

I totally get if you're a nanny and can get regular babystting for twice the amount then of course you'd do that. But for the 2 regular women I use they're older childminders and local and I don't think round these parts there are that many people paying £10+ an hour.

Mrs C - guess depends on area plus if lots of nannies about

On one hand sitters pay more then nmw and most of the time it's sitting on bum watching tv - compared to say working in coffee shop or maccys d's

Sitters are fab for parents - they rig and get a sitter and as below said dont worry about paying cabs etc

Saying that no parents should have to pay for the sitters transport

For nannies , not so good. They can get cancelled within 30mins and no fee - annoying if tuned down other work