Advice needed on what sort of childcare I need

[happymschicken]

I work from home three mornings a week and my 3 yr old DC is at a day nursery but I need to find childcare for my 8 month old.

There are precious few CMs in my area and I wondered whether I could get someone to come to the house for the three mornings to look after my younger child but I've got no idea whether this would be an au pair or sort of mother's help.

Does this sort of childcare exist and where on earth would I look to find someone

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Absolutely yes. Not an au pair as they live in but a mothers help or part time nanny. You may find a local au pair who wants some extra work and had good baby experience or who you feel confident would be able to cope. I wouldn't count on that, though.

You need to remember that you probably wouldn't be paying enough for this to be someone's only job so it's very important to negotiate a gross salary. Then you can deduct tax and NI from that amount instead of talking in net terms and being stung by more tax than you thought.

Could the baby not go to nursery as well? I don't normally advise nursery for a baby, but for three mornings a week it should be fine and easier than having two different lots of childcare.

Otherwise you want a mother's help or a nanny. Are you around to help look after the baby or do you want someone who can take the baby and not disturb you? It could be the perfect job for a junior nanny.

The nursery only does full days and tbh, I'm not that keen on using it for my baby DD. Don't get me wrong, my DS loves it there but I don't think it's the right environment for a small baby (only my opinion before it all kicks off!)

Will I have to pay their tax and NI?

I'd rather be left undisturbed and I'm more than happy to employ a 'young' person!

You would have to pay tax and NI (unless they are earning under the threshold) as they would be your employee.

The part time hours may make it harder to find someone. Very few nannies can afford to work part-time and this would mean the nanny would need to find 3 afternoons plus 2 full days to fill their week.

An au pair with spare time could be an option as they normally do before and after school, so if you needed 9:30- 1:30pm or similar it could work well. You'd need to find somone quite experienced though and bear in mind au-pairs only usually stay for a year. If you know anyone who has a before and after school nanny, that could be a better option (this sort of thing would be perfect for me when my yougest charge goes to school). Although the school holidays may be tricky?

You could find someone with their own baby who wants to work a few hours where they can bring their baby with them. An older person looking to just work a few hours is another alternative.

Or a nanny-share could work.