Does my ad for a nanny look ok?

[PineappleLump]

We are based in Chelmsford, Essex and will be looking for a nanny when I go back to work at the end of February - looking to put an ad out this month as we are away overseas for a month over Christmas so want the position filled before we go for my own peace of mind! Any advice/critique welcome. Any nannies out there - is there anything off putting about it or would you suggest playing up certain features? Thanks!

"We are looking for a nanny to take care of our two lovely boys, when I go back to work on 24 February 2014. The role is live-out, 7am – 7pm, Monday – Thursday and you will need your own car.

Our eldest son, H, is almost 4 and is a very bright and energetic boy. He goes to preschool currently on Thursdays and Fridays 8am – 3.15pm and will be picking up an extra preschool day in May next year. He will start reception next September so will be attending 5 days a week, 8am – 3.30pm. He loves playing board games and puzzles, cooking, arts and crafts and helping. He likes to be kept occupied and busy, and really loves adult interaction.

Our younger son, M, is 1 year old in February. He is a lovely, smiley little boy, and (at the moment!) he tends to go with the flow. We have no plans to send him to nursery until preschool age so he will benefit from attending playgroups or other organised lessons/events to allow him to socialise with others his own age.
The role involves:
• Getting boys dressed (they are likely to be up and awake before 7am)
• Preparing breakfast for both boys, and supervising breakfast time
• School drop off/pick up for H (New London Road, Chelmsford)
• Preparing lunch for both boys (H’s lunch is provided at preschool and school)
• Assisting with/supervising H’s homework (usually reading, writing)
• Preparing dinner for both boys, and supervising dinner time
• Bathing both boys, and getting them in their pyjamas
• Nursery duties – washing the boys’ clothes, folding and putting them away as necessary, keeping their bedrooms and play areas tidy, meal planning and preparation

My husband and I both work in London in professional roles with a lot of responsibility so we need someone honest, reliable and flexible. Previous nanny experience is preferred, previous childcare experience is essential. Applicants with their own child are welcome to apply. Salary in the region of £8ph gross and dependant on experience."

I know that anyone seeking a nanny requires someone honest, reliable etc, but I wanted to put that in the ad so that if there were any issues we could make it quite clear that these qualities were integral to the role from the outset.

Thanks again!

Will you be paying for petrol & running costs of the applicants car ie: insurance, servicing etc?? If not £8 ph doesn't seem much for such a long day??

All sounds good but salary is v low. I pay £9.50ph net for similar care (in Central London)

Yeah £8ph is very low for such long hours! That's like £6.50-£7NET, I would be expecting at least £9phNET! Maybe also include holidays and bank holidays.

that salary sounds very low given what you're asking for (& especially since you're reinforcing that you & your husband are both on your hugely responsible very professional salaries!)

For me:

£8 gross is vv low. £8 net more likely (£10/10.50 ish gross).

Having own car may be problem. Living near London means many people don't have one. And the costs involved. You really need to consider buying a 'nanny' car. Otherwise it's 45p per mile, plus petrol plus car seats that fit car etc

Most live out positions are 10hrs long. Live in tend to be 11-12 hrs. As you need 12hr live in you need to consider higher wage/ other benefits ie longer holidays to attract someone

I think you don't need that much specific details in ad. Things like needing to Feed children lunch will be obvious

£8 ph and you expect 12 hours a day?

I think you might need to pay to expect the level of care you are looking for

the mileage charge of up to 45p / mile is intended to cover all petrol plus wear / tear, servicing etc. Bear in mind that the 45p is fixed as the max amount before it becomes taxable and was come up with thinkign of business travel which may well be more like 2litre travelling salesman saloon cars than the small hatchback types that nannies tend to own.

I'm not a nanny but I wouldn't do the job for £8 p/h gross. That's £1500 a month before tax for really long hours - as Artandco says, that's before you factor in the nanny's commuting time. I would want to know about holidays as well, and surely you don't need all that detail about the boys' routine?

I assume you'll be paying petrol, etc and providing car seats?

Great, thanks for your feedback. Expenses will be on top of the salary. To be honest, we set it deliberately lower as having looked at some nanny job websites like childcare.co.uk, many seemed to be NWOC and also the nannies were young/fairly inexperienced. But I see your point, clearly the salary is too low. I should point out that while our jobs are professional in nature, they aren't super well paid... We'll re-do our figures.

In Chelmsford, everyone seems to have their own car. This really will be a requirement as I understand insuring an employee on your own vehicle is an expensive nightmare. Obviously we will pay mileage and provide carseats etc but will add that in if you think it comes across that we would expect the nanny to foot those bills.

I thought perhaps the 40 hour week within 4 days might be attractive to nannies - no? The 7pm end time is really to cover train delays which can sometimes occur and it's more likely I'll be home at 6.30pm but I don't want to create that expectation from the outset.

Thanks again (this is our first time - can you tell?!) and any further comments would be welcome.

Chelmsford is not that near London, its outside the M25. So I don't see a problem with wanting a nanny with their own car.

Salary wise, again you are outside the M25 so salaries are lower. When first starting nannying I have had a job paying that sort of salary. However someone with more nanny experience could well want a higher salary.

You need to determine what you can afford, then offer a bit less that that so there is room for a pay increase at a later date. No harm trying the ad and seeing what applicants you get. You can change ad, such as increasing salary if you do not get suitable candidates.

Definitely lose some of the detail about daily routine & I would say salary is definitely too low - put the most you could pay ie 'up to £xxph depending on qualifications & experience' so at least u don't deter the decent ones & anyone with own child/less experience etc will surely know this won't apply to them.

as others have said the wage is very low for someone as you want someone with experience but if you have nwoc then its fine to pay at lower end of scale, but maybe you need to make that clear in ad

personally i wont use my own car, but many nannies will im just fussy and picky have always had a nanny car and either take/pick up employers from station and use theirs, obv harder if you and dh both drive to work

make clear that you will be paying petrol at recon amount of 45p per mile and also a kitty for other expenses and you will provide meals for nanny

otherwise i think ad is ok :)

7am -7pm x 4 days is 48 hours not 40? 40 hours in 4 days would definitely be attractive but not sure about 48.
Agree that the obvious points like making lunch etc needn't be in there.

Also, I'm a NWOC and get £9.25ph outside of London (Midlands)

I like doing 40/4 but it may not appeal to everyone. You don't need the job to appeal to everyone, you just need it to appeal to someone.

It all sounds a bit Mary poppins... too much detail

Childcare.co.uk is IME populated by inexperienced nannies looking to undercut the competition who are on there because they can't get jobs through better routes. You get what you pay for and a 48 hour week is not unusual for FT live out, so compressed over 4 days that's a heck of a lot.

Do you want an exhausted nanny with their own exhausted child who is out their house for 13 hours a day? It's probably just not viable in the long term whicheans you'll end up with someone young, who'll probably stick it out on that salary for a year before moving on.

I would bump up the salary if you can afford it and put 'up to £xxx dep on exp'.

Like nannynick I like doing a 40 hour week over 4 days, but as a live out a 48 hour week over 4 days doesn't appeal. With commute time on top you just work, go home and eat and then sleep - repeat x 4.

£8 gross an hour is fine for an nwoc or a nursery worker looking to move into nannying, but you will need to offer more if you want someone with experience.

As others have said, it is 48 Hours not 40. That is a lot of hours.

You will need nanny to opt out of the working time directive maximum working hours rule.

I pay 8 per hour to our babysitter, outside London and kids are in bed she is watching tv!

Hours and pay are unattractive but you may get someone who lives at home without other responsibility and unqualified

If you could offer PT live-in I would include that in the ad - 48hrs over 4 days + commuting is asking a lot but if for even 2 or 3 of those nights they could sleep over there was no commute I'm sure you'd get more applicants (plus just 2 or 3 nights IMO you could reasonably offer a spare room rather than dedicated nanny accommodation).

wow, hours are really very long and salary is too low. I agree, lose all the detail of the day - nannies (generally) know how to do their job and also you don't need the bit on the end about your own high powered jobs - that's only going to make experienced nannies think you are after cheap labour imo....

(not many nwoc are going to want those hours either)

12 hour days are a bit of a killer. Just done 3 back to back and it is exhausting. Can't imagine then taking my own child home and waking them very early each morning, so not sure it would suit a NWOC.

As non said childcare.co.uk does seem to offer low paid jobs - parents often contact me saying they want to pay 8/10gross and I firmly say no

Yes 4 x 12hr days are long but I would prefer to do that and have Fridays off

Rare to have 8/6 now for nanny jobs unless work locally or from home - average jobs seen to be 11hrs a day

Obv work out what gross salary you can afford to pay and divide into hours to get gross rate