Is this realistic? Nanny in East London zone 2/3

[Mitchell2]

Currently exploring childcare options for when I have to go back to work. We are lucky enough to be able to JUST afford a nanny but unsure about whether what we are wanting is realistic or not.

We are looking for a live-out 50 hours a week (8.30 - 6.30) at £9 net p/h. It will be sole charge 3/4 month old. We are east of London Zone 2/3. I have looked on various websites and am a bit confused about the going rate as although £9 n/ph is stated on sites within the range of what is acceptable a lot of the actual jobs advertised are at least £10n/ph BUT most of these are for older / and usually more than one child.

Am I living in a dream land to think that I will be able to get a good candidate for £9? I am completely new to this!

£9net - but what is your actual total budget? If you can only just afford it you need to be thinking in gross or you aren't going to know what the actual salary will be.

I have worked out the gross on that (which includes NI tax etc) - and the total cost to us fits in with our budget - if I was offering $10n p/h the gross cost blows the budget by a few hundred pounds which is do-able but very very tight - I will be looking for someone later this year so really want to know if I need to be doing stuff to save now to be able to afford it!

Or worst case see if I can some how condense my hours into 4 days instead of 5 (with DP taking up the slack for those days by getting home on time etc) so I can then have 1 day off and reduce the hours we need a nanny. I am not sure if that will be possible with my role but need to be having discussions and planning now if that is what I want to do.

If it's very very tight and you'll have to save up to pay the nanny then that suggests you can't afford someone at that salary.

You'd be better off thinking about what you can realistically afford (gross!) and advertising at that.

If you offer and agree a net salary, then you aren't going to know what your gross will be until you have that person's tax code and know if there are any deductions like student loans, if they have a second job etc.

Definitely do not offer a net salary. As the poster below says, you cannot accurately work out what the gross on that will be. Decide on your gross amount and work from there.

Remember that the cost of the nanny is not just her salary, tax and NI but also incidental costs such as e.g. heating and light in your house during the day when you would normally be out, extra food if she is eating any of your food e.g. coffee/lunches, costs for going to classes, toddler groups etc. Most nannies are not happy to be home all week and you would probably also want your dc to be meeting other babies. Unless you are doing her tax returns and payslips yourself, you will need to employ a payroll agency to do this for you. They typically charge £90-£250 for this. It is entirely possible to do this yourself but you may not want the additional work on top of everything else.

Are you particularly set on having a nanny or have you looked at alternatives - nursery, childminder?

A nanny is the best option for us and we will be able to afford it on what we have budgeted but if I am living in la la land and need to offer more we will need to juggle things with work to make it more affordable. We wont need one until October but I want to start preparing now.

Have already budgeted for food/elec/activities and payroll costs but it's whether what we have budgeted for the actual salary is realistic or not given the conflicting information on web. I am aware that we will be offering a gross salary - but it seems that all the info out there is based on net so it was easier to put in in those terms when asking for advice.

Gross is £31k (£11.80ph) which I think sounds reasonable but its hard to tell if it actually is and whether we are going to be able to get suitable candidates on that.

Plenty of people will apply for a £31k job. Do you have particular requirements for the nanny? A particular language, qualifications, experience etc?

I'd advertise at that (or maybe pitch a little lower to start) and see who applies. Then if you don't get the applicants you want at £28k or whatever you can re-advertise at £30k.

The fact that you are prepared to pay on the books is a good starting point. I have been messed around in the past by parents offering a good net salary only to not have thought about the ACTUAL cost of a nanny. I personally am sick of talking in net, the rest of the country discusses gross wages!

Anyway, I'm sure you'll get some good candidates but as lilyaldrin said, we'd be able to advise you better if you gave us an idea of what you consider to be a "suitable candidate". Experience, qualifications, languages etc.

Thanks for the responses they are really helpful.

I have no real requirements apart from English (but doesn't have to be ML), and experience working with children under 6 months. Happy with no qualifications as long as they have experience and the right fit.

In that case I'd try advertising lower to start with (maybe £26k? That's a primary school teacher salary btw!) and then if you don't get the right candidates you can advertise offering more - a lower starting salary also gives you scope to offer bonuses and a yearly pay rise, a nanny kitty etc.

Thank you! Sounds like a sensible idea.

What month will you beblooking for.a.nanny.:)

Not sure yet - not even that far advanced! baby is due in June so probably will start looking around then for an October start - just wanting to get organized re finances as the last thing I want to do is panic once the baby is born

hehe.. I'll be looking for.a.new nanny position by then :)

If you have the space then live in works out quite a bit cheaper if money is tight. Might be worth considering.

Sometimes employing a nanny with their own child can work out cheaper. Some charge a lower hourly wage. If that was something you would consider.