childcare.co.uk etiquette...

[drspouse]

We are thinking of looking for a nanny for when I go back to work now we have two - we'd use part nanny, part nursery, given that DS is already very familiar with and happy at nursery, but we really need a person who can do slightly more flexible hours, maybe the odd emergency day. We did use a CM before we had DD but it will be we hope cheaper and probably more convenient to have a nanny at our house for one or two days.

I know that users are supposed to pay a subscription but would you expect most nannies who are seriously looking for work to have paid it? Or is it usually employers who pay?

I have not yet paid a subscription because our search is not very intensive at the moment but I'm not sure if it's worth paying since you can message paid users - and I am not sure if the nannies who have not paid are actually currently looking for work.

I'm also wondering if it is standard to check up on, and possibly message, people who have "liked" your profile?

As a nanny I favourite people I would be interested in hearing from re jobs they advertise. I look at it from the point of view of if a parent used an agency they would pay the fee not the nanny as the parents are the employers, but if looking for a childminder I would expect them to of paid as they are looking for clowns if that makes sense.

It does make sense. I'm just worried if there aren't many nannies on there seriously looking for work, because few are paid up members, but if nannies generally don't pay then perhaps that's why.

I did pay for a few months but sooo many parents didn't even bother to reply. So cancelled it and 'liked' a few parents profiles. But I think most parents won't pay the subscription. Surely as employers they should as I always say if they went via an agency they could be paying hundreds or thousands to the agency. Surely they can fork out for £20 or whatever it is for the month.

I agree with above, it wasn't very successful for me as a cm because so many people don't bother to even read their messages let alone reply.

I have just successfully recruited via childcare.co.uk. I paid for one month, put a profile up and searched for nannies who matched what I need. I messaged about 20, I would say 10 replied, of which 3 met the criteria for the job, I interviewed them all and chose one. £20 was a bargain compared to the 4-8 weeks net salary that the agencies want!

I've used it before - the short subscription cost isn't much really to have full access

I paid for Nanny job - £25 for an ad plus 3 months access to the CV and they're deleted after a month so you know the nannies are still looking. It's a problem with childcare that people just leave their profile up or don't check their messages.

I think you need to pay for childcare.co.uk if you want decent applications. I didn't because it sounded like something you would need to remember to cancel, and I wasn't sure how easy they would make it. I luckily got lots of good replies from NannyJob (which is a one off payment and very good value!) I kind of assumed nannies in a serious hunt were likely to be on both anyway but I dont know if that's right...

I (as a nanny) pay for my subscription because I like to apply for jobs as I see them, rather than just add as a favourite & wait for them to contact me. I do need to cancel mine now though given I've had this job a year! [I keep forgetting until they paypal it!]

However, I think I'm a bit unusual in that, most nannies seem to wait until they're contacted & avoid paying the fee (which I can understand) so no, I wouldn't assume they're not looking for work if they haven't paid.

You can see when people were last on line, so that's probably the best way to know who is and who isn't looking for a job.

I don't use nannyjob unless I'm desperate, I hate their website and I can't be done with agencies so the whole thing just annoys me.

Good luck.

Oh I don't have a problem paying especially the one month rate - I was just a bit panicky that none of the nannies were actively seeking work but if it's not usual for them to keep up a subscription that's not too surprising.

I will double check the last online dates too.

I think we may want someone to start after Christmas, though at that point it may only be 1/2 a day a week, is now too soon to look? We'd then up the hours in about April and possibly more after a year or so.

Oh. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but finding a nanny that can do 1/2 a day after Christmas, 'more' in April, then possibly more after a year or so is a big ask.

Let's ignore the 'possibly more after a year or so' for now.

Do you actually need a nanny for 1/2 a day a week until April or were you just hoping to get to know someone very slowly & thought it might be quite nice to have a bit of time to yourself? How much is 'more' in April? Or are you planning on working for yourself and aren't too sure?

There is nothing wrong with writing an advert and seeing what replies you get... you might be lucky. Also if you are flexible about the time you need someone you might be an idea fit for a few extra hours for an after-school nanny - but then compromises will need to be made during the holidays, though not all of them work for all of the holidays... so many variables!

You can but try.

If you don't find someone you can always try a childminder until you need a significant number of hours?!

I was planning on 1/2 a day after Christmas and then a definite specific full day in April. During both periods I was going to ask for occasional extra hours but I will not be gutted or make it a condition of contract to have any more (e.g. occasional evening babysitting, or work ask me to change my days as a one off - in either case if the nanny isn't available, I just say no).

I don't actually need a nanny till April but was as you say planning extended settling. So I wouldn't be gutted if they couldn't start till April, or didn't want to do half days, etc.

For the moment, an after school nanny is no use because neither of them are in school (DD is not yet 1 and DS is not yet 3).

Yes, I was also planning on ignoring the "possibly more after a year" in firm plans, again, it's not a condition, but something that I feel I should mention - once DD is older I was thinking of adding an extra day at work and using a nanny for that, and that would coincide with DS starting school, meaning it would be one child during the day and two after school. If I didn't do that, it would still be 1 day a week.

And while I'm on the topic - many of them have "rates negotiable". We are in a not particularly pricey area of the NW of England. Anyone got any idea about rates?

Very easy to cancel after the month, just email them and it will be acknowledged. You just have to remember to do it!

Well, after updating my own profile with our needs, someone messaged me - so, as I'd rather interview a few people if possible, sounds like it's time to pay up and send a batch of messages.

Oooh that's exciting :)

I know you don't need an after school nanny, what I was saying was that afterschool nannies often look for a few hours in the day so long as they can be free in time to do their pick ups :)

Sorry, no idea about pricing in the NE - but if you google you will find the 2013 national average nanny wages.

Found it, hopefully that will help.

LINK HERE

Great, v helpful thanks!

Our CM charges £5 per hour so if we paid the average for our region (£10 per hour more or less) it would be exactly the same (except we pay NI don't we, and then there's odd things like more heating in our house, children's lunches, but savings like bus to CM and sometimes extra hours when I'd be able to get home sooner than to the CM). So on balance for two we are more or less even.

I understand what you're saying about an after school nanny. We'd need to be sharing such a nanny though, as we need care in the after school slot ultimately, though not immediately.