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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Nanny bringing own baby? What should I pay her

20 replies

Flum · 24/10/2006 13:32

;....she comes recommended from a friend who paid her £7.50 net which she worked up to. I have a 2 and half year old and a 4 month baby.

She is off on maternity leave but friend would prefer her back without bringing her own baby.

I am due to meet her in an hour - what should I ask her???????? only used a nursery for childcare before.

am scared of having someone in my own home with my kids

OP posts:

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HappyMumof2 · 24/10/2006 13:34

Message withdrawn

soapbox · 24/10/2006 13:36

I think the rough rule of thumb for nannies taking their own child to work is to expect a discount of 20% ish on normal market rates.

Blu · 24/10/2006 13:41

Yes, we paid our nanny about 20% less than the going rate as she brought her own child. But she was only looking after one of mine...your nanny is going to be very busy. Will she be able to give your 2 year-old all the attention / activities he needs? that would be my concern.

Also, how she would handle simultaneous demands fdor attention...and how would she handle your 2 year-olds potential jealousy of two babies, now that he has got used to one...

CristinaTheAstonishing · 24/10/2006 13:53

Flum, i'd be a bit worried too about so many young babies and children. I know mums can handle it but i'd worry that it can get too much for someone outside the family. As for payment, I'd go with 2/3 of the usual pay, with her providing the other 1/3 for her won baby.

piglit · 24/10/2006 13:58

I wouldn't even consider it tbh. When we were looking I interviewed this great nanny but she had a child of her own who she wanted to bring to work with her. My dses are 24 months and 12 months and her ds was 18 months. There was no way that she could do the job I wanted her to do if she brought her ds along too. 3 babies, 3 different routines? No chance. If I employ a nanny for my babies then it's someone who can give them 100% for the whole of the working day.

Original poster

Flum · 24/10/2006 14:15

yep - i find two a handful!

OP posts:

Boowila · 24/10/2006 14:30

I would offer her 2/3 of her last salary with a six month trial. And if she passed and the contract continued after the initial six months I would them pay her 80% of the previous salary.

I might also consider that the addition if a third young one might reduce any resentment your two year old might have towards your new baby. It might work out wel, but then it might not. For example I think public transport with 3 is out of the question. My nanny managed public transport with two (aged 2 and 3 months when she started) but she wouldn't be able to add another child into that equation.

RedTartanLass · 24/10/2006 15:34

Flum, I had a similar question recently, you might find this useful

Bluebear · 24/10/2006 18:53

When our nanny was working solely for us and brought her own baby we paid her about 75-80% of going rate. We now nanny-share and she doesn't bring her baby unless she has a problem with her childcare, and she earns the going rate.
We agreed that we didn't want a situation where the child:adult ratio was outside that recommended by Ofsted for childminders (ie. 1 child under 1 and a total of 3 under 3 were our guidelines) so I would not have been happy with 2 little babies and a toddler (but 2 toddlers and one baby would be ok). One reason being that we couldn't find professional insurance for the nanny which would cover her in that position.

Original poster

Flum · 24/10/2006 21:56

all food for thought. RTL - your thread very interesting.

the insurance is interesting - my friend has just had twins and has a toddler so it happens to normal families too - i guess they are insured. CAn understand the rule. I think two babies and a toddler will be tough but she seems professional.

OP posts:

nannynick · 25/10/2006 09:17

Can't imagine that insurance is an issue, as childminders can care for 3 under 5's, and can care for 2 under 1's (in specific situations such as twins). There is only really one major insurer for nannies, so I'll have a read of the policy and let you know if I find anything of interest.

Having 3 under 3's will mean that your nanny cannot take the children swimming - at least I don't know of any swimming pool which permits that adult:child non-swimmer ratio.

I feel it will be tough on your 2.5 year old. One new baby is hard for that aged child to deal with, yet alone another one coming along as well. In a childminding situation it is different as all the children get used to having different children around, but this is another baby coming to his/her home, where up until recently he/she was the only child.

Original poster

Flum · 26/10/2006 10:28

Yeah there are pros and cons. I'm in two minds to be honest.

Think will offer her the position on 6 month trial and see how it pans out - I can always go back to daycare nursery or look for an alternative if it doesn't work out. Could put toddler in preschool from after christmas anyway so will get 'toddler time'

But PAY - what a nightmare this net pay business is - and I'm an accountant.

I want to be her main employer so I don't have to pay to much tax....is that reasonable. I want her two days per week.

OP posts:

jura · 26/10/2006 11:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Boowila · 26/10/2006 13:21

Completely agree with Jura. Nannies are employees and should be paid just like all other employees... in GROSS.

Make your initial contract six months and fixed term so there's no issue of redundancy down the line. Also, you might want to put in say a 2 week notice period for the first couple of months (only fair to make it both ways I think).

lovelylou · 26/10/2006 13:37

Hi flum. I tried to take my daughter to work with me as a nanny. she was four mths old, i was also supposed to look after a baby and a two year old. It was impossible!!!!!!!!
Couldn't give any of them enough attention and felt really guilty about my little one as she always got left till last. Trust me, it just won't work

Bluebear · 26/10/2006 14:03

I agree with the others - agree nanny's pay Gross (that's what we do with ours, and we now share her with another family, so everyone know how much they are responsible for paying).

I'm at home today, looking after my children (and surfing MN) because my nanny is having her 2nd "sick' day in the last 6 months - due to her son being sick (he's got a cold) and she's been up a few times at night with him and is too tired to work. I'm sure that there are reasons why nannies without their own children take days off with no notice (eg.their own illness) but we do have this as an additional reason for absence. (Obviously I don't want her to work if she's very tired and she'll be paid for today - not whinging, just wanted to point out another complication).

Bluebear · 26/10/2006 14:04

And I suppose one would get the same situation if nanny wasn't bringing her child with her but had 'caring responsibilities' for their own child or a relative. Sort of thinking aloud - sorry.

Bluebear · 26/10/2006 14:05

Nannynick - it was micheal morton insurance that I looked at (we pay for nanny's professional insurance as we see it as necessary and she doesn't )

nannynick · 26/10/2006 14:55

I can't see the exclusion in Morton Michel's policy booklet.. all that is noted is that a child is 0-15 yrs and nanny is covered to care for max of 6 children.

Found it, it's in a Summary Document, not the policy itself. It only applies to NANNY SHARE situations. Have to be within Ofsted/other registering authority ruling on number of children... doesn't mention age.

Sarah I find at their office is a good person to ask regarding such matters - so for any nannies doing a nanny share who have queries regarding what they will, and won't insure, get in touch with them.

Agree with the GROSS pay thing... far easier all round to agree GROSS. Wish they would teach the difference between Gross and Net pay deals on childcare training courses... some nannies just don't get it!

I'm suffering from a cold at the moment... but luckly I'm on holiday from my full-time job. Typical though, only ever seem to get ill when I'm on holiday!

riab · 30/10/2006 19:19

Agree with other posters, I think that coping with 3 udner 3's especially when two are babies would be very hard. I certainly wouldn't want a nanny bringing her baby in that situation.
Our Local childminding guidelines state only 1 baby under 3 and my CM only takes babies over 6 months who can sit up and are partially weaned becasue CM says otherwise with 2 other under 3's its not possible to handle mealtimes and naps in a way that suits all three children.

If you decide to go ahead then you ened to have a long talk about routines, whether you currently have a routine or not I would have thought with 3 littleones your nanny will need one!
And then come up with a list of 'what if' questions:
what if one baby is taking a long time to drink their bottle and baby 2 is hungry?
what if one baby falls/rolls over (especially as one of them can't even sit up yet) and needs attention but the other one is rolling/crawling off?
What about napimes?
How would you transport all 3 children to outings?

I'm sure you'll think of others. I looked after a friends baby one day when DS was 12 months and baby 2 was 5 months - it was horrendously difficult. I found switching between what the different babies needed very hard, they were on different milk formula's, different eating patterns and totally different nap schedules.
plus DS was a very active crawler whilst baby 2 could only just sit up.

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