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Paid childcare

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

What childcare do I need? Childminder/nanny?

13 replies

blushingmare · 14/03/2015 16:18

I'll be going back to work 2 days per week, one of which will be working from home. I have an 11mo baby DS and 3yo DD. DD is in pre-school 9:15-2:30 both days. On my "away day" I will be away from home 6am-6:30pm, but DH will be at home til approx 7:30am. when working from home I'll work 8am-5pm.

I need someone who can have both children from 7/7:30 ish, will drop DD at preschool, have DS all day and pick up DD at 2:30 and have her for the rest of the day. I need them to be given breakfast, lunch and tea. It's a rural area and the preschool won't be on a standard "school run" for a childminder. Me and DH can do drop offs and collection from the person's house if necessary.

Would I get a childminder to do this or is it a nanny I need? If so I guess I need a nanny share? How does that work and how much should I expect to pay (we're in Hampshire)? How do I find a nanny share if that's what I need?

Have no experience of childcare other than nurseries so hoping someone can advise as I need to work out if this will be do-able practically and financially!

OP posts:
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KeturahLee · 14/03/2015 16:23

If you call your local Family Information Service they can give you the details of all the local childminders with spaces and you can see if anyone can do it.

If not, you would need a nanny. You'd have to pay at least minimum wage, but depending on age/experience I'd guess you'd be looking at around £10 an hour, plus your NI, paying a payroll company, mileage, food, kitty on top.

nannynick · 14/03/2015 19:22

Can you put in a request to change the pre-school days or hours?
DD being at pre-school will not be saving you any money in terms of childcare cost. So it may be better if she went on a day when you are at home, thus giving you 1:1 time with DS.

Rural location, so someone coming to you has to live very locally or travel some distance - what distance would be practical, up to 10 miles? Do you have any major towns, larger villages within 10 mile distance?

A nanny is your only option I can see given that you say you live in a rural location and the pre-school is not on a school-run for a childminder. Are you sure that no childminders live near the pre-school? Something to check with HCC Family Info.

A nanny will expect a salary, given it only being two days a week (is that term time only, or would it be all year round?) then it may be at a higher salary that would be offered if you were offering a full time job.

Salaries vary, hard to give an idea but I would expect that if you were to offer somewhere between £9 and £12 an hour Gross, then you may get some interest - though it depends on finding someone within travel distance and for whom the two days fit around their other commitments.

You would be looking at:
7:30-6:30 plus 8am-5pm. So 20 hours per week. Having some over-lap between nanny arriving and DH leaving may be wise, so perhaps consider extending the hours a little if it suits you and the nanny. Perhaps call it 21 hours a week.

21 hours per week at a salary of £11 gross per hour, would be £231 gross per week on which there will be some employee income tax (the amount will depend on the employees taxcode) and employee national insurance. There is also Employers national insurance of around £11 a week.
So you will need to register with HMRC and you would need to do payroll (PAYE) deducting/paying taxes as required and paying those quarterly to HMRC. A nanny payroll company can assist with this, or you can do it yourself using HMRC Online, or payroll software. A nanny payroll company charges around £150 a year to do monthly payroll - they will also get you registered with HMRC as an employer and do the annual employers return plus remind you when to pay HMRC. www.payefornannies.co.uk is an example of a nanny payroll provider (they have been doing mine for 7 years now without issues).

Other costs to keep in mind are activity budget, food and drink for nanny whilst on duty (so lunch, afternoon tea eaten with your children), mileage if nanny uses their own car for taking your children out (such as taking DD to/from pre-school, going to the playground, going to swimming pool, going to a museum, to a baby/toddler group).

nannynick · 14/03/2015 19:32

A nanny is generally paid all year round. So your total cost is probably £13-14k. Ultimately it will depend on the salary you offer and what costs are for activities.

Nanny would get minimum of 11.2 days holiday per year. Bank holidays on a working day can be taken as part of that leave if you do not need nanny to work.

Can you really work from home? Can you issolate yourself enough so an upset child or other noise does not interfere with you getting work done?

blushingmare · 15/03/2015 19:06

Thanks very much for the feedback - really helpful. I will only need childcare during term time and totally hadn't factored in having to pay a nanny year-round so will need a re-think on that one. Back to finding a child minder option, but the pre-school run is tricky. Maybe as suggested I should drop the preschool - DD is just so happy and settled that I wanted her to have that continuity.

OP posts:
nannynick · 15/03/2015 19:14

Some nannies will accept a term time only job. You would have some portion of holiday entitlement that gets added on, so if a 38 week year you would probably pay for 43 weeks, if that makes sense. You would need to do the actual calculation once you know the length of academic year involved - holiday would be 12.7% of time worked.

What happens in a few years time when DD starts school? Are there childminders who would collect from the school? May be worth planning ahead a bit.

Jinxxx · 15/03/2015 19:32

Does DD go to preschool every day? If not, and perhaps even if she does at present, I'd agree that preschool runs may be unduly limiting your options and that you would be better taking her yourself on your non-working days. I also think you find it (even) more difficult to find a nanny happy to work at home with you working there - there is always the concern that children will "play up" if parents are on hand and that working parents may have unreasonable expectations about how effectively the nanny can keep children quiet and out of the way whilst they are working.

Oly4 · 15/03/2015 22:12

I would look into childminders first as many will do nursery runs, I know a few bear me have no issue with it.
Other than that you can enquire about a mother's help. They have less childcare experience than a nanny quite often but can be a good, cheaper option.
I'm just about to hire one as I tpo work from home. She's worked in a nursery for three years but isn't asking for a nanny's salary. There are options, just keep researching/post ads locally/ask around.
A lady on my street asked our neighbours and found somebody a few streets away Who had space

Oly4 · 15/03/2015 22:24

Sorry for the typos!
You could post an ad somewhere like gumtree and see who responds. You might be surprised by the response you get. Sometimes there are people with good childcare experience or mothers looking for work themselves.
Employing a mother's help or a nanny seems daunting but actually the payroll companies make it quite straightforward. I've decided to use nannypaye as seems decent.
If you need an agency, I found Tinies v helpful.
Just my thoughts

FlorenceMattell · 16/03/2015 05:45

Hi
I think nannynick has given you comprehensive advice.
Just to add you mentioned needing a nanny share. A nanny share is where two families use the same nanny for the same days. If your two day a week nanny has another nanny job that is not a nanny share. You are two seperate employers.
You may well find a nanny for two days term time.
I work 1-2 days per week as I do other work too (night nanny/maternity) it's not term time but for me would be fine if it was.
So don't discount a nanny.
I don't think your job is suitable for a Mother's Help role (Orly mentioned) as 12 hours sole charge. Also when you are working from home would you be happy to be interrupted etc.
Best wishes with your search.

FlorenceMattell · 16/03/2015 05:46

Sorry Oly4 got your name wrong above.

Oly4 · 16/03/2015 09:36

No problem Florence. I think everybody's situation is different and you just have to assess what works for you. One of the advantages of a mother's help for me is that they will be at home when I am at home. My mother's help has enough experience that she could probably call herself a nanny. All I'm saying is don't discount it. Place an ad and see who applies. I Think nannies are worth every single penny they earn (what is more precious than your children!), but it's a fact of life that people just do t always earn enough to pay £10 and £12 per hour.
Good luck OP, hope you find the right solution

blushingmare · 16/03/2015 18:49

Thanks so much all. Really helpful advice here and things I hadn't considered. Am finding the thought of finding a single person to do childcare much more daunting than when I was looking at nurseries. Somehow it feels like more of a responsibility and need for complete trust and confidence with one person than with a group situation like a nursery. I know it shouldn't be so, but I can't help feeling more nervous about it for some reason.

OP posts:
Oly4 · 16/03/2015 19:58

Blushing, I felt the same and put my youngest in nursery as I felt a group situation was somehow safer. However, he was just too young and didn't like it. Now I'm going for somebody on their own. Once you find the right person you will know you can trust them. Maybe get them
To work alongside you for a few weeks so you can be absolutely sure. Don't forget the advantages... They can look after I'll children but ill children can't go to nursery!

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