How much should this cost?

[nannybosshelp]

I'm a live-in nanny and need help knowing how much I should be paid for an overnight babysit.

I have two free evening babysits per week in my contract that can be used any day of the week. Sometimes I do 3, sometimes I do none. So when I do an overnight as overtime, I think my boss uses up an evening babysit.

If I do any daytime overtime I'm paid £10 p/h. The thing I have difficulty with, is at what time does a free evening babysit end? Surely not 7am the next morning?

I've done a few overnights and never been paid but each time has been because I've offered. (One was for a birthday present, another was when we were away and I was sharing a bedroom with the children and it just made more sense for me to be on duty etc). The last time I was asked to do an overnight, I said I would have to ask for payment overnight. I think I said free evening babysit until 11pm and then £40 overnight charge as baby was still waking. The parents declined this and got a family member to babysit. Fine.

I'm due to do another overnight soon on a weekend, and baby no longer wakes, and both children reliably stay asleep until 7am at the earliest. So obviously I will ask for £10p/h during the day time hours, but how much for an overnight now I'm not really doing anything? I don't want to do it for free otherwise they may start going away every weekend! Also, I have some hours that I owe them - should I use those hours in the daytime or the night? So say I work 10 daytime hours, and owe them 4 hours, do I ask for 6 daytime hours paid, or 10 daytime hours paid but free overnight?

Sorry, this is very confusing!

On a week where no evening babysitting occurs, do they lose that - or are they trying to save it up for future?

As you say, when does an evening babysitting end? It would be reasonable to say that evening babysitting was 7pm-Midnight.

As you are live-in, you will be sleeping there so being on-call over night is not a huge ask. How much disturbance do you/would you get typically? If children are very young then they may be up several times during the night, older children you may not hear from until 6am? You mention a baby who wakes, so your £40 overnight charge does sound ok (11pm-7am, so £5 an hour).

If they do not use any other babysitting that week, would you do the overnight in exchange for the two evening babysits in your contract? That would seem the best thing to do in my view. The other option would be using one of the evening babysits and then adding a small overnight fee, say £15-20 for being on-call overnight.

Hours you owe them could be used for daytime part of working at weekend.

We've never really agreed what happens if they don't use 2 evenings. They normally do, even if they are home an hour late once kids are in bed for example. But say, one week they may have nothing on and be home on time every night, and the following week they could be out every night Monday-Thursday. I don't particularly agree with this as I think if I've been available and they chose not to use me, that's not my fault and shouldn't expect me to spend a different week at home all week. But it doesn't effect me that much so I've just decided to pick my battles and let this one slide.

I don't get any disturbance anymore, both children are young but sleep heavily from 7pm until 7am (sometimes later). I've got used to doing it now too so I do sleep properly whereas I used to have one ear open when baby was younger. I also quite like having the house to myself for the evening/morning! So it seems silly to expect payment on top, but if I don't, where would it end? I wouldn't want to do it every weekend because it is restricting.

This should have been sorted out in contract before you started

I think a live in babysit should be to 10pm - 11pm Absolutely latest !!

Bs's do not get rolled over so if they don't use 2 nights one week and need 3 the next they pay you

Do you have set bs nights - ie mon and wed so you could plan to go to gym /meet friend for dinner etc other days ?

Friday nights should be paid extra - so bs is mon to thur only

I agree with Blondes (mostly!)

I have one night babysitting in my contract and one later finish but no more than an hour to allow for public transport problems (they wanted two nights, I wanted one so this was the compromise!) however, I will do the one night as an overnight, I really don't mind!

I go to bed when I want to and leave the monitor on loud at the bottom of the stairs so don't care what time they come home, unless they are particularly noisy!

I have no owing hours/babysitting in my contract. If they come home early and let me finish early, I will not owe them back. If they don't use their one night and an hour, they do not roll over.

I only work Monday to Thursday so my weekend starts at 7:30pm on Thursday, they want me to babysit Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, they ask me at least two weeks in advance, I can say no and I get paid and paid well!

I agree this should have been agreed before starting but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The reason for me owing hours is because I've used up all my holiday but wanted an extra day off for something else, so I asked if I could do a trade for one of the weekends I'm working.

A previous family used to pay me babysitting rate until 12pm and then nothing overnight and full rate again from when the kids woke up. I was okay with that then so perhaps I'll just stick with that.

I have a live in nanny who does two babysits a week (which don't roll over).

We have just mutually agreed that one overnight is "worth" two babysits, and last till the next morning.

I have a new baby so we are not going out in the evenings - instead once a week out nanny takes the monitor for our toddler (who occasionally wakes in the night and is up for the day by 630am). I then take over at 730/8am and she has hour to get ready for the day (or longer if she needs a power nap after a particularly early wake or a night waking - we play by ear). I think we are both happy with the arrangement (in fact she suggested it).