Where to pitch salary levels ?

[MelanieWiggles]

I'm currently on maternity leave and due to go back to work in the new year. I've just begun looking for a nanny but am really struggling with where to pitch the salary we are offering.

From discussions with friends and nanny agencies, the salary range for a nanny where we live (not in UK) seems to be €11-€15 per hour gross don't get me started on this net business. I want to pay a fair salary but don't want to either underpay or overpay, and allow some scope for an annual increase if the nanny stays with us long-term. I am genuinely clueless as to what we should be offering.

For example, at the moment I have three candidates I am looking at. They are:

• qualified, with two years' experience nannying
• qualified but at a lower level, with three years' experience, but the vast majority of it in nurseries (only six months nannying)
• qualified, with 25 years' experience split between nannying and nurseries

I would have thought the third candidate would probably attract a salary at the higher end of the range - but would that be €14ph ? or €15ph ?

If you were a nanny or employer what would you expect ? What kind of candidate would attract the bottom of the scale ?

The job is for a 4-day live-out nanny, minding three children ranging in age from 7 months to 7 years, two of whom are in school.

Would welcome any insights !

Less qualified and mostly nursery experience would get a bit less. Though they may want the same as someone qualified with 25 years experience!

Look at it in a different way. What can you afford to pay? What is the max amount, then drop that a bit so there is room for a pay rise. So if you would find 15 a struggle but 13 ok, then offer 12 and see if you get any takers.

I've just employed someone with 3 years experience (but no qualifications) to look after my there dc aged 14months, 4.5 and 5.5 (both in school) and am paying her £10 net an hour in N London. We had agreed to pay a different nanny who had more experience £11 net an hour but she didn't work out.

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the insights. I've met two of them so far so it is getting easier in that by gut feeling I reckon I would probably pay candidate 1 more than 2.

Cindy - tbh we are fortunate enough that we could afford to (and would) pay the max of the range for the right candidate but I suppose I don't really want to offer €15 if generally the going rate for similar experience is (say) €12. I don't mind paying a bit more than the market rate but don't want to be too far off. I also don't want to insult someone by offering way lower than they are worth !

Girlsville - out of curiosity, how did you decide on £11 and £10 ? Did you ask them their salary expectations and work from there ?

I would offer higher if your happy with candidate as will more likely keep longer.

For example €10 euro might not be enough someone can live on long term if rent/ bills/ food/ their own family costs are high, so they might just take job until something better paid comes up. Or for a max 1-2 years. If you are looking for someone to potentially stay 5-10 years you would be better of paying higher but with potential to increase also.
So if €11-15 is the averages in area I would be inclined to pay €13.50, with the view to increase to €14.50 after a year or so if they are doing what you need.

sadly nannies with 25yrs exp dont seem to earn huge amounts more, esp if a nanny with 3yrs is getting 10 nett (always discuss gross)

pay what you can afford, plus ask what their salary expectations are

go with who you like best, as well as who you think will cope with 3 children, tho one baby daytime, but a nanny who can meet all their needs, ie homework for older child with a tired teething baby in tow

One option is to offer the higher end of the range but build in some flexibility into that. We negotiated two nights free of charge babysitting month Mon-Fri, until 11.30 which was a godsend as we both work and it was lovely to do occasional work drinks, meet a spouse for dinner and still be home at a reasonable hour. Think about your working patterns and what happens if one of you travels frequently. You might need to ask someone to come in early or stay late for a week on a monthly basis?

It's also worth factoring in that some people will pay an annual bonus or annual payrise and you should factor that into your costs, along with a pension [poss. UK only], NI and payroll/insurance costs. The salary can only be the start of it all so if you haven't thought about the whole package it's worth doing a full total before making an offer.

I know a number of people who have done 6 month probation periods and offered a salary increase after that to less experienced nannies with only nursery experience.