How much should she be paid ? Advice please.

[Katsh]

So my older teen babysits for a child very regularly. We know the family very well. Mum has to go away with work for a week, and has asked my daughter to go with her to look after the toddler. They will stay in hotels and will be moving every day to a new place. My daughter will have sole care for most of the day, and will be sharing a room with them so won't have any 'time off', although she won't be on her own with the child first thing or in the evenings. How much should she ask to be paid for this ? How do you figure out the rate? Grateful for any advice. I did look for a nanny thread to post on but couldn't find one, so if anyone can tell me a more suitable place to post I'm very happy to move this. Thanks !

Very hard to know as until she is actually doing it she won't really know what hours she will be working plus she will be sharing a room, so may not even get much sleep.

Perhaps she should think about what she would be happy to earn... £100 per day? More? Also what would the parent be willing to pay.

Has she asked how much the mum is expecting to pay?

Assuming 9-5 at minimum wage at the very least? With expenses for trips during the day?

How much is she paid for babysiting? Will the mum be expecting to pay her that amount per hour?

We pay our nanny £8 per hour. I think that's relatively low (down to our location and her experience) but your daughter is younger and also inexperienced so might be a good starting point to work out a rate from.

I've seen different opinions about nights - some seem to pay more (anti-social hours) and some seem to pay less (not actually much to do!)

Personally, I'd be asking for a separate room so that I could have some downtime, or an idea of definite 'time off' (e.g. child is not her responsibility between 7pm and 7am)

An alternative to working out an hourly rate might be for your daughter to think of an amount that she'd be happy to accept for the week - would £200 be enough? £500? £1000? - and to ask for that.

Ha. Just realised that I've rambled without answering anything. Hopefully someone more informative will be along soon.

Also how much does she get paid for baby sitting? Is it the full 7 days or will it be five?

Thanks this is helpful. She usually charges £7 per hour for daytime babysitting. She'll do seven days straight. The mum has asked her to say what she would like. I don't want to ask too much of a friend, but at the same time I don't want my daughter to be underpaid. She is super capable and very good with this little boy, so she'll do a good job.

If she charges £7 an hour then I'd charge £70 a day for 9-5 plus extra for overnight so I'd be looking at a minimum of £700 here.

£7 per hour x 10 hour days (?) x seven days = £490

If she's sure she's not responsible overnight, she could probably ask for £500. If there's overnight responsibilities she should ask for more.

You know the family though. Can they afford that? Do they think they're helping your daughter? (Is it interesting places they're visiting?)

And your daughter - how will she cope with long days of full on work? Does she usually work full time?

It isn't fair for them to ask her what she'd like to be paid. They are wondering how cheaply they can get her to do it. They should be very clear about hours and expectations, e.g. "We want you to work 9-5 every day and even if you're with us outside those times, you won't be responsible for the child so you can use the time as you wish. Pay is £7ph for the worked hours, which totals £x for the week. Would you like the job?"

Very different looking after child away from home in unfamiliar places.

£100 per day sounds fair I think.

I did something similar when I was in uni for a family I often babysat for I charged £500 but that was a few years ago now! Might be worth asking who will be paying for her food ect she doesn't want to be out of pocket!

At uni, I had some friends who did that for a bit of pocket money (we're talking £100-200 for the whole stay). They did it to explore a new place, do some sightseeing and go out in the evenings.

For an older teen I think £500 would be a reasonable amount to earn in a week, despite the circumstances. I have teens and I would be happy for them to be paid this in the same situation.

I would ask for at least min wage. But really they should say how much they are wanting to pay. Will they pay for her food?

I think £500 plus expenses & own room sounds a fantastic deal for an older teen. Definitely check on meals etc (b&b included plus evening meal)

No way should be share a room with the child. If they wake up your dd will be dealing with the toddler

You op says she won't be dealing with child first thing in morn and evening

Tho she will be if in same room or the parents will be in her room sorting out the child

And means she can't chill in her room reading etc

If mum at work all day the likely uour dd will be working 8-6 as a minimum

I would ask family what they are willing to pay and see if your dd is happy with that

I don't think she should be sharing a room with them, the Mum should be.

She will get disturbed in the night if she does.

I don't really think this gig is suitable for an older teen. Too much responsibility IMO.

I agree she should have her own room, at the very minimum. If she doesn't get that she literally won't get ANY time off. That might be OK for 2-3 days but for a week that is way too much to ask.

I would definitely NOT ask for at total amount for the week, because that leaves room for the mom to use her for as many hours as she wants. The hours, or at least the maximum hours, should be very clearly agreed upon in advance. Otherwise it's a slippery slope and your daughter could end up feeling taken advantage of. It's only fair to your daughter and to this mom to lay out everything in advance and make sure everyone is comfortable.

Beyond that, it all depends on how much your daughter wants to do this. Assuming she is happy to go and earn the money, but not necessarily crazy excited about these particular destinations, she should get:
--her own hotel room, or at the very least her own bedroom in a suite/flat
--all travel costs
minimum and maximum daily hours specified and agreed upon before the trip say minimum of 7 and maximum of no more than 10
--£7-9 per hour for all hours worked, and your daughter should be paid for at least the minimum amount even if for some reason the mom doesn't use her. I would ask for £7 if your daughter is keen to go on the trip and wants to see the places they are going, and closer to £9 if she's doing it solely for the money
daily stipend for meals and incidentals the amount will depend on the cost of things at the destination, but should be no less than £25-30 per day
--In the event of any emergency, e.g. your daughter gets very ill, or you have a death in the family, the mom will pay any additional costs to send her home immediately, or fly you out there to take her home, or whatever is appropriate under the circumstances.
--There should be an agreed-upon minimum amount that your daughter will get even if the trip is cut short for some reason, as consideration for not making other plans. Say £250-300?

If she is really excited to check out these particular cities, she might settle for something on the lower end of the above, but MOST importantly everything should be clear and agreed upon in advance, to avoid any misunderstandings.

I didn't mean to cross out the part about minimum and maximum hours!

Or the daily stipend! I shouldn't be using "--" to make bullet points I guess. Lesson learned.

I think toshel has the perfect plan. I must admit it sounds like an awful lot of work and that the mom is perhaps subconsciously trying to get a bargain

I think it massively depends on how much she wants to do it and her reasons why, as well as might get judged for this but I would take into account how much money you think this friend has.

Also I would be willing to have less pay if my own room so maybe she could give two prices, one based on sharing one not so she can have her own time and space