Ok, I have lots of questions about hiring a nanny. Can anyone help?

[homemama]

Before I had DD I was teaching one day a week but school have now offered me 3 days (mon-wed) from sept which I'm seriously considering. I've got until the end of the week tomake up my mind so I've got to get it straight in my head.

Anyway, all w/e I've been thinking about which childcare option would be best and I'm now thinking nanny. (Please feel free to suggest if you think another option may be better )

So, I need help with the following;

1. Are there many nannies who would be interested in mon-wed? (I couldn't see anything on the nannyshare website)

2. How much should I pay them? Is the hourly rate usually higher if it's p/t?
   I'm in surrey btw (berkshire end rather than london end if that makes a difference) Oh and it would be live out.

3)I'm a teacher so is it reasonable to ask them to take their hols during school hols as I've heard they should choose half but I'm not sure how I could do this.

4. If I just buy the food, is it ok to ask them to cook for the children or do I need to cook for it to be reheated?

There is lots more but I can't think at the moment so I'll post them later.
Does anyone think I'll be better off with cm or nursery? I'm worried that I wouldn't get the hours I need from either of these these as I need 7am-4pm

All help and advice will be gratefully received!
TIA

I have a few answers.

1. YES, lots of my friends do 3day/2/day weeks with different families.

2. YES again. Its part of a nannies role to cook meals for them.

Thanks for the quick response, PM!

At least I know I'm not looking for something so unusual. Good to know I wouldn't have to cook either!

2/ you need to work out a day rate. Ask around locally. You needn't pay more for p/t. Nanny may want to find another family for 2 days, or study (as ours does)
3/ I'd guess if you find the right person and explain to them that the situation will only work if they take their hols during school hols, they will understand. Our nanny is brilliant about this and doesn't seem to mind -- she chooses 2 wks, we choose the other 2, and then she has a good whack off over Xmas/Easter etc. I do worry that it costs her more to fly etc during school holidays. But the right nanny will not think this unreasonable imo.

• Why don't you advertise for a nanny share yourself ? I'm sure you'll get one in your area.Try advertising in the Lady mag...or contact local nanny agencies..
• Most nannies don't get paid by the hour but their pay is usually quoted weekly net,( ie; you have to calculate and add on tax/NI...Nannytax is a firm that will run a payroll for you and advise,no good on doing links but put them into google and it will lead you to them ), you would then pay your proportion of the weekly salary ie. 3/5ths. Difficult to say how much as depends on number of children and ' perk' etc. Again a local nanny agency will be able to advise of the local rate.
• It would be very reasonable to ask nanny to holiday during your school holidays but you will obviously have a lot more time off than her...I give my nanny 35 days a year,( she has been with us 7 years...), and she will be around during the school holidays a lot, unless you can find a share that wants her more in the hols ?/ Like a family with school age children only ?

_ Nannies cook, clean , launder etc BUT only for the children....unless previously negotiated/agreed.

My only thought is that if you only have one child then It will be an expensive, ( though easy/most convenient ), option...some cms will do those hours I think...Good Luck !

Shouldn't be difficult to find a part timer or a nanny share for 3 days, put an ad on the Nannyjob website/local paper/ask other families who have a Nanny.

Thanks. Who do I ask locally about salary? I don't know any other parents who use a nanny. Thanks

I'm sure NannyNick's in Surrey, he'll be along to let you know local rates soon I'm sure.

I think £70 per day is pretty average for a daily Nanny for 9 hours but I could be wrong.

A Nanny-share would be a cheaper option.

Try a local nanny agency...they will have a good idea.

You could also call a local agency & ask re local rates.

Thanks, I've just rang a local agency who said between £9-£12 ph net. This seems a lot to me. I was kind of hoping it would be around £8ph net max but maybe that's unrealistic.
TBH, I'm going back to work for my sanity rather than financial reasons so as long as I clear enough to pay her/him then that's fine. I had just hoped I'd have enough left over to satisfy my shoe fetish too!

I've no idea where they plucked £12phn from, I'd have said £7-9phn would be far more average in your area.

nanny hourly/daily rates vary massively but in my experience the more experienced the more you pay. I pay £8.50 an hour gross for 3 days a week after school only. Just about to change it to Term Time only after negotiations and will then put it up to £9 ph gross.

I advise you to use nannytax or similar (there are loads) to do the wages/tax as it is a lifesaver for all this stuff. Nannynick will tell you the local going rate.

I have had a few nannies and my best ones have been one with their own child, not that they haven't all been great, but they just seemed to click with my dd better so don't rule out someone who brings their own child and a nannyshare advert locally (post office, church noticebaord, newsagent) is a good idea.

Also try this site

by the way, you need to ask the nanny to do 'nursery duties' and then they do the cooking/washing/ironing/change beds/tidy baby's room/playroom etc - anything a mum would if they were at home basically!
If you think a nanny is too much at the moment then try a childminder - great for the little one to have friends to play with!

Hope this helps, good luck, once you have the right child care it all sort of clicks in to place.

just to add:

I know lots of nannies who are VERY happy to have all the school hols off...

means we get about 13 weeks paid hol per year, and that is fine in our mind in exchange for not choosing any!

I know a few nannies who have most school hols off but may work a day or 2 per holiday to allow the teacher time for some class prep without the children.

also its fine for you to ask a nanny to cook proper food for the children!

I think you will find that a childminder is more economical. The things you want the nanny to do are perfectly within a usual nanny job description, but if you don't have 2 or 3 kids, the childminder is generally cheaper.

And, yes, you can require that a nanny take her hols during your school hols.

Ok, I have 2 kids and one will be in nursery 9-3 four days a week from sept. (mon-thurs so all 3 of the nanny's days)

I spoke to three CMs earlier, just to compare, but none of them was willing to have the kids from 7am so I'm guessing that's too early for a CM to start.

Thanks for input so far.

Query: Is this going to be Term Time only, or would you be wanting the nanny also during YOUR school holidays?

I work for teachers on the Surrey / Berkshire border, so the arrangement I have with my employer may well be similar to what you end up having. However, I work 5 days per week during school term time... I couldn't afford to do it if it were 3 days per week - as I would not earn sufficient to pay my mortgage (you know what house prices are like in this area!).

1. There may be nannies prepared to do Mon-Wed if 48-weeks per year... but not so sure if term time only. 5 days per week term time only may appeal to some people (it appealed to me).

1. Tricky... depends on who you find really. £7 upwards Gross per hour being realistic on a long-term contract basis. Expect if you budgeted for £10 per hour cost to you as employer, you could find someone to work for £7-£8 gross per hour. But, if you get no takers, then you need to up the price, so you can get more interest. If it helps you to compare, a temp nursery agency in the area will pay employees £8 per hour gross.

1. Yes it is quite reasonable, but MUST be agreed in initial contract and I suggest mentioning it at interview (and even in adverts) to avoid any confusion. You can also agree a term-time only contract, where you say agree that nanny works 36 weeks per year (or whatever your school year works out to be), plus has 4 weeks paid holiday (note: this holiday entitlement may increase in subsequent years). The rest of the time then is unpaid. You may also find someone who is willing to split salary out over 12 months, similar to how a teacher is often paid, so that makes it easier to budget for.

1. Nannies cook. Today I baked wholemeal bread rolls, a lemon cake complete with lemon icing, plus a pea and leek flan. The latter one child (aged 4) liked, but others did not. They seem to dislike anything Green!

With regard to things in general, where someone has only one child, I tend to recommend a Childminder, rather than a nanny. Starting time may however be an issue.

Feel free to CAT me, or post on here (though I have quite a busy week, so may not respond all that quickly), or contact me direct (google my username, should get my email address easily that way).

Ah you posted while I was writing... so it is 2 children involved. A nanny does start to make more sense, especially with the 7am start time.

Thanks Nannynick, that's fab! If/when I find someone, perhaps you could let me know if there is a 'nanny circle' IYKWIM in the area that I can recommend to her/him.

I was thinking £8ph net but when the agency said up to £12ph net I started to worry.

Options are;

1. Term time contract for which I will pay a bit more than the going rate. (either pro-rata or not) 2)48wk year though I'll be at home during hols wanting to spend time with my kids. 3)Pay a retainer through the summer, say 50% (does that sound reasonable?) then he/she can take on a summer nanny job.

I don't know if any of this is feasible, just musing really.

In my job it's difficult to take time off if kids are ill which is a big plus point for having a nanny over the other options.

I do pay my nanny across the whole year, so she works term time only but I pay her 12 times a year at the end of each calendar month. This was what we came up with between us to help both of us budget and it works ok. I also pay her full sick pay (rare that she is ill but it does happen of course). She gets 4 weeks paid hols a year but I ask her to take these during the school holidays and as she has a school age child that works out for us. It does take time to work it all out - you may find that a nanny agency will have a chat with you and advise you, you only pay them if they place someone with you. For more than 1 child nannies are often more economical when they are pre school, once they are at school the juggling begins! Good luck I hope you find someone great.

we are teachers and employed a nanny term time only - I worked out a rate based on 39 weeks (term time) plus 4 wks paid hol and spread it over 12 months

homemama- Im a nanny currently on maternity leave with my 11 week old DD.I live in Berkshire so maybe quite close to you.

If you ae still looking for someone..maybe you could mail me with more details of what you need.My email address is [email protected].

Yes, if it was a term time arrangement only then I think being paid pro-rata would be easier for nanny and us.

Shanks I will do. I'm not against a nanny bringing her own child although I would consider it reasonable to adjust the rate slightly.

The terms you are offering look good to me, certainly the net wage is higher than I get now, if hours were 7am-4pm then that is less I work now, and you are wanting to pay a retainer during school holidays, which I don't get now. So it's looking good
Don't suppose you happen to be very close to me as well, do you? Could well be interested in this myself.

Looking at it, you want 1296 hours per year, and would be paying around £13,800 gross per year (including 50% retainer for 4 weeks during summer).

I currently work 2000 hours per year, and get only £1000 more gross salary. Thus you can see why it could be tempting for me. Though I do have a new baby to care for, plus a toddler, plus 4 year old will be starting school... oh it will be hard to leave current family.

As you are a teacher, is your school offering you Childcare Vouchers as an incentive to return to work? If not, ask them about it. Demand them... as that could save you £1000 per year, if you employ an approved nanny such as myself.

So big question (for me at least) is where do you live?

Would your oldest child - DS I think - still be attending nursery 9-3 if you have a nanny? If you are paying for nursery, then does not make sense to me to be paying for childcare twice. Pre-School funded sessions sure, perhaps with some top-up as a lot of pre-schools do not do just the funded sessions.

Hours... is 4pm a realistic time for the nanny to finish? Teachers from my experience need to do planning, marking, parents evenings and that sort of thing after the end of their teaching day, so if say you were teaching until 3.20pm, would you really be home by 4pm? What about those times when you need to stay at school for a parents evening?

Just some things to consider.

Thanks NN,
The nursery sessions in total will cost us £8pw because of pre school funding so not a big consideration.
The school has hours 8.45-3pm so 4pm is ok. Also, within those 3 days is 1/2 day PPA time (for planning & prep) so yes, 4pm is ok as it's a 20min drive home at that time of day. For parents evenings, DH can come home early.
Are there other things to consider? I'm still unsure about salary. Oh and sick pay provision. When should it kick in? How long for etc?
I've more questions brewing in my little head so I may start a new thread soon.

Thanks for all the help so far.