Advice please

[therealdanylee]

Hi, long-time reader, first-time poster looking for advice please!

I'm a 42 yr old mum of two. Two years ago I gave up an office job I hated and started working for a family who were looking for help picking up their kids from school and cooking the family healthy meals. At the time I agreed on £10 per hour, but it's been clear for a while that this isn't enough to keep me going and I need to discuss with them (hate talking about money, especially if I'm asking for more!). Please can anyone give any advice on what they think is a reasonable hourly rate? I live in Surrey.

Three days of the week I pick up from school and have prepared a home cooked meal for the whole family. The time I go home is random depending on what time one of the parents comes home.

My main issues are that we're working on a casual basis so during school breaks I'm not earning anything. Also, very often I'm told last minute that I'm not needed for one of the pick ups so it's very difficult to plan my own finances. I don't want to fleece them, but I do need to be earning the right amount for what I'm doing or I won't be able to carry on.

Thanks for reading and any advice gratefully received!

Are you caring for them in your home or theirs?

Hi - I look after them at their house (but cook at mine).

Ok so you are operating as a nanny.
First two things I would do are either start cooking at their house or charging them for food as that must cost you a fortune. 2nd easy fix for uncertainty of hours, is bill in advance - it really shouldn't be your problem if they cancel if you are making yourself available.

You might want to look carefully at your self employment status as it sounds more like employment to me and you could get in big trouble if HMRC decide to investigate. As to costs, you need to find out average nanny rate for your area but I'd be surprised if it wasn't too far off your current rate (assuming this is take-home not gross?) That said, I'm assume most after-school nannies would have a minimum set as you don't want to go to the hassle of picking up, taking them home etc and only be paid £10 some days.

Thank you, yes have been thinking carefully about the tax issues recently. The £10 p/h is gross and any tax payable will be coming out of it. Also, they cover the food expenses as well as the time it takes to shop/cook etc.
I suppose I really need to know whether the minimum hours thing is reasonable, as you’re right in thinking that some days it could be just 1 or 1.5 hours (my mum thinks I should charge an hour for any part of an hour but so far have been adding up exactly). And whether it’s the norm to be paid if say the parents decide they’ve not had enough time with their kids this week and so they’re going to do pick ups instead.

Why don't you switch it round and charge like a childminder? In London that is £6 per child per hour. You charge even if they decide they don't need you too. I don't see how this works for you as an income. Cook at their house then it is their electricity heating etc. They are getting a bargain with you.

Minimum three hours charge too.

I'm a childminder btw!

If you are looking for something else to do aside from that, PM me as I have another thing I do.

Cooking at your house I feel is a bit weird. You are being paid for your time doing the cooking and shopping and the ingredients, so why not do it at their house where you are using their electricity/gas? Is there some particular advantage to you for doing it at your home that outweighs the cost?

Surrey is a large county and what people get paid for doing childcare varies a lot I find. Where I am in West Surrey outside of the M25 it can vary from £10-£18 gross an hour with shorter hours being higher up that scale generally. Some parents can afford to pay a lot and do so, thus the range is pretty big. I expect some people may earn less than £10 gross, especially those just starting out. Look around at agency listings to see if you can get a feel for what jobs are offering in your area, such as by looking on www.nannyjob.co.uk

Having a minimum number of hours is reasonable. I do a 20 hour per week term time only job (paid holiday 12.07% of working hours is taken in school holidays) and I expect to be paid for all 20 hours regardless of if they are used or not. I make myself available for those 20 hours during term time.

It's not clear if you are an employee or not, so make sure you understand your employment status in this work as that will help determine what happens if the parents suddenly decide to pickup the children themselves one day. They may have given you a contract stating working days and working hours, or they may have given you a contract which is more of a zero hour one so nothing is guaranteed. Alternatively you may be providing them with an ad-hoc service, so you set your own terms of business.