Novice Nanny Employer!

[Mamasonachan]

I am going back to work at the end of September after having my second child - I have never employed a nanny before and live in Putney, SW15.

I am trying to find a live out nanny to look after my two girls - who will then be 3 and just 5 1/2 months/

I have been trawling Gumtree and nanny job to try and work out what the going rate is - we need someone to work 5 days a week from 9am - 6pm - is 300 per week an ok amount or do I need to look at much more than this??

Is there such a thing as a live out Aupair?! My husband works from home so we are wondering if this might be an option.

Please Help!

I'm a live in nanny in london and earn £400 net a week so i think thats a little on the low side for live out. You should probably aim to pay about £400 net a week but the hours are good so you may get someone a bit cheaper. There are live out aupairs but they don't work as many hours as you need i don't think. Good luck.

Just had a look on Tinies website and £400-£450 Net per week, looks typical there for London SW, full-time, live-out.

Roughly £28,100 Gross - £32,000 Gross, cost to employer roughly £31,000 - £35500

How many hours per day does your DH work? If he is only doing a couple of hours work a day at home, then perhaps you can find a shared-care nanny, which may not cost as much. Also you may not need an experienced nanny, which could help reduce the cost.

However, an au-pair (under au-pair scheme) would not work in my view, as the number of hours childcare they can provide is limited, they are often not live-out, and given lack of childcare experience, should not really be left for long periods with young children - au-pairs are better for school aged children.

How much you pay a nanny however is not governed by the wages listed by agencies. You as the employer decide for yourself what you can afford, then look for a nanny who will do the job for that price.

Therefore, advertise the position at the price you can afford, and see what interest you get. You never know your luck you may find someone prepared to accept a lot less than the wages listed by agencies, as there are many factors regarding why someone chooses a job. For example, I accepted a lower wage to be able to work in the village next to mine, lovely not to have a long commute to work!

If you can offer a live in position (perhaps by having the two girls share a room?) you will find it much cheaper.

I;m not sure what the going rate is for live-out nannies, but I certainly wouldn't need to pay £400 net to find a good live in nanny. But, then, I'm sure there are those who pay more as well.

Agencies of course! inflate the prices. So, I wouldn't recommend talking to them if money is an issue.

As for an au pair, I think 5 1/2 months is too you to trust to an au pair. However, if a live in position is apossibility, you might have an au pair who simple does the clidcare run to a local childminder or nursery. Though, even that I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with. Also, au pairs typically require a lot more managing than nannies do.

Thanks so much everyone for your words of wisdom! I think you have confirmed what I was already thinking - wish me luck - so scarey leaving the most important people in my world at all - but am sure we will find a good solution!

I think 300 per week net is fair for a nanny, don't forget on top of that though you have the taxes.

£300 net sounds fair to me

dont forget you only have 2 children (= a plus point for a nanny, many of us have 3+ childrne to look after)

and a 9am start.... and this IMO would be heavenly!.... most of us start at 8 and many even earlier!