On-call rates for childcare for when I'm on-call (midwife)

[Kezia72]

Hi all. I'm a single mum, and a midwife. I have a lodger who does childcare for me sometimes. I currently pay 10 per hour for waking and 50 for a sleeping night (she lives here in our house anyway). The kids are 8 and 10, so very unlikely to need anything in the night, but obviously can't be left. I am about to start a job where I will on-call for homebirths. Most of the time I won't be called, but of course I need someone on hand in care I do. So I would ask her to be on-call when I am on call. So I get called to a home birth and call her to let her know to come home, or stay home, for the kids whilst I'm out. I will pay her usual rates when I am actually called out, but what would be a reasonable rate for her just being on-call and not called out do you think? Any doctors or other on-call people have any experience of this? Thanks, Kezia.

What portion of your wage do you get for being on call if not called? I would use that as a startling point.

But it depends as well on how the expectations differ and v what the inconvenience is, overnight I can't see how babysitting is different to being on call, she will have to be sober and at/near home presumably. So perhaps just use the sleeping rate as the on call rate regardless of the time of day.

This is so difficult. I was in the same situation as you 20 years ago. At that time midwives got 50p per night for being on call and yes thats was per night not per hour! I expect it's not much different now. Legally you should get minimum wage for every hour on call , I learned that when I joined a nursing agency. But I expect you dont.
I was out of pocket for on call nights. I paid the same as if I wasnt there as the babysitter was sleeping in a home that wasnt hers and couldnt drink etc.

Have you asked your lodger if she is actually happy to do this? I wouldn't want to be on call for someone else's childcare and unable to go out, have a drink or go to bed early unless I was getting paid a reasonable amount.

Thanks @WreathsAndRopes and @Cora1942. Yes - we really don't get much for being on call if we are not called out. Not sure exactly how much, I'll find out soon, but about 10 or 15 pounds I think. It is not quite the same as a babysitter as it is where she lives, but of course it would mean she would have to be in, or near. And if it was during day hours couldn't take another job. Its annoying as I most likely won't be called, so it could all get quite expensive! @BeanBag7, yes, it is part of the agreement that she does childcare and we are tying to sort it out fairly with my new contract. She can totally go to bed though. They are 8yrs and 10yrs, so no-one has to stay awake or anything. I just can't leave them in the house alone. But she can have friends over, have a glass of wine etc, no problem. I certainly do! She is my friend, and flatmate and friend of the whole family.

Ask her what she thinks would be reasonable. For overnight, when she is home anyway she might be happy with a token payment. But daytime on calls are restrictive. At 8 and 10 would you have any family who would drive over and pick your children up if you got called. Are they sensible enough to leave alone for 20 to 30 minutes while they wait to be picked up?
I was a community midwife for 15 years and only have called out on a handful of occasions. Sometimes we were called into the unit when they were short staffed but then I would have time to sort childcare. Good luck and well done you because it's not easy.

@Cora1942 yes they are definitely sensible enough to be left whist someone makes their way over. Yes - token amount for sleeping at home on-call and more like 5 pounds or per hour for day-time on call maybe. I'll discuss it with her. I just wanted to get a proposal or some ideas together first, as it's not fair on her to just say 'what do you think'. Thanks for your help!

Hi op, this sounds so tricky and I imagine must be very stressful for you.
I wonder, do you have any other people you could call on in an emergency? If you do, instead of paying your lodger an on call fee, you could maybe agree that she can carry on doing whatever she wants and if you get called, you will ask her first and if you use her you could pay her a bit extra for those hours? But make it clear that if she isn't available then no problem. That way, she gets a bit more money on the emergency days, you save money by not having to pay her each day but she can still get on with her life.
I know you said you don't mind her having a drink, but as a professional nanny, I would never drink while I'm being paid as, even though I know I could have one glass of wine and feel fine, I always think if the children were to fall ill/ have an accident and I had to get them to hospital, it may be damaging to my career if I've had a drink. Everyone is different though.

Thanks OP, you've given me food for thought. Also a midwife. Doing on calls. I'm a single mum, but have a boyfriend who currently helps with my on calls. But obviously these things can sometimes not work out. So I have been considering what future options I have (mine are still only 7 and 4, one with SEN).
Fwiw I get £20 a month for my 2 on calls. Depressing really. Our agreement (I say our, I had no choice!) is 1% of your wage per annum as an uplift. I earn 24k per year for my 24 hours per week. So my on call works out at £240 per year. No one else would be on call for so little! Also, it is detrimental to part timers as full timers on 37k do the same number of on calls, but get £30 a month.... grrrr. Rant over!

When I was a midwife I worked for an agency for a short period. I did some community work for the same team I had previously worked for. The NHS manager asked me to do an on call. I was happy to do it. However the agency said I would have to be paid minimum wage for each hour overnight. They said as a midwife you had to go straight away to an emergency and couldnt do anything else in that time you had to be paid the legal minimum. I didnt do the on call as it wasnt fair on my colleagues but it always made me think how the NHS gets away with breaking the law.

@ThisMustBeMyDream sorry to be off topic but if you’re on A4C terms and part time, your % allowance is higher if you do the same pattern as full timers so you get the same £ amount. If that makes sense.

Hope you work it out OP :)

I definitely don't get a higher percentage. My colleagues shared theirs with me and theirs is higher for the same amount of on calls. 😬😬😬😬 I will have a search through a4c though.