Is this extortionate for a nanny?

[planningaparty86]

We are north west based. My nanny charges £15ph net, with tax and NI etc that equates to just under £19 ph. So an 8-6day is nearly £200.

She's great with the kids in terms of activities and taking them out although I must admit I've been underwhelmed with the food - pizza for lunch is on the menu very often. She's also very pernickety in terms of mileage. If she drives 1 mile to the local park, it goes on the "extras" list.

I also kinda expect that for that price she would be doing lots of jobs around the house for me. She tends to fold away my washing but that is it.

She has 2 children under 5 to care for atm during summer hols, after September it'll mainly be just the 2 year old. Putting the 2yo in nursery would be £60 (including all good) a day whereas the nanny will be £160-200. Plus food, plus whatever she spends on days out, plus mileage.

Struggling to see the value I am getting here and thinking that she is extortionately expensive especially for this part of the world.

Any views?!

For us, it would cost about £80 for the 2 year old (less when 30 hours funding kicks in) and £25 for wraparound for the 5 year old, £50 for the 5 year old for the 3-4 weeks of the holidays that we need holiday club for.

Considerably cheaper than the £200+ a day the nanny is costing. It wouldn't be pennies, it would be savings of £95 a day during termtime.

But yeah it will depend on how good the local provision is and how flexible her and her DH 's jobs are.

I have friends who work as nannies who are paid £60k plus a year. That’s not just London but are through high value agencies. They do not do housekeeping but do prepare meals and do nursery duties such as organise wardrobes and keep the playroom tidy etc. They are all excellent and highly qualified. One uses her own car, the others use a family car so do not charge mileage on top. They are expected to travel with the family and do long days with no set lunch hour off etc. Good nannies are expensive.

I think you have a reasonable deal but if not happy with meals, say.

The going rate over 20 years ago was £80- £100 a day so it's hardly extortionate.

Talk about what you expect in terms of meals.

Why shouldn't she be paid for mileage, wouldn't you claim for expenses at work?

Surely as the employer it’s up to you to decide what a nanny’s duties are? I would expect the nanny to give the children breakfast then dress them when they arrive at 8am. I would provide a meal plan for lunches and tea, ensuring all the ingredients are in the house! Nanny would prep lunch and tea, and if the children are under 5, bathe them before leaving.
I would not expect them to do any other chores that are not associated with the children. Yes to children’s laundry, tidying up their toys and prepping / clearing up at meal times. No to household laundry / housekeeping / meal prep.

Oh, and if the nanny is bringing their own child during school holidays, I would expect a reduction in their salary!

Its roughly what we pay ours - she looks after our twins. Have to admit she's never asked us for mileage, but it's rare that they drive as lots of things are walking distance from us. We do of course pay for some activities on top, but she takes the out to the playground and makes good use of the garden/playroom for most of the time.

Pizza too often - have you spoken to her? If they are wholewheat bases and the kids are decorating them with healthy veg then that's different from other possible scenarios. If you want her to do it less, make other suggestions. Mine eat a lot of pasta, but it's what they like! They have plenty of fruit/veg/protein across the course of the day with her.

For two kids definitely worth it!
not worth it for one child.

also I wouldn’t bother getting my children dressed for the day if the nanny comes at 8am - get her to do it!

I think the value Is (off the top of my head!):
-she comes to you (no drop-off, pick up, to do)
-no sick days ! My son has committed this morning. Due to 48 hour rule this means he now can’t go to nursery Monday. I wouldn’t under estimate this at all!
-you can set the agenda more ! I guess you can suggest or tell her where to take the children? Nursery run their own agenda
-your child gets 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 care, as opposed to nursery ratios (3 -to-1 for under 2s).

Honestly that’s loads. I have one in nursery and would LOVE a nanny.
man’s no you can’t expect loads of housework, that’s not nanny’s remit.
children’s laundry maybe.

My son has vomitted stupid typo

I feel a bit sorry for your nanny, you sound like you resent her even though you say she’s great with the kids. You must have known her hourly rate when you employed her? If you don’t want her feeding your kids pizza too often tell her, give her some ideas of what you would like them to have. As for mileage of course she should charge you if it’s for the benefit of your children. One mile every so often adds up over a year. Leave getting the kids dressed in the morning to her, save yourself a job. If you have always had them ready when she arrives why would she question it? And as for the witching hour, what do you expect her to do about that? Stay on to help? Nursery would be cheaper and would allow your nanny to find somebody who appreciates her.

Our fantastic nursery charges about £65 per day I think. south east

A good nanny is worth their weight in gold. But it's especially worth it for multiple kids, especially with nursery and/or school runs etc. A nanny for just one kid is an expensive option.

For me, it's worth the extra money just being able to leave the house in the morning without having to get the kids fed and dressed and out the door with me!

Exactly this

Quick calculation, that if Nanny works 48 weeks of the year, her salary is £32,000 after tax - its not huge.

I wonder what OP's job is and what she's earning while Nanny looks after her children.

It all depends on if you value individual or group care for your young child. There are pros and cons to each.

For a 2yo, I think you would be insane to use a nursery if you can afford the personalized care of a nanny.

if you want better lunches, sit down with her and work on a menu. She absolutely should be charging all her mileage and expenses so you need to let that one go.

once your older child goes to school, if your younger one still naps, she may have more downtime. She still needs a break just to be clear. It is a long day and she is entitled to as much of a lunch/tea break as a nanny can manage. However, if she can eek that out and there is still time left, then you can talk about child related chores she could be doing.

some people disagree, but I think emptying the dishwasher and putting away the dishes is acceptable since it is likely mostly filled with child related dishes. that is an easy, defined daily task off your to-do list. It’s also one toddlers can help with, though it does make the task take much longer.

I thought Nanny's didn't do housework but Au Pairs did. Maybe you would be better off with an Au Pair than a Nanny. I'd keep the Nanny what she is looking after 2 children but give notice for the end of August and put the 2 year old into a nursery because he will get more socialisation with other children than on his own.

I think your problem is that you aren’t clearly communicating your expectations to your Nanny. If you would prefer that she fed your children a healthier meal plan or does things a bit differently then ask her at stay for dinner one evening for a bit of a catch up, chat through how you are both finding things and politely request a few things of her going forwards. I was a Nanny for many years and the best jobs were the ones where we both had open communication and were both able to take a bit of constructive criticism. My best Nanny job they would invite me to stay for dinner one evening every 3 months and we would chat about the children’s development, what we’d be doing recently, anything that was bothering them or me.

I think that’s a lot. As a very experienced teacher I earn £130 a day as a supply teacher, hours 8.15 ish to 3.45 ish (primary). And that’s for teaching 30 children I’ve maybe never met before, no job security or holiday pay etc. Think I’ll become a nanny!

It wouldn't just be £60/day for nursery though. It would also be breakfast club, afterschool club, holiday club which all adds up. Once the older ones at school you may find she does more house jobs, but you can only really expect kid related stuff (eg sort toys, kids laundry, kids cooking)

But equally the mileage and the activities and the food adds up for the nanny option.

We use wraparound and holiday clubs and it's nowhere near as expensive as a nanny. Breakfast and after school club include a hot meal, nursery when we had that included all meals and nappies.

The other thing that I personally like about nursery/wraparound care is that the house stays a lot cleaner and tidier with the kids out for some days.

The difference is you get consistent childcare unlike nursery where there's a 48 hour exclusion for every sick bug - and they get A LOTnin the first year. I nearly lost my job over the time I had to take off.

Depends on your nanny, your job and your child really.

My first had a lot of bugs, my second had had 3 days off nursery/school in total and he is 4! We can WFH around sick children which makes it easier.

I think the nanny is the best option if you have an inflexible or long hours job and/or multiple children under 5 but for us we just don't need it and it sounds like the OP may not either

You can tell her to do different food.
You could probably find someone cheaper up north too.

The nanny's salary is in the region £49k if she works 5 days a week, not £32k, isn't it?

OP what does your contract say wrt duties? Can you leave dressing the children to the nanny, and who is buying the pizzas?

I’d agree a gross hourly rate never a net one. We were paying £15 gross pre-covid in London so it’s a bit steep but not unreasonably so.

Id expect her to do the children’s clothes, food and tidy toys etc. I wouldn’t expect housework though I did expect ours to load the dishwasher and tidy up the kitchen following the children’s meals etc.

With only one child in school our nanny was a godsend. We didn’t have to worry about school holidays or school pick-ups, DC got to come home after school rather than ASC and we didn’t have to deliver two children to various places in the morning. It was expensive. It was worth it though.