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?!

Nannies are a luxury, no one employs a nanny because it will be cheap.

If you can’t afford to employ someone, don’t - there are other more budget friendly options.

For your area she is higher end of salary

London is 16/20g

Kent 15/16g

Always always always do gross !!!

She is a nanny so won't do your housework

As a nanny I would cook what the parents had in the fridge freezer - do uou buy a lot of pizzas ?

What is in your fridge ?

Mileage. Yes you have to pay
It. All the ,45p per mile add up

If you used nursery who would take .pick up your eldest to school and cover school holidays

She can walk. A mile is ridiculous to claim or drive.

Plus op you should plan the menu for her to prepare. You employ her.

Have you tried to get a childminder?

Would you work a 10 hour day, 5 days a week for £200?

I wouldn't.

What about school drop off and pick up as well as nursery drop and collect?

My kids benefited from being at home after school and being able to go to clubs / activities.

As for morning / witching hour... you can leave them in their pjs until she gets there or ask her to start earlier... and get her to give them early tea so it's only play, bath and chilled story time when you get home.

As for other jobs... that is not what she is paid for.... but maybe you could think about what you might ask her to do and whether it is fair to ask a childcare professionato do these tasks.

She can walk. A mile is ridiculous to claim or drive.

The park is a mile away (and another mile back) and she'll be walking with two children, 2 and 4.

A mile is fine for most kids to walk. The younger one can be in a pushchair.

See if you can get a gardener/mechanic/plumber for that hourly rate. You don't value her time because she's a woman. If you don't like it, vote with your feet and go elsewhere.

Buggy and buggy board, 20 mins walk.

I am biased because I am a Londoner but it wouldn't occur to drive that

think it may be a little more now but certainly half what the OP is paying for the nanny
But that would be per child OP has two children so it's not actually that different and the children are getting personalised attention outings etc instead of being in a room with other babies/toddlers. She also doesn't have to take the children anywhere.
I don't think the nanny is charging too much nor that she should be doing housework that's not her job

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.

Au pairs don't have sole charge of a baby for 10 hours a day.

I think that's towards the top end for nannies in London, so it seems a lot for NW, but it depends on the market, if there are more jobs than great nannies then she can ask the same as a London nanny would.

In terms of whether it's worth it... It means your children can be together, in their own home with a much smaller ratio and one consistent and involved caregiver. It means they can have activities planned to meet their specific needs and interests. It means they're not dragged out on cold winter mornings and not being picked up from childcare at 6pm to rush home for bath/bed. It means your older one can have playdates and doesn't need to be at school 8-6pm or at camps all holiday. It means you can leave in the morning without the stress of getting the kids out the house too. It means you can come home without worrying you might be a few mins late for pick-up to find your child the last one left at school/nursery and annoyed.

It's luxury childcare for sure, only you know if it's worth it, like private education or business class flights....depends how much comfort you want your kids to live with.

If I could afford it, there's no way I'd put my kids in a nursery when they could be looked after at home, on a one to one/two basis.

Much better to have them looked after by a nanny because you'd get better childcare in my opinion.

And that's fine. A 20 min walk is fine for a four year old and presumably the OP has a buggy for the 2 year old.

We made the switch at 2.5yo, same logic as you. Having a nanny was very convenient and I liked knowing she was cared for in her own home for the second year, and it made my re-entry from work after mat leave much easier. Nursery transition went well.

It sounds a lot of money, but you have to think about the long hours a nanny works.

My DD, aged 19, is not a qualified nanny but has got experience of working in nursery and other child care settings. She charges £15 per hour for private work; currently looking after twins for £17.50 per hour. Sometimes she does a 10 hour day (8am-6pm typical, but can be other times).

So up to £175 per day. There seems to be quite a lot of demand for this kind of work as not all parents can work around a nursery schedule, and/or one of the parents travels for work, and/or the shifts are irregular, sometimes including weekend time.

I’ve done both nursery and nanny, and what ponderingwindow said, nursery - unless you’ve got some sort of amazing provision, is much less good. Less interaction, less attention. That’s why it’s cheaper.

Your particular issue seems to be that you are paying a premium salary for a
person you don’t think is amazing.

But I would rush into nursery for 2 year old, and imagine that the level of care is the same - there is a reason it costs less.

We switched at about age 2 for dc2 and honestly, I wish I hadn’t. The next 18 months were one long disaster of poor care and worry.

And the other way round. Nannies get sick too and then can't work but nurseries will stay open.

My nanny arrives at 8:30am - I don't get the children dressed.

Can't you leave them in their pyjamas until she arrives?

One the of reasons I pay for a nanny over nurseries is to avoid rushing in the morning. I pour them some cereal and then get myself ready- it's very relaxing!

Even if you are paying her through a nanny payroll system (not sure, do you have to pay into a pension for her?), one of the downsides is how exposed you can be if she goes on maternity leave..we only had a nanny for a year or so but we mutually agreed we wouldn't pay sick or maternity leave in return for a better rate of pay.

Nannies are expensive op.
Why do you think they should be otherwise?
Most people can't afford them.

I get around £14 gross per hour in Surrey, so it sounds on the high side to me, but that is the salary you decided. Maybe there are not many nannies in your area, so your applicant pool was small and you needed to offer a high salary to attract candidates.

Any use of their car would be a mileage claim. Not sure why they could not walk to a local park. I would be encouraging them to walk more.

That's actually illegal. All employees are entitled to smp by law !!

Paying a qualified person a livable wage plus genuine expenses really isn't extortion @planningaparty86. What do you earn, double that?
Where you went wrong is employing a Nanny, not an old fashioned "Mother's Help". You should have stated in your contract and advertisement that the duties included cleaning and cooking a lunch time meal.