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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Original poster

live in job...

41 replies

missiesparkles · 02/03/2008 17:53

went for an interview the other week, accomodation was a lovely 1 bed flat at the bottom of the house... having not done live in for a million years and only just started applying for live in jobs, I'm not sure what the going rate is for FT live in these days???

the family was offering £200 gross per week... which would end up as about £150 per week net right? for 8am - 7.30pm... wasn't sure what to make of that!!

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RahRahRachel · 02/03/2008 17:56

Is that in London? That seems very low! A couple of years ago I had an interview for a live-in job 8am-6pm and I think they were offering £250 net a week - and I think that was on the lower end of the scale.

soapbox · 02/03/2008 17:56

Well depending on where it is, I suppose they could rent the flat our for £200 ish a week, so they have probably built that in to their calculations.

You would be better off going for a job with less 'exciting' accomodation but larger wages I think

RahRahRachel · 02/03/2008 18:02

I don't think how "nice" the accomodation is makes a difference - whether it's self contained or just a room in the house.

Original poster
missiesparkles · 02/03/2008 18:46

its in south london
I don't think the accomodation should be relivent either tbh, its their choice to offer a flat not just a room - so if they have calculated the flat into their wage, thats not really fair!
I did think £140/£150 nett sounded a bit low for 55+ hours...

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nannynick · 02/03/2008 18:51

Sounds low to me, but then I don't do live-in jobs.

Have you searched for other live-in jobs in the local area, and compared what they are offering salary wise? Looking at the local marketplace in general, will with luck give you a better idea of if the salary they are offering is typical, or below average.

Original poster
missiesparkles · 02/03/2008 18:55

well I've had a look on gumtree and for mothers helps it seems to be £150-£200 per week and for nannies its upwards of £250 per wekk which I'm assuming is nett

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nannyj · 02/03/2008 20:54

I'm a live in nanny and have a flat and i earn £400 net a week. I'm in SW London. going rate i would say is £300 - £400 in London for live in but of course there are jobs that pay less and more depending on the nannies experience etc.

Original poster
missiesparkles · 02/03/2008 21:21

well its south east london and I have 7, nearly 8 years sole charge experience

(I didn't mean that to sound arsey btw!!)

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Coolmama · 02/03/2008 21:22

we ave a live-in nanny in central london (room and en-suite) and she is paid £400 nett/week and works 9 - 7pm. Generally, live-in nannies around here are all about 3 - 400/week depending on experience. TBH, what you have been offered sounds a bit on the low side.

Original poster
missiesparkles · 03/03/2008 12:29

well they've offered me the job at £200 gross a week... I'm not sure what to do???
I really did like them as people but am I really in a position to negotiate the wage???

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LoveMyGirls · 03/03/2008 12:36

Theres no point taking it if you're not happy about the wage for those hours. If you don't ask you don't get, are you really prepared to take the job at that rate, could you find another job easily for more money? Do you like the family? Lots of things to consider.

Personally I'd want more money and would ask if they were willing to negotiate on salary if not then consider if you would still like to take it. They may suprise you and say yes then you can ask for say £250 and perhaps compromise on £225?

Page62 · 03/03/2008 12:40

the low wage will always grate.
i would ask for more money or go find another job.
i have a live-in nanny and pay her £320net per week. She doesn't have her own flat (but own room and bathroom) , but i think she would prefer to be paid better

Original poster
missiesparkles · 03/03/2008 12:54

well I emailed her and said -

The salary - is this negotiable at all?
As I mentioned, I'm used to living out so I totally understand the
fact that there will be a big difference in the wages. As I have got a
good few years of experience, I do ask for £8 nett live out.
I also totally understand that the job comes with the fantastic one
bed flat (that I cannot stress enough how excited I am about!!!)
But I'm not sure about £200 gross for the hours (55+)
I really don't want it to be a sticking point though, as I would
really love to work for you and become a part of your family as I feel
that X will be a lovely little girl to work with and I really
liked both X and X

so wish me luck... I hope she doesn't tell me where to stick it...

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RahRahRachel · 03/03/2008 18:16

For those hours, and with your experience, in London, I wouldn't take less than £250 net tbh.

£200 gross sounds more like a mother's help wage, or for someone just starting out as a nanny.

Original poster
missiesparkles · 03/03/2008 18:25

well she emailed me back and said the most they could go to is £230 gross

I'm going to have a think about it and go through the contract when she sends it to me... tbh, I know the wage is low but I'm not really in a position to be passing up jobs as I've been unemployed for 6 months and have been messed around by several families which is a bit of a rubbish place to be in but there you go!

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nannynick · 03/03/2008 19:26

£230 gross is about £190 net - should you want to know for comparison purposes.

As you are looking for live-in jobs... why work in London, you could get live-in jobs elsewhere in the country paying that sort of amount, and experience what life is like in another place (where cost of living may be less, so your money goes further). Just a thought.

ShinyDysonHereICome · 03/03/2008 19:33

Are the family going to be responsible for all your household/utility bills?

You might like to check this out before making a decision.

mysonsmummy · 03/03/2008 19:40

how much does it work out an hour? sorry my maths is terrible

nannynick · 03/03/2008 19:42

If £230 a week, 55 hours, it's about 4.18 per working hour.
NMW does not apply for live-in jobs.

Original poster
missiesparkles · 03/03/2008 19:45

nannynick - I don't want to move out of london lol! I have family connections here and I don't drive so it would be a tad pointless really... I wasn't really looking for live in jobs as such, its just this job is about 15 mins from my boyfriend so I applied for it and here we are!

ShinyDysonHereICome - yes, they are paying all bills except TV/SKY (sky is if I want it - I have a freeview box so might give that a miss for a while!)

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Bos15 · 04/03/2008 11:40

what about your holiday?

Original poster
missiesparkles · 04/03/2008 14:29

20 days plus bank hoildays but nearly half of it is over christmas... which isn't too bad I guess

most nanny jobs are 2 weeks on both sides aren't they???

although I've been pretty lucky, most of the families I've worked for have been quite generous with holiday allowance.

I'm gonna do 3 weeks of 2 x days with them (live out) which will help me to get more of an idea... but I have been talking to her A LOT over the past couple of days + I do like her so fingers crossed it'll all work out

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eleusis · 04/03/2008 14:47

You might have a look round the neighborhood and see what it would cost to rent your own place and subtracts that cost from you usual live out wage and see what's left over for you after paying food, utilities, etc. Then compare that figure to the £190 you will have each week at this job. You might find out the live-in job is not so low after all.

I do think there is more to being happy in a job than the amount of pay -- and that goes for any job, not just nannies. If get along with and communicate well with the parents, if the parents support you in your role, if they they try not to take advantage of you (i.e. show up home on time), etc. These things all matter as well.

I've never been know for paying out huge salaraies. But I bend over backwards to make the nanny welcome in our home. And I do things other employer's woudln't - rides to and from airport. I let friends sleep over when they don't want to go home to abusive boyfriends. I even suggested to one nanny that she make the most of out time away and throw a party in our house while we were on holiday. (although I did draw the line when I came home and realised our bed had been "slept" in). Everyone was sad when this nanny left, and it wasn't because I paid her vast sums of money.

Original poster
missiesparkles · 04/03/2008 14:59

you know eleusis, I actually did a bit of flat cost research and the lowest I found for a one bed flat in the area, is £700 a month (others were A HELL of a lot more), and thats just the rent...
I think tbh, I'm not gonna let the money be a sticking point, I'd be a damn fool to pass up the oppertunity to work in a career I like (with one child!! eee!) with people that I actually think are nice and all with a one bed flat all paid for...

plus one of the things that struck me about her was the fact she made a point of saying "don't feel you have to shut yourself away at the end of the night, if you want to share a bottle of wine or watch a film your welcome to, we really want someone to feel a real part of our family!"

in fact, I'm not normally a money driven person, I've just had a few jobs fall through and I think its blinkered me somewhat...

thank you for your voice of reason

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eleusis · 04/03/2008 15:16

Good luck. I could you put in touch with our old nanny if you want and you could talk to her about how important the money is and if she is glad she worked for us and why, and so on...

I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you. She is in Canadaso it would be an e-mail or online chat. If you cat me your e-mail address I'll pass it to her.

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