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Paid childcare

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

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Original poster

nanny wages for babysitting?

11 replies

lucywill · 17/04/2008 18:52

hi there, be grateful for any thoughts.. we've found a really lovely live out nanny who will be working 3 and then from september 4 days for us. i am paying ( i think )quite a lot - eg £10 net per hour so around about £450 for 3 days - 9am -7pm ...but she is great and has 12 years experience so I have accepted this is what she wants and therefore is worth.

However, I also wanted to agree one or two nights babysitting a week and pay a bit less, as that seems to be the norm with my local friends ( we live in london in zone 2) ...and er, the kids will be asleep - but she absolutely wants £10 per hour too. I have agreed this - negotiating the whole thing with the agency ( who I am also obviously paying £££££££££ too) and am now feeling a bit worried I am really paying out too much.

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frannikin · 17/04/2008 18:59

To be honest your nanny is effectively working overtime and doesn't really have to agree to babysitting. How would you feel if your boss said "can you work 6 hours late tonight and I'll pay you 75% of your normal hourly wage for the work you're doing"? She's still out of her house and spending time away from her life even if your children are asleep.

Whether you're paying over the odds for her usually or not I couldn't comment but I think she should be getting at least her normal hourly wage for babysitting. If you're that fussed then there are other babysitters around.

phraedd · 17/04/2008 19:03

I think that a lot of qualified and/or experienced nannies charge £10 per hour for babysitting

At least she will know the childen and house well and will be able to cope in an emergency

nannynick · 17/04/2008 19:33

Babysitting £10 per hour in my area (Surrey/North Hampshire) is certainly usual for a qualified experienced nanny. Been that way for a couple of years now.

imananny · 17/04/2008 19:50

Asking for £10nett during working hours with only 12yrs experience does seem a lot - bet you could get an older nanny with more exp for same amount.

saying that, I agree with frannikin - your nanny will be still on call, and on overtime,and if been working since 8am, she does need to be paid her normal hourly rate

As nick says, the normal rate for bs in his area is £10,and the same in mine.

Maybe not include bs as part of the contract - I never do, but if given notice, and if I AM FREE ( AND POOR )then more than happy to bs - whether for my mb or friends employers.

generally live out nannies dont have bs duties as a must.

Original poster

lucywill · 17/04/2008 20:58

Ok, thanks that is actually very helpful. I take the point about overtime - why should it be paid at less - should be more in a way!THANKS.

OP posts:

imananny · 18/04/2008 08:53

true lucy - overtime is normally paid time and a half - hmmmmmmmmmmmmm [makes mental note toself]

AtheneNoctua · 18/04/2008 09:11

Why don't you pay £10 per hour in cash for babysitting? Or join sitters.co.uk?

I think nannies who babysit for a lower rate than the usual nanny rate are generally live-in.

I would have a hard time coughing up £10/hour for babysitting and paying tax on top of that. Much cheaper to hire sitters.

My nanny does b-sit for a less than £10/hour, but she is live in so it's not the same inconvenince that it is to a live out nanny who then can't go home. There is no extra work for her, it just means she has to stay home.

imananny · 18/04/2008 12:52

Athene - dont think anyone would pay tax on top of bs rather than just pay cash?? or do they?

AtheneNoctua · 18/04/2008 14:41

Yes some (silly) people put it in the contract and make it part of the salary.

Anchovy · 18/04/2008 14:50

My nanny is live out, and I pay her at time and a half for babysitting.

For exactly the same reason as people on here say - she is effectively doing overtime.

We have an agreement that I don't pay for 30-40 mins, if we get badly caught out etc. That is a sort of buffer and evens out with when I get back early and she knocks off early etc. However if she is doing full babysitting she does get paid for that 30-40 mins. We never take the piss on this and she is probably net winner, so no hard feelings.

What tends to happen therefore is I ask our nanny to babysit if it is something straight after work so she has to put the DCs to bed. Otherwise we come home, put the DCs to bed and get the teenage girl next door to babysit (£20 an evening, with a few snacks thrown in and access to our wide selection of satellite telly channels!) )

BirdyArms · 18/04/2008 22:33

I know exactly how you feel Lucywill - our nanny also charged £10 ph for babysitting. It does seem a lot to me as so very much easier than looking after a one and 3 yr old for which I paid her the same amount during the day. I felt like leaving her a pile of ironing/ name tape sewing but suspect that would have gone down very badly. I have only ever used her in an emergency when I need someone to put the children to bed. I can understand it from the nannies point of view too though.

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