Some nanny questions!

[AskABusyPerson]

My sister is due to go back to work after maternity leave in October to her office reception job 2 days a week but is wondering whether nannying would bring in a similar income (minimum £450 per month nett) and would also mean no childcare issues for her own ds.

So my questons are:

for 2 or 3 days a week would the going rate be £6-£8 per hour nett? Looked on nannyjob for our area (Mid beds / North herts)

would parents be okay with her having her ds with her (he'll be 9 months by then)

are most nannies expected to do bit of cleaning / tidying / cooking etc? She's more than happy to do this, just wondered what the common jobs were!

Thanks in advance for your time!

Oh and she's obviously got no nanny qualifications, although has got experience in children, not only her own ds, but babysat / cared for my dd when little, and helped me run Brownies for 2 years. Also did a primary school teaching job for 2 terms.

Would the lack of qualification mean no job offers?

Does she have any other experience of children apart from her own son? Most employers would look for this.

£6 - £8 nett is about right. Some employers offer a bit less if bringing your own child.

Cleaning/tidying/cooking in relation to the children is the norm.

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That experience would help. She would be wise to do a paediatric first aid course too.

unfort exp looking after relatives children doesnt count, and you wouldnt be able to do a ref for her

so she would be starting off with no exp or quals in childcare BUT doesnt mean she might not be able to find a job but would def be harder

would be worth her talking to local nanny agencies to see what they say

a 2 day job paying £6ph for 10hrs is £120 in the hand - obv tax and Ni would be paid by employer - so salary would be about the same

many parents dont mind nannies with children, just as some dont like them

maybe she could look around at a job with school age children,so she would be on call if they were ill, but otherwise once had done charges washing/tidying playroom etc, would have the day to herself and her dd

its not impossible

with no experiance or Quals no agency that i use would have her in their books (they all reqire at least 2 years exp and / or qualifications)

also worth beaing in mind without qualifications the parents wouldnt be able to use any of the voucher shemes, which may put the parents off

some parenst dont like a nanny with their own children
other parenst would be happy for their nanny to return to work with her baby, but not necesarily employ a new one with a baby

IMO generally those who want to pay less for a nanny and arnt so bothered about qualifications etc would be the same people wanting to use the voucher schemes, so it may be dificult

not necessarily impossible though

Does she have her PGCE or equiv? You said she taught for a few terms?

Thanks for replies, very helpful!

She went from Open Uni degree in english/sociology type thing to a new teacher training scheme where she was straight in at the deep end teaching with a qualified teacher on hand, so no PGCE.

Will pass on the info to her, thanks again.

so she has a degree

i found people LOVE nannies with a degree, and before i was qualified (as well) i was a nanny with a degree, then i just qualified for the sake of it!
With a degree it should be ok for her to get a nanny job!

Anybody whose children she has looked after, could do a reference. Otherwise, how does the nanny ever get their first job?

UMMMMMMMMM NO (why would i think that?)

i meant those people wanting to save money will probably want or even need to use the scheme

my employers use it too.... (even the ones on the rich list)

Im all for every single person who employs a nanny using it..... WHO doesnt want to save tax?

but the point is that some peoples child are budget uses a larger percentage of their income than others....

these are the same people who would like to pay a bit less (not £10net per hour) and the same people who would definitely like to save £1000+ per year on their nannies wages by using the voucher scheme....

even more so than everyone else who quite rightly uses vouchers

One of my nanny friends is employed by people with a more 'average' income

If my nanny friend was not quaillied and registered they couldnt use her, end of, (and would be looking for someone who was registered instead) so therefor its easier to find a job if you are registered/ qulaified etc

Other employer who can afford to pay huge amounts for their nanny are in my expericane the same people who DONT wnat a nanny with her child too, but pay very generouse salaries as they want there children to have the exclusive attention of a nanny

Just to add

My employers on the rich list are most definitely decent lovely people and i think the way you word your psot implies that because they are wealthy they are not
(as are the ones not on the rich list)

they are one of the loveliest famlies i have ever had the fortune to meet, and if you (or anyone) bumped into them in tesco im quite sure you would not be able to tell the difference

Yes you would.

They'd be the only ones with a corgi in the child seat of the trolley and a shopping list tucked into their tiara.

"Awfully nice ham etc"

i can garantee you would not!

I think someone who has a 9 month old baby would a tick in the box labelled "experience with babies".

Don't you guys think being a mum gives you a bit of experience?

I would hire someone like this, if she lived near me. It might suit someone who whould prefer a live-out but can't really afford one. So, she should expect to be paid a bit less for the provildge of bringing her baby to work. But, she'd still probably be better off than if she was paying for childcare out of her taxed earnings.

Maybe she could find someone with school age children. Then she could still have some one-to-one time with her own baby while kids are at school.

Do they mind you discussing them on an internet forum?

i have named no names

no one (except me)knows who i am discussing

i cant imagine they would have any problem with anything ive ever said on here

jura...

well you would think so, yes.... (hence why I am qualified).... but that is not so...

the OP wanted to know if her friend with no quals could get a nanny job, and the fact is there are unqualified nannies working, so no not all employers demand it, and yes she could get a job....

back to circular arguement of those wanting to pay less for an unqualified nanny with own child are probably the same people needing to use the voucher scheme, rather than just saving £1k-ish because they can

I am a nanny, but previous before that I had worked in nurseries, which i told my employers at the interview, they got references and I gave them my cv. I had never done nannying before and this was my first proper nannying job. This was with well a wealthy family ish, and three kids aged 1,2 and 9 at the time, they gave me the chance, and I did a brilliant job. Im on maternity leave now, not being big headed, but they said I did a really good job taking care of their children,teaching them things they didn't know etc, which I was quite happy with. just wether the parents want to give unqualified people a chance, just because we haven't got any, don't mean we can't do the job properly. Its common sense with children.Their previous nanny use to be the mums PR before she came a nanny, and basically screwed them around and didn't do a very good job.

Hi everyone,

I am a very recent nanny (3 months nearly 4). I'm 24 & a psychology graduate. I did a job in psychology field that I hated before becoming a nanny and have no qualifications at all with regards to specific childcare courses.

I managed to register with an agency in Bristol because I have a genuine passion for children and this is very evident when you meet me. Even though all of my experience has been with family and friends (7 years in total and not just a few hours, weekend so sole charge 6 months of care for my nephew while my sister has PND) I felt confident I would get a job - mainly I guess because I know I am amazing with children & also because I know my career should also have been in childcare.

Within one week of being with the agency I landed a part time job with the very first family I interview with. The same agency has also managed to "sell" me to 5 other families for ad-hoc work/work that its around my part time hours. I know also have my own business (albeit only just starting out but still!). I have since done a paediatric first aid course and so that is my only child specific qualification.

So basically what I am trying to say is: if your sister genuinely wants a career in childcare then she will get it and experience will no matter so long as she can convince families that she is a very good nanny and has the interests of families at heart. If however she comes across as a mum looking to make a bit of money (don't take this offensively!) then although it will make the task harder it is still not impossible.

Luckily for me I had a very good CV which stood me apart form all the other nannies. My agency say it's the best CV they have ever seen and parents have been known to say "we want her" based on my CV alone! So she will need to give it a bit of thought not just words on paper.

Either way good luck to her with determination & hard work most things are possible x

^^ omg - so many errors please excuse the typing! I'm more tired than I thought x

Thanks navyeyelasH, very helpful posting.