How much to pay girl from my daughters nursery

[Rollergirl1]

Hi, am in need of some urgent advice. I am currently exploring childcare options for my daughter and son for when i (hopefully) return to work in June. My daughter is currently at Nursery 2 days a week while I am on maternity leave with my son. There is a girl there who has expressed an interest in nannying for my daughter and son at my home. My daughter adores her so i am completely comfortable with her looking after them. However i have no idea what would be a reasonable amount to pay her. She is 20 without any Nannying qualifications, other than being a qualified first-aider. She is currently on the mimimum wage of £4.70 an hour and is working 47 hours a week spread over 5 days. I would probably only need her for 10 hours a day for 4 days. I have a figure of £6 gross an hour. This would give her around a £100 more a month plus working a day less. Aswell as (probably) an easier job with only 2 children to look after in a nicer enviroment.

Does this sound reasonable or is it too low?

I expect she will bite your hand off!
I am at 47 hours
I do 40 in a nursery spread over 4 and a half days and i am bloody knackered

it sounds very low to me but i was also surprised that she is on minimum wage in a nursery - that is a low wage for those hours. Nannies in this area get 120 a day but i guess that is based on different qualifications. You could ask what she had in mind and go from there?

For a first job with no qualifications, £6 an hour sounds fine. Check there's nothing in your contract with the nursery about pinching staff though.

newgirl, most people are on minimum wages in a nursery, or just above

what would someone with nvq2-3 be on? im very interested because i know one of the girls from our nursery is interested and i assumed we would not be able to afford her

purepurple: do you mean that you think she would jump at it?

willowthewispa: Thanks for that. I know of at least 3 other instances where girls from the nursery have left to look after kids that went there. So it's either okay or they have done it on the hush.

I forgot to mention that I am in Surrey. Also my 3yr old daughter would be starting her 2 1/2 day pre-school sessions in September so she would have only a 14 month old to look after some of the time.

Probably £5 - £6 an hour, maybe £6.50. Level 3 nursery nurses at my nursery are on about £12,000 a year.

sure she would be very interested but agree with willowthewispa that you can take your child out of nusery and then employ this girl

many have a 3month no working for a family in their contract, even if you dont

yes, rollergirl, that's what I meant!

newgirl, the girls where i work get £6 an hour for level 3
for level 2 they get the minimum wage
if it is a large chain they probably get the same
some of the smaller nurseries may pay a bit more and obviously london wages are different

Agree with blondes, she probably has a contract with the nursery to say she can't go to work for any of the nursery families for several months after leaving.

You would be offering her £60 a day gross for two children for 10 hours? I think thats extremely low for the responsibility she will have.

And 2 children 10 hours a day on her own imo would be much harder than lots of children but with other staff around - she probably gets a lunch break for a start which she won't do at your house.

Does she have qualifications, she may just be a starting level nursery nurse which imo is just not the same standard as a nanny.

I think that is a very fair way for her first job as a nanny and she has some nursery experience. Perhaps you could suggest that you will review in 3mths and if all is well then increase to £6.25 then in a further 6mths to £6.50 then after first year to £7 an hr. then have a yrly pay/performance review.

That way although she is starting on what may seem a low way to some she has an incentitive to stay with you and really develop as a nanny.

In my area (West Surrey), qualified nursery nurses are paid around £13,000 Gross per year. They can get more temping (often £8 per hour gross) but it isn't guaranteed work.

If you initially offer £6 gross per hour and she accepts that, then if you feel she is worth it and you can afford it you can give a pay rise after the initial trial period (3 / 6 months). You may also be able to persuade her to do some training on the days she isn't working for you - there are distance learning NVQ courses which may be suitable.

Nannies can be paid a variety of wages - London rates always seem to be higher than outside of London. I used to nanny for a family with 4 children for around £73 per day, and I was Level3 qualified at that time.

I would suggest starting negotiations at £6 gross per hour and see what happens. She may have a figure in mind... or she may just take anything above what she is getting now.

Do make sure you check your contract with the nursery and also tell her to check her contract. Nurseries tend not to like you poaching their staff.

i am currently working as a nursery officer level 3 trained i earn 17,666 a year and nursery nurses earn 16,000, you really need to look at the benefits and what qualifications she has, i personally wouldn't work for £6.00 an hour, although she'll have less children she'll have more responsiblity and you'll have to factor that in

Many thanks for all your constructive comments. I will definitely check my contract and get her to check hers.

I can see how it may look like a low wage to some and I would hate to advocate "slave labour" but it has to be financially beneficial to me as well as her.

For £1300 a month both of my children could go to Nursery for 3 days a week and to be honest this would be my preferred choice as I think attending Nursery is good for children. However I cannot justify spending that much on childcare and it also defeats the object of me returning to work. So there has to be a significant saving on my part.

Rollergirl I think you are offering this a girl a great opportunity and you are offering her more pay than she is on in the nursery so not slave labour.

she is new to nannying, your daughter likes her and you know her so a plus side. She gets the chance to gain experience in nanny and she is lucky someone is giving her a chance.

i am truly shocked at nvq 2 being paid under 7 quid an hour - my cleaner gets 11 an hour. That is not aimed at the op - on the contrary - thanks for posting this as I now think I can afford lovely girl at our nursery!

honestly, its like nurses - surely the wage should be better

newgirl completly agree with you I actually think some cleaners are overpaid really as no need for qualification etc.

I also think its quite sad that people will pay £10 an hr for a cleaner but wouldnt for childcare.

I am a nurse and agree wages should be more in line with other public sector professions. I wont waffle on or get on my soap box but MPs work for the government and earn mega bucks, nurses, police etc also work for government and earn a pittance and get a really rubbish pay rise unlikes MP's.

ok wont rant on

I'm 23 and on minimum wage in a nursery, thankfully have my nanny job to bump up my income though.

I'm just supply however the nursery officer same age as me only gets £5.80 so only 7p more!

think cleaners get more then other staff ie gardeners, window cleaners as SOME do declare it and therefore get paid more to pay their tax and ni etc

also cleaners etc are only there for a lot less hours than a nanny so it doesnt seem so painful to pay a cleaner £10ph for 6hrs work, compared to maybe paying £500nett for 5 10hr days

cookielove - are you in London by chance?
Looking at GreatCare nursery jobs in London are paid 16k for Room Leader, higher for Deputy/Manager.
Outside of London it drops - room leader (NVQ3) in Oxford is £13,500-14,000, nursery assistant (NVQ2) in Milton Keynes is £10,500-£12k
In my area (West Surrey), £12k-£13,500 is quite typical - see Nursery Nurse Addlestone (NVQ3 desired).

Rollergirl1 - Keep in mind that you need to factor in additional costs when employing a nanny. For example, Employers NI contributions, money for outings/activities, travel expenses.
If you pay £6 gross per hour, I roughly calculate that as being £12,480 per year (for 40 hour week), Employers NI would be around £866 per year, so from your £1300 per month budget you would be left with around £180 per month to cover all other misc expenses. So it's doable but will depend on how costly outings are, how much mileage nanny is doing etc.

ListenToTaxman.com is a handy site for working out what PAYE figures are likely to be. Use as a Guide Only. Actual figures may vary a bit month to month as you do the payroll.

nannynick: it's very interesting you posting those job details as it sounds like the Nursery that my daughter attends!

You must be quite near where I nanny then
Coincidence I'm sure but is a little odd how such coincidence's do happen on here.

newgirl
I am level 3 qualified, doing a foundation degree, have 20 years experience, and I earn just over £6 an hour, which is the highest in the nursery, apart from the managers.
I don't do my job for the money but because I love it and I am bloody good at it.
I am very lucky that I have a DH who earns a good wage so he can undulge me in my career choices.

Re comparative costs of cleaner and nanny...

I totally agree in principle that nannies should earn far more(as someone contemplating employing both) but to be fair, for most of us parents, we are stacking up the cost of 3 hrs per week for a cleaner and maybe 35 hours per week for a nanny. So it's far easier to take the hit of a high hourly rate with a cleaner than with a nanny.