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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

What is the right price per hour to pay a nanny in London

58 replies

Lishylooloo · 21/07/2009 15:49

We have found a french nanny, who has ten years experience (although no formal qualification) and I have done a trial day with her and she is very good. I particularly want a French nanny so DD will learn French. We also want her for three days a week which is not that easy to find (we're doing a nanny share). She wants £10 an hour net. I've done the calculations and her gross would be £13.10 and adding to that when I pay National Insurance it is going to cost me £14.25 an hour. Is this the right price to pay?

OP posts:

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Blondeshavemorefun · 23/07/2009 13:37

"Big thanks to Blondes who held my hand through all this, by the way. (And Blondes, you are sooooo worth it!!!)"

aww - blondes is - glad i was helpful and all is going well with your new nanny

Oligo · 23/07/2009 23:45

DP is a teacher and works way way more than 50 hours/week during term time, eating late into nearly every evening and some weekends, always taken to cover staff shortages during the few hours supposed prep. time at school and barely a lunch hour.

I often nanny long hours but once i'm home thats it and i earn more than DP- just an illustration of our unjust public/private economic split. moan rant off topic.

There are still plenty of positions/people willing to pay good money for good nannies. If you can afford this nanny and are happy with her you are not being taken for a ride at that £.

BoffinMum · 25/07/2009 08:30

Blondes, she has taken five flipping weeks just to sign the contract. I am not well pleased. Is this normal?????

nannynick · 26/07/2009 22:25

BoffinMum - you found your nanny in June didn't you? Has she signed the contract yet... or are you still waiting for it? I would say usually contracts are signed within a couple of days... you send the contract, the nanny reads it, responds with some things they need clarification on or would like changed, you consider any changes and revise the contract and it gets signed. Takes a week max in my view.

BoffinMum · 27/07/2009 16:22

Funny you should ask. She did the trial day in May and we offered her the job there and then.

She took a week to respond officially via the agency and then agree. The agency then sent me their sample contract and a bill for £1000. We were told we had two weeks to cough up or we would have no guarantee for the nanny (i.e. if she left within a month we wouldn't be able to have another without an agency fee being paid). We paid up, sent the contract onto her, just tweaked very slightly as the agency suggested, and she was supposed to check it over and send it back to us for us to forward onto the agency for two final copies to be printed out for signature. Instead she sent it direct to the agency a month or so after we sent it to her, and started quibbling about her holidays (6 weeks including bh, but she wanted 6 weeks plus bh, which she hasn't got) and her babysitting (one night a week, Mon-Thurs only). The agency said this quibbling was because her dad has raised some questions (she is 29!) We have chased this about 3-4 times with the agency and 3-4 times with her, and she says she sent the contract to the agency on 12 July. We spoke to her and the agency last week, and said if she hadn't signed on the dotted line by close of play on Friday then we would start looking for someone else. She said she would send the contract to us. No sign of it yet.

I am not sure whether to cut my losses here. She's very nice and all that but I think this is ridiculous. I am worried it says something about her professionalism. What do you nannies think?

mananny · 27/07/2009 16:34

Sounds very unprofessional. Like Nick said, contract sorting/signing shouldn't take more than a week as everything important should have been agreed prior to accepting the job! The contract should just put in black and white everything that has been agreed. With my new job I had 2 phone interviews of an hour or so each, one afternoon of face to face interview 3 days later where they offered me the job on the spot. We then agreed on everything within a day or two and had contracts signed and sealed within a week, before they'd even had the baby! To take a month is not on. If she had doubts or concerns she should have either not accepted the position or addressed them very early on in the process IMO.

BoffinMum · 27/07/2009 16:59

I know you're right, so I have just asked the agency to start sending me replacement candidates before we go away for our hols. Even though she is saying she sent it to them on 12 July, this was still very late, and she didn't follow their advised procedure either by starting to try to negotiate extra concessions via them as a third party, instead of speaking directly to us. I am feeling very messed about by all this. She tells us she really really wants the job (I asked her outright), but then faffs about like this!

mananny · 27/07/2009 17:09

It's a huge hassle for you BoffinMum, you'd think in this current climate it would have been in her best interest to get the contract signed asap to secure the job! I know I wanted everything sorted as soon as possible for my own protection! Once I had the contract signed I could relax and enjoy my month off. She's not acted very professionally at all to mess you around like this. Maybe she is double dipping and got a better offer but was too much of a chicken to be honest with everyone about it?

limonchik · 27/07/2009 17:18

Boffinmum, I find it very odd and unprofessional of her too - I would cut your losses and find someone else. I am in the opposite position at the moment of trying to sort out a contract with my new employers. Despite agreeing on everything about 4 weeks ago, we still haven't signed contracts. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to cut my losses and look for someone else.

BoffinMum · 27/07/2009 17:33

Not in East Anglia, are you, limonchick???

BoffinMum · 27/07/2009 17:34

DH reckons she is scared and has got that 'top diving board' feeling. I think there's something in what he says, but tbh at 29 you should be able to bite the bullet imo.

mananny · 27/07/2009 17:48

I agree. I can understand nerves at the start of a career but after 10 years in the biz she should be able to commit without too much faffing around. Hope you find someone else soon.

limonchik · 27/07/2009 17:57

29 is far too old to be getting cold feet! I too would be concerned that she is talking to another family and is playing for time with you.

I was a bit worried that my new employers were doing the same - I think I've come to the conclusion now that they're just very scatty/disorganised. Which doesn't fill me with confidence either tbh!

BoffinMum - I'm looking for live in, so can be almost anywhere!

frAKKINPannikin · 27/07/2009 18:18

Sign and seal ASAP from my POV. You don't have a leg to stand on without the contract signed if the employer starts turning funny. Don't know why she isn't signing, Boffinmum. Hope you get it sorted soon, but definitely start looking for replacements even if only to give the agency a kick up the backside.

As a nanny I'm starting to get really paranoid about this because I'm going solely temp (eeek!) for 4 months and I'm worried I'll accept a job and the parents will screw me around.

limonchik · 27/07/2009 18:41

I don't want to feel like I keep nagging about the contract though - and ruin the relationship before they've had a chance to see how great I am

nannynick · 27/07/2009 22:07

So is she just quibbling about Holidays and Babysitting? 6 Weeks holiday inclusive of BH's is fine - doubt many jobs would be offering 6 weeks plus BH.
Babysitting in my view is only appliciable if it is a Live-In job - for Live-Out jobs any babysitting is extra. That's just my opinion on that of course.
I think you are right to give a deadline. Contracts can be sent digitally after all - then officially signed (in ink) at a later point.

BoffinMum · 27/07/2009 23:40

She will be live-in hence babysitting.

Limonchick, I know what you mean. I have got on very well with this nanny and don't want to seem difficult but I am feeling a bit messed around tbh. It has just crept on and on, this whole thing. I am very nervous about the whole nanny thing anyway and I needed professionalism, not faffing about.

BTW I bet your family are doubtful about whether they can really afford you. Just a vibe.

Agency have emailed back saying they will sort things out tomorrow if contract doesn't arrive.

limonchik · 27/07/2009 23:58

Yep, the money thing is something to worry about! I'm really not that expensive but you could definitely find girls who'll work for cheaper - and a nanny is a big expense.

Blondeshavemorefun · 28/07/2009 10:07

oh no boffin ((HUGS)) tho very un mn like

will email you

does sound to me that she is having cold feet - to take 5 weeks to sign

i would invite her over if you still want her, thrash out the contract, then edit/add what you both agree on and print off 2 copies and both sign that night

if she doesnt/wont do this then i feel she doesnt want the job

hotcrossbuns+1 - yes all nannys would like a payrise but if you offered a £1 more an hour and she prob does at least 40hrs a week (4 x 10hr days) then thats a HUGE payrise imho - let alone her wanting nearly another £2 an hr - so £80ish a week plus you have tax and Ni on top of that

more fool your nanny to leave a good job where i assume she was happy to go and have to find another, and very unlikely she will get £10phn

good luck with your search

BoffinMum · 28/07/2009 12:12

Halleluia!! The contract came about an hour ago (posted last night, but we'll gloss over that) and seems OK, so I have signed it and I am sending it back later today.

We reckon she will be a good nanny for us but just that she's simply not used to applying for and getting jobs in the Big Wide World. Let's hope that's all it was, anyway. Agency have apologised for not pushing things a bit harder as well.

Thanks for all emails and support, btw. Much appreciated. xx

mananny · 28/07/2009 16:56

Glad it's all coming together finally BoffinMum! I hope it all works out for you despite the rocky start

Blondeshavemorefun · 28/07/2009 17:23

yah

nannynick · 28/07/2009 19:14

Great news. Now to hope that your nanny won't mind using EBM - I'm sure she won't.

BoffinMum · 28/07/2009 20:55

She says she is pro bf, which is very reassuring. Indeed I asked her about that at interview.

I am really really hoping that 22 years of mainly indifferent or even shit childcare at times, I finally end up with something reliable which will allow me to draw breath and get on with the rest of my life a bit. I am soooooo tired of all this!!!

2HotCrossBunsAnd1InTheOven · 29/07/2009 17:11

I have noted the replies to my post, thanks very much. I had a chat with the nanny today and she said that she hadn't really looked yet and wasn't feeling in that much of a rush . Good - I'm not in a rush for her to leave, esp seeing as I am now 40+1 with DC3!

We have paid her the £1ph increase we said we were happy to do notwithstanding that she turned down some extra hours. Hopefully she will think that it's not worth the upheaval etc...

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