Do nannies normally get an annual pay rise and/or bonus?

[Avocadoes]

Our nanny will have worked with us for a year in September. Her contract specifies an annual pay review. She has asked whether we are likely to give her a pay rise or bonus on that date (she is moving now so wants to know what she can afford).

We are in London and she gets £10 an hour after tax. She also gets that when she babysits. My husband and I are both public servants and so are on a pay freeze ourselves. We can't really afford to pay her more. In addition I interviewed nannies with many years experience and all asked £10 an hour so I got the impression that nobody really earns more than than.

Is it normal to give an annual pay rise and/or bonus? And if so what sort of sums are we talking?

In the current climate it's not normal and would be very small - possibly around 1%. Given that you're on a pay freeze it's not unreasonable to say you can't afford it.

A bonus of a week's pay if you could afford it would probably be appreciated (what kind of bonus isn't?!).

TBH I'd be upfront and say that as you're on pay freeze you need to do some sums but it's unlikely you can afford more so she should cut to fit her cloth (so to speak).

Not nannies but our staffs contracts say annual pay review too. In practice we raise pay in line with inflation so last year there was no rise.

£10ph net is generous I think - considering typical nanny hours being 10-11 hours a day, five days a week.

We do a "contract renewal thank you" bonus (of an unimaginative four-figures) but no pay rise on the first anniversary & then on the second anniversary a pay rise for the third year (sometimes a bonus too). We've not had anyone work for us for as much as four years, so not sure what I'd do for that.

The contract renewal thank you figure is a bit driven by what we're not having to pay an agency!

£1000! Really? Is that the sort of bonus she will be expecting? I can't afford that. I had been thinking more like £250. But will that be very stingy?

If she's really expecting a bonus, they're often done in multiples of weekly salary.

But there aren't norms, really - our bonus figure is because agency fees tend to be well over (it's London ...) that. So the sort of argument is that we've 'saved' by her renewing.

generally nannies dont get bonus's after each year, but often many do get a weeks wages at christmas for example

but most do get a pay rise, but again depends on climate and if you get one/can afford one

if it says a payrise in the contract then legally you need to give one but tech could be £10 extra a week, actually could be 1p a year its still a raise

i know friends who didnt get one last year and were a bit peeved esp as then their family had a £100k 2 storey exstension (sp)

The contract does not promise a pay rise, just an annual pay review. But I have never heard of a nanny getting more than £10 per hour net. She already gets paid at the top of the scale. Does anyone really pay their nanny more than £10 net?

I could offer her £10 a week more but thats nothing really is it?

i know of nannies who get more than £10nett

and i certainly wouldnt say no to an extra £10 a week, thats over £500 a year plus you as the employer will pay more tax/ni on it unless agreed a gross wage

Some nannies do get more than £10ph net. Some go up to £15net (very experienced, often large families/multiples/nanny shares/high profile positions).

An extra £10 a week is not to be sneezed at.

Pay review could mean that the pay goes down.
Given current financial climate a pay rise may not be possible.
Wait until after the budget anouncement on Tuesday, then look at the figures.

I was going to suggest the same as Nick - wait until after the budget. But as someone else mentioned - tell the nanny that you have had a pay freeze and you will get back to her after you have done some sums.

I've been a nanny for 25 years and have never had a yearly bonus. I've never had a weeks wages as a Christmas bonus either. I don't begrudge that at all, I'm just glad that I have had some good jobs, with nice employers and a wage that reflects my work and experience. FWI worth, I got 3% last year as this is what my mb got.

I have never had a pay rise in my current job or a bonus (and i don't earn £10net an hour!). But i have been given boxes of chocolate, a spa day, aand cash to have a meal out so feel appriecated in other ways. I do think you shoud be honest so she knows where she stands.

I finished my last nanny job 10 years ago but I always had a pay rise every year. I worked for 2 families in a share and one didn't want to give me as much as the other so they gave me a bonus as well.

If you can't afford it don't give it.

My nanny's contract says she is entitled to the same annual cost of living increase as I get (I am public sector too).

It is not looking as though I will be getting an increase so neither will she.

DH has got a pay CUT so it's lucky she's not linked to his!

I'd say most nannies expect a payrise of around 3% - from being in the 'biz' the last 5+ years, particularly if in London. However, lots of nannies (none of us, of course ) aren't in touch with the fact that other people won't be getting pay raises, even if inflation goes up.

I'd just discuss, give her the bonus you were thinking - it's a lovely gesture and after having explained you won't be getting a rise either, she can hardly complain that you've forked out an extra £250 for her. A week would be great, but if you can't afford it, then your nanny would be downright atrocious to be moody/leave you over it.

As far as bonuses go - I'd say Christmas is the more likely time of year to get bonuses in the Nanny World than at annual review. I have never gotten a bonus, just a nice gift or £50 vouchers, etc., but I know some nannies who get a week's pay, some who get 2 weeks' pay, and one who gets £3k. It's all relative, depends on the family, what they can afford, and how generous they are throughout the year (or not!) if you see what I mean.

Why in the world would you give a rise if you can't afford it? Just do whatever you can afford, avocadoes, is my advice.

"i know friends who didnt get one last year and were a bit peeved esp as then their family had a £100k 2 storey exstension (sp)" I can't understand why this would make someone upset? Maybe the family was planning to expand and needed more rooms or other reasons... whatever their reasons, surely they shouldn't have to explain to their nanny why they spent their extra money that year putting on an extension rather than giving her a raise. Also - they may have borrowed that money to improve their home. Sorry, blondes, I really like you - I'm not trying to attack this idea, I'm just sensitive to it. I recently had someone comment in my earshot that if we could afford to own a property (we're selling our 1 bed flat to buy something - anything affordable - with 2 beds so ds (20 months) has a room and will have to have an additional loan on top of our existing mortgage in order to pay for the much higher deposit that is now necessary) then surely we could afford a nanny instead of sending our ds to a childminder (said with distaste ).

I adore our cm and so does ds and she is so good with him. And no, just because we are looking for a slightly bigger property in Surrey does not mean that we can afford loads more.

I think it's overly presumptuous to assume anything about any family's financial situation, regardless of how much they earn. And, people should be able to spend their money as they see fit (ensuring all bills paid...etc.).

i agree starexpact - its the employers money to spend as they like, tho in my friends case, they said no to £50gross a month,(bout 8week nett) so costing them £600 a year and then they had this HUGE extension done, and spent £30k on a new kitchen - yet said they couldnt afford £600 extra a year - so part of me understands where the nanny was coming from

plus the db then brought a new 09 car last year

actually she left them at christmas - tho not sure if was the lack of payrise, i hope not as thats really silly, if the rest of the job is ok

im not saying a nanny always should get a payrise but if the family can afford one then its nice

AND WHOEVER SAID THAT TO/ABOUT YOU IS AN UTTER SNOB!!

doesnt matter what childcarer a family has, as long as THEY are happy with that person/cm/nanny/nursery etc

and yes buying a bigger place will obv mean a bigger deposit for you

Thanks, Blondes I was a bit and at first when I heard it, but then just realized that this person did not know that we will need to in fact borrow money in order to afford the bigger deposit and moving to a place with even the tiniest little room (I'd be fine with even a room that just barely fits his bed tbh) for ds is a priority for us, especially when we are completely happy with our childcare arrangement. It doesn't mean we can afford to pay out any more in bills and childcare... in fact, just the opposite.

Also, he only goes 7.55am-3.50pm and between dh and I, both teachers with different holiday schedules, he's with us at home (school holidays) for nearly 22 weeks out of a 52 week year. The lady who said this does have a 1:1 carer/nanny in her home, but the nanny works 6.30am-7.30pm all but about 5 weeks of the year. So if I wanted to be very immature, I could have thrown that back at her, but I didn't, because everyone's choices are their own and perfectly valid and I'd be contradicting myself to retort like that.

I think £10/hour is enough. I've had my nanny for 2 years and she gets a couple of weeks salary as a bonus at Christmas.