Just worked out I earn £5 an hour

[LaceyLee]

When I take off childcare costs from my income alone (I do have a DH) based on a conservative estimate of working hours and NOT including work taken home in evenings or weekends, holidays!! Not sure why I do it! I do enjoy the actual teaching of course... Anyone else the same?

Well, actually, I am on a spousal visa so DH has to be working and earning at least X amount. On top of that, his salary is almost triple the salary of the job I applied for. So yes, we considered it, but not a valid argument for our situation.

£5 an hour is LOADS after childcare. I'm a single parent and I'm only about 40 a week better off in work. I do if because I hate not being in work. If you don't want to work and can afford not to then don't but honestly 5 an hour is lots!

Taking off your mortgage is nothing like taking off childcare though as it's not a cost of working: you'd pay that whether or not you worked.

Teachers still pay childcare in the holidays even if the child isn't there. Or at least I do.

We do pay jointly so this is academic really but still of interest. I am also on the top of the main pay scale so loads of teachers would earn a lot less and I get that I am in a fortunate position to have a DH who is earning a decent amount.

When I went back to work after having my first I was paying 20p per hour to go to work.

I did not have a partner, I had a low paying job, travel costs (including childcare for the commute time) and childcare literally took everything I had plus some I didn't

I went and retrained instead.

I know cleaners with a higher take home pay than me as a teacher.

No, you earn your take home. Anything you have to spend to get to work (travel/parking/childcare) doesnt get deducted. Childcare is a cost of having children, not a cost of working. And if it gets deducted it gets deducted from total household income, not just yours. Their your husbands children too.

Teachers are not alone in working at home. I've been working this morning and will do some this evening. I was away with work Sunday evening and got back at 1am Wednesay morning, and was back out at breakfast club with the DCs at 8am.

I'm a single parent and just make it work. In return I accept my salary (probably not much more than a teacher) because at some point my DCs will be older and I won't have childcare costs to pay. The school holidays are a nightmare, particularly the long summer hols. At least you don't have that nightmare to negotiate!

I know cleaners with a higher take home pay than me as a teacher.
And - your point is...?
Why shouldn't they?
Or do you think they are lesser beings that deserve less for some reason?
Do they get pension, sick pay etc?
Do they get the career progression?
Errr - don't think so.

Well said mrsguy

What an odd comparison to make. Cleaners should clearly expect to be wearing rags like the lowly beings they are

Threads about teachers' pay annoy me. There's nothing wrong with it, and banging on about it detracts from the real issues within the profession at the moment.

As people often say on threads which bash teachers (not that this one is), you could always get a different job.

Why do people moan about the cost of childcare? Should it be free? Why? Why shouldn't the people accessing that service pay for it? Would you be happy if the government said they thought you should work for nothing and that parents should just get education with no one paying?

Bike I'm contracted to do 22.2 hrs a week, but usually do nearer 28-30

As a part time teacher I'm contracted to do fewer hours than that and I reckon I do about 35-40. Last week I did about 45. So a full time job on part time salary.

Agree headin i have a friend who has just gone back to work after having her first baby. She is going back 16 hours a week and her DH works full time in a management role. She was complaining that they might have to pay £40 a week to her SIL to look after their baby for 2 days a week. I dont know how she didnt go bright red with shame as she was having this whinge to me, a lone parent who at one point was paying full time childcare at £300 a week for two children. I just said "yeah, kids cost money".

Good childcare costs money because good child carers need to properly remunerated! The child carer needs insurance, heating, lighting, toys, nappies, food, training, holidays,.sick pay, premises upkeep, extra cover people for sickness, and lots of other stuff I can't instantly think of that parents aren't even aware of..
That has to be paid for by someone - ie the parents of the child that chose to have him/her...
Always amazes me when people gripe about the cost of childcare.
Think about it before you have them.
And if you prefer to spend money on other stuff, use better contraception...

And if you work more than your contracted hours - that is a matter for you to take up with your employer. If they wont budge - change jobs, or suck it up.

I used to earn less per hour working as a midwife once childcare taken off. I had to leave in the end as even though short term if you consider costs usually reduce once they start school. My wage after paying childcare was less than £100 a month.

I actually stopped not due to the lack of cash but because once do go to secondary school there is no childcare for them. If I had been able to be home by 4-5 each evening it wouldn't have been too bad but due to shifts and never finishing in time it was much later and dh as the so called bread winner works in London in the city and often gine by 6 home after 7-8.

Guy we have to work as many hours as needed to do the job properly.

If you are contracted for fewer than 22 hours, and you work 45, your employer should be paying 2 people to do your job.
Thongs will never change if people accept doing two people's job.

Things - not thongs!

My wage after paying childcare was -£70 a month. Yes that's minus. My childcare bill was £70 a month more than my wage. But as a couple it was a joint expense so i didnt look at it as me working for minus money.

Guy don't know if you've noticed but teachers are quitting in droves precisely for that reason, leaving children to get a substandard education at the hands of the unqualified and streams of supply teachers. And still nothing has changed.

I think that this aligning childcare costs with only the woman's paid work is problematic.

It gives a strong message that childcare is solely a woman's responsibility and that she may, if need be, delegate that responsibility. But it is the woman who is responsible for making it work. Any problems with it, is the woman's responsibility to fix.

Then you get the situation when couples split up and the man is horrified that he is expected to pay towards childcare costs when he simply never did when they were together.

Actually OP if your gripe is the cost of childcare, I'm with you on that. I dread to think how many £thousands I've shelled out over the years just so I can go to work. It would be much easier for employees, most of whom will be parents at some point, to have some kind of state-subsidised provision as happens in other countries.

We don't have contracted hours. We have contracted directed time hours. We are expected to work outside that too. It's in the pay and conditions.

It's a little unrealistic to expect teachers to only work the hours that they are teaching. Would you want your kids to be taught by someone who makes their lessons up as they go along and never marks homework?