Mother’s Help rate of pay?

[Puddleduck2013]

DD is just finishing her A levels and will be taking a gap year.
A local family she vaguely knows approached her to ask if she wanted some work with them, looking after 2 primary school aged children and some light cooking/cleaning.
It was sold to her at £20 ph with expectation she would also drive DC to school and take them to various activities.

She went for the ‘interview’ last week where the role was discussed for about 5 minutes before the woman talked about herself for 3 hours. At the very end she offered DD the job but on minimum wage (with potential to increase after 3 months)

I have alarm bells going off, they have gone through a succession of nannies and if DD is expected to have responsibility of driving children/being responsible for them outside the home her pay should reflect that?

is there anything else DD needs to consider before making a decision.

This mother sounds very irresponsible - what experience does your DD have of looking after younger children? Any sort of checks? I’m not saying there would be anything to find out about your DD, but if I were entrusting my precious children to someone else, at the very least I would want a couple of references. The rate of pay is the least of your worries - if this mother is going through nannies at a rate of knots, it sounds as though she has very unrealistic expectations.

Tell her to keep running.
It's just not worth it.

It's not just the rate of pay.
Her equilibrium is worth more.
Get herself proper job with clearly defined terms and conditions.
All the best.

Thank you… yes I am worried. DD’s head has been turned by talk of accompanying them on family holidays and health club memberships.
she has very minimal experience of working with young children albeit the 2 DC are older primary but seems confident she will be fine.

It’s the driving them around and potentially taking them swimming on her own that really concerns me

No references requested

Mother's Help role for an 18 year old who is just assisting a SAHM is fine as minimum wage.

Childcare/driving/cooking/cleaning is a nanny-housekeeper role, should be £20 an hour and isn't suitable for an unqualified, inexperienced teenager.

Accompanying them on holiday is not a perk, it's hard, isolating, 24/7 work. The fact that she is excited by that shows her inexperience and vulnerability to exploitation.

Both parents work very long hours in London so won’t be at home a lot of the time

The mum kept telling DD she would be considered less an employee and more a member of the family

Is this on a self employed basis, or will the family be doing payroll? If it's employed then minimum wage for 18yr old with no experience sounds fine, it's it's self employed that would push her below minimum wage after tax etc.

But there are other red flags here, why are they turning over nannies so quickly?

Not employed, very informal

It sounds like it will be a nightmare.

I'd expect slightly above minimum wage given the role, but also her lack of experience/age. She needs to be employed though. I wouldn't take minimum wage cash in hand.

I wouldn't talk her out of it if she's excited to do it though. Let her learn from her own mistakes!

18year old with no experience and perks like holidays and gym membership I think minimum wage is fine. Whether she wants to do it is another matter but that wage sounds about right.

If the parents both work long hours and she's got sole charge of the kids then she's acting as a nanny not a mother's help. Rates for that should be in the region of £15-20ph but given she has no experience and I'm guessing no qualifications in child care then minimum wage is probably all she can expect.
If she's not employed then I'm guessing they're planning to pay her cash in hand?

Yes I think it will be cash in hand. DD is very strong minded and probably won’t listen to me anyway but I will still voice my concerns

As an aupair when I was 18 I took care of toddlers by myself, fed them and drove them to activities. These are older children so easier. What she shouldn't be expected to do is cleaning and cooking for the family (except tidying up toys and giving food to the children).

I would be more worried about the mum's personality; talking about work for 5 min and yourself for 3 hours is a red flag in my book.

Yeah that's called exploitation 😂

Well, I had my room and board in a nice house in the US. Got to use a car at no cost and had my evenings free so I don't know about that.

What about her National Insurance contributions?
Having a gap can cause big problems with DWP.

This doesn't sound right at all.

Minimum wage is for employment. She'll need to set money aside for tax and NI, and even on £20 per hour that might feel quite tight considering that the job sounds quite full on.

It sounds like the family have run out of options so.asking a school girl so she won't complain, ultimately it is up to your Dd the woman sounds A LOT ! so your dd will have her to contend with, all you can do is warn your dd that it is probably to good to be true and let her decide, minimum wage is fine i guess the £20 an hour was just a lure.

She needs to clarify who is paying tax, national insurance etc. Also needs to check the car insurance. Is it a live in position? The actual wage sounds the least of her worries, but if she's determined to do it anyway just make sure she's got the legalities in place.

Minimum wage seems fine for an 18 year old with no qualifications or experience for essentially a bit of light housework and babysitting.

However, this whole set up seems dodgy AF, and I wouldn't entertain it. She could end up being really messed around, and she's on dodgy territory re tax and NI.

Thank you for all your advice. Yes the NI side of things is an also a concern to me (though prob not to an 18 year old!)

In that role she can’t be self employed - the law on nanny jobs is clear and well established.

Yes, the clue is in the name. If you're a mother's help a parent should be there! Mother's help is take a toddler up for a nap while a parent feeds a baby downstairs. Or tidy up while the parent plays with the kids.

Sole charge of children is a nanny.

Also what is the plans for school holidays, teacher training days will your Dd be expected to baby sit.