Nanny Share - Salary Query

[chelle184]

Hello New mother,

I do not mean to cause you any offence by saying this but i was actually quite offended to see the above comment! So I felt like I had to stick up for us nannies who do their job with passion, experience, love and care. We support a childs needs in all areas of development physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually and most of us nannies have actually studied for a few years to get their childcare qualifications mine was 3years (granted not as long as a lawyer/doctor) but I did not just walk into a nanny job!

I love all the children I have looked after and the families and still see them often! All my families always say im part of their families. Being a nanny for me is not just a job I love my charges dearly so for you to say above we are just employees Is quite hurtful! We look after the most important little people in your lives with love and care while your at work! Granted we get paid but its not an easy job we work very long hours and sometimes without any kind of break if the nanny has older children or children that dont sleep etc... Im not saying you should pay your nanny what she likes for one moment. Good nannies are hard to come by and if you have a good one treat them like how you would like to be treated. Im very lucky to have two fantastic families and I really hope they dont just see me as an employee!!!

Sorry Billy and I hope you have solved the matter with you nanny. :)

[amydown]

new mother,

What astonishes me is in fact the way some people do not view their nannies as part of their family. Granted we are paying for a form of childcare but our choice to choose a nanny was in most part because we wanted someone that could form a bond with our child the way he would with a family member. Therefore, it is only natural for me to think of our fantastic nanny as part of our family. There is no reason why having an employment contract should stop you from respecting someone the way you would want to be treated.

The way that some people talk about them, including your post above, really do shock me. Why all the resentment? There are bad ones and there are good ones like in any profession. How do you know that most of them have few qualifications? Why is it wrong for them to seek better-paid jobs as nannies if pay level in nurseries, etc isn't adequate? You mention above "from friends' experience" so how many nannies have you actually spoken with, how many do you know well enough to make such statements? They have hard jobs. I know I couldn't look after two toddlers 11 hours a day, 4 days, sometimes 5 days a week which is what our nanny does. Our nanny is on time, every day, 7.30am bang on, with the biggest smile ready for my boy. It's certainly harder than my job in the City! How could we not see her as part of our family?!?!

There are lots of nannies on this forum too and I hope they do not read your post and think that is what parents round here think. As you say, there are lots of us who appreciate the amazing work that the our nannies do and that is nothing to do with us not having any backbones or self-respect. We just happened to possess the ability to be respectful towards others.

[Inkmaiden]

So, new mother- you first posted looking for a nanny 8 months ago and have so far posted about live-in nannies, live-out nannies, mummy nannies, childminders and nurseries, generally in fairly uncomplimentary terms. How's your childcare search going?

[Auschick]

I have just seen this post and even though I know it has passed, I feel the need to say something!

New Mother your attitude towards us 'employees' is disgusting. If that is how you view your nannies or help, then i doubt very much one will stay with you for very long!! It will have nothing to do with them leaving for money or because of your child, but because of your clear disregard for the job that they do!

I am lucky enough to work in a Nanny share for two amazing families who I love and I hope that they see me as more than the employee! I have worked for other families and I know that I am considered one of the family, and to me this means more than anything else!!

Your children are meant to be the most important thing in your life and the person you leave them with is taking your place in teaching them about manners, safety, interaction, learning and is basically helping turn them into the people they become!!!!

The reason we are paid higher than in a nursery is because of the one on one care that we offer and the hours that we do! We work longer hours than most of the parents we work for and alot of the time, without a break. We dont do this job because we cant do anything else, but because we chose to and like any job, pay rises are part of the package!

As for the playgroups - of course parents need to pay for them! Its for your childs benefit not ours!

Get a grip Parents. You're not better than us because of your law/doctor/accountancy/managerial/journalism degree - we just have different priorities!

Billy - sorry to have gate crashed your thread. You obviously respect your Nanny and the work that she does - good for you and I hope you work it all out soon:))

[denny]

Lol! Just ignore people like newmother someone who would most likely resent her child carer for genuinely enjoying her job and then shock horror wanting to get paid for it too, the cheek! No you don't need a degree to be a nanny But the fact is if you pay peanuts.....

[Laura Stephen]

Hi there, I have been looking for a good nanny company/agency in London. So far I have heard about Christian Nannies. How are they? Have you guys got any recommendation for me? Please share via comment!

[HelenAnne]

When I was nannying last year I got ?10 per hour with the first family which worked out to just under ?9 when everything was taken out but that was only for three days.

Any classes that the parents wanted the little boy to go to was always pre-paid for and there was always money in the kitty if needed.

Most of the time I treated the child to something with my own money but if there was something needed like lunch for example that the parents hadn?t had time to buy or make, myself and the child would go shopping or eat at a local cafe.

The second family, again ?10 an hour and they paid the extras for me so I would get the full amount owed.

Again there was always money in the kitty but I used to treat him and his sister, so there was something for her after school, whether it be a toy or something from the Hornimans gift shop.

This was 4 days a week for a temporary term of 3 weeks.

So yes, there should always be money in the kitty but only to be used if absolutely necessary and any classes or clubs should be paid for by the parents, I believe.

If it?s their choice to enrol the child, how is the nanny responsible for the payments?

However, if it is something the nanny wants to do with the child and she enrols the child, maybe that would be her responsibility as it was her choice to do so.

It could be that the nanny pays outright and the parents reimburse within the monthly pay check, but that would have to be discussed and all parties would have to come to an agreement.

Every family requires something different and needs the right fit xx