Nanny nightmare!

[EllenaV]

Hi there

Want to get some advice about finding a Nanny for our children. We are looking for someone to look after our sons who will be 2 3/4 and a couple of months old (so a small baby).

I have been looking for the right person and am finding the world of Nanny searching daunting. Does anyone out there have any recommendations of agencies/forums they have used or know any Nannys that they would recommend? I need some advice on where to look and how much other parents pay on average for a full time nanny.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Ellena

[alieh]

We've hired two really great nannies over the years just through Simply Childcare, which I think costs about ?30/yr to join. On costs, we found ?10/hr net was pretty standard for an experienced nanny. You can look on Nanny Tax calculators online to estimate total costs but it works out to about 40% on top, so ?13 or ?14/hr overall.

What hours are you looking for? I know my friend had a lot of trouble finding someone who would work the 7 am - 7 pm hours they wanted (both parents work very long hours). We were looking for about 8:30-5:30 and didn't have any trouble.

[tomk]

You need to look at what you can afford/want to pay - and offer that. There is a market at all salary levels - experience etc will obviously affect the cost. So will your opinion when you meet them. We have had two excellent nannies - both from Gumtree. Ask them to apply with their salary expectations - this gives you an idea of who you can afford and whether you are happy with your budget or need to raise it to find the person you want. There are many salaries and views quoted on the EDF when people ask about nannies. It is not all as definite as it is sometimes suggested. You will for example find nannies well below ?10 net, but it is your feeling/their qualifications/references which may sway you one way or another. Young nannies (<25?) can be much cheaper as they don't have years of experience - but they can be excellent if you work with them closely and help them to develop alongside your children. Ultimately it depends on what you want but I would reiterate that nothing is as definite as often suggested. We have a nanny working early/long hours.

ETA: note you have a young baby. This will affect who you want to employ, though I do stand by my main view ie. that cheaper does not automatically equal worse. We had a 21yr old apply who was a trained nursery teacher. We didn't care whether she was ofsted registered or not. She was outstanding.

[katgod]

The OFSTeD registration for many parents is more about the childcare vouchers (via employer that effectively are a tax break) and which can only be used for OFSTeD registered childcarers, rather than any indication of quality. The childcare voucher rules appear to have changed recently so you will need to check, but OFSTeD registration made my nanny cheaper rather than more expensive as I could pay a part of her salary before paying tax on my own salary. Simply childcare and Nanny PAYE are good sources of info re jobs and tax.

[bumpy]

I can highly recommend our nanny. We're parting company at Christmas, initially because we're leaving the area but also because our boy needs to start building up hours at pre school before starting school in September 2014. She's going travelling in January for 6 weeks but will be available after that. If the dates work for you then very happy to pass on full details.

[EllenaV]

Thank you for your advice so far!

[EllenaV]

P.S If anyone else in the forum wants to put their 2 pence worth it- it would be appreciated!

[pukkamum]

Hi. I have just had to let my nanny go on Tuesdays and Wednesdays due to financial reasons. She still has my 2 boys Mondays and Thursdays. She has been with me for 3 years and is totally trustworthy and great with kids, cooking etc. I would really like to help her out filling those 2 days, get in touch if of interest. My email is [email protected]. Thanks Caroline

[RichJ]

We found our excellent nanny through the forum. If you do some research on market rates for salary and think carefully what you are looking for, I don't think it is too difficult to contact nannies advertising on here, ask to see their cv and references and then arrange to meet the ones you think have some potential. We ended up interviewing two (probably not really enough but our one immediately jumped out as being just right) so the whole thing was pretty painless. No agency means we did the contract and other paperwork ourselves but we are lawyers so no great drama for us! Good luck!

[rebeccaben]

We also found our nanny by posting on the EDF and she has been with us for 3 years. I met a few very qualified candidates but the one we chose was just an instant match. Our baby was 3 months at the time so it was important that we felt very comfortable with her - she's practically part of the family now!

I highly recommend PAYE for Nannies to use for payroll. They are inexpensive, provide you with a nanny contract if needed and answer any questions you might have. It was a huge help when we first started as there was so much we didn't know about the tax and paperwork side of things.

Another site to consider is nannyshare.co.uk which is great if you want to find a share.