Getting a nanny can be a total gamechanger, but it’s also uncharted territory for many families. There are lots of different things to consider, one of the biggest being finances – in particular, how much will having a full-time nanny cost?
Like any profession, generally the rate a nanny charges will increase as they grow their experience and qualifications, meaning you will pay more for a highly experienced, fully qualified nanny than you would for a more junior candidate. Nannies tend to deal in net salaries, although contracts through Bubble will always be agreed in gross and we highly recommend ensuring all legal agreements are based on the gross salary.
In this article we look at what the average cost is for a full-time nanny in the UK, how the rates vary depending on where you live and what other factors you need to consider.
Before you get started
It’s important to know that if you hire a full-time nanny, that makes you their employer. This means you will have certain financial obligations, such as paying their monthly salary alongside tax and other costs.
The main thing to remember is that nannies usually talk in net salary terms (i.e. how much they will take home), whereas parents prefer to talk in gross salary terms (i.e. how much will be going out of their bank account).
There is a difference between net and gross salary because as an employer, you’re not just paying the nanny a certain amount that they take home – you’re also paying their tax, national insurance and sometimes other costs.
Don’t worry if this seems a little daunting – we’re here to help! Bubble offers a concierge nanny service to help you find the perfect nanny, and we also handle the admin and guide you through the entire process.
For ease, we’ll be talking in gross terms in this article – i.e. how much money you will have to pay in total for hiring a full-time nanny. We also have a great guide which you can check out to learn more about the cost of hiring a nanny.
What are your options?
One choice you need to make is whether you want your nanny to live in or live out – 92% of nannies are live-out, so that’s what we focus on in this article. If you’re looking for a live-in nanny it can be cheaper but is much less common.
You can also decide how frequently you want to be paying your nanny. Around a third of nannies are paid weekly, and the other two-thirds are paid monthly. This is something to discuss during the hiring process, as you (or the nanny!) may have a preference.
You should also be aware that you may want to give your nanny an expenses budget for activities/fuel/things for your kids. You can discuss this with them when starting, but just remember that this is an additional cost alongside your nanny’s salary.
How are nannies salaries agreed?
Generally nannies will charge by the hour unless they are for Live In roles.
Nannies will also most commonly talk about their rates in terms of net salary rather than gross, so when considering the overall cost you would need to consider taxes & employers contributions in addition to the net rate. It is important to ensure that all final, legal agreements are based on the gross salary rather than net as otherwise employers are opening themselves up to unforeseen costs if the nanny’s circumstances change or there are any undisclosed issues with HMRC. As such Bubble will always agree the final salary in gross.
How much do nannies charge?
From our experience the average rates will range from £12-£16+ net per hour for live out roles and £400-£650+ for full time live in roles in London.
Here are a couple of examples to show what you could expect to pay.
Full Time Live Out:
£12-£15 Net per hour
Total cost for an employer based on a 45 hour week: £3,450-£4,500 per month
Part Time Live Out:
£13-£15 Net per hour
Total cost for an employer based on a 25 hour week: £1,850-£2,250 per month
Full Time Live In:
£400-£650 net per week
Total cost for an employer per month: £2,400-£4,500 per month
How do the hours required affect the rate I will be charged?
The hours that the nanny is required to work will have an impact on the rate charged. Generally roles that are either part time, split (before & after school) or have less sociable hours, e.g. 2-9pm will require a higher hourly rate than standard full time roles. The same applies for weekend & overnight care. Temp roles would also generally demand a higher rate.
What else would impact the cost of a nanny?
In addition to experience and qualifications there are many other factors that can impact the rate the nanny will charge. Below are some of the most common factors that may impact the cost of the nanny for specific roles
- The number of children in their care
- Twins/Multiple children of the same age
- Additional language requirements
- Requirement for a driving license/own car
- SEN specialist experience
- Teaching/Tutoring aspect to the role
- PA experience
- Housekeeping
- Overseas travel
- Location
- Quality of accommodation for live in roles
- Specialist roles such as night nanny, maternity nurse, Nanny/carer
- How many nannies are in your area
Will there be occasions where I have to pay any additional money to a nanny?
Yes – if you need the nanny to do additional hours on top of those agreed in their standard working week you would need to pay them for the extra time, for example if you needed evening babysitting.
Overnight care is also often charged differently to their normal hours and will vary depending on the circumstances, such as if the child sleeps through the night, etc.
When traveling with your nanny some may also request an additional fee for each night they are away and it is standard practice to offer them an allowance for food/drink per day.
What about nanny shares?
The vast majority of nannies will ask for a higher rate to look after children from two or more families. When considering if a nanny share is the best solution, you would need to allow for the fact that, from a legal perspective, each family is considered to be an employer. As such each family would need to pay at least the minimum wage. For example from April 2022, the minimum wage will be £9.50 gross so the minimum a nanny could legally be paid for a nanny share involving two families would be £19 gross per hour.
Finders’ fees
Once you know how much you’re happy to spend on a nanny, you also need to consider how you’re going to find them. Most people use an agency to do this, and in return will pay an initial fee along with a finders’ fee once they’ve found a suitable candidate.
If you use Bubble’s Full Time Nanny service, you’ll get a better deal than other agencies:
- No upfront fee – you don’t pay anything until you’ve found a brilliant nanny
- We charge just 10% of the nanny’s annual salary*
- As part of our service we’ll take care of contracts and payroll for free – saving you hundreds of pounds
- We’ll also give you free premium membership and £250 childcare credit to use on the Bubble app for any back-up care or extra babysitting you may need
To learn more, submit an enquiry here and one of our team will get back to you shortly.
Other considerations
Once you’ve decided to hire a full-time nanny, you can move forward with interviewing nannies and choosing your perfect fit. For more information on this, check out our top tips for finding a great nanny.
* Charge is 10% + VAT of the nanny’s gross salary.
