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Nannies shortage pushes annual salaries to £28,800
Last updated at 10:22am on 18.01.07
Nannies can earn up to £22,500 and enjoy free accommodation
A shortage of trained nannies willing to live with families has sent their salaries soaring, new research revealed today.
Nannies who live-in have enjoyed a 12 per cent pay rise in the past two years to take their earnings to over £22,500, according to a study by Nursery World magazine and payroll service Nannytax.
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They also enjoy the bonus of free accommodation and having all their bills paid. The real cost of having a nanny can be about £40,000 a year.
Daily nannies, who live elsewhere and work set hours per day or week, can command an average salary of £28,786, up 6 per cent in two years.
But the era of having a live-in nanny is drawing to a close. Nannytax said over half of nanny jobs are now part-time.
Kate Baker, the founder of Abbeville Nannies in Clapham, London, said their role was changing.
“Of the nannies we have on our books, I would say fewer than one per cent are now willing to live in, compared with maybe 20 per cent five years ago.”
She believes that a change to the working holiday visas for Australians and New Zealanders, who can now work for only one year in Britain, is one of the reasons for the shortage.
Although hiring a nanny is not cheap says Liz Roberts, editor of Nursery World, it is a cost-effective option for families facing rises in nursery fees.
Andrew Myers, managing director of Nannytax, said: “The market is split into a distinct two-tier pay structure, with the professional English nanny commanding a higher wage.
“This is being off-set by the new Europeans who provide a low-cost alternative to other childcare options. More parents are choosing to employ a nanny.”
However, families with a nanny have to pay employers national insurance — adding over £2,000 to the wages bill.
Two years ago Gordon Brown introduced the childcare approval scheme tax break, which entitles parents to claim tax credits if they use a qualified nanny.
But the survey found only 3,000 nannies had registered for it — a fraction of the estimated 20,000 workforce.
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Surely the nannies should be paid a fair percentage of the absentee parents wages. What price loco parentis?
- Phil, Waltham Abbey
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