10 Ways to Establish How Much to Pay a Nanny

After braving the stack of resumes, weeding through an army of candidates, and sitting through dozens of interviews, there’s still one daunting task left before settling into a routine with your new nanny: salary negotiations. Before making the initial offer and beginning the delicate negotiation process, here are 10 factors to take into consideration when arriving at your opening number.

1. Examine Your Expectations – Realistically and objectively examine what you’ll be expecting your nanny to take on. Carefully determining what her job will entail and what compensation you feel is fair is a great place to start.
2. Take the “Going Rate” Into Account – Contacting local nanny placement agencies, scanning profiles on online nanny sites, and looking at Craigslist ads can help you determine the going wage range in your area.
3. Consider the Number of Charges – While nannies charge by family not per child, one school-aged child will naturally be less expensive to provide care for than three newborn toddlers, so take into account how many children you have and their age levels.
4. Discuss Additional Duties – Many nannies won’t even consider taking on chores and duties unrelated to childcare, and those who do rightfully expect to be compensated accordingly. After determining whether or not your favorite candidate will be willing to increase her work load, it’s important to determine how much you’ll consider paying for any additional duties desired and agreed upon.
5. Determine a Fuel or Mileage Allowance – If part of your nanny’s job description includes transporting your children to and from school or activities and you’re not capable of providing a family vehicle for her work-related use, you’ll be expected to pay her the standard IRS mileage reimbursement rate.
6. Live-In Versus Live-Out – One of the most important determining factors for a nanny’s salary is whether she will be expected to live-in or pay for her own room and board elsewhere. Live-in nannies generally command a slightly lower salary than they would if they lived out.
7. Consider Her Level of Education – A nanny with a doctorate will naturally expect a much higher salary than a high-school graduate; make sure that your initial salary offer is commensurate with her level of relevant education and skill.
8. How Much is Her Experience Worth? – Nannies who have extensive work experience are much more costly investments than a rookie looking to learn the ropes. Considering how much experience you expect your nanny to have and what you think that experience is worth is another important step in the process.
9. Check Her References, Background and Consider Her Level of Demand – Some nannies are in such high demand that they can literally choose their own clients. If you’ve managed to land an interview with one of these extremely desirable childcare professionals, be prepared to offer her top dollar.
10. Figure Out What You Can Afford – Offering an extravagant salary and lavish perks package does no good if you’re going to go bankrupt after paying the first month’s salary. Keeping your expectations and demands in line with what you can afford to pay is the single most important thing to consider when working out your nanny’s salary. 

There are many factors that must be considered when a nanny’s salary is being determined, and it’s important to maintain an open dialogue with your favorite candidate. Most experienced nannies understand the difficulty that new employers face when hiring their first nanny and will offer as much assistance as they can.

Comments are closed.