Moneybox
February 1999
I think I'm due a pay rise but I'm nervous about approaching my employers. How do I go about it?
Asking your employers for a pay rise can be a daunting prospect for many nannies, but feeling undervalued or not fully appreciated, let alone short of money, can feel even worse!
After our wages survey last month, there are probably other nannies like you who realise that their wages fall considerably on the low side of the average figures we published and are wondering how to remedy the situation!
Fortunately there are several ways that you can go about this without to enter into a conflict or confrontation with your employers. Remember, too, that they may be finding it just as difficult as you are to address this issue since nannying is a types of employment that combines personal and professional relationships in a special way.
The best way to tackle this, when you first start working for an employer, is to ask for an initial salary review after a three-month trial period, followed by an annual salary review, and making sure that your entitlement to this is written into your contract (or a letter confirming the terms under which you are employed). This removes any possible awkwardness about periodically having to raise the issue with your employer – although you may still have to remind them that they have agreed to this!
The review process itself, since it is more formalized than normal communication, can also be a useful way to allow both you and your employer to raise any issues concerning your performance or changes in employment arrangements which may be on your mind or theirs. Any reasonable employer will not object to your asking for this annual review. After all, they expect no less themselves from any company they work for.
If you do not have this guaranteed review written into your contract (or, worrying, do not have a contract – though we hope you would never take a job without one!), probably the most important consideration for you is to choose your moment well to ask for a salary review. Good timing is everything. If you pick a moment when you and your employer are communicating well, and when neither of you is under pressure, then it is obviously much easier for them to see your point of view sympathetically (and you theirs).
This may be a tall order for some daily nannies who are arriving to take care of the children just as parents are rushing off to their work, and vice versa at the end of the day, but there is usually a moment when it feels right to raise the issue or to arrange to have a discussion. If you can then let your employer know, as much un your attitude as in what you actually say, that you realise that your employment is a significant expense to them and they in turn can acknowledge that the role you play is quite invaluable in their life, and that you should be properly rewarded for it, then you already have a good basis for an amicable negotiation.
Of course, some caring employers will want to take the initiative themselves in showing you their appreciation by offering you periodic wage rises. This is obviously preferable to you having to take the initiative to ask them! But not all employers will feel this way, particularly those who can only just afford to employ you in the first place.
Many professional working mums return to work after having a child in order not to loose career progression, but earn not much more, after tax, than they are paying their nanny to step into their shoes at home! Letting them know that you understand their situation may help you in your request for a pay increase, but it should be acceptable for them to use this argument as a reason to refuse your request.
At the end of the day you are probably more invaluable to your employer than you realise, or than they often let you know, and although job satisfaction and your relationship with the children may be every bit as important to you, you may also deserve to earn a fair salary and have regular pay reviews. If you feel that your employer is ignoring this issue, even when you have tried to raise it with them or if they refuse point blank to offer you an increase, then obviously your final option is to find another employer who will both appreciate the work you do and reward you properly for it.