January 2000
On the Up and Up! The results of the survey for 1999 show the highest average wage rises in several years
Our last nanny wages survey, which we compiled at the end of 1998 and published in January 1999, showed a marked slowdown in the rate of increase in nannies' wages across the UK in comparison with the previous few years. And a clear majority of participating nanny agencies predicted that wages were not likely to increase significantly over the coming 12 months. But our latest survey at the end of last year, tells an altogether different story!
Wages for live-in and daily nannies in all UK locations have risen very substantially in real terms (i.e. after inflation) over the past 1 2 months, with the greatest rises being seen outside London and the Home Counties. Daily nannies in other UK cities and towns and in the country have seen average wage rises of 17.5 per cent (to £ 196 net per week) and 15.5 per cent (to £188 net) respectively, while their live-in colleagues in the same areas have seen even larger increases, by 21.5 per cent (to £169 net) and 18 per cent (to £163 net) respectively. Daily Nannies in central London and outer London/Home Counties, already earning significantly more than nannies in other parts of the UK, have seen average wage increases of 10 per cent (to £289 net) and 8 per cent (to £230 net) respectively, while their live-in counterparts have seen average rises of 7 per cent (to £214 net) and 11 per cent (to £185 net) respectively.
SHORT SUPPLY
There are probably several factors contributing to these striking increases. Firstly, wage increases across the board may well reflect market forces, a shortage of nannies available to work for an increasing number of potential employers. Nannies are very much in demand, but it is not clear that new nannies are entering the profession in sufficient numbers to meet it and the negative publicity still attached to such high-profile cases such as Louise Woodward and Louise Sullivan may have deterred some potential nannies from entering the profession.
Secondly, it seems that nannies are increasingly being valued by parents as being worthy of the professional status that they deserve, and being offered the wages that go with this. As Katherine Shields of Imperial Nannies commented: “Good nannies are always in demand and clients will pay more if they have to.” Heather Khan of Little Extras Nannies says that “Nannies’ earnings have become more realistic in the last two years”, while Helen Kewley of Nice Nannies Now in Huntingdon observed that: “The provision of nurseries has taken away a whole layer of middle income employers.
The nannies I was placing in 1999 were much better paid - but fewer in number. But although the nannies are earning more, parents are expecting more for the money. They are looking for higher standards.”
THE IMPACT OF THE NMW
One of the most significant factors, which may well account for the especially sharp increase in nannies' wages in the traditionally less well paid parts of the UK, was the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in April 1999. A single nanny over 22 years old working an average 50 hour week now has to be paid at least £150 net per week to meet the NMW requirements, and our survey shows that in this period the average wage for daily nannies employed in the country has risen from £ 163 net per week to £ 188 per week. Since the average wage takes into account a broad spectrum of salary levels being paid, clearly some of these would have been below the new NMW rate. So the least well-paid categories of nannies appear to have clearly benefited from the introduction of the NMW.
For the same reason participating agencies noted more instances of exceptionally high wages being paid than exceptionally low ones. In central London several instances of wages as high as £400 net per week (the equivalent of an annual gross of £28,386) were reported, while outside central London several wages in the range of £300 - 350 net per week were reported.
PERKS AND BENEFITS
A significant proportion of nanny agencies reported additional perks and benefits being offered to some of the nannies they have placed, and especially to live-in nannies. Foremost amongst these were the provision of separate accommodation and the use of a car outside working hours in one instance a Mercedes! Other popular perks included gym or health club membership and the use of a mobile phone. A popular perk for nannies working in the country is the use of a horse or free stabling for their own horse, which was mentioned by several agencies.
Some parents are starting to introduce practices of incentivisation to their nannies, perhaps another sign of their nannies' increasing value to them. Several agencies mentioned incentives such as a loyalty bonus for staying more than a year, a Christmas bonus, and a bonus for not being ill - presumably offered retrospectively as it would be difficult to agree to in advance!
More unusual perks mentioned this year included £ 1 000 worth of hair treatment all school holidays off on full pay, and use of the family credit card (presumably with a few guidelines!)
The nanny agency that mentioned a naturist family offering naturist facilities for a nanny who also enjoyed nudism did not say whether the post was successfully filled!
FUTURE TRENDS
While the results of our survey paint a generally positive picture of improved salary levels for nannies, accompanied by improved professional status, working as a nanny in a private household can, on occasions, be a solitary and isolating experience, and average wages for different categories and locations of nannying can hide wide variations in the rewards individual nannies receive for their work, While things seem to be improving greatly for the average nanny, it is worth remembering that most parents are paying their nannies out of their own, already taxed, income and that until they get tax relief from the State for the cost of their childcare, this will always act as a brake upon the level of wages they are prepared (or able) to pay their nannies,
The fact that the Government has not extended the childcare element of the new family tax credit to parents employing a nanny (on the grounds that nannies are not registered!) means that where lower paid parents have employed a (lower-paid) nanny, most often outside the South of England, they will now get helpful tax rebates only by using a childminder or a nursery instead, The likely knock-on effect of this legislation will then be that employing a nanny, once the preserve of the upper middle classes, but which has become an increasingly popular option for middle-income families over the past few years, will return once more to being the preserve solely of upper income families, This may mean fewer nannies in the profession earning higher salaries, and our survey figures suggest that this may even now be starting to happen.
Finally, of all the agencies surveyed, 50 per cent believe wages over the next 12 months will rise slightly, in line with inflation, while 2 per cent believe they will fall. 34 per cent believe they will stay roughly the same, and 14 per cent believe they will increase in real terms, Most nannies will be hoping that those choosing the latter will be proved right for a second year running!