Working Hours and Pay

The amount you should expect to pay for home staff depends on a number of factors.

Position

Obviously, the position sought will dictate the salary range. In simplest terms, you would expect to pay more to a nanny than to a mother’s help, and in turn, a mother’s help would be paid more than an au pair.

Location

You would expect to pay more for someone if you live in an area with a higher cost of living, namely London and the south east, and other large cities. This is certainly true for live out help. However, this rule starts to become hazy with live in help. Here, the cost of accommodation does not apply. More interestingly, and this relates especially to au pairs, a host family located in London is generally more appealing than one in the middle of the countryside. You may have to offer more to attract someone to the job.

Experience/Qualification

This is proportional to salary. The salary requirements go up for people with substantial experience and or qualifications.

Hours

Wages are commonly compared on a weekly basis, but every vacancy is different in terms of the hours required. The table below is based on a standard working week for the positions listed.

For au pairs, this is 25 hours with 2 evenings of baby sitting.

For live out professional childcare positions, the hours can often be 8am to 6pm daily, Monday to Friday.

For live in, the hours can be slightly more, but on the flip side they can have time off during the day. Live in positions often include 1 or 2 evenings of baby sitting.

Domestic staff positions often vary more in term of the hours required, so the table shows only hourly rates.

Duties

Similar to hours, the level of duties/responsibilities required will have an affect o the salary.

Role	Live In	Live Out	Hourly Rate
Au Pair	£60-100	-	-
Au pair plus	£80-130	-	-

Mother’s Help
Nanny/Housekeeper	£220-340	£250-400	-
Maternity Nurse	£300-500	-	-

Domestic staff	-	-	£6-10