Pay Rate for Long-term Nanny for Twins

[Anonymous]

Hello,
What's a reasonable rate to pay a nanny who will work 45-50 hours week with twins starting when they're four months old. She will be long-term and live-out. No TV, homemade baby food, breastmilk bottles, lots of outdoor play and activities, and take them to a few classes when they're older. What's a good starting rate? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Starting out 15/hr minimum plus overtime for anything over 40 hours. Also figure out PTO, vacation, etc.

Outdoor play, activities and classes should not be a main concern right now. Especially because you cannot 100% guarantee this nanny will be around until they're 1 years older and over.

Walks outside, playing with toys, music, and books is okay to discuss.

[Anonymous]

Where are you located? I think $18/hr minimum to begin - infant twins can be a lot of work.

[Anonymous]

Get someone with lots of infant experience, at least some multiples experience, excellent references and be prepared to pay $18-$20 an hour. Don't listen to your friends who tell you you're nuts to pay more than $14 or some silly figure. You need a qualified nanny for peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

The OP said she is looking for long term nanny which means that she can't start too high or the nanny will price herself out of a job in a few years. $750 a week ($15 an hour average for 50 hours) for twins is a pretty good starting salary and the OP should find a good number of very qualified candidates. I know several families with twins and they are not paying $900+ a week for their nanny.

[Anonymous]

OP-please ignore 10:24. While you may want to keep future raises in mind, it will be extremely difficult to find a good, experienced nanny for twins in this area at $15 an hour ( regardless of what all PPs friends are telling. You're choosing the most expensive form of child care and that is absolutely your right. Just don't buy into anything too good to be true.

[Anonymous]

OP, the nannies on this board always try to inflate rates. You will be paying thousands more per year if you listen to them. Be strong, ignore the crazies.

1. I would suggest offering 50 hours and negotiating against a weekly guaranteed gross amount. Nannies will take a much lower rate for more hours because they are focused on the weekly take home pay. You should budget for about $700-$800 and add 10% for taxes, unemployment, workers comp etc. If you are in the burbs, its closer to $700 than $800.

2. Post your ad in multiple places, on line and in print. Do not include your salary/rate but you should include any non-negotiatbles like must be legal to work, driving requirement etc. You will need to do a good amount of phone screening. Choose 2-3 final candidates for an in person interview and check references very closely. Fake references are common among nannies.

3. Negotiate the rate. Every nanny we interviewed who asked for a rate higher than our budget came immediately and offered to work for a lower amount. There are a ton of nannies on the market and competition for jobs paying more than $500-$600 a week is fierce.

[Anonymous]

OP, we pay $650/wk for 50 hrs. We also handle taxes, contribute to healthcare costs, cover out of pocket expenses, are considering making a car available for the nanny's use during working hours, and - of course - pay all overtime etc.. when appropriate. So we calculate her gross weekly rate at 40 hours of regular time, and 10 hours of overtime.

She is a citizen, has a clean driving record, tremendous references and lots of experience - including working with twins. We found her through a neighborhood listserv - not an agency. That's why I think we got such a great deal - we're very lucky. I was fully prepared to have to go up to $900/wk but not having to be in that range allows us much greater flexibility to give her more hours, contribute to healthcare, consider a third car so she has one, etc... As the PP said, we found that there was some room for negotiation when we were interviewing nannies, though ours actually requested less than we're paying her. We didn't feel right about paying her so little so we bumped it some, but we still have room to grow for a few years with her (happily).

I also agree w/ the PP in terms of talking about a weekly rate (though you do have to know the hourly straight/overtime breakdown), and her other suggestions.

Don't penny pinch - you have to find someone you like and trust, but if you can do that it a way that would allow you to offer raises and bonuses if he/she works out long-term all the better.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

PP here - meant to say that we have twins also. Our nanny came to us when they were 4 mths old and has been with us almost a year.

[Anonymous]

We are in the DC area and pay $990/week for a nanny share with 2 infants (50 hrs). I think we probably could have found someone for a little less, but our nanny has excellent references, English, & experience. Twins might be somewhat cheaper since they will already be on a schedule and nanny only has to deal with one house/one set of parents.

[Anonymous]

$850/week here for twin 18 month olds. Started her at $750/week when they were 6 months.