Sharing your nanny part time

Why you might want to share part time – even if the nanny works full-time

We have lots of families in our network who have a full time nanny — but who are happy to do a part time nanny share.

What is a nanny share?

In a nanny share, instead of having their own nanny, the children of two local families are looked after by one nanny at the same time. This way the kids have a friend to play with, the nanny gets a higher pay, and both families save on their childcare costs.

This means parents save 30% on their monthly childcare bill, in comparison to sole care, allowing families to choose from a bigger pool of nannies, and expand their contracted hours to cover all weekdays and even holidays.

Why would a family with a full time nanny want to share only part time?

Mostly, it’s because these families really want their child to interact with other children — for the development benefits —  rather than being focussed on the nanny all of the time. As one mum said to us recently, ‘Nanny share is almost like giving our toddler a brother or sister’. The cost saving is a nice bonus but isn’t the point.

For these families, a mixture of solo nanny time and nanny share time can work really well. The nanny looks after the baby or toddler full time, but another child joins them only on some days (or mornings, or whatever). The kids get lots of playing time on nanny share days, and get individual focus on the solo days. On solo days, the nanny can take one child to activities best suited to a 1:1 adult-child ratio, like swimming lessons.

A mixture of sole and share can also work well for the nanny, who can plan activities which work better with two children as well as those that work better with one. The week becomes more varied and interesting, too.

For the ‘other’ family joining in, doing a part time share with a full time family is brilliant as it offers them maximum flexibility.

“I love the flexibility of nanny share – we can increase or decrease our hours each week and our nanny has been great, we really fell on our feet with her.”

Mum of two, Blackheath

It’s usually easy to find great match options for full time families looking to share their nanny part time, as we always have lots of part time families looking to join in. If you think this might be you, get in touch.

How much does it cost?

With Koru Kids, for hours where the nanny looks after both families’ children (shared care hours) the cost for each family is between £10 – £10.75 per hour, depending on the nanny’s level of experience.

For hours where the nanny looks after only one family’s children (sole care hours) the cost is the standard £15.00 – £18.00 per hour. This will depend on how much experience your nanny has.

So how does it work?

In some shares, the care always takes place in one family’s home. For other shares, the care is split between both homes. If you find your nanny share through Koru Kids, we take care of all of the admin and fiddly bits.

From the recruitment, vetting and training of your nanny, through to DBS checks, contracts, tax and pension contributions, employers’ National Insurance etc. Additionally, we’ll offer ongoing support and extra training throughout your relationship.

The process is simple for you as we work in the background to make everything as smooth as possible!

How long does it take?

It really varies – some families meet just one other family a few days after registering with us, and immediately decide to go ahead with them. They’re either lucky or fast decision makers. Others meet three, four or even more families, and take longer to decide. 

FAQs when setting up a nanny share

How will the holiday work?

In a sole situation, nannies typically choose two weeks’ holiday a year and parents choose the other two weeks. Some nannies are unsure how holiday works in a share situation and worry they might lose this ability to choose

Solution: The nanny isn’t affected – she still gets to choose two weeks of her holiday. Each family chooses one other week, making four weeks in total.

Will I get muddled up with the taxes?

Nanny share tax administration is complicated. This isn’t the nanny’s problem really, but in practice parents often end up asking the nanny for advice, as nanny tax can be a bit strange, and nannies often understand it better than parents. So nannies can sometimes worry they’ll be landed with complicated tax questions.

Solution: Assuming you’re doing a Koru Kids share, reassure the nanny that we do all the tax admin and answer any questions from either the parents or the nanny.

Will I get caught in the middle?

Some nannies worry they’ll get caught in the middle of two sets of parents who want different things. If you’ve ever had two bosses, you’ll know how hard this can be.

Solution: Reassure the nanny you’ll communicate well with the other family, and that you won’t ask for contradictory things.  We find that the most successful nanny shares are the ones where the parents let the nanny get on with her job, using her professional judgement. If you let your nanny know this is your plan, you’ll be in good shape.

Our 3 tips to set up a successful nanny share 

  1. Walking distance is best, but not the only way. We’ve seen nanny shares that are a few tube stops apart, but most of our shares are within walking distance. This makes things easier for both the families and the nanny, especially if any after school activities are involved.
  2. Children of all ages can work together. Just like natural families, nanny shares come in all shapes and sizes and may involve children of different ages. Different age combinations can be beneficial for both older and younger kids. Younger children can benefit from having an older role model, but older children also benefit from being able to teach and support those younger than them.
  3. Be guided by the nanny’s enthusiasm. In a nanny share, the nanny gets paid more per hour, so experienced nannies tend to really like it. For many nannies, it’s a career progression to take on a share. Of course, not all nannies want to take on more responsibility for more money—just like in any other part of the workforce. If you are interviewing a nanny for a role that you hope will eventually become a nanny share, be explicit about your plans at the interview.

 

 

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