Affordable nannies and extra domestic staff on rise!

The latest annual Nanny Salary Survey from Nannytax, the UK’s leading payroll service for nanny employers, has found that the live in nanny is now more affordable than in pre-recession times when demand outstripped supply. Nanny salaries went down as much as 5% over the last year, against a national average salary rise of 1.4%.

Interestingly, more people employing nannies also employed additional staff at home in 2012, showing the British growth in household services, and possibly nostalgia for the ‘Downton Abbey days’. Families employing one extra member of staff increased nearly three-fold between 2010 and 2012 (from 22% in 2010 to 61% in 2012). ?

The survey of 1,145 nanny employers and 702 nannies also reveals that female British nannies dominate (74% from the UK) in UK homes. Only 13% originate from Eastern Europe (a small rise of 2% year on year), 4% from Australasia and less than 1% from a perceived previously dominating Scandinavia.

Men remain a real minority amongst nannies, making up less than 1% of UK nannies (0.9%). As are older nannies, with the majority (46%) aged 21 to 30, and a third (31%) between 31 and 40 years old. Less than 7% of nannies are over 50 years.

Helen Harvey, Payroll Services Director at Nannytax says: “If you have the space, a live in nanny might well be worth considering if you’re a working family. It’s certainly more realistic than previous years with nanny salaries down, against a general national wage rise, whilst other childcare costs are on the rise. The appeal is particularly strong if you’re based in Greater London or the Home Counties where live in nanny salaries are down 5%.”

Nannies have always needed extra skills alongside childcare. However, it appears that demand for these additional skills is lessening. According to the Nannytax survey, top additional skills requested by families looking for a nanny in 2012 were cooking skills (wanted by 48% of families, down 10.5% from 2011), driving (47%, down 7.5%), teaching creative skills  (19%, down 1.5%) and academic tuition (6%, down 1.7%).