Nanny salaries jump to £40,000 in London as rising cost of nurseries, shortage of au pairs after Brexit and families moving to rural areas post-lockdown push wages up by 13%
- Nannies in the UK now earns average salary of £32,552, according to Nannytax
- In London the figure is higher, with the average nanny earning £39,806-a-year
- Increase due to Covid lockdowns and a lack of au pairs from the EU, say experts
UK nannies are enjoying a post-pandemic (and post-Brexit) salary boom, new figures have today revealed.
While many workers are facing below-inflation pay rises this year, nannies have actually seen their salaries spike by 13 per cent in the last 12-month.
A nanny working in London now earns an average gross annual salary of £39,806 – or £15.31 per hour.
And those in the rest of the UK earn an average of £32,552 – or £12.52 per hour – more than £1,000 higher than the country’s mean salary.
The wage increase – which a certain fictional nanny may well describe as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – is apparently being driven by childcare provider shortages and the soaring cost of nursery places.
Covid lockdowns also created a spike in demand for in-house childcare services, and this has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, say experts.
But Brexit is also a factor, say NannyTax, a nanny support and employment service who published the data.
They say stricter rules post-Brexit mean au pairs from EU countries are no longer able to travel freely to the UK, creating more opportunities for British childcare workers.
‘Families who previously had an au pair are now looking for nannies to cover their childcare arrangements, driving further demand,’ according to Nannytax’s report.
While many workers are facing below-inflation pay rises this year, nannies (pictured: Library image) have seen their salaries spike by 13 per cent in the last 12-month, according to Nannytax
Outside of London, the south east of England is the best area for nannies’ pay, with an average of £14.59, with Oxfordshire the highest paying area at £16.02
The figures are calculated for live-out nannies working 50 hours per week. They show how nannies in London earn a higher average salary than any other area in the UK, at £15.31 per hour
The figures, published in the annual Nannytax Salary Index, are based on almost 8,000 of the company’s internal payroll records for the tax year 2021/22.
The figures are calculated for live-out nannies working 50 hours per week.
They show how nannies in London earn a higher average salary than any other area in the UK, at £15.31 per hour.
And it is specifically west London, home to upmarket areas such as Chelsea, Kensington and Richmond, where nannies are best paid – earning a capital high average of £15.75 per hour.
Outside of London, the south east of England is the best area for nannies’ pay, with an average of £14.59, with Oxfordshire the highest paying area at £16.02.
However the county with the highest average wage in the UK is Lincolnshire, in the East Midlands area, according to Nannytax. Nannies there are paid on average £17.56 per hour, more than in central London.
The lowest paid region for nannies is in Northern Ireland, where the hourly rate is £11.00 – £6.50 less per hour than in the highest paid area.
The next lowest paid area is Wales, at £11.28 per hour, followed by the West Midlands, at £11.99 per hour.
Despite London being the best paid area for nannies, it was outside of the capital which saw the largest wage hikes.
According to Nannytax, nannies outside London earned an average of £32,552 last year, up 12.7 per cent on the previous year.
In London the figure is £39,806 up 8.4 per cent, while Greater London and the Home Counties saw the smallest rise of 2.8 per cent to £35,438.
Despite London being the best paid area for nannies, it was outside of the capital which saw the largest wage hikes. According to NannyTax, nannies outside London earned an average of £32,552 last year, up 12.7 per cent on the previous year. In London the figure is £39,806 up 8.4 per cent, while Greater London and the Home Counties saw the smallest rise of 2.8 per cent to £35,438
The county with the highest average wage in the UK is Lincolnshire, in the East Midlands area, according to NannyTax. Nannies there are paid on average £17.56 per hour, more than in central London
Speaking about the figures, Kirsty Wild, a nanny employment expert at Nannytax, said: ‘Demand initially rose during the first lockdown when nurseries were forced to close their doors and nannies were the only childcare providers permitted to continue working.
‘Some parents also decided hiring a nanny was a safer option than sending their children to nurseries or childminders.
‘But that turned out to be no flash in the pan. Since then demand has remained very high, with Brexit rules putting the stoppers on EU nannies and au pairs working in the UK, and an increase in families – supported by changes in the workplace – uprooting to rural areas that aren’t always well-served by nurseries.
‘For some of these families, hiring a nanny is the only viable childcare option.’
Frankie Grey, founder of UK nanny agency Harmony at Home, added: ‘Rising demand for in-home childcare, alongside a candidate shortage compounded by Brexit, has contributed to the increases in salaries.
‘With the quantity of jobs far exceeding the number of applicants, we are the busiest that we have ever been.’
Although nannies are the most expensive childcare option, almost three quarters (73%) of nanny agencies say the cost of caring for more than one child is no higher than caring for one. Approved nannies can also be paid via the Tax-Free Childcare scheme.
Wild adds: ‘Tax-Free Childcare is, unfortunately, underused. Just over 512,000 families have signed up for it, yet some 1.3M families are eligible.
‘This scheme can be used to pay approved nannies up to £2,000 per child per year, so we urge all eligible parents to take advantage of this discount.’
Nanny shares, where two or more families use the same nanny, are also increasingly popular, although families involved in the arrangement should be aware that each employer must pay the nanny at least minimum wage.
It comes after it was reported last year that wealthy families are so desperate to secure super nannies that they are resorting to ‘dirty tactics’ and offering eye-watering salaries.
Lucy Challenger, the founder of upmarket London nanny agency Polo and Tweed, told the Sunday Telegraph that a current shortage of nannies and au pairs post Brexit has seen wealthy families court their friends’ nannies, showering them with gifts and promises of an extravagant lifestyle in the hope that they’ll jump ship and look after their children instead.
Perks include, but are not limited to, £70,000 annual salaries, regular spa treatments, luxury cars and holidays abroad – with one family even throwing the lure of an all-expenses paid Chelsea flat into the deal.
Nannies are increasingly aware of their earning power, with some asking families to fill out formal offers outlining the benefits they’ll receive under their employment, including gym memberships, paid driving lessons and weekends away in the families’ holiday homes.
Ms Challenger said parents who wish to keep their nannies should give them generous pay rises as soon as possible to avoid them being poached by someone else.
‘I heard of one family who stole their friends’ nanny after they’d seen how good she was while at a dinner party at their house. They subtly got hold of her number and offered her a £70,000 salary and a Range Rover as a signing bonus,’ she said.
Some parents have reportedly staged meet-ups with their friends’ nannies to poach them too, offering up to £25,000 pay increase and cars.
One woman also wooed her friend’s nanny by becoming her shoulder to cry on.
Ms Challenger said families should give their nannies a raise if they want to keep them.
‘You’ve got to be a really nice person to work for – there’s never been a better time to be a professional nanny,’ she said.
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