# Childminder - rates for employing



## shoestring (2 May 2013)

Does anyone have any idea how much the going rate for someone to look after a child in the child's own home per day (9-6pm) is?


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## ClaireM (2 May 2013)

Au pairs do part time childminding/housework in exchange for pocket money, room and board. Usually 25 hours per week and pocket money of about €100 per week.

Au pairs should not be working fulltime hours.


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## Sandals (2 May 2013)

ClaireM said:


> Au pairs should not be working fulltime hours.



+1

Perhaps you mean a live in nanny.

Childminder, in your own home mininmum wage as your their employer, any cleaning/fuel costs etc extra.

Childminder in their home general rule of thumb, €5 an hour for one child, €3 for second/third (some may do €2 for a third). However a weekly rate that your both happy with can be agreed on.


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## shoestring (2 May 2013)

OK thanks Claire, maybe I'm wording it wrong. Childminder?


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## shoestring (2 May 2013)

Thanks Claire missed your second reply


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## fraggle (2 May 2013)

my research indicates 5 euro/hour


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## Leo (2 May 2013)

fraggle said:


> my research indicates 5 euro/hour


 
So less than minimum wage???


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## fraggle (2 May 2013)

Yes. it's cash, and you can earn a decent amount tax free.

Any more, and you can't compete with the creches etc.

If the parents work 8 hours per day, then you are going to have to work 9 to cope with their commute = 45 x 5 = 225/week = 900/month. That is what a creche would charge.
Some do it for 200/week.


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## orka (2 May 2013)

fraggle said:


> Yes. it's cash, and you can earn a decent amount tax free.
> 
> Any more, and you can't compete with the creches etc.


The possibility of earning taxfree from childminding is only if it is done in the childminder's home - the OP is looking for someone to come to the child's house - ie looking for an employee to come to their own home. A childminder in the child's home has advantages over creches - don't have to get the child(ren) out of bed early in the morning and no issue if the child a sick (obviously a disadvantage if the childminder is sick...). But the employer will have to register for tax, prsi etc. and keep employee records, do P60s etc.


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## Magpie (2 May 2013)

fraggle said:


> Yes. it's cash, and you can earn a decent amount tax free.
> 
> Any more, and you can't compete with the creches etc.
> 
> ...



You'd pay someone 5 euro an hour to come to your home all day every day to look after your child? Someone untrained, unregistered, illegal, and for that price, no doubt totally disinterested, to spend every day with your child? 

Unreal.


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## fraggle (2 May 2013)

Magpie said:


> You'd pay someone 5 euro an hour to come to your home all day every day to look after your child? Someone untrained, unregistered, illegal, and for that price, no doubt totally disinterested, to spend every day with your child?
> 
> Unreal.



I misread the 'in the owners house' part. 

If I had no spare money, then I would, as that is more or less the going rate, and I don't like creches.

In reality, that is what my wife is receiving, but she is only doing it to help out a friend for a year, and research indicated that was the going rate, and that is what she was offered too.

I know of people doing it in the owners house for that rate too.


If I had reduced income, and a big mortgage, and needed childminding, then my choices are a creche at ~800/month which is 200/week, or a childminder. The childminder would need to earn 200/week to make it viable.... about 5/hour.

I think my wife is crazy to work all day but it really is a favour, she knows the kids well, and is helping somebody out. The money is a bonus. Would she do it as a job for that rate, not on your life, but PLENTY are. Just search for childminders and rates.

My wife is a mother and a qualified teacher. If she wanted to do it as a job she could probably charge more, but the numbers willing to pay it would be very low indeed.


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## Hillsalt (2 May 2013)

http://www.aupairireland.ie/faq.html#1


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## Magpie (3 May 2013)

A childminder will take a child for 5e an hour, but they generally have three or four children, which makes it 15-20e an hour. Big difference. You'd have to be mad to work 45 hours a week for 200e.


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## fraggle (3 May 2013)

Lots of people do it! And outside of Dublin for 180!


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## Bronte (3 May 2013)

ClaireM said:


> .
> 
> Au pairs should not be working fulltime hours.


 
My sister was an au pair in Spain and my mother in France, both most certainly worked more than 25 hours.  But they had free accommodation, become fluent in a different language and had an amazing cultural experience.  And learnt about 'foreign' food.


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## Leo (3 May 2013)

What fraggle is suggesting is illegal. Hiring someone in this manner puts you at significant risk if anything were ever to go wrong. For example, if they were ever to suffer an accident in your home, you would be fully liable, and your insurance would not cover you.

I've edited the title of the thread as what the OP is looking for is clearly not an au-pair.


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## Sandals (3 May 2013)

Leo said:


> What fraggle is suggesting is illegal. Hiring someone in this manner puts you at significant risk if anything were ever to go wrong. For example, if they were ever to suffer an accident in your home, you would be fully liable, and your insurance would not cover you.
> 
> I've edited the title of the thread as what the OP is looking for is clearly not an au-pair.




Leo, many Home Insurance Policys cover childminding, also their is NO legal reason for a childminder to register in Ireland unless they mind more than three children. Its more the bringing of children in a car thats the issue, private policys means only private passengers so childminders will have a agreeement in place with parents that if anything happened they're only carrying that child for that day. 

See http://www.schooldays.ie/ under Parent Resources, then Childminders Forum for a place to advertise your requirements or indeed advertise your childminding service. There is also a discussion board on what to pay/what to charge.


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## Setanta12 (3 May 2013)

Sandals said:


> Leo, many Home Insurance Policys cover childminding, also their is NO legal reason for a childminder to register in Ireland unless they mind more than three children.



I think that to earn that amount tax-free with the Revenue, you have to notify them/ register with them / become self-assessed. Not as simple as just not declaring it.


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## Setanta12 (3 May 2013)

What do childminders do with sick children, where they're already minding (non-sick)  children ?   

Are there ad-hoc childminders out there who, on an emergency basis, look after kids  ? (And who would satisfy normal paranoid overly-protective mothers?)


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## Sandals (4 May 2013)

Kildavin said:


> What do childminders do with sick children, where they're already minding (non-sick)  children ?
> 
> Are there ad-hoc childminders out there who, on an emergency basis, look after kids  ? (And who would satisfy normal paranoid overly-protective mothers?)



Some childminders follow the rule of thumb, if the child can be sick in the parent home, they can be sick in the minders home! 

Others will say they are not a nurse! 

Contagious or on antibiotics most will say no.


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## Sandals (4 May 2013)

Kildavin said:


> I think that to earn that amount tax-free with the Revenue, you have to notify them/ register with them / become self-assessed. Not as simple as just not declaring it.



I was talking about registering as a childminding with the http://www.childminding.ie/. Alot of parents will look for registration, however this childminder will more than likely charge more as fully compliant. 

The revenue is a difference story.


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## Leo (7 May 2013)

Sandals said:


> Leo, many Home Insurance Policys cover childminding, also their is NO legal reason for a childminder to register in Ireland unless they mind more than three children.


 
Many will, but the OP will need to check terms of cover for domestic employees in their policy. If the arrangement is cash-in-hand (i.e. illegal) then you're at the mercy of the insurance company. 

That brings us on to the next point, as the OP is looking to bring someone into their home, they in effect become that persons employer, and so will need to register as an employer, pay PRSI, etc.


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## Sandals (7 May 2013)

"Leo, many Home Insurance Policys cover childminding, also their is NO legal reason for a childminder to register in Ireland unless they mind more than three children."

Many Home Insurance Policys cover childminding (as in up to two children in the childminders home). There Insurance packages available (once registered) with the childminding.ie website. 

Domestic Home Insurance Policy does not, as far as Im aware cover any sort of childminder/nanny etc coming into a family home to work and yes, they in effect become that persons employer, and so will need to register as an employer, pay PRSI, etc. In fact any childminder/nanny engaging in this type of work in the child's family home will insist on being legit.


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## Leo (8 May 2013)

Sandals said:


> "Leo, many Home Insurance Policys cover childminding, also their is NO legal reason for a childminder to register in Ireland unless they mind more than three children."
> 
> Many Home Insurance Policys cover childminding (as in up to two children in the childminders home). There Insurance packages available (once registered) with the childminding.ie website.
> 
> Domestic Home Insurance Policy does not, as far as Im aware cover any sort of childminder/nanny etc coming into a family home to work and yes, they in effect become that persons employer, and so will need to register as an employer, pay PRSI, etc. In fact any childminder/nanny engaging in this type of work in the child's family home will insist on being legit.


 
Could you use the 'quote' facility to clarify which parts you are quoting and which are your own words?

Domestic policies usually do cover domestic employees by default. Check out your own policiy under headings like 'Third Party Liability', Public and Personal Liabilities', or 'Liability to Others'.


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## Purple (8 May 2013)

Leo said:


> That brings us on to the next point, as the OP is looking to bring someone into their home, they in effect become that persons employer, and so will need to register as an employer, pay PRSI, etc.



It's a shame that there isn't some mechanism to have a child minder in your home without having to go though all that. If something can be put in place for renting a room then a way to bring child minding out of the black economy shouldn't be beyond the intellect of the wise heads at the helm. 
It is hard to see any scheme that wouldn't be abused though.


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## lauraclarke (14 Jan 2020)

ClaireM said:


> Au pairs do part time childminding/housework in exchange for pocket money, room and board. Usually 25 hours per week and pocket money of about €100 per week.
> 
> Au pairs should not be working fulltime hours.


I know this is a reply to an old post...but I am actually quite disgusted by this and shocked that people actually have this attitude. And not only am I disgusted that is complety illegal and taking advantage of a human being. 

Do you value your children? Do you value the person looking after them? How much do you care about other people?

The law states you MUST pay minimum wage to any person minding your child even if they live in your home. Minimum wage in 2014 was €8.65 times 25 is €216 a week or around €450 a week of they work 40 hours which most parents working 9-5 would require and any extra hours would cost extra. Literally parents have been brought to court many times and au pairs awarded thousands of euro owed to them in lieu of hours they worked unpaid because parents though it was acceptable to pay €4 or less an hour to mind multiple children. It's plain inhumane and it doesn't matter that you are providing accommodation which would cost them €600+ euro a month if they lived out and shared with friends. That's still only €1000 a month (if you consider your room your lending them worth €600 a month)


And if you can't afford to pay a minder the basic wage then maybe you should be considering other options. You might be struggling yourself with the bills but why make a kind, caring and loving person who is minding your most precious children by making them struggle with a wage of under €5,000 a year. Just remember you are leaving your children, who I presume are the most precious people in your life (but maybe I'm wrong) with an entire stranger who you want to love them and give them the best most dedicated care possible and you think it's acceptable for that person to try and survive on €100 a week. Are you paying for their health insurance, their phone bills, the odd lunch out with a friend as they are entitled to having friends and see them once and a while...that would hardly cover that and then how do they save for a better future?

These days you would be lucky to get a nanny with no experience for under €12 and hour or €15 per hour if they do have experience weather or not they live with you.


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## noproblem (14 Jan 2020)

lauraclarke said:


> it doesn't matter that you are providing accommodation which would cost them €600+ euro a month if they lived out and shared with friends.



Wow, that's some statement. What about a Nanny/childminder along with being paid €100 +per week, staying in the family home, having their own room, full board and treated with respect and care by the family, along with the fact that she loves the job and what she gets and you're more or less saying it doesn't matter.


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## elcato (14 Jan 2020)

Is it election time or something ?


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## Thirsty (14 Jan 2020)

Lord knows why a 6 year old post was resurrected, but since we are here....

in 2013 the min hourly wage was €8.42.  Au pairs are expected to work a maximum of 20 hours per week which equates to €168 per week before any revenue deductions ( if indeed there were any, I'm not looking up the tax rates for 2013).

Allowances for board & lodging are indeed the norm for au pairs and so a rate of €100 for 20 hours for an au pair in 2013 would have been acceptable.

An au pair is *not *a full-time childminder, they are untrained and unqualified for such a role.


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## Gordon Gekko (14 Jan 2020)

Ah, 2013...simpler times. Fergie was still at United, Barack Obama was in situ, and the Lions hadn’t won a Test Series since 1997.

Resurrecting a 7 year old thread has to be some kind of record...


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## jim (14 Jan 2020)

You're talking €50 per day 8am to 5pm in dublin. Great value for what you're getting imo.


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## Purple (16 Jan 2020)

jim said:


> You're talking €50 per day 8am to 5pm in dublin. Great value for what you're getting imo.


To a maximum of 20 hours a week.


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