Nursery World - Editorial

The profile of nannying revealed in our annual pay survey on page 6 will be less encouraging to nannies than in recent years, but surprising to no one. It's not that the rising trend in nannies' pay was undeserved, and I think it's unfair to talk about anyone 'pricing themselves out of a job' - least of all nannies, who have no collective bargaining power, and no salary increments or career ladders that people in other occupations rely on. Most lines of work have been affected by an economic downturn in the past year.

It's not that the rising trend in nannies' pay was undeserved, and I think it's unfair to talk about anyone 'pricing themselves out of a job' - least of all nannies, who have no collective bargaining power, and no salary increments or career ladders that people in other occupations rely on. Most lines of work have been affected by an economic downturn in the past year.

Naturally this, and the huge changes in working parents' lives must have an impact on the nannies they employ - not just in their pay, but in their working patterns, duties and future prospects. Our survey makes it obvious that nannying is a different job today than at any time in the past, and it's still changing. The sooner the Government can bring itself to say the word 'nanny' and the world throws away the image of some overpriced servant of the rich and privileged, the sooner everyone will appreciate what nannies are worth.

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