EXCLUSIVE Nanny pay survey - The crunch is yet to come

In a year when everyone is anxiously waiting to see the effects of the changing economic climate, it is so far only the wages of nannies in central London that have been hit by decreases. Wages in the rest of the country have continued to rise, albeit more slowly than last year. But trends tend to strike London first, before being felt elsewhere. So nannies working outside London might also expect tougher times ahead.

A record number of nanny agencies took part in our 2008 wages survey. They reveal that salaries for daily nannies in central London are down by nearly 4 per cent on last year, and for live-in nannies they have dropped by a little over 2 per cent. With the costs of fuel, food, utilities and council tax rocketing in the past year, it is the live-out, daily nannies who bear them who have been hit the hardest. Those who live in their employer's home are more protected from the rise in living costs. Yet it is worth noting that 30 per cent of daily nannies in the capital can still expect to take home £500 or more per week after taxes and that our agencies report no daily nannies in central London taking home less than £300 net per week.