As far as career paths go, it pays to be a nanny. While the hours may be long – a full-time nanny typically works 50 hours per week – it can be incredibly rewarding for those who find a wonderful family to work with, and new data out this month reveals nannies' salaries are rising, too.
Before tax, the salary for a full-time UK nanny (not including London) is now £3,361 per month, or £40,326 per year, according to our annual salary index for 2023-34. That’s an inflation-busting increase of 12 per cent or £4,342 on the previous tax year.
For comparison, the average annual pre-tax salary across all sectors in the UK according to the latest government data (July 2024) is £35,828.
Why are nanny salaries rising?
Wage increases in the sector are being driven by the high demand for nannies, forced up in recent months by return-to-office mandates for working parents, and accelerated nursery closures.
Prior to that, the effects of Brexit removed supply from the market. The absence of au pairs staying on in the UK to work in childcare, and filling nanny vacancies, is still keenly felt.
As such, nannies are seeing strong and sustained wage growth. Today, they’re paid 48 per cent more than five years ago. Of course, salaries on an individual level are dependent on experience, as well as education, qualifications and training.
But their roles are also changing. What’s required of a nanny might look rather different today than it did just a few years ago. And they’re much more likely to have a hyphen in their job title.
Agency Kensington Nannies reports that hybrid nanny roles – mostly nanny-personal assistants – will make up 40 per cent of all nanny jobs starting in September, a peak time of year for new nanny hires. And Harmony at Home, another nanny agency, says roles for hybrid nannies make up around one sixth of all their current vacancies.
Higher-income families are now increasingly advertising for ‘hyphenated’ nannies, who can offer childcare alongside other specialist skills, such as special education needs-nanny, nanny-housekeeper, nanny-homeschooling teacher or nanny-music teacher. Those who apply can often secure higher wages for a dual role.
Nanny-PAs can earn upwards of £65K per year, fitting administrative tasks around childcare, and increase that sort of work when their charges are at school during term-time.
It’s a neat way for working parents to ensure their nanny’s time is not wasted, while keeping the arrangement flexible. The nanny-PA can drop their tasks to look after a sick child staying home from school, and can be flexible about school pick-ups and drop-offs if parents change their days in the office at the last minute.
Of course, for many of these hybrid roles, additional qualifications, skills and experience are required, meaning career changers – those leaving teaching or those with non-childcare-related degrees – could be increasingly sought after by nanny employers in the years to come.
