How nannies became a dying breed

Once every middle-class family had one but now only the wealthy can afford their six-figure salaries, writes Anna Tyzack

Years ago I had Maggie, a fulltime live-in nanny who arrived from Australia with a suitcase filled with toy koalas. She was 20 and fresh out of nanny school. Within days she’d taken our three children aged four, three and one under her wing and was organising my husband and I with a wall planner and diary.

She was always upbeat, despite working 7am to 7pm. I’d arrive home from work to find the kitchen clean and three bathed boys in their pyjamas, ready for a bedtime story. Friends told me I was mad to employ someone so young but Maggie was a responsible and committed career nanny; I felt lucky to have met her. Now, live-in nannies doing long hours like Maggie are a dying breed. We had three further brilliant nannies but it took ages to find them. Now, seven years and two more children later, I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that a live-in nanny is no longer an option.

It’s not so much the cost − although they are more expensive now.

A decade ago, they earned between £ 18,000 and £ 20,000; now the equivalent is £ 24,000 to £ 25,000, according to my local nanny agency. The more pressing problem is that I don’t get any applicants.

Live-in nannies are as rare as hens’ teeth, says Katherine Baker of Abbeville Nannies agency in south London. The stream of young nannies from Australia and New Zealand hasn’t fully picked up since Covid, and those that do come want to live out with friends. Meanwhile, Brexit has put a stop to young Europeans coming over, and British nannies have always been reluctant to take live-in roles.

One can see why the younger generation might question working anti-social hours: Allie Bell, a Norland-trained nanny who now runs her own agency, The Nanny Connection, says it’s common for nannies to suffer from burnout. “It’s not a healthy work-life balance,” Maggie admits.

In an ideal world, I’d hire a live- out nanny just as my parents did, but these are a luxury today that only the highest-earning families can afford. Figures from the latest Nanny Salary Index by Nanny Tax show the average salary in London is £42,848, up from £34,710 in 2018. Outside London and the Home there’s such a shortage of live- out nannies that they can charge what they like − and choose their hours. It’s now normal for a full-time nanny to work four days a week, Bell says. “Nannies have discovered that they have the freedom to do what they like – lots of us work flexibly and they don’t see why they shouldn’t be any different.”

According to Baker, agencies try to tell young nannies they’re not qualified enough to demand such high salaries but the market is so tight that they’re in a strong position. “If a family is desperate, they will just pay up,” she says.

As a result, families are paying more for their nanny to work fewer hours and are forced to “top and tail” with a childminder or nursery. “I pay my cleaner to watch the children for two hours twice a week as my nanny has requested a later start,” one mother tells me. She also admits to incentivising her nanny to stay with them with extra time off, monthly bonuses and flights. Another family is paying theirs £56,000 a year, even though she is only a wrap-around nanny in term time.

Many are giving up on nannies altogether, though: my neighbour, who has