Cost of minding 3 children after school

FleetingJack

Hi
I'm getting a lot of contradictory information on what we should be paying to have our 3 children
(ages 6, 8 and 10) minded for 4 hours after school. This includes collecting from the school.

Ideally, we would like the children to be minded in our own home if possible but that's not essential.
We thought 10 euro per hour was a fair price, but a friend of ours asked another childminder her opinion
and she said 12 to 14 euro per hour. We think that's far too much.
My wife would probably pack in her job if we had to pay that much.

In the meantime, I've looked at various forums and asked a few people, and from what I see,
10 euro per hour would be quite good.
Bu the way, we live in Cork city.
All comments appreciated.

Moonbeam

10 euro an hour would be good and for that you could expect them to go to your home.

ash23

If they are being minded in your own home, you are the employer and should be paying minimum wage, PRSI etc for the minder.

If they are being minded in the minders home, they are self employed and you are paying for a service as opposed to being an employer and as such don't need to pay their PRSI.

I pay €15 per day for my 8 year old. They give a 10% discount for another child and a 15% discount for a third.

So in that instance it would be €15 for the first, €13.50 for the second and €12.75 for the third.
However this includes dropping them to school in the morning, and 3 hours in the evening. So that would be about €13.75 per hour.
You may find something cheaper than that, that is a creche.

FleetingJack

Thanks Ash23. Just so I am understanding you, are you saying you pay €15 for 3 hours for your child i.e. €5 euro per hour ?
Then taking in mind discounts, you are saying that the rate is €13.75 per hour.
I appreciate your advice but I can't see how paying for 3 children should almost be 3 times as much as for 1 child. I understand this from a creche's point of view (as they have a certain number of spaces available) but for a childminder it doesn't make a lot of sense. I would have thought €5 for the first child and €2.50 for each additional child was reasonable. I would say the workload of 3 children is not 3 times as much as it is for 1 child.

The other thing I disagree about is the PRSI, Tax issues. If we had to pay those, then my wife would just give up her job, which would be very bad financially for our family. And I know many many people are in the same boat. It's easy to say you should pay these things but it's just not possible. If this was enforced, it would be a disaster for many many families, and also for childminders. The way it works at the moment is not legally by the book but both parties are happy.

Thanks again for the response.

Moonbeam

If you do not want to then send your child to the minders house and you will be not breaking any laws.

ash23

FleetingJack wrote: »

Thanks Ash23. Just so I am understanding you, are you saying you pay €15 for 3 hours for your child i.e. €5 euro per hour ?
Then taking in mind discounts, you are saying that the rate is €13.75 per hour.
I appreciate your advice but I can't see how paying for 3 children should almost be 3 times as much as for 1 child. I understand this from a creche's point of view (as they have a certain number of spaces available) but for a childminder it doesn't make a lot of sense. I would have thought €5 for the first child and €2.50 for each additional child was reasonable. I would say the workload of 3 children is not 3 times as much as it is for 1 child.

I can only speak from my own experiences with one child. And it's charged per child. A friend of mine also minds children afterschool and the charge is per child. I know some minders will only take only children from separate families as it tends to pay more as when one parent is paying for three children, they expect to pay less than three parents paying for one child each. It makes more financial sense for a minder to take in 3 children at €15 each than 3 children at €30 total.

The other thing I disagree about is the PRSI, Tax issues. If we had to pay those, then my wife would just give up her job, which would be very bad financially for our family. And I know many many people are in the same boat. It's easy to say you should pay these things but it's just not possible. If this was enforced, it would be a disaster for many many families, and also for childminders. The way it works at the moment is not legally by the book but both parties are happy.

Thanks again for the response.

I can't comment other than what you are supposed to do. And legally you are supposed to pay PRSI and register as an employer if you have someone minding the children in your own home. As an employer you are expected to pay min wage. I don't think anyone will recommend breaking the law even if you think it's an unneccessary law.

Moonbeam

*advance mod warning*

All discussion is welcome but please do not condone or support breaking the law.

Thanks

FleetingJack

Thanks Ash23 and Moonbeam for the advice.

RubyGirl

My sister minds afterschool or 3 children around the same age, she gets paid €180 per week for about the same length of time. Pick up from school at 2.30 until about 5.30.

Hope it helps.

FleetingJack

RubyGirl wrote: »

My sister minds afterschool or 3 children around the same age, she gets paid €180 per week for about the same length of time. Pick up from school at 2.30 until about 5.30.

Hope it helps.

Yes, thanks RubyGirl - that is in line with what we think ourselves. Thanks again.