Stay at home mums forced back to work in the recession-Peek-a-boo Aupairs and nannies reports

March 10, 2011 - PRLog -- Our latest survey with over 100 central London mums shows that many of them had planned to stay home to raise children but that has pushed them to work or to look for work a lot sooner than expected.

The survey statistics really highlights the strain of the recession on households that have been forced to put finances before family.  Many experts say the number is likely to keep on rising as the continuous financial pressure means women have no option but to earn a wage. Some of the women finding work are being forced into jobs because their husbands have lost theirs. For others, their partner may have had his hours or pay cut and the shortfall needs to be met. In some cases, the family finances have been put under strain because household bills have risen, but the husband's salary has been frozen.

Although the vast majority of the Peek-a-boo nanny agency’s registered mums stressed they don't mean to complain as they appreciate that they may still have it easier than others, they also expressed how this change of plans can be intensely emotional.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics also show that this rise is fuelling an increase in the number of Britons working part time - which has reached a new record of 7.8m as households seek as much income as possible in the recession.
Financial pressure is clearly driving mum’s back into the workforce. Many just have to do it.


How can we help you save money? 5 ways to ease the load:

1.            VAT-we understand that the VAT increase is affecting all of our clients and in addition to exceedingly high school/nursery fees, university fees and nanny costs, having to pay 20 percent tax on top of an agency fee may seem excessive. We have therefore decided to pay the difference for our clients who use our services 2011. We will be charging you the same as last year (17.5 percent) and the other 2.5 percent will be coming from us. We hope that this will ease the burden a little bit.

2.            Cheaper private childcare (save up to 50%) for all our clients. We have a large number of mother’s helps and junior nannies from outside the UK. They are fantastic, experienced and/or qualified childcares that speak great English, can drive and are often happy to double up as housekeepers (something local nannies aren't always so keen on). Instead of paying a local British nanny up to 600GBP net per week, you can now hire a foreign mothers help/nanny/housekeeper for as low as 200-250GBP net per week. Their expectations are lower and with little UK experience they are less demanding and often extremely loyal and hard working. We train them with induction & first aid courses plus other relevant childcare courses (see below) so they can hit the ground running upon arrival. Please contact lina@peekaboochildcare.com to discuss your options.
We also have our usual 2500 plus fantastic aupairs and nannies if you prefer to stick with what you know.

3.            Tax credits If you and your household qualify for childcare vouchers (check with your employer and/or your council), we have Ofsted registered au pairs, nannies and other carers available to offer you. We also do the courses here as well as registration in-house which means that you can send your aupair or nanny along to become registered and therefore save 100s and even 1000s this year.


4.            Referral scheme. Refer your friends and colleagues to us and get your next placement with a 25 percent discount, if they end up using our services.


5.            Payroll and free legal service. We run a payroll service in house for all our clients. For as little as £200 per year we can take the whole daunting prospect away from you. We can register you as an employer, run the payroll and advise you when and how much to pay. We also do the annual return for you. Included in this package you also get free employment law advice. On top of this we offer all our clients and candidates help with contracts, CRBs, salary advisory, holidays, sick pay and much much more.