posting jobs for valentine's day
It may seem like we’re all just getting back into our usual routines now that the Christmas and New Year holidays are over, but it’s already time for parents to start posting their Valentine’s Day jobs.
Babysitters are very busy on Valentine’s Day and are starting to scour the job postings already here, so don’t wait much longer to post your own job!
What to include in the job description:
So what SHOULD you pay? Since Valentine’s Day is a special night out for many of us (I wish!), you may want to offer a slightly higher rate than you usually do in order to entice a good babysitter. An extra £2 or £3/hour is a good rule of thumb, or offer a flat rate.
A Night away?
If you’re planning on an entire night away from the kids rather than a few hours, I recommend paying a flat rate for the total time worked. How do you determine what that total should be? Well, since your sitter will most likely be watching the kids and putting them to bed like a normal sitter, the hourly rate should still apply for that time and then a flat overnight rate would set in. Add the two together to come up with your overall flat rate offer.
Example:
The sitter comes over at 6pm. From 6pm to, say, 10pm, the sitter gets a Valentine’s Day hourly rate of £10/hour. This total comes to £40.
At 10pm, an overnight rate of, say, £40 kicks in.
Then from the time the kids normally wake up to when you get back pay your usual day time rate, say £7/hour. If they bounce up at 6 am and you get home at noon this would come to £42.
The TOTAL you’d offer for this job would be £122.
Based on this example you may simply want to offer them a fixed rate of say £120 for the whole job – but bear in mind that many parents adjust the rate they pay based on the sitter’s experience, skills and training, so if you state in the ad a rate range it gives you the flexibility to adjust your offer while still giving potential sitters a good idea of what you’re willing to pay.
Questions? Leave them in the comments!