How much should I pay my babysitter?

How much are babysitters paid in Ireland?

Wondering what’s the average babysitting rate is in Ireland? How much should you pay your babysitter? There are no laws or regulations to determine this. The rate you pay your babysitter is dependent on a number of factors including location, experience and age.

In general, parents hire babysitters on a short-term basis to look after children when they are on a night out for example. As a result of this, they are not considered employees. Therefore you do not need to register as an employer if you pay them less than €40 per week.

The rate of pay for babysitters varies from €6 – €15 per hour, depending on a number of factors. These include :

• location, in urban areas, the average rate is €10.34 per hour,
• age of the babysitter, the younger the babysitter the lower the rate and
• experience, more experienced babysitters can command higher rates.

SureSitter recently carried out research to see how babysitting rates varied across the country. As expected rates were higher in urban areas. The results of this research are shown below:

There is no legal minimum age for babysitting in Ireland. Parents consider the babysitter’s level of maturity and competence. Rates for babysitters under the age of 18 are generally agreed upon between the parent and sitter taking the above considerations into account. As a guide, an employee under 18 is entitled to 7.25 per hour or 70% of the minimum wage.

Some parents agree on a nightly rate with their babysitter which can work very well. It is worth considering having the babysitter sleepover if you know you are going to be late home. You should also ensure that your babysitter gets home safe. If you are unable to drop them home you should arrange a taxi home for them. The average babysitting job is 4-6 hours so if the job is closer to 6 hours, then setting a nightly rate might be a better option. See our list of questions to ask potential babysitters here.

All of our babysitters are over 18 and we have babysitters all over Ireland. Register today to find a great sitter in your area! SureSitter

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