Help! How much you charge on anti social hours?

[Maritte16]

I have my first possible & hopefully client. She wants me from 6:30 a 3:30 am. I am not so sure how much will I charge? I don't drive so I have to the taxi on way home which will cost from £8 (as took a cab before after I babysit & didn't know it will cost this much!).

Please anybody doing this or done this before or any idea how much to charge?
Is £10/hr enough as self employed & have to pay taxi on way home?

Thank you very much for your time & help.

xxx

[lfishwick]

Are you meaning babysitting rather than childminding as childminding would be from your own home ( registered with Ofsted) so no travel needed.

I charge £1 per hour extra for anti-social hours but don't work before 7.30am now. I used to work from 6am but it was too much...

[Maritte16]

Hi yes, I think it will be more like babysitting, but not sure if the child be in bed by the time I arrive. As mum work nights. Also if I need to stay awake for the whole hours. As even the child asleep, I have to be awake the whole time as don't want to risk anything happen.

Thank you for ur response.

[rickysmiths]

My goodness! I would not even consider doing this if I was expected to stay up until 3.30 after a days work and then do another days work after this. I used to babysit when I was a teenager and I would have stayed the night and gone to bed. I was in the room next to the children so would have woken if needed.

No money in the world would persuade me to do the above I'm afraid so I wouldn't know what to advise you.

[Maritte16]

Hi rickysmiths, no problem, I know it's a longgg hours, I used to do night shifts @ work before. But I'm not sure if I can do minding after few hrs sleep on the same day after my 3:30 babysitting. So, far this the only job I can't get (if I say yes). But like other minder advise that don't jump to first client, even I'm that desperate!

Thank u again.

[claire250182]

I charge double for babysitting (£6 ph) and if it is late hours like that then I will get my head down and sleep but I will set my alarm every so often to check on the children. You can't be expected to stay up that late, not when you are working during the day!

[little chickee]

If i had to work the next day there is no way i could do this.
I would not be fit to work on so little sleep.

If this was to be the only work i had i would consider it.
I would charge at least £6 per hour and i would expect the parent to also pay for my taxi home.
I would expect to be able to go to sleep on the sofa or a room next to the child too.

After all parents do sleep at night when their kids are sleeping

[LauraS]

Even charging £10 per hour, you will be making £90 less your taxi costs (possibly £10-£15 for very local taxi at that late hour, more if further from home). It will be at least 4am before you can actually sleep, that's assuming you are very very local to the job and can hand over to parent promptly at 3.30am, jump straight into a waiting taxi, straight into the bathroom and bed and straight to sleep. More than likely it will be even later before you actually sleep if parent is a few mins late, long handover, taxi delayed, journey not totally local, not easy to go straight to sleep when getting home etc.

You need to consider how much income you will lose on the following day because in order to be safe, I can't imagine you will be able to work - not in the morning, certainly.

I wouldn't want to look after my own children whilst sleep deprived, either. It wouldn't be fair for them not to have the best care.

Even if you can sleep, the broken sleep and discomfort of being in someone elses home wouldn't make minding the next day ideal.


I know 100% how it feels to be new and desperate to make a go of minding - and unable to get the first solid client (I have a string of temp things but nothing solid and have to go back to work off maternity leave next month, could frankly cry with it!) but I wouldn't take this on.

[hectors house]

Can't you register for overnight care and look after this child at your house - I charge £40 for overnight and I sleep in my own bed listening out for child in next room on a baby monitor.

If I went to this persons house and was expected to stay awake and get taxi home I would charge £10 an hour - sounds more like a temp nanny position and that is what they would charge.

[Maritte16]

Thanks everyone who replied. I can register as overnight care but I wasn't so sure that time when I had my Pre reg visit. Well, the mum wants someone coming to her home. So maybe I will charge £10/hr & make sure I am off work ff day.

Thanks everyone!