Nannies Benefitting from High Demand in London

A report in London’s Evening Standard suggests that finding a nanny in London has become challenging for some parents. Nannies, it seems, are in high demand, finding that they can ask for higher fees and shop around to find the perfect family for them. Of course everyone’s experience will be different, and while undoubtedly stressful for parents, this might also be seen as an encouraging trend in a sector that has historically had problems with exploitative families taking advantage of desperate childcarers.

What lies behind the changing situation is speculated to be a combination of Brexit and the end of Covid restrictions. When the UK left the EU in early 2021, the immediate consequences were hard to perceive in a country in its second lockdown. While nannies from EU countries may have returned to the continent, the parents employing them were working from home and may have had less need of childcare. Now, with many people returning to the office, any gap in supply will be more evident. Parents, particularly those with particular needs or a lot of children, report that finding childcare has become an unexpected struggle.

It remains to be seen whether the current landscape is just a short term blip while the market adjusts to new circumstances, or if there are longer term forces at work. The nanny sector, without compulsory regulation, has often flown somewhat under the radar when compared to childminders and nurseries, but with estimates of the number of nannies in the UK reaching 40 or 50,000 pre-pandemic, it is a field that may begin to attract the attention of policymakers and other innovators.