Hi all,

I've searched the forum and can't seem to find any details on rates for babysitters. We're having our housekeeper stay in with some guests' children one evening. I'm curious to know what the going rate is in Istanbul (our housekeeper is Filipina if it makes a difference).

Thanks,
Kiki

Same as a day rate so 50YTL should cover it and transport home

So if someone babysat everyday they could earn 1400ytl a month, that's a bloody good salary when compared to doctors, teachers and the minimum wage.

50 ytl does seem a bit steep, but I'm guessing that's "standard".

Thanks for the tip.

Few cleaners get out nof bed for less than 50YTL a day, many expect 60YTL.......also not too bad for moving a little dirt around, having free use of the phone, getting a free lunch and generally breaking things.

...but I'm a little surprised that it's the same rate for evening hours (she'll probably start at 7, have pizza with the kids, watch a DVD, put them down and then watch tv until we get home a few hours later).

I'm happy with the housekeeper we have, but there definitely seems to be a bit of a Filipina housekeeping mafia with everyone being told to stick to the same rates (or else??). We went through three housekeepers to find one who seems to be happy enough to do the work.

p.s. we lived in Manila for two years, so I guess it's been a bit of a shock to come here and see the difference

We paid our babysitter 10TL/ hr, for basically 2 hrs of kid watching, the rest TV watching. We all thought it was fair. (BTW, she's a young twenty somthing Turkish woman who spent time in the US)
We are paying our part-time (6 hrs a day) 'helper' 600 a month (cooking/cleaning, no child watch). I've checked around and that also seems pretty fair.
I'm curious though what the ex-pats think about those rates?

Depends how many days a week..but 600 YTL a month for a cleaner with the description from Mr Simpson then fine - a good wage actually.

Regarding the babysitting; you don't say total hours (just 2 hours kıds watching) the rest may just be 'watching TV' but she's on call and still working (i.e workplace) If, say, its 2 hours kıd watching and 2 hours on call or 'watching TV' is 4 hours in total at your house; and you pay 10 YTL - I think that's a bit tight. It should be about 30YTL. However it's not worth 50YTL either, I was calculating 5pm - 12pm. So for the whole evening I would say 50YTL is about fair.

Assuming that sh'e already come for the day to clean anyway you can eliminate the extra transport right off the top. 50 YTL is a bit much , I'd say that it is definately 20-30 YTL for what you want. Regararding the Filipas in general, you are right about their "rate fixing" and in Istanbul they are generally far worse than they are in other places and cost twice as much, supply and demand I suppose.

Thanks for your thoughts Gilly...The house cleaning is 5 days a week. (I forgot to add that we pay add'l 90 TL for transport).
The babysitting is 10 TL per hour, so for the night it would end up being 50-60 tl. You are right that they are still on duty while watching TV, however it's a nice bonus to have that kind of downtime. Thanks again.

Do these rates include agency fees or something? I really cannot understand how a babysitter can be paid a higher rate that many well-educated people. Something is really screwed up.

Friends of mine pay their childminders/babysitters what works out at about 8ytl per hour. They tend to be middle aged Turkish housewives though. I think the rate of pay depends on who you use. I'm sure you could ask a student/young person you trust and pay them less. I think 50 ytl or working 5pm til 12am is fair for the number of hours but bare in mind that they are unsociable hours so a childminder could be justified in asking for more

I usually pay about 10ytl/hour for the sitter. But, if it's a day the cleaner is there and she can stay late, I pay her 10-20 ytl over her daily rate of 50ytl, depending on how late she stays.

David, because people are irrational when it comes to people looking out for their children. Turks that have any experience whatsoevr are starting at 800 YTL plus room and board. Former soviet reublic types start at $350, Filipas all want upwards of $800. Worse, or course is the fact that most bolt when offered 50 $ or YTL more.