Do you think this is unreasonable?
A mum has posted in Mumsnet after her friend agreed to pay the father of their children for childcare.
The parents have split up, and she was stuck for someone to mind the kids. He agreed to do it – but if he was paid the rate of a nanny.
She said:
“She is divorced with three children (two in primary school, one pre-school). The children’s father is an every second weekend dad.
“Her childcare arrangements have suddenly collapsed and there appeared to be a two-three week gap in the arrangements (a new nanny, about to start in late August, had a personal emergency and had to delay her start for three weeks).
“The children’s father agreed to help and cover these three weeks (he was not employed), collecting the children from school / nursery, bringing them to my friend’s place and looking after them until she’s home.
“The night before his first day, he called her and explained that he expects to be paid a market nanny daily rate to compensate him for inconvenience. It was a massive surprise but she agreed as, realistically, there was no other option. She paid him around £400/week in cash.
“Now, the third week of their agreement is coming to an end, and he had demanded formal payslips and evidence that all taxes /NI have been paid (as they would be for a nanny). I think this is absolutely outrageous, and that under no circumstances should she entertain this. It is called parenting, not employment.”
Many mums expressed their outrage, and couldn’t believe she paid in the first place.
One said:
“She was an absolute mug to pay in the first place…..in fact so much so I can’t quite believe she did.
“Who the f*ck pays the father of their children to look after their children? Who the f*ck demands to be paid to look after their own children?”
While another said:
“A father does not babysit – he parents. A father does not get paid to look after his kids. He’s an a*sehole and your friend was silly to pay him a penny.”
