Grandparents should get more than £13,000 for time dedicated to childcare, ‘salary calculator’ finds

• If parents paid grandparents for their time, it would cost around £1.5bn a week 

Grandparents should be paid more than £13,000 a year for childcare they provide for free, a survey has revealed.

Bosses at SunLife insurance created a ‘grandparent salary calculator’ so grannies and grandpas could enter their details and see how much they would earn if they were paid.

After revealing they act as chauffeurs, cooks, cleaners, tutors, nurses and nannies, the calculator said the grandparents’ average salary should be £13,188. 

But if parents paid them, they would fork out a total of £1.5 billion a week.

File image shows a grandmother with her daughter and granddaughter. A study found grandparents give up 22 hours a week to childcare activities

File photo shows an extended family at the park. Only 4% of grandparents resent the unpaid work 

The study found the average grandparent has 22 hours of childcare-related activities a week. 

They shell out around £80-a-week for petrol, food, treats, activities and hobbies for the children.

An accompanying survey of 2,000 grandparents revealed that 59 per cent love caring for the youngsters. 

Only four per cent said they ‘resented’ being unpaid babysitters.

Grandad Eric Weller, 67, of Harpenden, Hertfordshire, said: ‘It doesn’t even cross my mind that I should be paid, I wouldn’t hear of it!’

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