Employing a Nanny: A Guide

Before you start

Before you start your recruitment process, you need to make sure you know exactly what you need from a nanny. It’s not always as simple as knowing you need help around the house, or someone who can take the kids to and from school. By knowing what level of service you need from a nanny it’ll help the recruitment process go much faster, more smoothly, and will prepare you for when you come to interview potential nannies.

Consider the following questions and make sure you have answers for each before starting the process:

• > Do you need a nanny purely to help with children, or will it involve more, such as housework?
• > Do you need help on certain days of the week, including weekends?
• > Will your nanny be full-time or part-time?
• > Do you need someone who will cook?
• > At what times do you need your nanny to work?
• > Do you require a live-in nanny?
• > What salary range are you offering?

By having answers to these questions you’ll be able to save both your own time and the time of prospective nannies. You’ll also be able to create an accurate job posting, either via a specialist nanny agency such as Nanny Recruit, or via a recruitment website.

Childcare options

There are a number of childcare options available in the UK, with nannies being among the most popular due to their one-on-one service, accessibility and reliability. However, there are other childcare options available which offer similar services but with key differences.

Au pair

An au pair is usually a young adult from outside the UK who will provide childcare services for up to two years in exchange for room, board, and a small salary.

Babysitters

A babysitter is someone who will watch your children on an ad-hoc basis, usually on an evening, in exchange for a small hourly rate.

Childminders

Childminders are self-employed, and will generally take care of children within their own home. Childminders are Ofsted (England), Care Inspectorate (Scotland) and CSSIW (Wales) registered. Childminders rarely provide a one-on-one service due to offering childcare to multiple children, often at the same time.

Crèches

A crèche will provide short, ad-hoc childcare, for example at a shopping centre or on a cruise ship.

Day nurseries

Day nurseries can be attended by children up to the age of five, with the number of children varying depending on the size of the nursery. Nurseries can be run privately, by a local authority, or even within a workplace depending on the size of the employer. Unfortunately, long wait lists means this isn’t always an option for many families.

Informal childcare

A close friend or family member who has agreed to watch your children on a regular basis, for example a grandparent who will pick your children up from school twice a week. However, this can be challenging on a long-term basis.

Nannies

A nanny is a dedicated professional who works closely with your children on a one-on-one basis. A nanny can be part-time or full-time, and can be live-in or live-out.

Pre-school

Pre-school isn’t intended for full-time care, and instead provide childcare for a few hours.

The major difference between hiring a nanny and utilising another childcare service is that a nanny is your employee. Because of this, you have a much greater level of flexibility, and can ask for a more bespoke, personal service that fits around your needs and your lifestyle. This is much rarer and more difficult to arrange, or even find, when using other childcare services.

Types of Nannies

So you’ve decided that employing a nanny is the best thing for you and your family. Next, you need to work out some of the finer details, such as which type of nanny is best suited to your needs and how often you require their services. This includes whether you want to hire a part-time or a full-time nanny.

A full-time nanny will usually work Monday to Friday, with hours varying but usually between 7am and 7pm. This may vary if you have a live-in nanny.

A part-time nanny will work hours that fit in and around your needs, for example if you work and require a nanny to take and/or pick up your children from school.

Once you know whether you need a full-time or part-time nanny, you can then decide which type of nanny will best suit your needs.

Nanny shares

A nanny share involves two (or possibly more) families coming to an agreement whereby they share a nanny. Each family will pay a portion of a nanny’s salary, which depends on the size of their share. This allows families to benefit from the personal service offered by a nanny while splitting the cost.

After school nannies

An after school nanny will pick up your children from school and provide care for several hours, including housework, cleaning and potentially bed time if needed.

You can find all of our latest after school nanny jobs here.

Mother’s help nannies

A mother’s help nanny will work alongside a parent or parents to provide childcare, unlike the majority of other nanny types which provide childcare in the absence of the parents, for example while they’re at work.

You can find all of our latest mothers help nanny jobs here.

Live in nannies

A live-in nanny is invited into your home (or close by, for example, in an annex) and given a bedroom, so they can provide full-time childcare and housekeeping. You may be required to share communal parts of your home with a live-in nanny, as well as provide food and expenses.

You can find all of our latest live in nanny jobs here.

Live out nannies

Unlike a live-in nanny, a live-out nanny will not live in your home, and will have their own home in which they pay their own expenses.

You can find all of our latest live out nanny jobs here.

DBS and Ofsted

Because nannies work closely with children, often alone and unsupervised while the parents are away, it’s important that the nanny you employ has obtained an Enhanced DBS check.

While not a requirement, it’s in the interest of an employer, as well as the nanny, that the nanny is Ofsted registered. By being Ofsted registered, the employer can pay their nanny using childcare vouchers.

DBS requirements for nannies

As with any other role that involves working closely with children, a nanny is required to pass an Enhanced DBS check and Barred List check. This is so anyone who employs a nanny can do so without worrying about the safety of their children.

When employing a nanny, one of the first things you should request is a copy of an up-to-date DBS certificate ideally obtained within the last three months. This should be checked before your nanny begins working with your children.

Getting a DBS check

A DBS check must be requested through an Umbrella Body, for example an approved nanny agency. The Umbrella Body can provide the nanny with all the information and application forms they need, and send it to the DBS on their behalf.

An Enhanced DBS check and Barred List check currently costs £38 and will take around 14 days to complete.

Do nannies require any other checks?

Because nannies generally work from their employers home (whether a live-in or live-out nanny), usually only an Enhanced DBS check is required. However, if at any point the nanny intends on taking the children to their own home (which is more common with childminders) they may be liable to pass home-based position checks.

Paying your nanny

Whether you’ve employed your nanny to work on a part or full-time basis, you must still ensure they’re paid through PAYE (Pay as You Earn) via HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). This is because a nanny is employed by the family, just like somebody who works for a company is employed by that company. This ensures the accurate collection of tax, National Insurance contributions, and any student loan repayments.

Nannies also have a right to Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, and at least 28 days (i.e. 5-6 weeks) of paid annual leave per year (including bank holidays). It is at the discretion of the employer as to whether more is offered above the legal minimum.

All employees in the UK must now be auto-enrolled in a workplace pension scheme, with the employer contributing 3% towards their employees pension.

Tax & National Insurance

Under no circumstances should a nanny be paid via cash in hand or other similar means. This is to ensure all tax, NI and student loan payments are recorded and accurately paid to HMRC. Employers and employees caught offering and taking cash in hand payments risk fines and losing certain employment rights.

The quickest and easiest way to legally pay your nanny is via a PAYE scheme.

It’s also in the interest of the nanny to check that their employer has set up a PAYE scheme, which can be done by checking their monthly payslip. If the payslip displays a tax code and deductions including tax and NI, and any student loan repayments, then it’s highly likely they have.

Gross vs net salaries

Gross salary is a nanny’s take home pay plus tax and NI. This is the figure generally given when a salary is offered to an employee.

Net salary is what the nanny will receive each month after tax and NI has been deducted.

When discussing salary with a prospective nanny, always discuss in terms of gross salary. This ensures as an employer you can control your monthly costs and it prevents payments from becoming complicated.

Tax free childcare

As we highlighted above, if you intend on using the tax-free childcare scheme to pay your nanny, your nanny must be Ofsted registered.

Once registered, for every £8 you pay into the account, a further £2 will be added by the Government. This is capped at £2,000 per child annually. You can also use this money to pay HMRC.

To be eligible, you must:

• Have a child, or children, under the age of 12 (17 if disabled)
• Live with your child
• Earn at least £125 through employment or self-employment
• Not earn more than £100,000
• Not receive support via similar schemes, such as tax credits, childcare vouchers or Universal Credit

Other ways to help pay for childcare

There are a number of alternate schemes available to help parents employ and pay a nanny. These include:

• Universal Credit for Childcare – if eligible, you can claim up to 85% of childcare costs
• Childcare Vouchers – while this scheme isn’t available to new applicants, those previously signed up to the scheme pay still receive childcare vouchers
• Tax Credits – this scheme has also closed, but those previously registered may claim up to 70% off childcare
• 15/30 scheme – parents in England who earn less than £100,000 per year are eligible for 15/30 hours of free childcare

Ensuring insurance

As part of employing your nanny you also need to make sure you have the appropriate insurance in the event of injury or illness while they’re working in your home. The appropriate cover can be obtained through Employers’ Liability Insurance.

Please be aware that it is a criminal offence not to have Employers’ Liability Insurance in place when employing somebody to work within your home.

Need more information?

Ready to start the process of employing a nanny? Speak to our team today to find the perfect nanny for your family.