Nannies and other home-based childcare

Nannies
Nannies provide childcare in your own home. They can look after children of any age and should provide plenty of fun and learning opportunities in a safe environment. Nannies can often work flexible hours and can be a suitable option if you work at times when other forms of childcare are not available.

Making sure your child is safe, well-cared for and happy is one of the most vital concerns for any parent. Employing a nanny is an important responsibility. There are no legal requirements on a person applying to work as a nanny. It is up to you, as parent and employer, to make sure that you are employing a nanny who will look after your children well. Currently Nannies are not registered (although see the information below about the 'Childcare Approval Scheme').

Employing a Nanny will mean you will be responsible for paying their Tax and National Insurance contributions. It is good practice to provide your nanny with a written contract of employment. Although there is no legal obligation to provide a written contract, most employees who are employed for one month or more have a statutory right to receive a written statement setting out the main particulars of their employment within two months of starting work. For further information see the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) booklet Written statement of employment particulars (PL 700), obtainable from Jobcentre Plus or by calling the DTI Publications Orderline on 08701 502500.

What types of Nannies are there?

Live-in nannies live with the family they are working for, who provide them with food and a private bedroom in addition to their salary.
Daily nannies come to the family home each day. Baby-sitting in the evenings might be arranged as part of the terms of employment, or in exchange for extra pay.
Nanny-share - an arrangement whereby a nanny is shared by two families. If a nanny is shared by more than two families, they may be required to register as a childminder.

Statutory Employment Rights
A number of statutory rights apply to employees as soon as they start work, including protection against unlawful deductions from wages, against adverse treatment on grounds of sex, race or disability and against dismissal for seeking to enforce statutory employment rights. Other rights, such as the right to make a general complaint of unfair dismissal, apply on completion of a qualifying period of service. For further information see the Department of Trade and Industry booklets Individual Rights of Employees (PL 716), and Redundancy Payments both of which are obtainable from Jobcentres or by calling the DTI Publications Orderline on 08701 502500.

Your nanny will need to know:

Hours of work
The job description - what you expect the nanny to do
Probationary period - to try out arrangements before you and your nanny commit yourselves to a more permanent agreement
Salary and salary reviews
Holiday arrangements
Sick pay entitlement
Notice period

Where nannies are shared by more than one family it is especially important to arrange the details carefully from the outset, with separate written agreements between the nanny and each family involved, so that everyone knows exactly what is to be expected.

A sample contract of employment, for which there is a small fee, can be obtained by contacting 'Working Families' on 020 7253 7243. You can adapt the contract to suit the arrangements to be set up between your family and your nanny. Once you and your nanny have agreed and signed the contract, each of you should keep a copy. The contract is then legally binding on both parties.

Alternatively contact the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses (PANN 01332 372 337) for an information pack All You Need to Know About Working as a Nanny (again for a small charge) which contains a sample contract of employment, describes the duties nannies are normally expected to undertake and offers advice on current pay scales and insurance issues.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) produces two free booklets, both of which are available from your local Jobcentre Plus, that may help you draft your nanny's contract: Contracts of Employment and Written Statements of Employment Practice.

Nannies are covered by the Working Time Directive, which regulates the hours of work. A free booklet A Guide to Working Time Regulations is available from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Tel: 08701 502500.

Pay
Your nanny's pay will depend upon the type of job (live-in or live-out), the hours, the number of children to be cared for, the nanny's qualifications and experience and also upon the area in which you live. Nannies are covered by the National Minimum Wage which means you must pay at least £4.25 per hour to nannies aged 18 to 21, and £5.05 per hour to nannies aged 22 and over (as from 01 October 2005). For guidance about how much you should pay:

Contact the DTI's National Minimum Wage Helpline: 0845 6000 678.
Contact PANN, telephone: 01332 372 337.
Check Nursery World's monthly Nanny supplement.
Ask local nanny agencies for guidance.

Tax and National Insurance
You must deduct tax and National Insurance from your nanny's pay unless you are paying less than the lower earnings limit. This can be done through the Inland Revenue's PAYE (Pay as You Earn) scheme. If you are paying your nanny less than the lower earnings limit you will not need to make payments on her behalf, but she can still pay voluntary National Insurance contributions. For advice and guidance:

Telephone your local Inland Revenue tax office - look them up in your telephone book.
Ask to be put through to the New Employers Section.
Explain you are employing a nanny and ask for the Simplified Deduction Scheme.
Tell the tax office the amount you expect to pay: check it is above the lower earnings limit.
You will be sent a tax office reference number and a New Employers Starter Pack.
If your nanny has already started, request provisional figures over the phone.
You need to pay tax and National Insurance from the beginning of her employment.

Advertising for a Nanny and Finding the Right Person
Finding the right person does take time, so do try to begin your search at least twelve weeks before you need your nanny to start work.

Where can I find a Nanny?

Contact a nanny agency, many of which advertise in various specialist magazines and are available from the larger newsagents or contact the Children's Information Service for a list of local nanny agencies on 0800 169 8833. For a fee, an agency will match your specifications with those of suitable candidates who you will then interview. Even though a reputable agency should have carefully vetted potential nannies you should still ask the agency to tell you precisely what checks they have undertaken. Ultimately, you must rely on your own judgement of a prospective nanny.

NB: The Department for Education and Skills, Sure Start Unit has been working on some guidance for nanny agencies. These agencies are expected to interview the nannies on their books, carry out the relevant Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), qualification and background checks and ensure that they are properly qualified to work with children.
Place an advertisement in a magazine or your local paper.
Contact local colleges of further education that offer courses in childcare, if you are prepared to take on someone straight from college - training usually ends in June. Newly trained nannies will be relatively inexperienced and may not be especially suited to looking after very young babies.
Put an advertisement on local notice boards where potential nannies might look for new jobs, e.g. primary schools and drop-in clubs for parents, nannies and children.
Talk to other parents or join local parents organisations, like the National Childbirth Trust (for your local branch call the NCT enquiry line on 08704 448707).

Your advertisement needs to detail - hours, duties, ages of children (for safety reasons not their names), and the area where you live (not your actual address). It may be preferable to ask potential nannies to write to a box number (your local post office will tell you how to get one) rather than you giving out your telephone number - although this may reduce the number of applications that you receive.

Ask respondents to send details of their age, experience, qualifications, employment history and a covering letter explaining why the nanny would like to apply for this particular post.

Other types of childcare in the home
Mother's helps usually work alongside the parent helping with childcare and general household work. Mother's helps are unlikely to have formal childcare qualifications, but may be experienced.

Maternity nurses are specially trained to take care of new babies for up to three months after the birth. They generally live with the family.

Au pairs are single young people, who come from a member state of the European Community or one of a limited number of other countries. Au pairs come to the UK to study English and, whilst staying with families, help in the home for a maximum of five hours a day. They must have at least two full days off each week, and be provided with meals, an allowance and their own room.
Au pairs are not usually trained to work with children and therefore are not generally considered as being suited to looking after pre-school children while parents are at work. However, they can be a good option for providing after-school childcare.

Registration
Nannies do not have to be formally registered in this country; however, they can join the Ofsted Voluntary Register for people who look after children in the child’s own home. Under the new Ofsted register, a nanny will be required to have a valid first aid certificate and public liability insurance, and to have undertake some basic training in childcare.

Most nannies register with an agency to find work and some of these agencies run basic checks and will be encouraging them to apply for registration on Ofsted's Voluntary Register. If your Nanny is registered with Ofsted on the Voluntary Register you may be eligible for the Childcare element of Working Tax Credits.

Full details are available on the Ofsted website.