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Children

How to hire a nanny?

By No author
15/11/2012

 

If a recent new arrival or an increased workload has left you needing an extra pair of hands to help with childcare, an experienced and highly-qualified nanny can provide the support that you need. The best established nannying agencies can offer their advice and expertise when you are looking to hire a nanny, and here is a short guide which offers some top tips on how to find your ideal nanny and it also gives you some practical advice about her/his employment.

Imperial Nannies' Recommendations

Choosing a nanny can seem a long and arduous process, yet it is one that you need to spend time over as it affects the type and level of care that your child receives. To ensure you select the right person for the job, many parents seek the professional services of a nanny agency, and although this lessens some of the pressure placed upon yourselves to find the ideal nanny, your role is still very much an important one, as at the end of the day you make the final decision as to which nanny you select.

Find the Right Agency

If you are considering a professional agency, then you have already made the right choice, but what is it that makes an agency the best option for families looking to hire a nanny?
Most nannies (and especially the qualified ones) will only work through an agency. This is why using the services of an agency is the best way to guarantee that you will only ever hire a qualified childcare practitioner. Whether you are looking for a daily nanny, a live in nanny or a nanny to travel overseas with you, an agency can help you find the ideal candidate and assist you all the way.

A good nanny agency will give the opportunity to interview several nannies, so that you can make the final decision as to who cares for your child. Before going into the interview, we would recommend that you establish a few key questions and concerns that you want answered. By doing this, you can make a note of who ticks all the right boxes and someone who doesn’t. We would recommend the same when looking for maternity nurses as well.

Find Qualified Candidates

A good agency will ensure that all of the nannies they employ are interviewed before recommending them to families. It allows them to assess their experience and suitability for the roles offered. Being a nanny is a big responsibility. This is why good agencies expect all of their nannies to have undergone an Enhanced Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau to ensure that your children will always be in safe hands.

You and Your Child's Needs

Being proactive as a parent is always a good thing, which is why we would always recommend that you get a pen and paper and write a list of what you will be expecting from your nanny. By having a clear idea of what you and your child want before contacting a nanny agency, you can give a detailed brief. This will narrow down the search considerably and make it a lot easier for the agency to find a handful of nannies that will fit your personal criteria.

There are a few guidelines for parents/guardians to follow if they wish to choose a nanny that fits into their lifestyle and meets every single one of their personal specifications.

Interview Carefully

The interview stage is perhaps the most essential step when you are hoping to hire a nanny or maternity nurse. An initial telephone interview is highly recommended. This will allow you discuss your requirements and weed out any nanny you feel may not be suitable before meet them face-to-face. The face-to-face meeting will also give you the opportunity to ask any questions you might have as well as giving you a  chance to see how the nanny interacts with your children.

The first interview may take the form of a telephone interview, where you can get a general feel for the nanny and assess her suitability. We then recommend that you meet up. For overseas positions this means either you flying in to London, or nanny flying to see you, or arranging for a London based friend/relative to conduct interviews on your behalf. We are happy to email photographs of the candidate, and can arrange a video conference too. For UK based positions we do recommend more than one interview, the second being more in-depth and with the children so you can see how well the nanny interacts.

Questions to ask during the interview

1. If they are qualified ask them if they enjoyed the course and if they have found it helpful, since they started work.

2. Are you confident with what to do in an emergency situation? What would you do if baby was choking?

3. Why do you enjoy being a nanny?

4. Explain a little about the routine you would set for a small baby and how you would develop it.

5. How do you keep abreast of what is going on in the area that would be suitable for you and the baby to do?

6. Tell me a few of the activities you would do with a baby, toddler or older.t7Do you have many nanny friends?

8. Are you from a large family?

9. Can you cook - what would you cook for x, y, aged children?

10. Describe how you would plan a day with x & y aged children.

11. How long are you looking to work for?

12. What are your long term plans?

13. What are your views on discipline?

Choosing the right nanny for your children can be difficult, but with the help of an agency the process can be much more straightforward. Be sure to go through one when you are looking to hire a nanny.

Maternity nurse links to: http://www.imperialnannies.co.uk

 

Oui Maman's Recommendations

Hiring a nanny in London - the practicalities

Net or gross? Quoting a nanny’s salary

  • A nanny’s salary is traditionally quoted on a net basis in the UK.
  • It is strongly recommended that both the family and the nanny agree a gross salary figure in the employment contract to prevent both of them from encountering unpleasant tax-related surprises down the line of employment.

    • For example, when a nanny has more than one job and her tax allowance is used by employer 1 without employer 2 knowing about it – employer 2 may end up being liable to pay (much) more tax than anticipated (whereas if a gross figure is quoted in the contract of employment the employer knows for sure how much he/she is liable to pay at the end of each week / month – meaning the nanny’s net salary would be reduced in our example.

A nanny must be declared

  • Not declaring an employee (and not paying tax and National Insurance contributions on their behalf) is a criminal offence in the UK.
  • Nannies do not qualify for self-employment under the HM Revenue & Customs rules so any tax liability arising out of employment will ultimately be payable by the employer.
  • If the employer does not declare his/her nanny, the employer (and not the nanny) will be prosecuted.

The Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme

  • In the majority of cases, tax payable by employers for their nanny is deducted directly from the nanny’s pay at the end of each week or month (Pay As You Earn).
  • Employers must register with the Inland Revenue and operate a PAYE scheme.  Any employer can set up a PAYE scheme him/herself (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/PAYE/) and satisfy the legal and tax requirements.
  • Some families might consider hiring a payroll agent to deal with tax calculation.  For a yearly fee, a number of companies specialised in nanny tax can, among other things, prepare pay slips and calculate the tax payable by the employer to HM Revenue & Customs for his/her nanny.

Insurance

  • In the UK, a family employing a nanny is legally required to be covered (£5 million minimum) by employers’ liability insurance (for injury or disease) and to provide a safe workplace to the nanny.
  • Employers’ liability insurance covers employers against any claim by a nanny in the unfortunate event of an accident occurring at home during the nanny’s working hours.
  • Household insurance policies frequently include this type of public liability insurance (nannies being considered as domestic workers).
  • It is not a legal requirement that a nanny should be insured against public liability although he/she may wish to take out such a policy to protect him/herself. 

Contract of employment

  • Once all employment terms have been agreed between the nanny and the family, the employer will need to provide the nanny with an employment contract.
  • It is a legal requirement that an employer does so within two months of the nanny’s start date.
  • A written employment contract will avoid any potential disputes as to the terms of employment.
  • Reputable nanny agencies and payroll agencies can (as part of their services) provide template contracts of employment to families.

Nanny agency link for Oui Maman Agency

COMMENTS:

30/03/2013 - wesinkus123 said :

I was a nanny before hviang kids and I had the mkst amazing relationship with not only the kids but their parents, the mother I worked for is now my sons godmother and their entire family is like ours now! A nanny is an amazing option for working mothers! I loved their kids like they were one of my own and would never let anything bad happen to them! Great option!

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