Information for Nannies

To Live in Or Live Out

Nannies usually live in for convenience, it’s more practical to live in with the family home than have to travel so early in the morning. A live in nanny will get up with the children, wash, dress and feed them and depending on their age, take them to school or take care of them throughout the day. You will also be expected to baby-sit on a regular basis. To be a live in nanny – you really have to be flexible and quite open minded as you will be situated inside someone else’s family Some nannies prefer to live out to maintain their independence and freedom keep working life separate from personal life.

Nanny salary

In London, nannies living-in can expect to earn between £350 - £600. Obviously with rent, food and bills paid-for this is an interesting salary option. London prices for live-out nannies range between £450 - £ 800. Nannies outside London will probably be paid a bit less.
Maternity and special needs nannies would start from £ 500 per week.

Nanny Tax and national insurance

Your employer will take tax from your salary and your employer must pay the State’s National Insurance Contributions (NICs) if the nanny is to be eligible for maternity and unemployment pay. The difference between ‘gross’ and ‘net’ pay. ‘Gross’ is before tax and NICs deduction and ‘net’ is after the deduction. If you would like to read more click on the link Nanny Tax

Contracts

All nannies have a contract that outline the places of work, hours of work, duties, holiday entitlement, sick pay, your probation and notice period. Guidelines of how you are to conduct your term of employment with them. There will also be a section which outlines misconduct and the process of what can happen if your breach any part of your contract – disciplinary proceedings. This is a formal agreement between you and the family which is signed

House work

All au pairs and nannies are required to do some level of housework. Cleaning up after the children is expected. Washing and ironing the childrens clothes and cleaning the children bedroom. Keeping your bedroom, bathroom, playroom and the nursery/children’s room tidy should be expected.

Nanny rights and sick pay

Most families require a four week probation period to make sure the nanny fits into her new environment. You have the right to four weeks holiday leave annually. When terminating a contract, you, as a nanny, are entitled to a week’s notice if they have been working for more than one month, and two week’s notice if they have been working for two years. Once the probation period is complete, most employers will give four week’s notice allowing time to find new childcare arrangements. Nannies are entitled to Statuary Maternity Pay (SMP) and maternity leave if they have been working for the same employer for at least nine months prior to the baby’s due date. Statutory sick pay ( SSP ) is a contribution made by the employer and comes into play when a nanny is ill for four days or more.

CRB Checks

Criminal Records Bureau is a ‘disclosure’ of any criminal activity of convictions you have ever been involved in. Nanny agencies are legally bound to run an Enhanced Disclosure on all their nannies to ensure that they have no previous convictions and are entirely suitable to work unsupervised with children. You may be charged £40-50 for this service. This is a standard requirement of all UK agencies.

Driving in the UK

A current UK or EU driving licence is required and a clean licence without any demerits or any serious accidents or incidents.

Discipline in the family – what is correct?

There are many schools of thought on discipline, the family will have their own ideas for their own children and you really must be respectful of this. From day one you will need to establish what and how they would like to discipline their children and stick to it. If it does not seem to working – communicate with the parents to discuss alternatives – Always remember discipline is a way to teach a child on how to conduct them selves in the correct manner or letting them know a certain behaviour is in appropriate.

The war on food!!

Your aim is to provide a healthy diet with a balanced amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and fibre. By keeping salt, sugar, squash/soft drink, cakes, biscuits, crisps/chips and ketchup to the bare minimum and promoting fruit, nuts and cereals. Children are sometimes terrors when it comes to dinner time. Try to keep meal time as interesting as possible. If you have the opportunity to look after young children introduce vegetables and fruit early so it is habitual to eat, enjoy and try them. Ensure you always check with the parents if any of the children or the children's friends in your care have any food allergies before preparing meals. www.eatwell.gov.uk

And so to bed!

Routine is key when it comes to bedtime, establish a routine early and make sure you follow it every night. A bed time story is always a good start and make sure to ask if the child needs anything before you leave which will avoid them having an excuse to get up later. Leave doors slightly open and hall lights on, if a child is scared of the dark. In some families the parents may put the children to bed. Children under four need a nap during the day. Discuss their routine with the parents or previous nanny and stay with it if its working. Older children can also benefit from a quiet time during the day whether it is spent reading, drawing or doing a jigsaw puzzle.

Emergency.

No matter how hard you try to avoid them, accidents and emergencies can and will happen. The best thing you can do is be prepared and always be calm. Make sure your first aid knowledge is up to scratch and that you have an easily accessible list of useful telephone numbers. If an emergency does occur the most important thing is to stay calm, it will reassure the child. Suffocation, choking, breathing problems or severe bleeding will require immediate action on your behalf, so act fast. Next call an ambulance on 999 as quickly as possible - it will be quicker than you driving to the hospital. If there's a fire in the house, get the children and get out as quickly as possible. Child safety is obviously key. Don't hesitate to inform your employer if you think there are dangerous areas in the child's surroundings.

Useful links for nannies

 

Information for Parents

Nanny hour’s and salary

Live out nannies usually work between 45 – 50 hours a week. Salary is of course based on experience but should really receive between £ 450 - £ 600 a week. Live in nannies usually work approximately 60 hours a week and is also based on experience and should receive also between £ 450 to £ 800 per week Night nannies will usually work from 6 or 8pm to 6 or 8am receiving between £ 400 to £ 800 per week.

Nanny Tax

Legal Responsibilities
If you employ a nanny in the UK the law requires you to:

  • Register as an employer with the Inland Revenue
  • Keep a payroll record and provide payslips on their behalf
  • Pay Employee's income tax and National Insurance Contributions
  • Pay Employer's National Insurance Contributions
  • Provide an annual summary of all these deductions and payments

As an employer you are also responsible for paying Statutory Sick Pay and Maternity Pay.

Nanny trial

This is as important for the nanny as it is to you. You both get to find out a little bit about each other and they will also get to know your children as well. Meet the nanny before the children get home and show her around your home, go through the duties and her role in you family. Outline from the very beginning what you expect from the nanny and the time commitment you would like from them. Make sure you take notes on how they do, the way she is with the children and they way she handles and speaks to them. How does the nanny do? Is (s)he very hands on and seem like a natural, or does (s)he defer too much to you? Does the nanny seem to take a creative and warm approach to your children? Does the nanny fit straight in or does it seem awkward? Does the nanny ask intelligent and useful questions about the children and their daily routines? Who are the children listening to you or the nanny? At the end of the couple of days or week – sit down and give the nanny constructive feed back.

Employer responsibilities

As an employer you must provide a contract stating all of the following points.

  1. The nanny’s days and hours of work
  2. The nanny’s daily/weekly responsibilities
  3. Length of nanny contract
  4. Nanny Salary
  5. Over-time compensation
  6. Nanny paid holidays, holiday notices, sick leave
  7. Nanny conduct requirements
  8. Drug & alcohol policy
  9. Maternity leave & pay (statutory minimum)
  10. Accommodation (if the nanny is employed for a live-in position)
  11. Travel requirements (if any) – expectations for nanny and employer’s responsibilities.
  12. Petty cash handling procedures
  13. Termination and the grievance procedure.