The decision to hire a nanny will be an extremely important one to you, your child and the nanny.
The relationship that you build with your nanny will be crucial to your child’s stability and continuity of care.
Having a firm idea early on of what you want your nanny’s roles and responsibilities to be and communicating these to your nanny at the start of this working relationship could save a lot of time later on.
There are several ways to do this and provide clarity to your new nanny.
Have a contract of employment in a place. This document will have two major benefits. Firstly it will act as a point of reference to both you and your nanny if the need arises to recall any rules and regulations. E.g. what are the House rules? Am I allowed to invite other nannies into the house? What is my holiday entitlement and are their any conditions attached to them that we agreed.
Another important way to ensure the nanny is clear on what you would like them to do and how you would like them carry out their duties is to provide your nanny with a written Job Description. Please see our sample Nanny Job Description.
Before your nanny starts’ working with you it is important to share key information about your home, family and children with them.
Provide her with an hour by hour breakdown of your child’s routines e.g. school or nursery times, play, TV, computer and extra – curricular activities that they like, meal and any sleep times, and any nursery duties that you want them to perform that were agreed at the interview.
It may be useful in the first few weeks to provide a written timetable so that your nanny can follow it, or simply use the previous nannies timetable, or you could devise a time table together.

Ensure that your nanny is immediately made aware of any allergies or medical conditions that your child may have. Explain how the symptoms manifest and what to do at these times. Discuss your child’s personality and things they like, favourite toys, characters, books. Talk over their developmental needs and go through your overall parenting plan or aims and your preferred method of discipline and your guidelines and boundaries.
Ensure that your nanny is both familiar and confident to use the appliances in your home such as the cooker, heating system, dishwasher, TV, computers and burglar alarms, car seat, buggy etc.
Provide her with a full list of emergency contact numbers, your nearest relative or friend, the doctors, the baby clinic etc. If possible give her a tour of the local area to ensure she can immediately find and make use of resources in your local area such as the park, library, swimming pool, doctor surgery, baby clinic and school.
Similar introduce your nanny to all the significant people in your child’s life, e.g. their friends and the children’s parents, your child’s school, nursery or play group teacher.
Think about how you will communicate at the busiest times, sometimes most challenging times of the day, first thing in the morning and after work. Will you want your nanny to keep a daily diary of the day’s events or have a notice board to exchange instructions and messages as well as verbal feedback of any key events?
Holding a formal review of the first week will give you (and the nanny) a chance to discuss what went well and what didn’t and to suggest changes and improvements.
Hold another review in a month or so and others on a regular basis.
The first few days of this new partnership can be naturally stressful and a little daunting even for the most experienced nanny and parent. So helping the nanny to settle in with a detailed induction will assist resolve both parties and reduce the anxiety.
It will also make your nanny feel appreciated and supported, getting the relationship off to a flying start.


Essential Information


Contract of Employment
The law requires a Nanny to receive a Contract of Employment within the first eight weeks of their employment. The contract must include, the start date, the period of employment and notice, main duties, working hours, salary, leave, sick pay and offences that will result in dismissal. We will be delighted to prepare a draft Contract of Employment for you.


Tax and National Insurance
When you employ a Nanny or Mother's Help you take on the responsibility of becoming their employer - and are therefore responsible for the payment of the Nanny's tax and national insurance.

If you run your own company you may wish to include your Nanny on your company's payroll or your accountant may be able to assist with this. Alternatively, there are several companies who can manage the tax and national insurance issues for you.

We recommend a company called Nanny Tax www.nannytax.co.uk who can provide you with more detailed information and advice. Alternatively, the Inland Revenue website is also very helpful for employers www.hmrc.gov.uk


Public and Employer's Liability Insurance
As the Nanny's employer, it is important the family checks that their insurer protects them against possible claims made by their nanny, e.g. should they suffer a personal injury. Public Liability Insurance covers this eventuality and if it is not covered by the family's home insurance, we recommend a company called Morton Michel who specialize in childcare insurance www.mortonmichel.com