Checking Out Your Childminder?

Mustang Sally by all means use 192.com and pay for it but be aware it is often far from right it has my details at my old address only, nothing at my new address and I am on and have always been on the Electoral Roll at my new address and I moved 10 years ago!!

Personally i think it would be a waste of money. Also your employee's financial position is none of your business and I wouldn't work for you if you stated to ask to do or I found out you had done such checks. Very odd indeed.

Also please don't use the term 'Childminder' when you mean Nanny or Au Pair they are all quite different rolls.

I have worked for people as "nanny" and had phone calls and bailiffs turn up for my employers and had to deal with them.

As a nanny I expect that a lot of employers would try and snoop and find any information about me on Facebook etc but have nothing to hide at all. But if I found out they went to the extent of doing financial checks on me I would leave that day. How strange and over the top and would feel a bit weird (my personal opinion) ..I would expect that level of checks if I was working for the royals nothing less.

mustangsally - Childminder is a legally protected term, like policemen and doctors - so you're actually employing a nanny.
It is difficult, although i think you've also been unlucky, there can't be many employers who have been called on by the bailiffs for their nannies.

For you next nanny:
First insisit on a current DBS check, you can easily get an umbrella company to do this for you.
Then ask for two checkable references with landline number and mobiles, you can check addresses against landlines and therefore check that the person you are speaking to is actually the person from the reference.

Pay in arrears and have a clause in your contract that you can take out costs against wages: for any damages, keys that have not been returned etc...

Could you change your title to nanny, please. Childminders are registered with OFSTED and work from their own homes

Do just to clarify op - you are not talking about a childminder at all?

Tinies does a Nanny Reference Check but I can not see any info on checking things like financial history. Tinies Nanny Screening Services

Maybe if there was sufficient demand then agencies would do checks such as the 192 Background check. I suppose it may be useful but how much impact would it really have when making a recruitment decision? If there were two candidates who were identical in experience, quals, that sort of thing, would it be legal to deny one an interview if one had a CCJ from 3 years ago? I don't know - maybe it is but maybe it isn't a reasonable reason not to consider someone for the job.

So why does your title say childminder?

Nanny agencies would not run financial checks on the nanny or on parents. Should they? Maybe they should. Though maybe not many people would volunteer that information as they may not feel it is relevant.

You can certainly ask them if you can run a check. You could also run that 192 search but as it's free, it's not exactly reliable or worthwhile.

Is there a reason why you won't go through an agency that will have done a lot of this for you?

But CMs work in their own homes - it wouldn't be your door they are knocking on. Even if they don't have ccjs, there could be other unsavoury people knocking. It's not your business!!! And you're way above yourself if you think it is!

What I'm trying to say is - sure, I get the point about running checks if you are hiring a random kitchen fitter or builder.

But for childcare, if you are worried about the quality or issues relating to a nanny, then surely the best thing is to go via an agency that guarantees the quality of their staff and has run all the background checks?

Surely if you hire a nanny through an agency all these checks would be done? Or many nannies sign up voluntarily for Ofsted?

it wouldn't occur to me to run a background credit check on a childminder but I would probably google them and check them out on fb etc because what's on there is probably a more accurate view of who they are.

192 is a phone directory isn't it?

There are several different ississues with your post which might explain why you are unsuccessful with childcare..

childminder is a self employed person working from their own home, Ofsted regulate them and carry out DBS, health and inspections. You are NOT their employer.

nanny can either be ofsted registered or not.

crb is now called DBS

None of the above give you the right to go checking up on their financial history, it's intrusive and extremely rude.

Surely if you like a nanny, it's better to ask them than to snoop around?

192 isn't going to give you their debt information.

Mustang Sally do you even know the difference between a nanny and a childminder?

Actually the more you have explained, the more uncomfortable I'd feel and if I found out any of my parents had done this I would give them immediate termination of contract. My financial situation, bad or otherwise, has absolutely nothing to do with my ability to care for your child and bog all of your business.

Not a childminder then. I agree I'd be more interested in the parents credit history, identity, etc, but I've never checked.