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Original poster

Anyone Successfully Hired a Nanny While on UC?

86 replies

JakeMichael · 21/09/2025 21:49

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to find someone who has successfully employed a nanny while claiming Universal Credit.

Both of my children receive DLA and have additional needs. My daughter has just started secondary school and my autistic son is struggling with nursery. I’m also pregnant, so we’re trying to set up proper childcare support for when the baby arrives.

I know UC reimburses 85% of childcare costs if the nanny is Ofsted-registered, but I’d love to speak to someone who has actually managed this process.

How did you set it up with Ofsted and UC?

Did UC base their reimbursement on gross or net pay?

Did they include employer costs like NI or pension contributions?

If you’ve done this and it worked, I’d be so grateful if you could share your experience.

Thanks so much!

OP posts:
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everychildmatters · 22/09/2025 20:11

@nellly Apologies - that's another lady on a similar thread. Yes, they will have three.

nellly · 22/09/2025 19:41

everychildmatters · 22/09/2025 18:11

@nellly It's good to know she can afford 5 kids - I honestly take my hat off to her. Husband and I both work and earn around £50 pa combined, in privately rented (way over £1k rent pm alone) and receive no government support. So I have genuinely no idea how she does it and can also consider a nanny.

She has 2 and one on the way? Or did I misread it.
in fairness I think she just found out she cant afford a nanny 😬

TeenLifeMum · 22/09/2025 18:14

Have you calculated the employer’s national insurance and pension payments? UC only covers the cost of childcare (percentage of rate) not the extras that come with a nanny.

everychildmatters · 22/09/2025 18:11

@nellly It's good to know she can afford 5 kids - I honestly take my hat off to her. Husband and I both work and earn around £50 pa combined, in privately rented (way over £1k rent pm alone) and receive no government support. So I have genuinely no idea how she does it and can also consider a nanny.

MellowMint · 22/09/2025 18:11

Didn’t you already ask this question today on FB group ???

FLOWER19833 · 22/09/2025 18:10

JakeMichael · 21/09/2025 22:42

Wow didnt realise it was this much

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It would be a lot more if it is in London

onlytakesaminute · 22/09/2025 17:52

This is exactly why the benefits system needs overhauling.

FourIsNewSix · 22/09/2025 17:27

It isn't that deep.

One person caught several catch phrases about the UC (helping to stay at work, 85%), wondered whether it would all together work for her family, came here to ask whether it is real and learned that it doesn't work like that.

People who never employed anyone typically don't estimate well how much employees really cost and how much work it is.

Now the OP knows it was too good to be true and will think about other options.

nellly · 22/09/2025 17:23

everychildmatters · 21/09/2025 22:25

@JakeMichael Please forgive me if I'm being daft, but why are you receiving UC if both you and your partner are in work?

Becuase wages are so crap in our country 😣 a massive proportion of benefits claimants work full time

Smilingintherain · 22/09/2025 17:15

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 22/09/2025 13:33

The op would only get the same entitlement as anyone else, if she chooses to spend that (plus a lot more) on a private nanny she is entitled to do so. It will cost the government the same whether she uses a child minder, nursery places or a nanny.

Show quote history

That shows the system is too generous and a lifestyle choice for some. OP is still on the take. That is unless she wishes to relinquish all welfare payments.

TheaBrandt1 · 22/09/2025 14:51

This and the other one where op and her partner between them have five children he earns £34k and she is a sahm.

Honestly I naturally thought I was quite left leaning but I’m really seeing why there is a lurch to the right. So many seem to see the welfare state not as a last resort safety net for hard times but a guarantee to enable them to do whatever they want without consequence.

PropertyD · 22/09/2025 14:39

Bobiverse · 22/09/2025 05:34

I’m usually really against benefit bashing, but this is just a very difficult thread to swallow. They’ve got two kids, two high needs kids, and they’re on UC as neither of them earns well. They’re struggling, yet they’ve having another child and now they’re trying to see if they can get tax payers to fund a nanny, instead of using something more affordable.

There are working class and middle class families who do not qualify for UC who are struggling, so they stop after one or two children because they cannot afford more. And nannies are for the high earners.

It’s difficult to sit and read about a low income family having a third child and wanting a nanny funded by UC.

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100% agree with this. Why do people make these sorts of decisions?

Mirrorxxx · 22/09/2025 14:24

I am rally strongly anti Reform but I can see that things like this are why some people will support them. People should not have children they cannot afford and benefits really need to be cut back

twosandwiches · 22/09/2025 14:12

This is why people are voting reform. The very fact that somebody who cannot afford to make ends meet on what they earn continues to have more children and work out what the state will give them to enable that choice.

However you feel about it, this is why Reform want to massively overhaul the system and I presume the OP would think they would be wrong to do so.

I’ve no idea who I’d vote for, but I fully support people living within their means )within reason).

I quite fancy an extra bedroom but turns out I can’t afford one. This affects my choice not to list my current house on Rightmove. I’ll have to stick with what I have.

Blondeshavemorefun · 22/09/2025 14:04

uc only pay out for 2 kids which op has
her having a third will not cost the government any more

she won’t get any more uc

Mum2twoandacockapoo · 22/09/2025 13:45

I bet all the deleted posts are from posters who have just said what a lot of us are thinking !!!

Why on earth would someone have another baby if they can’t afford the children they’ve already got without relying on UC .
and how is it fair on the other children , especially if the 2 have additional needs , what about if the baby is too ?

Thankfully the benefits system is being overhauled , it’s just a shame that it affects legitimate people not just people who take the piss .

Original poster
JakeMichael · 22/09/2025 13:44

Thanks so much to everyone who’s shared practical advice and support – it’s been really helpful to get a clearer idea of the real costs and what’s involved.

I can’t see one of the deleted posts, but I can guess the tone – and just to be clear, this thread was never an invitation to judge my family choices. UC is designed to help parents stay in work – according to the DWP, over 40% of UC claimants are working. We’re one of those families, juggling two disabled children, high rent and childcare costs.

I’m not asking for a free nanny or expecting UC to foot 100% of the bill. I know there’s a cap on what they’ll pay (around £1,739 a month for two children) and that we’d have to cover the rest. The cost breakdowns people have shared have been eye-opening, and we may well look at part-time or wraparound care rather than full-time.

Comments about why we’re having another baby or implying we’re ‘on the take’ aren’t helpful. We’ve done the calculators, we work, and we’re just trying to keep it that way rather than leaving work entirely.

I’m still really keen to hear from anyone who has actually managed to employ a nanny through UC – even part-time – and how you handled things like Ofsted registration, payroll and NI. If you’d rather not post publicly, feel free to DM me.

OP posts:
BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 22/09/2025 13:33

Smilingintherain · 22/09/2025 13:17

OP is not just asking for the bare essentials but more more more. Without doubt she is on the take. If not, she can fund herself like others.

Show quote history

The op would only get the same entitlement as anyone else, if she chooses to spend that (plus a lot more) on a private nanny she is entitled to do so. It will cost the government the same whether she uses a child minder, nursery places or a nanny.

Smilingintherain · 22/09/2025 13:17

beachcitygirl · 22/09/2025 12:52

@Smilingintherain

  1. what on earth would
possess you that the op is “on the take” zero evidence of that whatsoever- so yes benefit bashing. 2.Some religions espouse contraception including Catholicism 3.Why should a loving family with kids have no sex. Jeezo . Love and intimacy matter. 4.Familial pressure to keep a pregnancy 5. increased numbers of people abusing self employment and in particular the very wealthy and offshore accounts of the powerul means there is less. Poor governmental decision both Tory’s & labour makings mean the country is in a col crisis. None of this is OP responsibility
  1. You’re either jealous or the type of person who doesn’t think people with less than uou should have more kids or love & intimacy. Op is very definitely vulnerable with two disabled kids.

Employe some critical thinking - those on UC are not the ones brining the country to its knees.

what a despicable assumption to make “on the take” the inside of your head. Yuk.

OP is not just asking for the bare essentials but more more more. Without doubt she is on the take. If not, she can fund herself like others.

IsTheRecyclingOut · 22/09/2025 13:12

JakeMichael · 21/09/2025 22:42

Wow didnt realise it was this much

Show quote history

Surely part time nannies exist

everychildmatters · 22/09/2025 13:11

@beachcitygirl You.can have all the sex you want without having a baby. Ultimately that's the choice of the woman.

coronafiona · 22/09/2025 13:10

A private nanny is a private cost. When we had to have one it nearly bankrupted us, there is no tax relief as although you are the employer you are not a registered company. Yet you still have to pay their pension etc. ww has to hire a minimum wage nanny with no experience and she was not great. We only did it because nursery was so expensive

beachcitygirl · 22/09/2025 12:52

@Smilingintherain

  1. what on earth would
possess you that the op is “on the take” zero evidence of that whatsoever- so yes benefit bashing. 2.Some religions espouse contraception including Catholicism 3.Why should a loving family with kids have no sex. Jeezo . Love and intimacy matter. 4.Familial pressure to keep a pregnancy 5. increased numbers of people abusing self employment and in particular the very wealthy and offshore accounts of the powerul means there is less. Poor governmental decision both Tory’s & labour makings mean the country is in a col crisis. None of this is OP responsibility
  1. You’re either jealous or the type of person who doesn’t think people with less than uou should have more kids or love & intimacy. Op is very definitely vulnerable with two disabled kids.

Employe some critical thinking - those on UC are not the ones brining the country to its knees.

what a despicable assumption to make “on the take” the inside of your head. Yuk.

Blondeshavemorefun · 22/09/2025 10:25

Moreteaandchocolate · 22/09/2025 06:46

Yes I have done but it’s hard to find a nanny who is registered. I used childcare.co.uk to search.

Many are happy to register but the employer pays the cost of £103 as no benefit at all for the nanny to be often reg

Blondeshavemorefun · 22/09/2025 10:15

Bobiverse · 22/09/2025 05:34

I’m usually really against benefit bashing, but this is just a very difficult thread to swallow. They’ve got two kids, two high needs kids, and they’re on UC as neither of them earns well. They’re struggling, yet they’ve having another child and now they’re trying to see if they can get tax payers to fund a nanny, instead of using something more affordable.

There are working class and middle class families who do not qualify for UC who are struggling, so they stop after one or two children because they cannot afford more. And nannies are for the high earners.

It’s difficult to sit and read about a low income family having a third child and wanting a nanny funded by UC.

Show quote history

No - op wil get help with childcare whether cm nursery or nanny if ofsted

help is capped at an amount but she would get the same amount capped whether a cm or nanny

just would have to pay more from own pocket for a nanny