Bank accounts for foreign nannies

[uwila]

Just wondering if anyone can advise how/where their foreign nanny / au pair obtained a bank account in the UK. Mine has been to Abbey, Natwest, and Nationwide. Nationwide wasn't sure if they could do it. Abbey said no way until she's been here a year, and Natwest has different set of requirements every time she goes in. I do not want to pay her in cash as that makes my record keeping a pain. Can anyone recommend a bank that will let her open an account?

She's not an au pair, but a nanny, an employee, a taxpayer. It's not much different from any other job except that she has no utilities to prove her place of residence because she lives in my house. But, we haven't given up yet. There are a few more banks to try and Nationwide didn't actually give us a no, more like a "hmm... not sure. we'll get back to you." But then they didn't get back to us.

Oh, Ameriscot you are brilliant. I didn't think of the electoral roll. She's Canadian so we can do that.

I thought the Electoral Roll is a listing of all British Citizens who are registered to vote at elections?

If non-British citizens can go on the electorial list then they must be eligable to vote in our elections - how can that work?

Why can't she just change the address on her bank account at home and get a ref. sent over as Ameriscott suggests?

Commonwealth citizens who are resident in the UK are eligible to vote in Parliamentary, local and European elections.

European citizens are eligible to vote in elections for the European parliament.

I stand corrected!

My understanding was that you can register as resident and non-voting as well if you are not eu, which will give you a tie to an address.
Goldenoldie, I think that in some cases you do have to lie and it's ok. In this case it's only to circumvent a bank employee who doesn't know their own bank's rules. I'm not suggesting that she pretend that she is living somewhere that she isn't. It's hardly a harmful lie, to create a lease for an address that she lives at anyway. She's only creating a written contract in place of an oral one. Etc. etc.

No, sorry, honesty is pretty important to me when it comes to who is looking after my kids. I would not do it and would not be impressed by any nanny/AP who would ask me to lie for them, but that is just me. I don't expect everyone to have the same standards/feelings about this sort of behaviour.

I don't really think you have to lie. You always have the option of putting the au pair or nanny on one of your utility bills (you may not like this option but it is better than lying, IMO). Beyond that, they can use their passport as ID.

The main thing to understand is that they can't get an account instantly - it make take several weeks to establish that their name is linked to your address.

As for credit blacklisting, there is always going to be a risk - not putting them on your utility bill is not going to avoid this, if they are on the electoral roll or have a driving license, say. If the worst does happen, you can write to the credit agency and get have them disassociated from you.

Well, I'm not putting her on the utilities because she is a grown woman and a responsible employee. This is her responsibility, not mine. But I am trying to assist within reason. We haven't been through all the banks yet. So we'll keep trying. She has had her address changed and is getting a statement from her Canadian bank. If that fails, we'll try for the voter registration, and if that fails too, then I guess she'll have to work out how to cash her cheques somewhere like a western union (assuming there is one somewhere around Kingston/Sunbury).

Sophia, you immoral woman. You must be a repulican.

or even a repuBlican.

In your case, your nanny has other options, Uwila - electoral roll, bank reference, UK driving license (eventually). But some girls come to the UK with few options, particularly if they don't have a bank account in their home country (common enough in EE).

I don't really see what the practical objection to a utility bills would be, though.

It's just a pain I don't want to deal with. She's a grown up and I don't pay what I consider to be huge sums of money to have to babysit someone... especially when they are likely to leave in a year and I'll have to do it all over again.

But anyone who comes to this country needs some help in setting up a bank account. Even before the rules tightened up in the last few years, we needed an employer's reference to open an account when we had just moved from the USA. Same deal when we moved to the US.

I'll happily help with a reference. In fact I already gave her a letter saying she works for and lives with me. But Nationwide said they no longer accept that... hence I started this thread to see what I could do.

I think I am bending over backwards beyond the call of duty here.

But it is not her fault either that bank bureaucracy is what it is. It's just a fact of life that you both have to deal with. If she were unable to get an account, you would have to pay her in cash, and as you have said, this would be inconvenient too - more than the little help you could easily give her up front.

Did you have an easy time when you moved here, Uwila - to the point of not needing anyone's help to smooth the way? Surely it would give you a little buzz to make her life a lot easier?

I don't think we are thre yet, Ameriscott. If all of our other attempts fail, then perhaps I'll reconsider the utility but only as a last resort. And I will no be paying her in cash. I will write her a cheque and smeone somewhere will cash it. Possibly Western union. This would be a pain and don't really think it will come to this. Think I would stoop to lying if it came to this.

Anyone know what a postal account is? Is that an option?

I guess you won't pay extra to cover the cheque-cashing fees, right?

what is with you tonight? she makes a salary. it's not like an au pair who scrapes by on pocket money. what employer would pay that expense? certainly not mine!

I guess I don't see why you wouldn't make an effort to ease her transition into a foreign country, especially given that you're an expat yourself.

Simple empathy. It costs next to nothing to give.

Has she tried the Post Office, Uwila? They offer basic bank acc's so I wondered if they're not so strict in their requirements.

no seudonim, she hasn't. I was just wondering about that. Don't know much about it. Does anyone have any experience of a postal account?

Have to say that this is putting me off even considering a foreign nanny. Lots of extra aggro for nothing, esp. if salary is the same as you would pay a British national.

It's not that bad really, goldenoldie. This thread has gotten a bit complicated. And the issue isn't really that she's forgeign it's that she lives in myhouse and therefore has no utilities inher name. Basically, I don't want a long string of nannies to have their names on my utility bills.

I expect my nannies to be old enough and responsible enough to look after there finances. Let's face it, there is element to the job of financial responsibility (i.e. submitting expenses to me and stick to a budget for activities, travel, etc.) so if they can't arrange their own bak account I'd have to question whether they are qualified for the job.

BTW, my current nanny is showing every sign of being very responsible. We just have to work out jumping through the hoops put up by the banks... just as everyone does.

I am confident that she will end up with a bank account. It will just be ab it of paperwork to get there.

It's not a lot of extra aggro. I just got my yearly electoral roll form in the post today and it will be so easy to write my au pair's name on it and pop it back in the post - no stamp required, even. It is a legal requirement to include anyone who is eligible to vote and living in your household on the annual form.

If you are hiring a nanny from abroad (as opposed to an au pair), there's a 99% chance that they will be eligible to go on the electoral roll. That's because you are highly likely to have a nanny from the EU or a Commonwealth country.

If you have a live-in British nanny, she would still need to get her name linked to your address if she were to open a new bank account or if she wanted to get any credit.

I would be very surprised if any British nanny did not already have a bank account...............