Would you advise me to check any sort of paperwork in this situation?

[SESthebrave]

I have 3.6yo DS and 5mo DD and am currently on ML. I'm due to return to work around April / May and we are thinking of employing a nanny then.

I was doing a bit of research and looked at childcare.co.uk
In order to look, I had to put my details in but didn't put that I was looking for anything. I was contacted through the site by a nanny who lives in our village, asking what we were looking for. I explained in a brief message the situation and when she was still interested, we arranged to meet in the local coffee shop to chat further. She has a 4yo son and currently works p/t for 2 families but would be interested in our position as it is nearer home for her. Her son is due to start school at the same time as DS, next Sept and if they ended up at the same school, it could work. There's no guarantee of that though!

We agreed that in the meantime, she would do ad hoc babysitting / minding for us. My concern was that DS would need to "know" her before she would be able to put him to bed. As a result, she and her DS came over yesterday afternoon to play. All went well and the 2 boys got on fine.

My next step is to ask her to look after DS and DD one morning for me within the next couple of weeks and then book her for some babysitting.

My questions are:

• Does this all sound a reasonable arrangement for both parties?
• She has said her babysitting rate is £8ph would this apply for her looking after the DC for a morning too?
• I've not paid her anything so far - for coffee meet up or yesterday afternoon. Do you think I should?
• Should I ask for referenced or CRB paperwork or anything else?
• Any other things I should consider?

Many thanks

It's reasonable if both if you think it is.

Her daytime rate may not be her babysit rate. Many people babysit for less because they don't declare it, although they should. For nanny work she would be employed which means agreeing a gross rate that takes into account tax and NI. This is imperative as she has 2 other jobs.

I would not pay for interview time.

Yes you should definitely ask for ID, CRB, references and any qualifications. Make sure you see originals and call references to double check. It's also a good idea to ask to see her nanny insurance documentation.

If you are going to be employing her then you will need a contract and to run PAYE. I realise at the moment it's ad hoc so she could arguably be self-employed (ask for proof though, you don't want a fine for tax evasion) but in the future it would be employment. On a similar not you should check whether your household insurance includes employers' liability cover.

Yes, ask for references and to see paperwork such as last CRB check, training certificates, ID documents. Do what you would for an evening babysitter, you would be checking that sort of thing wouldn't you (depending on what the babysitter had)? It's not as though they are well known to you.

I tend to offer people my crb & ofsted certificate along with my passport in these situations. I don't think it's an unusual request and probably a wise idea to ask for it.
I charge less for evening babysitting (up to 11) as it's a lot less work than looking after children during the day.

Thanks all - that's really useful :)