Agency fee advice

[Twicke]

Hi
I am completely new to nanny hiring and need to do it quickly so for those reasons will probably do it through an agency who meets all their nannies and can easily shortlist.
However is there any reason to only use one agency? Do the agency fees increase if register with more than one? (like estate agents!) As we are looking for part time, i'd ideally like to register with more than one to increase our potential 'pool' of candidates
Feel that I can ask agency for advice re nanny but may get slightly biased advice re agency fees!
Any advice appreciated- thanks

Ask the agencies for a copy of their terms of business. It may be on their website.

Some may offer a sole agency exclusive, you never know.
One potential issue is that two agencies put forward the same candidate. In that situation, which agency gets the fee? Keep your own list of applicants you have interviewed, so you know if you have seen someone before.

Do all agencies meet the nannies on their books? Do check that the afency does. Does the agency meet all families on their books? If they are to match you to a nanny, do they need to meet your family or is chatting to you via phone/email enough? Look at what the agency offers, what their fee is and decide if that is something you are prepared to pay.

If you need someone fast, does the agency have people on their books actively looking for work? When you discuss the job with agencies, do they say that "oh that sounds a perfect job for x, they meet your criteria and are able to start on y date, I'll contact them and see if they feel you are the perfect family for them" or something like that?

I've always registered with more than one agency when looking for a nanny. Even though nannies also register with more than one agency, so often the agencies may have the same nannies on their books, I found the agencies rarely put forward the same candidates - they seemed to have different views of who would be best suited for my position. And they don't charge you extra if you register with several. I always found that going with 2-3 was enough, any more than that and the whole process gets difficult to manage. Have seen agencies charge anything from £1000 flat fee to 8 weeks or 15% of nanny's annual salary (for full time position - should be less for part time).

Thank you for helpful replies- I've registered with one and have my eye on another one as a possible. Useful to know that wont be a problem.
Now need to prepare for interviews...!

Do have a read of the many threads on here so that you understand about Gross pay, contracts, holiday entitlement, operating PAYE (and which payroll companies are lower cost than others). Whilst agencies should be telling you all you need to know, some are still in the dark ages and think in terms of Net salary and only tell you about one payroll company which probably gives them a referral fee (nothing wrong with that of course, though as with any service these days, you may want to shop around).

Hope they find you someone suitable quickly.

Agencies in my area don't charge more if with one agency but some don't work as hard as think what's the point of doing groundwork then you hire from another agency

They only get paid when you employ someone iyswim

Tbh most nannies I know are with all the agencies so you prob only need to register with one possibly two

as a nanny I always get the family's name /details so if another agency rang and told me about the same job I would say I've been told about it already

Good luck and yes discuss a gross wage