so ... nanny payroll companies?

[Youhaveafriendinme]

I'm a first time nanny employer, and trying to figure out what best to do. Money is quite tight, but so is time, and I don't want to make mistakes with payment / tax, so have been thinking of using a payroll company like nanny tax.

It looks like I will be employing a temporary nanny for a few months, then a longer term one, possibly moving to a nanny share. I'm not using an agency at the moment.

Does anyone have experience that would help me with the following?

1. Is it really that hard / time consuming / stressful to do pay / tax / NI ourselves? Is there an online guide to take you through it? I'd like to hear from anyone who has done it successfully! I am ok at maths, and have done my own tax returns before, but have not been an employer.

1. Do you have to pay an up front fee to the payroll company for every nanny you employ, or just for the initial employer registration? I don't want to have to pay this twice in a few months.

1. Is there a payroll company that would handle nanny shares? I see that nannytax doesn't. I don't have a nanny share yet, but would prefer not to change companies if I do.

1. Is there somewhere I can get a good standard nanny contract document without signing up to one of these companies or using a nanny agency? I have seen a friends contract, but it isn't that recent and I would want to be sure I have included all recent legal requirements.

Any advice much appreciated

I'd really recommend nannywageltd.co.uk - they were fantastic. Friendly, personal service and a one-off fee (£100+vat per year, I think) no matter how many times you called them.

They did all the paperwork, pay slips, everything - all I needed to do was let them know each week or month how many hours my nanny had worked. They prepared everything for HMRC - sent all the forms all sent out, envelope, etc, and all I needed to do was sign it and pop it in the post.

They also prepared contracts for me for new nannies - I just told them what I'd like to be added / taken out of their standard model and they wrote it up as a bespoke contract. Easy. And for a newbie like I was - a godsend!

oh, and mine was a nanny share too.

I am a solicitor and generally pretty savvy with financial stuff. I did the contract myself (using a solicitor friend's update of the standard nanny contract) but the tax stuff is a pain in the basckside and I have galdly paid the 150 to have it taken off my hands. It's not infallible and I keep a very close eye on it (partic as my nanny is not the most financially smart so I feel an obligation to ensure it is all done properly and they are not short changed). But it is easier review their pay slips for errors than to create them myself.

If you are familiar with HMRCs website and have the time to read about doing payroll, then do it yourself. You can use software like BrightPay to assist with the production of payslips.

If that seems too much bother, then payroll companies will do it for you but do ask them about their fees, especially about any fee involved for a nanny starting/leaving if you are planning to have more than one nanny per year. Payefornannies.co.uk gets suggested on here quite often, they are cheaper than nannytax if all you need is the basic monthly payroll function. Nannytax may be more suitable if you need a lot of employment law advice, complicated arrangements like shares (though expect payefornannies will cope fine with a nannyshare), weekly payroll.
Best to have a chat with a couple of payroll companies and get a feel for how easy they are to contact, how much advice they will give for free, what services they offer and fee structure.

Contract wise, ANA used to have one, BAPN also have one. So your nanny or a nanny recruitment agency may be able to provide a template contract - it would need modifying to suite the situation. Try www.nannyjob.co.uk they often have a version that could be used as a starting point. Cross reference things with ACAS guide to producing a Written Statement. Things that need checking as they do change over time are: holiday entitlement, disciplinary procedure, gross misconduct.

These days I would suggest including a probationary period in the contract with a short notice period during probation, so either side can end it if it is not working out.

big recommendation for PAYE for nannies who have legal helpline etc as well. Haven't tried it myself, don't want the additional administrative hassle which has significant implications for you and the nanny if it's not done correctly. Far easier to outsource for £100 odd a year

Many thanks everyone - I really appreciate all the advice

Payefornannies are great, they gave me loads of advice on annualising hours when I thought I needed to do that, handled my Nancy's recent sick pay and are available on the phone til 9pm every weeknight.

Ps they are much cheaper than nannytax!