Nannies and cars - what works best?

[Chestnut99]

We're moving out of London and our nanny will need to use a car to do the school run and go to classes etc. We've had a nanny for the last few years, but in London a car hasn't been necessary, so this isn't something we have dealt with before.

All the people we're interviewing have their own cars, but I am wondering:

• is it easier to give the nanny the use of your own car, car seats already in place, petrol expenses etc from the family kitty, extend the insurance to include her, or
• is it easier to let them use their own car, provide (additional) child seats, pay a car allowance, reimburse petrol/mileage, tell the taxman etc?

It feels like it might be easier to let them use our car, but I might be missing something - any views? Many thanks!

If you have a second car that you already run, tax, MOT, service etc then probably cheaper to add them to your insurance (assuming they haven't got points etc). If you'd have to buy and run another car then much cheaper to pay mileage for use of their car. Either way you provide car seats.

I agree. A lot of people do not have a spare car. If they use your car then what do you use? There may be times when you are at home and nanny is working.

What car the nanny has may be a factor. If you consider it to be unsafe you may prefer to provide them with use of your car and you use public transport.

Consider how you would get to work. You will probably not be living at the train station so you will need a way to get there if travelling to work by train. May be fine walking in summer but in cold, wet winter it may not be much fun.

Hi Chestnut99,
I am a nanny. I no longer use my own car,because the 45p per mile (HMRC) no where near covered business insurance, fuel, wear and tear costs. The families I work for now provide me with duty car for my working hours. Some days I do not use it.
As far as I know there is no car allowance and it is not a tax matter. The 45p per mile covers it. However with the high price of petrol I didn't find this the case.
If you say there is no use of duty car, I am sure you will still get good candidates. As Nick has said, check the suitability of potential nanny's car.

I would say it's much easier to let the nanny drive your car.

I provide company cars and have staff who use their own cars.
If you provide a car if they have any private use on the car you need to declare it on a P11D and they will need to pay tax on that based on the CO2 emissions of the car. If they have any private use on the car you will also need to getting involved in whether you provide private fuel or not and how you deal with that.
If they use their own car and you use the HMRC's fixed profit car scheme rates you do have to declare this to the tax man.
In the last 16 years the tax implications of having any private use on a company car have got so onerous that as of the end of this month all my staff have chosen to no longer have company cars and reclaim mileage.

Far easier for nanny to use your car

I have always had a work car.

Cars do get wear and tear and mileage gets high for when the nanny wants to sell their car - saves swapping over car seats and buggies

If nanny only used during working hours then no tax implication for you

I have business insurance for my work (not a nanny!) and have had for the last 10 years. I've never had to pay a penny for it, it is always free for the main insured and their spouse. May be different if you are a named driver on someone else's policy.

Fabulousfairy1 you need to change insurer if they are charging you for business use and, in any case, your employer should pay it.

If nanny is live-out, then you providing them with a car for whilst they are on duty won't get you involved in P11D stuff but as Loancat says, any private usage of the car will. So the nanny needs to drive to get to your home (such as drive their own car to your home) then drive your children around in your car, then make their own way back to their home. So that may result in them leaving their car at your home all day. Consider where cars will be parked... there may be your car, DH/DP's car, nannies car all needing somewhere to park.

Nanny employers do not usually pay for the nannies car insurance, or an element of it, when the nanny uses their own car. Nannying usage can mean that insurance is obtained via a brooker, not a comparison website, but the cost is not usually that much higher usually though additional insurances such as insurance for Car Seats will add to premium (though such insurance is optional). Insurance alas is one of those things that is very individual, so costs do vary.

If a nanny is to provide their own car for work use then that should be taken into account when agreeing salary.

Issues with allowing nanny to use our car were;

1. Insurance became a problem to get as many insurers are not keen on you adding a nanny/employee onto your policy. May need to shop around to get cover.
2. If it is your only car and you need it for the day then you need to tell the nanny asap. Add this into the interview. They could use their own car for the day. Ours refused and got the hump.
3. Decide what mileage you are happy for them to do in your car or pay mileage for. Cap if necessary as some nannies will drive much more with your car than their own, ie driving the children on a 0.5mile school run as it is raining!!
4. Be aware that your car may not be looked after as you would like. We had suncream hand prints all over the top of the doors/roof, sand left in car and corsets, dinks and dents etc.
5. Decide in advance on who pays for speeding fines, parking fines, insurance excess for any accidents. Write this into your contract. I also wrote in the contract that car seats were to be used at all times and the car for family use only so permission to be given for carrying passengers. Reason for later was that the insurance would consider her a child-minder if she carried other children as well so would not cover her in an accident.

Thanks all. She will be a live out nanny and the car would be our second car (which we don't yet have but will be purchasing in any case, not just for her). It would only be for using during her work looking after our children, not for personal use. Will read carefully through your collective advice - and warnings. Thanks!

The good thing about nanny using your car is that everything is in it already. Car seats, pushchair, my emergency bag (extra nappies, wipes, changes of clothes, wellies, waterproofs, towels) the amount of times my employers have gone off with everything in the car and also I have got half way home before I realise I still have the car seat!

I have always looked after my employers cars to the best of my ability. Obviously there will be dings on any car, usually not the drivers fault but does anyone think 45p a mile would cover having these removed from a nannies car?!

Plus I would expect the car to be suitable for driving your precious child around in. At interview I always mention that my previous employers bought a cheap run around for them to get to and from the station and I drove the children in the big safe family car! It made sense to all my employers.

Definitely use your own car if you aren't using it to go to work. We added our nanny to our insurance and it hardly cost anything. We make sure the diesel is kept topped up and if she needs more she fills it up from the kitty money. 45p a mile is expensive for you but will not feel enough for your nanny!