nanny interview questions

[Maisiemouse]

hi-I'm planning to interview some potential nannies..never having had one before, I was wondering whether anyone had any good questions to ask? also do you expect them to have done a crb check or is that something I need to do? and does anyone know if there's a website to sort out nannytax/ni?

[Uwilalalalalala]

Maisie, don't be surprised if you are flooded with a million underqualified applicants. I usually ask for a CV and a picture to be e-mailed to me in the ad. Then, if I like pic and CV, I send them my standard questionaire. I then have lots of information to pick and choose and compare. Also, people who aren't really interested likely won't bother with my questionaire.

Perhaps a nanny with her own child might suit you? You can knock the price down a bit because it is effectively a nanny share with the nanny, yet you can still be the sole employer (thought of course you will need to be flexible on things like her child's chool run times). But, you would, for example, get the benefit of the whole lower tax rate.

[nannynick]

Yes, you can get a nanny Approved once they have started work. They however do need to meet certain criteria, such as having attended a course which is recognised by CAS - See List Of Courses - and also have First Aid training.

MNT run a course in London and they can also supply First Aid training as well if needed.

If employing someone from outside of the UK, make sure they provide you with a Police Check from their country. For details of how they go about obtaining one, refer to the CRB Overseas Info .
Also worth knowing about immigration rules, so based on the applicants country of origin, you know if they need a visa, work permit, or if there are any restrictions on how long they can work in the UK. The UK Visas website has a handy lookup facility to help identify if an applicant would need a visa/permit. EEA citizens have free movement, but some do need to register under the Worker Registration Scheme .

[Maisiemouse]

thanks so much-great advice..I need to really sit down and go through everything..(jsut finding the time at the moment..
I've got 2 girls aged 2 and 6 months and want a live out nanny in n london for 3/4 days each week.. definitely not an agency because money is tight but also probably not a nanny share (although may suggest she could work for another family separately..
can we get a nanny approved once we've employed her? (is it a course or is it more tricky-chances are that we will employ someone from an EU country but havent yet got as far as replying to the 50+ replies from gumtree-think I was being a bit keen to advertise before I'd worked everything out..
really appreciate your messages.

[Uwilalalalalala]

How old are your kids? How many hoours will the nanny be working? Will she be live-in or live-out? What area do you live in?

I personally avoid agencies like the plague. I simply don't think they are worth what they charge. Howeverm, if youcan comfortably part with some £1500 than you might find them useful for your first hire. BUT... and this is a big but... don't expect them to ask all of the right questions for you. You still need to interview and check references yourself. I personally wouldn'#t hire anyone who didn't come with at least two references with whom I could speak.

If you give us some more details, we can probably help you more. For example, if you live in the country the issue of driving and who provides the car, etc. will be a more important issue that if you live in the city where nanny can hop on public transport.

[nannynick]

Uwila has a great list of questions which you can use as a starting point. You may need to modify them slightly to fit with your specific requirements, but it should give you a good starting point.

Uwila's Nanny / Au-Pair Questionaire

Having a CRB check done can be tricky for both the nanny and the parent employing the nanny. If you are recruiting a nanny via an agency, the nanny should have a CRB check done via that agency, within the first month of being in your employment. Upon joining the agency, they may have started the process of obtaining a CRB check, so may have this already by the time you interview them. Nannies may also have CRB checks from pervious years, these can be useful, though it is important that once they have started in your job, that a new CRB check is applied for.

If you are not using an agency, and the nanny is also not registered with an agency, then there is no current way of getting a CRB check done, except under the Approved Nanny (Childcare Approval Scheme).

You could ask for an APPROVED NANNY. Nannies who are APPROVED have a CRB check done annually as part of their ongoing approval. A benefit of having an APPROVED NANNY is that if your employer provides Childcare Vouchers, or if you are getting Childcare Tax Credit, you can pay part of your nannies wages using these schemes. NOTE: Approved Nannies are only available in ENGLAND.

For Tax/NI, if you are employing a nanny on a full-time basis, it is quite easy to do the Tax and NI yourself. If you are going to be sharing your nanny, then you may find it easier to use a Nanny Payroll company (such as NannyPaye, NannyTax, NannyJobPayroll) as it can get a bit messy when working out Tax/NI payments for a nanny whose time is split between two families.

If you are having a nanny on a full-time basis, then I've created an example for the first pay run. NannyNick's Payroll Example HMRC are very good now at providing new employers with help and advice, so don't be put off by it looking complex... especially if you have a PC, as HMRC provide a CR-ROM which will do a lot of the work for you, and you can complete a lot of information on-line now as well. Contact HMRC for a New Employers Pack .

[piglit]

Always ask for AND CHECK references. Give the candidiates examples of situations that might occur and ask how they would deal with them. What are like they re discipline? Routines (if you have babies)? What would they plan to do with them during the day? Can they cook good children's meals (very important)? Will they do the dc's washing and ironing and changing beds etc? Try and have the dcs there for at least part of the interview so that you can get an idea of how they are with the dc and what the dc think of them. Do they have a car or will you provide them with one? Check driving licence - I once interviewed a nanny who had 9 points (all speeding offences)!

[nannyj]

Hi
I have a crb check done before i start interviewing for positions so if i were you i would expect the nanny to have sorted that out. Plus ask to see her current first aid certificate, they only last for 3 years so if she hasn't got one she needs to go on a course.

www.nannytax.co.uk or www.nannypaye.co.uk are good companies for payroll. My bosses use nannypaye and have never had a problem with them and i think they are cheaper than nannytax.

For questions go to www.nannyjob.co.uk or www.nannynetwork.com. Good luck