Hiring a nanny - is a contract needed?

[MothaDuck]

Hi there,
Looking for some advice please, I am looking to hire a nanny after a false start with childminder not really working out.

Do I need to draw up a contract and if so what type of terms should be covered? Do you pay sick pay, and if i were to ask that the nanny takes my child on trips out would it be standard to include the costs in the hourly rate or would this be extra costs? Do other peoples nannys do housework aswell or just childcare? Any advice would be much appreciated, we have had a really stressful situaiton with childcare and keen to get this resolved but dont want to make sure we do it the right way!

Thanks in advance :-)

Yes! You absolutely need a contract. You will be an employer so you need to sort out tax/ NI/pension contribution. It's easiest to use one of the companies - like nanny tax etc.

yes you need a contract. yes you should pay sick pay . you need to cover all costs relating to outings ontop of wages. housework is up to you and the nanny to agree on. some do some dont.

And certainly you are responsible for covering any costs of trips out, not sure why you think the nanny should pay it out of her wages??!

Yes you definitely need a contract. Employing a nanny is really different to a CM.

I think I've likely misunderstood your OP but you're not suggesting a trip cost be deducted from her hourly wage, are you?

Yes to sick pay. Yes obviously we pay mileage and for any expenses eg entrance fees. Our nanny has a card for expenses. Our nanny does our sons laundry and tidy up but not more than that.

I'd suggest you use an agency because I think you sound like you need some advice and help.

Hell yes a contract.dont lump them with cleaning jobs too. Theyre not an octopus and you want them comfortable and not stressed out if theyre looking after your most preciousness!

You weren’t actually meaning that if the nanny was to take your child to the zoo that she should be paying that out of her wages, were you?
Definitely use an agency.

I've been a nanny for many years and some of things my contracts have included are,

Hours of work. Most nannies don't like to bank hours so I would include that in there as well, use them or lose them.

Holiday entitlement (you can work this out online)

I personally wouldn't like to include expenses in the hourly rate as there's no possible way you'll know how much certain activities cost. My family provide a kitty and just top it up as and when needed. (You can ask nanny for receipts to show how much is being spent and on what etc)

Mileage allowance is classed as expenses as well if you require the nanny to use her own car for school runs, activities etc. I just document mine each week and let the parents know at the end of the month
(Make sure it's in a separate transaction from wages otherwise nanny will pay tax)

Duties and responsibilities need to be in there. I complete child care related tasks such as keeping children's bedroom clean and tidy, putting laundry away within reason (I'm not responsible for parents laundry but I don't mind helping out sometimes),
Preparing meals unless parents prefer to batch cook (some I worked for preferred it that way)

House rules such as no smoking, no drinking (obviously)

You can get lots of good advice from an agency such as NannyTax, who will draw up contracts, sort out tax payments etc. Be aware that it will probably cost you around £3k per month all in once you include employers NI, pension contributions etc.

@BumbleNova If you read my message I didn't say that I thought the nanny should pay for trips out of their wages ( ofcourse I would not expect that), I asked do you pay an increased wage to cover them, I am asking for advice from what I thought was a supportive, and not judgmental community. I am in an emotional situations so actually don't think this is going to be a helpful forum for me if this is more about people taking shots at you when you feel down.

@pandaeyez thank you very much for taking the time to provide some useful information, much appreciated.

@Clangus00 no, I actually wasn't. I was asking whether this was a way of paying for trips by increasing wages to incorporate them.

BumbleNova hasn't said that though?

Noone is judging you. Several posters (including myself) were trying to clarify what you meant about the trip expenses and wage. Your OP wording was 'would it be standard to include the costs in the hourly rate or would this be extra costs?' which I think is a bit ambiguous.

Sorry you're having a stressful time. I think you've been given good advice so hope you get sorted.

Op you should do salary and expenses separately. Often used by nanny employers is a “kitty” of cash that covers day to day costs such as playgroups, buying bits needed in the week day extra wipes.

As an employee they are entitled to statutory sick pay do paid holidays in accordance with the law. Many employers will only put statutory sick pay in the contract but pay more at their discretion.

Our nanny does not do “housework” per se but “nursery duties” of keeping child clothes clean and their bedrooms tidy etc are standard. They should also be expected to keep things tidy and clean up after themselves such as wiping down surfaces they use. Depending on the hours and number of children you might be able to include a bit of housekeeper type things - ours includes unloading the dishwasher and putting away the online grocery shop. Unless your children are at school full time and they are working whilst they are there I would not expect anything more substantive - come parents move to more of a nanny/housekeeper reopen at that point.

You should certainly document this all in a contract and your payroll provider should be able to provide a precedent. Make sure you have employers liability cover - You May have this as part of your home insurance but if not you will need to buy as it is compulsory.

Hmmm, if you read back your Op you actually didn’t say that.... that’s why so many people have answered as they have.

@CloudRusting thank you very much for taking the time to respond, that is all very useful and helpful information.

Yes for contract, the payroll company NannyPaye have a template to use if you use their services. I have a pot of cash for trips and classes. My nanny is really good at finding free classes though. I spend less £10 a week on activities at the moment.

And no housework, though she does like to unload the dishwasher and fold laundry during naps, but that’s not something we ask her to do

You do need a contract and it can include whatever you both agree to. We had one that was happy to do light housework including laundry and cooking one that wasn't. There's no should. You need to write the job description and she needs to sign up to it or nots.

You’ve had lots of nannies reply. Presumably you know that you’ll be an employer and need to register as one with HMRC?

But I would really recommend putting SSP only in the contract. That is the minimum you need to pay by law.
www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay
It means you can choose to pay more, but aren’t obligated to pay if your nanny seems to have a few random sick days. I have had a lot of friends who have had nannies take the piss and I haven’t.

You need to put holidays in the contact too and it’s best to split holiday 50/50 so that you choose half and they choose half. You must pay them for any time over that if you’re away but you can ask them to come in and do ‘nursery duties’.

Housework wise - I used to ask for the house to be as tidy as I left it. So kitchen wise-surfaces wipes, dishwasher filled and emptied of full, table clear and wiped, floor swept, dishes washed etc.
Mine were responsible for the children’s area - playrooms, bedrooms, laundry. These are nursery duties.
But nannies don’t do any heavy cleaning or bathrooms or clear up after you.

You are also responsible now for their pensions which can be quite complicated (although not too so if you do decide to set it up yourself - I set up our pre-school one without too much fuss).
I would recommend a payroll firm.

I would start with the contract on nannyjob and amend it

[https://www.nannyjob.co.uk/information/employment_contracts]

Other things may be important to you as well. We had a clause that no other people were allowed to be brought into the house without our written permission. IMO there is little point checking and DBS checking a nanny if she lets someone else into my house.
We also had a clause that allowed us to make a deduction from wages if she left without giving proper notice to allow us to reclaim fees for hiring a temp nanny. Again it prevented anyone leaving without giving proper contractual notice.,

I suppose the only other thing is that you need to make sure that your nanny feels welcomed and valued. It’s normal to buy her a birthday present and give a present/bonus at Christmas. As an employer too you have to give feedback, you can’t expect anyone to know exactly what and when you need something doing.

@underneaththeash thanks that is really helpful - I will certainly look at that template as a starting point. Thank you.

Nanny payroll will likely have a contract writing service which may cost £25 or maybe included as part of your payroll subscription.

Starting out I would use a nanny payroll company to help you set things up. If you understand how payroll works then after the first year you could switch to doing the payroll yourself, though consider how useful you would find the HR support that the payroll company may provide.

The big UK nanny payroll companies are: NannyTax, NannyPaye, PayeForNannies. There are also lots of smaller providers such as Way2Paye, NannyMatters and Zest Payroll.
Contact a couple and ask questions, compare how helpful they are as well as cost. You want a provider who is helpful to you in the event of any issue arising.

Yes. Anyone in a job needs a contract think within 8w of being a in a job

Best to do a kitty for every day to day costs - activities food petrol /mileage

Most Nannies won’t do housework but happy to keep kids places cjewnso bedroom playroom etc

I think the reason the OP probably asked about the trips is because I used to childmind and it was included in the daily rate, a bit like a nursery would so I can understand the question.

I'm a nanny now. I do clean and tidy the kitchen after I have used it but they have a weakly cleaner to do a full clean.
If there are crumbs from my charges, I would hoover.
I always make sure the house is tidy at the end of the day.
I do the children's laundry and if I need space on the clothes horse I will fold the parents clothes and sometime out away if I have time.
I take in deliveries, wait in for tradesmen, rake stuff to the dry cleaners and pick up parcels/drop off parcels.

The way I see a nanny role, is ultimately to be 'mum' when she's not there, so within reason most household duties (except heavy cleaning) are included in my role as a nanny.

Boss uses Nannypay to sort tax,national insurance and pension.

Good luck!