Furloughing nanny

[aupresdemonarbre]

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/350/pdfs/uksi_20200350_en.pdf

My read that of the covid restrictions regulations is that they don’t prohibit nannies from coming to work. This means we can’t furlough our nanny right? She’s not coming in and we had thought we’d get compensation if we kept paying her. My husband is taking unpaid leave to look after our baby - can afford to pay her for one or two months without compensation but not over the long term. Are people in this situation firing their nannies? :(

One of my families have offered me full pay - they are hoping the 80% will apply and I think their plan is to top that up so that I'm ok financially.

What are thoughts on that nannies may not be eligible as there is still available work. Looking at the gov. Website, it is for staff when there is NO work available and not for when they choose not to go to work. Ie the place of work has been forced to close.

I’d love to offer this to my nanny for her security, but there are just so many unknowns at the moment and it’s a huge financial risk for us.

I am hoping the nanny PAYE companies are able to get clarity this week. Either, yes, they are eligible, or no, they are not, and they can legally be working.

Even IF you CAN use it though, are you ok paying tax on the grant yourself? Currently the guidance says its taxable to you as the employer (and nanny) as income

PJPests I honestly think this is So unlikely. The Government has just done this so businesses do not get a tax deduction on the expense of the salary they are still paying despite receiving money for that income from Government. Nanny employers do not pay corporation tax, the rules are completely irrelevant to us. I'm genuinely not concerned about this. Even if I did have to pay income tax on the money, I'd still be far better off than paying the salary myself.

@8by8 are you with NannyPaye by chance? They have been notoriously bad in their handling of the situation and the advice they've been giving, in contradiction to other nanny payrolls/agencies/organisations

@MolyHolyGuacamole - I am!

What has Nanny Paye said that is wrong? I've seen their emails and they seem rather more balanced (giving pros and cons to each of nanny and employer) than say Nanny Tax which seems to back track on what they said previously and now just link to the Gov website.

Exactly!
Maybe Nanny paye is the only one to get it right!

The more I read, the more I think that most nannies should still be working, so we won’t get it refunded. I’m basing this on the government guidance and documents... not what they said on tv, or what Martin Lewis might have said.

I’m with PAYE for Nannies and their guidance has been that the nanny can come to work and that the 80% scheme does not apply. However, that is in direct contradiction to what Ofsted told our nanny and also what the employment team at the law firm I work for told me. To add a further level of complication our nanny is part time and does 2 days a week for a family of GPs. Frankly they need her more than us at the moment. But equally they are more likely to be exposed and I don’t really want to increase the risk of it coming into the house.

We’ve agreed with her that we will pay her 80%, she will not come to work and if we can reclaim, we will.

Well as nanny, I hope that I can qualify as my boss' business has been directly hit and I will lose my job otherwise

The Government website states “ If you and your employer both agree, your employer might be able to keep you on the payroll if they’re unable to operate or have no work for you to do because of coronavirus (COVID-19). This is known as being ‘on furlough’.”

I think it’s reasonable for parents to say they no longer have work for the nanny because one or both of them are working from home. I feel fairly confident the Government will not penalise nanny employers and nannies who are trying to do the right thing and limit the spread of infection if they are able to survive without childcare while working from home. I don’t think the Government is out to trip people up on this. They want to keep people in jobs so the economy can pick up again once this nightmare is over. Including nannies in this scheme will no doubt enable many nannies to keep their jobs.

@Childcarehelp, that’s a good point about perhaps not needing them with 2 parents at home.
Not true in our case as we desperately need her, but I can’t imagine they’ll look that closely.

Palindromic User - that's not what PAYEforNannies said to me yesterday - I wonder if they have changed their view? They've not said definitely that it will apply but they've asked me to notify them when I'm starting it from etc, sent me the Gov website link and recommended I follow the ACAS procedures

No, your nanny cannot work from home. So under the current rules can come into work. You don’t need to furlough her.

@underneaththeash try telling them that!

As nannies can’t work from their own home they can still work - ofsted and MORTON Michele has verifies that the nannys insurance Would be valid if goes to work

If the employer has to work And can’t while young children about , if they can stay away from the nanny not in same room etx and let them do less hours as no travel involved

If paye then Nannies will be able to be furloughed if the family can manage without them

@adagio your nanny can’t have your children at her home. She won’t be covered legally as she is not a cm and means she can only have children at her home for 2hrs a day

Finally, HMRC have confirmed that all employees being paid via PAYE are covered by the CJRS (furlough) scheme.

Please find articles covering this topic here: www.accountingweb.co.uk/tax/hmrc-policy/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-get-the-details-right

and here:

www.ft.com/content/e8413fcc-d548-4a4c-835a-88039563be3e
"Nannies are covered as long as they paid through PAYE, and this should apply to all employers, rather than businesses, with a nanny on payroll. "

Thanks- any confirmation on employers income tax liability as yet?

I wondered if anyone who has furloughed their nanny, and submitted a claim, has yet received payment from HMRC? If so, how long did it take to come through? Thanks

Bonkers, HMRC confirmed that individual employers will not be charged income tax on the payment. See other threads for the link to the relevant gov website.

I’ve received payment, it took 3-4 working days.

Thanks Childcarehelp, and that's good to know that it came through so quickly.

My nanny was provided with clear guidance specifically for live-out/daily nannies from her MP, Rupa Huq - I wrote to the Cabinet Office to ensure this was correct and they have confirmed this to me via email.

The Cabinet Offices guidance is as follows:

"Issue: Nannies
Question: Should nannies of non-key workers' children be going to work?

In order to limit the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the Government has asked parents to keep their children at home, where possible, and for childcare providers, schools and colleges to remain closed, except for those children who absolutely need to attend. All childcare providers are therefore being asked to continue to provide care only for a limited number of children - children who are vulnerable, and children whose parents are critical to the coronavirus response and cannot be safely carded for at home.

Nannies - like everyone else in the UK - must also comply with the government's advice on coronavirus, including the government's guidance on social distancing.

Good practice under the current circumstances would therefore constitute:

• Where nannies do not live in their employers' homes, that they should not travel to their employers homes for work, unless this is essential (i.e. children are vulnerable, and/or children's parents are critical to the coronavirus response, and where children cannot otherwise be safely cared for at home).

• Where nannies live in, it would be appropriate for them to be treated for social distancing purposes as members of the household of which they are part."

Attached below is another letter confirming the guidance from the Norland Nannies website - www.norland.ac.uk/norlanders/coronavirus-update

As a nanny employer, I would suggest writing the Cabinet Office yourself if you feel this isn't sufficient evidence of how we should be interpreting the Governments guidance on social distancing.

has anyone successfully applied for furlough for their nanny yet? i've had a look but it says you should apply as close to pay date as possible which for us isn't until end of month. wondering if you can apply at any point from now or if it needs to co-incide with a pay run.

@wirelessprinter I've successfully furloughed my nanny and was reimbursed by HMRC yesterday. We had back dated the furlough to account for time she had taken off being ill on March 26th.
You must go through HMRC directly, not through an agency.
Here's a link to the application:
www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wages-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme