Advice on hiring a nanny for the first time...

[Brag1234]

We currently have an 18 month old boy and have a baby girl due in August. We are moving to Putney in a months time and are looking to hire a Nanny for around 20 hours a week for a long term position. We have looked at agency’s but the fee is £1,900 - £2,500 just to place which is a hefty chunk. Can anyone recommend another way to find a good nanny with experience please that they found worked? Many thanks 😊

Word of mouth at toddler groups you go to? (Without of course overt pinching of someone’s nanny!). Childcare.co.uk but it’s a minefield - make sure people understand the salary you’re offering (gross!) / hours required / qualifications needed. You’ll still have 50 people to was through who want to do entirely different days for twice the money cash in hand and don’t drive or whatever (not that the agencies are substantially better!)
Ensure you have a really excellent written contract that’s crystal clear on holiday and sickness policies / pay!

£1900-2k is crazy! I paid c.£700 for agency. My nanny is fab fab and works 31.5 hours a week - she does bring her daughter which means her hourly rate is about 1/3 less which might impact it but you are asking for fewer hours than me.

I am in Kent if that helps?

Actually just checked it was £850, but still a lot cheaper!

Another option is that we actually have a local nanny/childminder forum which is much more reliable than childcare.co.uk.

Thank you to the both of you very helpful 😊

Sorry should have said forum is on Facebook if not clear. But I think nappy valley or similar might work in south London?

On the agency fee, I think that mine charged on the basis of something like 2-3 weeks' of gross salary for my nanny maybe so if you can find an agency that takes a cut of salary for first month you will pay less given your nanny is part time than if you pay one flat finders fee. I have only used one agency so I don't know what is normal

The agency we went through (snap childcare - we needed a specialist nanny as our Ds has SN) charges 16% annual salary plus vat for their recruitment service. I was so shocked at the outset. They were very good, but still. I think Norland is similar.

Childcare.co.uk is very popular. Be sure what you want though, as I found that many candidates applied for the job not being able to do the days, hours etc that we wanted so there was a lot of weeding out to do.

Not really what you asked, but something that has financial impact that we didn't think of: make sure you have clear discussions with the nannies you interview about aligning their paid days off with yours -- and if that will be all, some, or none of the time. I assumed that the nanny we hired would try to take at least some of her time off when we had time off (at least over Christmas holiday for example) but she never agreed to a single aligned day. So that got expensive and sometimes stressful, finding cover for the four weeks she took as vacation each year, when we were working.

20hrs. Is that 2 10hr days or 5 days of 4hrs etx /

Make a diff in what type or nanny Whether career or someone fitting around studies

I’m also Kent - What agency did you use @thetoddleratemyhomework

Some agencies charge a flat fee. Other a %

Ask to see dbs and check it. First aid. Pli ref childcare quals ask why leaving their current job

You can our own advert in Nannyjob and childcare

Or post on local fb group If anyone knows anyone

@PurpleCactus as the employer it is your choice when holiday occurs. Although in practice most nanny employers choose 2 weeks, the nanny chooses 2 weeks and Christmas week is taken off. Unless ofcourse you work for NHS or like when no time off over Christmas. Most families with school age children will ask for all holiday to be taken in the schools holidays. Or at least their part will be taken them.
OP I replied on the other thread too but just to add. Look at the statutory requirements re holiday eg it is 5.6 weeks including bank holidays. Agree a Gross rate of pay never agree a Net rate. Mileage paid for any time your nanny transports your child is 45p per mile. Best wishes in finding a nanny. Your hours would suit someone like me. Either as two long days or 5 short days. I'm nearly retirement age. So I dont go for jobs thats are 5 x 12 hours anymore. The advantage for employers is that if I do two long days I dont look for work on the other days , thus can offer flexibility if they want to change days or have additional hours. Many nannies will have more than one employer, hence the need go only talk a Gross salary.

I used a company called East Green Childcare. They were great - it's a one woman band really so possibly why the cost is lower. I would use them again.

You must be very near me :)

She’s one of the agencies I use a lot

She will be happy to know you are happy :)

Childcare.co.uk and nannyjob.co.uk. A large percentage of agency candidates are registered on these sites too. It saves you a lot, so long as you don't mind doing more.cv sifting and interviewing / reference checking and you can then pay a small fee to an agency to the DBS check etc
However definitely budget to use a nanny payroll service, it will save you a lot of headaches!

You have to really think through what is most important to YOU. It took a couple of false starts to realise that there are people who are lovely nannies, but not right for our family (and vice versa). No nanny will have every attribute so choose one or two - do you want someone super child focussed and creative, do you need someone who is naturally very tidy and organised to help run a tight ship, do you want someone who is independent and take one or more kids away to give you a break, or a spare pair of hands who will keep you all company and lighten the load?

Most people love their nannies. After interviewing many nannies over the years, almost every reference I've seen is extremely positive, which is lovely 😊. But it also means beware of anyone with more than one nice-but-not-glowing reference, and in any case definitely call as many as you can before extending an offer.

Thanks every such practical advice I really appreciate it 😊

Thank you, this thread has just answered lots of questions I came on to ask myself!

I'm a nanny in(-ish) your area and I would recommend childcare.co.uk and nappyvalleynet.co.uk. Agency wise, I'm afraid I don't know their fees but I've always found Fulham Nannies brilliant, and Abbeville Nannies (4x net salary).

Childcare is a great website for connecting families. I’m a nanny and haBedouin d so many jobs there.

Hope somebody can help please.
Q1.Can a parent use tax free vouchers to pay a nanny?
Q2. What does the nanny (not Ofsted registered) need to do in order to be able to accept part of childcare payment in vouchers? Thanks