Hiring my mum as a nanny from abroad

[Chocolatebutter]

I have a one year old and have been offered a job which includes long hours . I don’t have family to help me here in the uk and would have to hire a nanny. My mother lives in South Africa is in her late 40s . She is happy to come over and have me hire her as my nanny. I would rather hire her than hire someone I don’t know . I am British but she is not . Can someone let me know how this works and if this is possible ? I know of people hiring nannies from abroad but not sure how this will work if the person is a relative .
Thanks

You would need to look at what Visa she could get. Would she qualify for an ancestral visa? www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa

I’m pretty sure you can’t legally pay your family members to be your nanny.

Or maybe you can- I really thought you couldn’t but I think I might be wrong.

This could be very tricky legally so you would need to look into it very carefully

• you would need to see what type of work permit/visa she might be eligible for
• you would need to check minimum earnings that you will need to guarantee - at least minimum wage for all hours worked
• you will need to set up as an employer and organise payslips and pay over her tax and NI as well as your own employer NI contributions - there are nanny pay companies that will do the admin for a fee
• you will need to check into whether you will need to provide health insurance as some visas do not give immediate access to the NHS
• you will probably not be able to use some government schemes that pay towards childcare as she wont be OFSTED registered

@WheelieBinPrincess

I’m pretty sure you can’t legally pay your family members to be your nanny.

Why not?

How much are you planning to pay her?

Cannot use Tax Free Childcare or Childcare Vouchers with a family member, or any other type of funding scheme.

As long as they legally work in the UK and you pay at least minimum wage, then I can't see why they could not be your employee.