Stupid question about who employs nannies...??

[sameoldshittimes10]

So I am trying to work out how to hire a nanny responsibly, mindful of the responsibilities that come with being an employer, and not really wanting to take that on... Is there any way around this? If you hire from agencies, are they the employer? I don't want to be in a position where I cannot afford sick pay or trying to organise annual leave, I would rather go to someone who deals with all that, has all the insurances etc, checks DBSs and everything, so that I just pay them a grossly inflated rate to not have the headache... Is that a thing? Or is there no way around the parent as employer situation?

i don't think so, i think nanny agencie act like employment agencies rather than employers as far as i can see so far.

The only alternative is for you to find someone who is self employed - usually this is the childminder model*. If you need someone for longer hours in your own home then yes you need to be an employer. There are payroll services who will calculate tax, NI and pensions (I used Nannytax years ago).

**Nannies would be mental to offer themselves as a self employed person as they will have very few rights and actually that gives you little protection as in theory they do not have to make themselves available to you at the times you want

No nannies are the parent's employee and as such you have employer responsibilities such as paying pension, holiday, sick pay and maternity leave. The agency that might find you the nanny will check that she has DBS. There are nanny payroll companies that can help you set up the contract and PAYE for your nanny.

We use NannyPaye, it’s really no headache at all. They just send an payslip every month and I pay it to the nanny. Insurance can be covered on your home insurance. NannyPaye sort out pension and tax implications. Really easy OP

Please don’t hire a nanny you don’t sound like you’ll be a good employer.

I use NannyPaye, same as PP. They will guide you through contracts, tax/NI and payroll and can deal with pension too. Would 100% recommend them.

There's a company called Koru Kids that makes it fairly easy. It didn't work out for me unfortunately but it's worth looking into.

You're right, I'm so irresponsible coming on here and asking about what to do in an impossible situatuon where I can't use childminders due to my kids additional needs and could just about pay a nanny but am worried about the huge responsibility that comes with being an employer, because I actually care and don't want to be a shit person 🙄

@SherbetDips - ever heard of the expression "If you haven't got anything useful to say...."? Great! Now go be a dick on someone else's thread

Any local accounting firm dealing with small local businesses will be able to do nanny payroll for you and often for less than the nannytax specialists. We use one to deal with our housekeeper - they do all the paye/pensions (don't forget you'll need to provide that too) and when needed calculate ssp and were fab about sorting out furlough payments and funding for us during COVID. Just a word to the wary that if your nanny is sick you will have to pay them SSP and you can't claim it back anymore.

Thank you to all the helpful replies.

Don't think nanny will be viable as I need to work to be able to pay them and if for some unfortunate reason they were off sick for an extended period of time, I would need to be off work, wouldn't be paid, and therefore wouldn't be able to cover SSP, which I couldn't in good conscious do to someone.

So I guess struggling through as we are it is...

It doesn't sound like a live out nanny is the right choice for you.

Could something like a live-in junior nanny/mother's help work? Otherwise I suppose you're looking at a childminder or nursery that can support yours child's additional needs.

I don’t think it’s irresponsible at all to query whether you want to take on the responsibilities of being an employer and make sure you understand what’s involved. I wouldn’t want to do it because as a lawyer I’ve seen what can happen when it goes wrong.

In other industries you can have an agency act as employer but I don’t think it is generally how nannies operate.

Whatever you do don’t treat a nanny working regularly in your home as being self-employed without taking professional advice. They will almost always be an employee in reality and you could find yourself having to pay thousands in PAYE and penalties if you do this.

I understand the fear OP - it’s needing to cover mat pay and leave that scares the bejesus out of me.

Before anyone is rude - of course it’s great that nannies get mat pay and leave! But I’d find it really difficult to organise and pay for cover on top of it.

@Wahwoo

Maternity leave is a faff in organisation terms, but you do get reimbursed for most of the maternity pay by the government. And a payroll agency will help you with the claim and the obligations etc.

A nanny agency should check DBS etc and first aid if they are good.

You can use a nanny payroll agency for around £200/year and they can give you basic employment advice (not legal advice, but assistance with holiday, redundancy etc)

It is a hassle sometimes in organisation, but it has been very good for us overall and worth it.

If you hire a nanny who is local, experienced and has a good network, she may have contacts who can step in if she is indisposed or on annual leave. In my experience, this is the best way to get cover.

@ChatBFP yep (I’m an employee in other circs, so I’ve done the process), but the upfront costs can be difficult.

I use Koru Kids like a previous post suggested. They do all of that.

We found it very daunting to set up but not as bad in reality as we feared.

It was 💯 worth it for our sen child,so persevere if you can

I wouldn’t use Koru for a child with SEN, their USP is after school/part time nannies and their candidates are usually quite inexperienced.

IME if you take on a nanny with excellent references you are unlikely to find she takes lots of sick days - of course anyone can be hit by ill health unexpectedly but good nannies know how much you rely on them and will soldier through if they can. Calling up referees yourself and having a detailed chat really does make a big difference here.

Ah I missed the SEN part, apologies. Although our Koru nanny is very experienced and has worked with SEN before but appreciate she's not the norm.

She's being responsible, asking how to do it properly.