Anyone Successfully Hired a Nanny While on UC?

[JakeMichael]

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to find someone who has successfully employed a nanny while claiming Universal Credit.

Both of my children receive DLA and have additional needs. My daughter has just started secondary school and my autistic son is struggling with nursery. I’m also pregnant, so we’re trying to set up proper childcare support for when the baby arrives.

I know UC reimburses 85% of childcare costs if the nanny is Ofsted-registered, but I’d love to speak to someone who has actually managed this process.

How did you set it up with Ofsted and UC?

Did UC base their reimbursement on gross or net pay?

Did they include employer costs like NI or pension contributions?

If you’ve done this and it worked, I’d be so grateful if you could share your experience.

Thanks so much!

Bear in mind it's up to 85%, so depending on how high or low your income is it might not be the full 85%.

There's also a cap of about £1800 a month. So even if you're paying your nanny right at the minimum at about £2400 a month, you can't get more than £1800 back.

So say you have an inexperienced, newly qualified/unqualified nanny and live outside of London/SE and are paying £12.50 an hour for 45 hours a week - and offering a gross salary of £29250 a year - remember you also need to allow for mileage if she's driving (or you provide a car), meals on duty, activities with the children, pension contributions, employer's NI, a payroll company, insurance. And also allow for sick pay, maternity pay, covering her holiday.

£1768.95 per month = £21227.28 per year
So that's to cover 85% of childcare costs so to get that maximum you'd need to be paying out £24,973.27pa and funding £3,745.99pa (£72 per week) out of your own pocket.

I think you mean a childminder don’t you? You should be able to apply 30 hours free per week during term time to a childminder (usually local authorities have a list of registered ones on their websites). You’d have to pay extra to wrap school holidays. Childminders usually have a number of kids and host at their house, not the same as a nanny, who usually just has your kids operates from your home. The latter being expensive and the former quite affordable.

Right. I’m going to say it.

I find it astonishing that benefits would pay for a nanny.

that’s it really.

There's state funding of all kinds of Ofsted registered childcare.

We all thought it…

@LeonMccogh As another poster said they are likely to be getting a decent amount in terms of benefits though? Especially if it's enough to hire a nanny (which only the very wealthy can usually consider).

“Pay a somewhat incompetent babysitter” is really quite a rude summary of someone who is taking care of YOUR child

Well depends on the hourly rate and how many hours

Nannie’s are usually qualified so earning over nmw

the calculation shows that an average job on nmw would be earning £27k I think

so not forgetting travel - if you work 8hrs a day your nanny will be doing 10 so a 50hr week

They'll pay the same amount toward a nanny as they would a childminder or nursery - why would that be astonishing?

They're not going to pay the full cost of a FT nanny, just as they don't pay the full whack of a nursery or CM.

From a previous post it sounds like the amount left to pay would be considerably higher than the OP expected.

So you have two kids with extra needs, are on UC because obviously your paying jobs arnt enough to keep you financials stable. Why are you having another baby? Genuine question, no hate. But why?

You’re not going to be able to afford it.

What support is it that you think you need? Would afterschool childminder for your middle child be enough, with baby in full time childminder once you’re back to work?

You’re going to be very stretched financially if you qualify for UC. With three children, even with the additional money you get from DLA, you’re going to be financially stretched. You cannot afford a nanny.

I’m an Ofsted qualified nanny & no way would I ever work for £26,000. That’s a childminder salary. For reference I earn over double that working 4 days a week, 12hr days.
Do you live in the South East? Based on the high rent I assume you do. If so, you won’t find an experienced qualified nanny for less than £40,000.

But it isn't enough to hire a nanny - the OP was counting on 85% of it being paid by UC (as in with "extra" money not from her current benefits). As others have point out though, there is a cap which is likely far less than 85% of what a nanny would cost.

"We were" not "we was"

did you mean to be so nasty?

Someone will be asking for UC for a chauffeur or housekeeper next

The other thing to consider OP if you directly employ a nanny is that you'd need employers liability insurance. It would be a legal requirement. That could be several hundred pounds a year.

I’m usually really against benefit bashing, but this is just a very difficult thread to swallow. They’ve got two kids, two high needs kids, and they’re on UC as neither of them earns well. They’re struggling, yet they’ve having another child and now they’re trying to see if they can get tax payers to fund a nanny, instead of using something more affordable.

There are working class and middle class families who do not qualify for UC who are struggling, so they stop after one or two children because they cannot afford more. And nannies are for the high earners.

It’s difficult to sit and read about a low income family having a third child and wanting a nanny funded by UC.

Well the OP hasn't said that she's expecting UC for all the cost of a nanny.

They'll have their salaries as well towards the cost, plus due to their circumstances, they'll probably be entitled to far more than most people.

With two preschoolers, nursery will cost a huge amount so the cost of employing a nanny could be comparable.

@Bobiverse

1. benefit bashing
2. a lack of understanding of possible religious beliefs & cultural expectations
3. a lack of understanding of the failures of contraception
4. a lack of understanding of the possibility of any familial pressure e
5. a lack of understanding that the enemy of the poor/working class/middle class is not the poorer people but the tax avoidance mob and the elites and the royals et al.
6. jealousy.

none of these make you sound like the kind of person anyone should heed. Look in the mirror & judge yourself first.

There really is never any reason for the taxpayers to fund a nanny for a low income couple. A carer for medical reasons? Yes. A nanny because they chose to have 3 kids and they’re struggling with it? Paid for by the taxpayer… no. Make your list as many times as you want, the government already provides help towards childcare costs. Asking for a private nanny? Come on.

1 yes if they are on the take

2 What religion expects free money?

3 pill, injection, condom, IUD, morning g after pill, abortion. If none of those you you are not using them correctly so abstain from sex

4 Where is the familial pressure to pay your own way

5 increased numbers if people unnecessarily on the take means there is less for the genuine needy

6 Not jealous of those on the take

Being on the take does not make someone a nice person. I save my compassion for the deservedly vulnerable who need help.

i don’t wish to rain on your parade, but that’s just the gross salary. You should add on an extra 20-30% for employer’s NIC, pension contributions, and employer liability insurance and sundries (expenses, food, mileage, even just the extra costs of heating your home during the working day).

All in, the costs even for a “cheaper” nanny will be around £45k per annum, or £3.8k per month. If UC pays £1.8k per month (haven’t checked this, just going off posts up thread) then you’re looking at a shortfall of around £2k per month to fund.

Never going to happen. Thankfully.