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!

When I had a full-time Nanny for my 2 primary aged DC (one with additional needs) it cost me well over £50k a year, which included NI, pension etc. I’d be surprised if UC would pay 85% of that sort of money. I earn £££ (in the 1%), and still found it a huge chunk of salary as it was circa £90k of my gross salary to pay that amount of my post tax take-home. There were zero concessions for being this kind of employer.

Nannies are top quality childcare for those with high paying jobs. It’s like asking if UC can fund a cleaner gardener a Waitrose shop and a holiday to the south of France.

This can't be serious

Yes I have done but it’s hard to find a nanny who is registered. I used childcare.co.uk to search.

It's not what you asked, but from your circumstances it sounds like a nanny might delay the inevitable trouble your child will have with school. It might be worth sticking out nursery with your son to get the proper support in place that would set him up well at an appropriate school.

I don’t think you’ve gotten much chance of making this work OP. The only time I’ve ever heard of a nanny being employed on UC was for wrap around care.

It did work in those circumstances although it was still expensive, pretty much UC covered sbout half after taper and maintenance from ex paid other half so she and kids were living off her salary. Maybe consider whether you could make it work part time? I suspect though that to pay a nanny per hour you’d be working 1.5-2hrs which can work if it’s just a few hours here and there but not if it’s full time.

No one is saying benefits will pay a nanny’s wage. The op is considering her options as she wants to return to work and nursery /childminder may not meet her children’s needs.

Why thankfully? Sometimes a group setting isn’t suitable for a disabled child so the only other option is one parent gives up work and claim more benefits/live in poverty. She’s not looking at this do she can get her nails done. There’s also sorts of additional support for disabled children, how much do you think respite costs? Or specialist schools? Should they be abolished?. Currently the only option for parents of Sen children is to claim carers which is about £80 a week hardly minimum wage.

How much did you expect to pay???
It sounds to me from what you’ve said that you actually can’t afford to return to work after maternity leave.

OP, I think you’d be better off asking MN what kind of childcare set up would be best for a family like yours.

For some people, an au-pair and nursery and a childminder for the baby would work. For others working part time would work out best. A nanny is an expensive option, especially one with SEN experience.

You need to cost things up and work out what you can financially afford first of all.

Is your second child struggling with nursery, or are nursery struggling with your child?

I think though sometimes it’d make sense I have 4dc, last two twins and it’d of been cheaper to hire a nanny than get all 4 or even 3 plus wrap around for eldest. As it was I couldn’t make math work and stayed out of workplace till the twins went to school nursery.

No - op wil get help with childcare whether cm nursery or nanny if ofsted

help is capped at an amount but she would get the same amount capped whether a cm or nanny

just would have to pay more from own pocket for a nanny

Many are happy to register but the employer pays the cost of £103 as no benefit at all for the nanny to be often reg

@Smilingintherain

1. what on earth would

possess you that the op is “on the take” zero evidence of that whatsoever- so yes benefit bashing. 2.Some religions espouse contraception including Catholicism 3.Why should a loving family with kids have no sex. Jeezo . Love and intimacy matter. 4.Familial pressure to keep a pregnancy 5. increased numbers of people abusing self employment and in particular the very wealthy and offshore accounts of the powerul means there is less. Poor governmental decision both Tory’s & labour makings mean the country is in a col crisis. None of this is OP responsibility

6. You’re either jealous or the type of person who doesn’t think people with less than uou should have more kids or love & intimacy. Op is very definitely vulnerable with two disabled kids.

Employe some critical thinking - those on UC are not the ones brining the country to its knees.

what a despicable assumption to make “on the take” the inside of your head. Yuk.

A private nanny is a private cost. When we had to have one it nearly bankrupted us, there is no tax relief as although you are the employer you are not a registered company. Yet you still have to pay their pension etc. ww has to hire a minimum wage nanny with no experience and she was not great. We only did it because nursery was so expensive

@beachcitygirl You.can have all the sex you want without having a baby. Ultimately that's the choice of the woman.

Surely part time nannies exist

OP is not just asking for the bare essentials but more more more. Without doubt she is on the take. If not, she can fund herself like others.

The op would only get the same entitlement as anyone else, if she chooses to spend that (plus a lot more) on a private nanny she is entitled to do so. It will cost the government the same whether she uses a child minder, nursery places or a nanny.

Thanks so much to everyone who’s shared practical advice and support – it’s been really helpful to get a clearer idea of the real costs and what’s involved.

I can’t see one of the deleted posts, but I can guess the tone – and just to be clear, this thread was never an invitation to judge my family choices. UC is designed to help parents stay in work – according to the DWP, over 40% of UC claimants are working. We’re one of those families, juggling two disabled children, high rent and childcare costs.

I’m not asking for a free nanny or expecting UC to foot 100% of the bill. I know there’s a cap on what they’ll pay (around £1,739 a month for two children) and that we’d have to cover the rest. The cost breakdowns people have shared have been eye-opening, and we may well look at part-time or wraparound care rather than full-time.

Comments about why we’re having another baby or implying we’re ‘on the take’ aren’t helpful. We’ve done the calculators, we work, and we’re just trying to keep it that way rather than leaving work entirely.

I’m still really keen to hear from anyone who has actually managed to employ a nanny through UC – even part-time – and how you handled things like Ofsted registration, payroll and NI. If you’d rather not post publicly, feel free to DM me.

I bet all the deleted posts are from posters who have just said what a lot of us are thinking !!!

Why on earth would someone have another baby if they can’t afford the children they’ve already got without relying on UC .
and how is it fair on the other children , especially if the 2 have additional needs , what about if the baby is too ?

Thankfully the benefits system is being overhauled , it’s just a shame that it affects legitimate people not just people who take the piss .

uc only pay out for 2 kids which op has
her having a third will not cost the government any more

she won’t get any more uc

This is why people are voting reform. The very fact that somebody who cannot afford to make ends meet on what they earn continues to have more children and work out what the state will give them to enable that choice.

However you feel about it, this is why Reform want to massively overhaul the system and I presume the OP would think they would be wrong to do so.

I’ve no idea who I’d vote for, but I fully support people living within their means )within reason).

I quite fancy an extra bedroom but turns out I can’t afford one. This affects my choice not to list my current house on Rightmove. I’ll have to stick with what I have.

I am rally strongly anti Reform but I can see that things like this are why some people will support them. People should not have children they cannot afford and benefits really need to be cut back

100% agree with this. Why do people make these sorts of decisions?