Live-in nannies

[jesska]

I'm looking for anyone who has employed a live-in nanny, in particular if you brought the nanny with you to the UK from a posting abroad. We are moving back to the UK soon from Japan and have started to think perhaps we should try to bring our filippina nanny with us. It's a bit of a long story - she does not work FT for us, and we don't sponsor her visa here - but we've found out she is being rather screwed over by her visa sponsor and well, we do love her like a member of the family and wonder if both she and we would be better off if she came to the UK with us. It is a big step of course, and I would feel like a ridiculously lazy mother as I SAH at the moment (but could return to work in London) but we don't really know what we would be in for... has anyone got a live-in? How do you manage pay? Can I ask how much you pay? And generally do you feel like you never have any privacy etc?

Thanks in advance for any advice. We don't have long to figure out whether this is what we should do and this would be our only shot at it.

I think you will have a very tricky time wrt visas but assuming you sort that out.

Pay is dependant on hours, duties and experience and you would need to operate PAYE to make tax/NI deductions so do factor in the gross wage and employers NI. Live in in London can be from £300gross to three times that per week based on a 60ish hour week plus a contracted babysit.

Most live in nannies keep themselves to themselves out of work hours - it's also nice if they can have their own bathroom or share with children.

But before you get ahead of yourselves with the finer details I would first investigate to see whether it's possible. The UKBA is a good starting point for this.

try here

We have a live in at the moment, and TBH I don't like the fact that someone is around all the time. But then again we didn't plan on having a live in, it just happened, and it will be un-happening very, very soon!

Part of the privacy issue is dependant on what your living arrangements are, would they be sharing a bathroom with the family? (Better if they have their own). Is their bedroom going to be close to everyone elses or will it be an annex of some sort?

I don't know anything about sponsoring a foreign nanny so I can't help you, but I can't imagine it would be an easy thing to do.

Immigration rules in the UK are quite complex in regard to bringing a Domestic employee with you.

Workers: Eligibility
must have been working for at least one year immediately before application
must be intending to work full-time in the United Kingdom as a domestic worker
must be aged between 18 and 65
intend to travel to the United Kingdom with your employer, your employer's spouse or civil partner, or your employer's child who is under 18
not intend to work in the United Kingdom except as a domestic worker
be able to support yourself and any dependants without the need for public funds
hold a valid entry clearance for entry under the domestic workers category

This looks like the VISA application details.

VISA seems to be be arranged via VFS Global in Japan though may need to be done in the Philippines.

Any non-English supporting documents must be accompanied by an official English translation

Kalayaan is a charity in the UK which helps Domestic Workers. May be worth your nanny contacting them to see if she can get some advice from them.

Visa fee seems to be 31,050 JPY - see here

"she does not work FT for us, and we don't sponsor her visa here"
Not sure if that will be an issue, it could be.

Oh dear.. just wrote a long response and somehow it was deleted. Thanks everyone for the info, we are actually contacting an immigration law firm in London to help us determine if we could even bring her with us. We never had an official contract with her, since technically she is supposed to be working FT for her visa sponsor (but everyone does this here). We've never had any issues. I'm just appalled that her sponsor wants to pay her live-in rates but only gives her 2 days' work a week, and she has to find the rest.

I'm just torn because on the one hand she is wonderful and she is unobtrusive. She would have her own room and she could share the kids' bath or a guest bath (DH and I will have our own). Along with helping with the kids she keeps the house spotless and helps with cooking. I mean, 3 days of her time is more than enough. Which is why I wonder if it will not be the best thing. The 3yo will go to preschool every day starting in Sept and the 19mo will go soon enough... Funnily enough I could probably live with her around more, but the fact is that I think the kids should have some just-mummy time and then some mummy-and-daddy time alone. When she is around it's like I have to take the kids outside to spend quality time with them (because they want to play with her too..). I'm not jealous - 3 days of this is perfect but sometimes I think the kids (and I) need to be on our own.

Ugh, so torn. I appreciate all the advice.

To be frank It doesn't sound like having someone FT Live-in is what you need or want.

It sounds like you feel very sorry for this lady and don't want to leave her in the lurch. You sound lovely! Would it be possible for you to help her find another job/sponsor in Japan?

This is true, I do feel badly. She is in her 50s and I'm sure has worked very hard her whole life. She's been in Japan working for over 20 years and probably has only gone home once a year, if that. In an ideal world, we could bring her back, have her live in to start, but then help her find other work, much like they do here. We would even be happy to help her find her own place to live, even if it meant giving her extra money. I mean, if we bring her over we will absolutely take responsibility for giving her FT work, but I just would eventually want her to not be FT live-in. So it's a bit difficult for me. Dh thinks it is a great idea, but he isn't here during the day or for tea/bath/bed. He just thinks it would be great to be able to go out and then ask her to do the 6am start on Saturday/Sunday... there are probably easier ways to get that, I suppose. But if I go back to work, sure, I would want her to be looking after the kids. This is stupid but I just feel like I won't be a fully-fledged mom if I always have her around. I feel like it is cheating, if that makes sense. 3 days is still "help" but 24/7??? NOt sure...

Sigh.. maybe the immigration lawyer will settle it for me. Something tells me that it might not work because we are not her sponsor here. It's very unusual for someone to switch sponsors.. usually you only switch when yours leaves the country, which won't happen for her because her sponsor is japanese.

In an ideal world, we could bring her back, have her live in to start, but then help her find other work, much like they do here.

That I feel would be a breach of the Visa and/or Immigration rules. As I understand things, someone on a Domestic Worker visa CAN NOT DO ANY other work.

I just would eventually want her to not be FT live-in.

Again I don't think that would be possible under the visa type. There is a point many years later when she could apply for permanent residency - Settlement once been in the UK for 5 years. Note: Must have been a Full-Time domestic worker in the UK for those 5 years.

It does not sound as if you would be happy with her living with you 7 days a week, 365 days a year (ok, so she may not be there the entire time but she will be there the vast majority of the time).

6am start on a Sat/Sun... hmm, not sure how many people would do that!

Well she wouldn't work 24/7 so your children would have to learn not to disturb her on her time off.