Maternity nurses are trained to look after newborn babies and infants so their tenure with a family tends to be of short duration. They work longer shifts than nannies with many being on call for 24 hours, 6 days a week. They are self-employed unlike nannies who are employed by the family.
Nannies, on the other hand, look after infants aged 3 months and older and their contracts are long-term. Nannies work 10-12 hours per day for 5 or 6 days per week. Typically a nanny doesn’t do night duties, although they are often prepared to babysit if given sufficient notice.
There are many educational qualifications available to nannies in the UK:
Each country will have their own courses; in Australia this could be a TAFE Diploma in Community services whereas in New Zealand there is a government based initiative which aims to teach parents and child carers alike the best way to look after young children. A few nannies will have gone through the PORSE system and completed their qualifications.
Both live-in and live-out nannies would have similar respective experiences and qualifications.
A live-in nanny would either live with the family in their home or she would have separate accommodation provided for her which would include food and all household bills being paid.
A live-out nanny would arrive for work early in the morning and leave in the evening at the agreed time stated on her contract of employment and would provide her own accommodation at no cost to the family.
All candidates who register with us need to meet our rigorous vetting process;
References: we require them to have at least 3 years’ experience with checkable references – we don’t just stop at two referees, we will try and reach every one of their past employers.
Face-to-Face Meeting: We ask all candidates to attend a face to face meeting at our Central London office, during this interview, we’ll verify their identity, working rights; site their documentation and make sure we have a thorough understanding of their skills, experience and what they’re looking for in a job.
Certificates:
You, as the employer, will be responsible for paying all necessary tax, national insurance and pension contributions in addition to the employee’s net salary.
Signature Staff recommend using Stafftax (https://www.stafftax.co.uk/) or Nannytax (https://www.nannytax.co.uk/), specialist outsourced payroll provider(s) to undertake this. Both Stafftax and Nannytax charge you an annual fee to manage the payroll process.
Both Stafftax and Nannytax will generate a monthly payslip for the employee detailing the net amount (after tax, pension contributions & student loan deductions) to be paid into the employee bank account by the employer.
The employer will also then settle both the employer & employee’s tax, pension and other obligations in a monthly payment to HMRC.
Your Signature Staff consultant will be able to secure a 10% discount on both the Stafftax and Nannytax service.
For permanent placements we charge a % of the candidate’s gross annual salary, payable when an offer of employment is made by the client and accepted by the candidate.
For temporary placements we charge a weekly fee.
Our fees are extremely competitive, please do contact a Signature Staff consultant to find out more.
Your nanny may be required to travel within the UK and overseas with you. Prior notice and agreement needs to be given. If your nanny accompanies you on family holidays this will not be deducted from their holiday entitlement.
By law, an employer is required to give any employee the statutory minimum of 28 days holiday (including 8 days of bank holiday) per annum in the UK.
Holiday as a nanny, may be taken only at times convenient to the employer as previously arranged by notice.
Typically the employer will choose two weeks during which the employee is required to take leave, whilst the employee may choose when the remaining two weeks are to be taken, with prior agreement from the employer. All holiday arrangements should be discussed and agreed with your employer.
No fee is paid by candidates at any time during their interaction with Signature Staff.
The average time to recruit a nanny from start to finish is 2-6 weeks.
The Signature Staff team spend a considerable amount of effort to draw up a shortlist of candidates whom are the best-fit for your household based on your requirements and their skill-set and personality.
Further time needs to be allowed for the schedules of both the client and candidates for interviews and possible subsequent trials particularly for overseas roles.
If you require and position to be filled urgently please advise your consultant of your anticipated time frame and we will work out hardest to fulfil your request.
For a temporary nanny the process can prove to be over a significantly shorter time frame (as little as 1 hour).
Your employer is responsible for operating a PAYE scheme for all permanent employees in their household.
This means you, the employee, will receive the net amount (after tax, pension contributions & student loan deductions) into their bank account on a monthly basis, with the tax, pension and other components automatically paid to HMRC, pension providers etc. respectively.
This will typically be done through Nannytax or an equivalent payroll provider.
The easiest way to convert gross salary into net salary (salary into your employee’s bank account after deductions) is to call your Signature Staff consultant [insert link to contact us page] and we’ll be able to advise you.