FAQs

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.

In the UK, you need to hold a full working visa – there are a few options currently available, including a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa, a Spousal Visa, and an Ancestry Visa.

Currently, household staff are not able to be sponsored by employers to get visas.

For overseas positions (ex. UK), your Signature Staff consultant will assist you to ensure you apply for the requisite visas for your employee, and you, the Client, will also bear the costs of these.

If you employ a nanny in a permanent part-time position, you are responsible for operating a PAYE scheme for all permanent employees in their household.

It is suggested that employers use either Stafftax (https://www.stafftax.co.uk/) or Nannytax (https://www.nannytax.co.uk/), a specialist outsourced payroll provider to undertake this. Both Stafftax and Nannytax will charge you an annual fee to manage the pyaroll process for the part-time permanent member of staff.

A temporary part-time nanny will be self-employed and hence an employer will pay the nanny the gross amount.

All permanent employees in a household who work are employed, not self-employed.

Those candidates who work on a temporary basis (full-time or part-time) are self-employed and responsible themselves for declaring their income and meeting the accompanying tax obligations.

We advise all staff to talk in terms of a gross salary when accepting a new position, the agency can advise on standard rates of pay to expect.

Signature Staff employ a rigorous matching policy to ensure the chosen candidate is the best-fit for your household based on your requirements and the candidates’ skill-set and personality.

However, extremely infrequently unforeseen challenges can arise for either or both parties.

Should the original candidate leave in the initial 10 week period (10 weeks from the start of employment) for reasons other than employer misconduct, Signature Staff will seek to find a replacement (at no cost).

Your Signature Staff consultant can provide a draft contract of employment for you should you require this.

The consultant will also advise you as to the standard terms currently prevailing in the market at that particular point in time.

A trial period is normally built into a probationary period in the contract.

The client is responsible for covering travel expenses at the start and end of the employment.

Over and above this, for overseas placements, 1-2 return flights to the candidate’s country of residence are typically included and will be set out in the employment contract.

Most countries have differing tax legislation. Your Signature Staff consultant will advise you on this if you apply for an overseas position.

Equivalently, your holiday entitlements will differ too, and will be set out in your employment contract.