The internet has changed the way that parents find nannies. In the past parents would use Nanny Agencies who would in-turn advertise in local newspapers.
Now the internet has made if possible for parents to advertise directly to nannies looking for work. In the UK the most popular nanny recruitment website is NannyJob.co.uk which lists thousands of nanny jobs throughout the UK and even some abroad. NannyJob is used by agencies, so if you want an agency to help with the recruiting, do not be surprised if the agency places an advert on NannyJob. NannyJob charges a listing fee, about £20 at the time of writing.
In some parts of the country, Gumtree.com is a popular way of advertising for a nanny. However it seems to me that this concentrates on Cities, so if you don't live in a city it may not be that good. Gumtree charges in certain locations but not others... so you may find that placing an advert does not cost you anything.
When composing an advert you need to know what is you actually want. Do you want a live-in nanny (a nanny who stays at your home day and night) or a live-out nanny (a nanny who comes to your home each morning and leaves again at the end of the working day)?
Online adverts can often be quite long, so I feel you should give as much information as possible. In particular I feel you should be clear about:
- the working days and hours
- how much you will pay
- what housework duties you expect to be done (such as washing children's clothing, ironing etc)
- as clear as you feel able about your location - for example if in London, state the nearest tube station.
- start date
There are lots more things you can include in an advert, the more the better I feel but I am aware that some parents want to leave things to discuss at the interview.
Saying how much you will pay seems odd to some people. I feel you should give the salary (or a salary range) so that you don't waste your own or other peoples time. If you can only afford to pay £6 per hour, yet applicants want £10 per hour, then it is not worth them applying for your job.
The purpose of your advertisment is to get suitable candidates interested in your job offer. It is not to get everyone interested in working for you - you want the job advert to act as your first line filter... to weed out the unsuitable applicants leaving you with a handful of applicants to interview.
In England, Ofsted are now registering nannies. Many parents are now wanting to use Childcare Vouchers to part-pay a nanny and thus require a nanny who is already Ofsted Registered, or a nanny who meets the criteria and could apply for registration. If you are recruiting in a hurry and need to use Childcare Vouchers, then state in your advertisment that you require the nanny to already be Ofsted Registered (as the registration process can take a few months).
Other places to advertise include local village shops, such as a newsagents. Local newspapers are also an option - though can be expensive compared with internet advertising.
You may want to leave advertising to a Nanny Agency. I will discuss Nanny Agencies in a later post.
The rules for paying a nanny using Childcare Vouchers varies depending on which country you are in... alas it isn't the same throughout the UK. As I nanny in England, I will explain how the Chidcare Voucher system works for parents who employ a nanny in England.
In England, nanny employers who want to pay their nanny using Childcare Vouchers need to get their nanny to register with Ofsted on the Voluntary Part of the Ofsted Childcare Register. You should ask your nanny to read the Guide to Registration on the Ofsted Childcare Register. You nanny will need to meet the minimum requirements for registration, which includes: First Aid Training, Childcare Training, Nanny Insurance plus various other things... see the Guide for details.
The registration process can take several months. Once registered, your nanny will be sent a Registration Certificate which will include a unique identifier.
Your nanny then needs to contact the Childcare Voucher company. Who that is will vary as your employer will have selected a company to administer the scheme for them, or they may even administer the scheme in-house. If both parents are able to use Childcare Vouchers it is quite possible that their employers use different voucher companies, so your nanny will need to register with both voucher companies. Many voucher companies have a form which the nanny completes. That form together with a copy of the Ofsted Registration Certificate are sent to the voucher company, who then issue the nanny with a carer identifier.
Once your nanny has a carer identifier, you can then ask your payroll department to pay part of your salary via childcare vouchers - this is a deduction from salary scheme so can effect pension rights... so do check that the scheme is suitable for you - your HR department / payroll department will have some info available.
Childcare Vouchers can come in a variety of formats... some are physical paper vouchers while others are fully electronic. Some voucher companies require that you Authorise each voucher, others do not.
With paper vouchers, you get given the voucher as part of your pay and give the voucher to your nanny. Your nanny then contacts the voucher company to redeem the voucher - often by phone or via the internet. Then the voucher company processes payment and within a week the payment is in your nannies bank account.
What issues are there with Childcare Vouchers?
The major issue currently with Childcare Vouchers is the time it takes for the voucher companies to redeem the voucher. Therefore you allow ample time (I would suggest 2 weeks) for your nanny to be paid by the voucher company.
Your contract with your nanny will be to pay them on a specific date, typically at the end of the month. You will be in breach of your contract if you do not pay on time. Do not rely on the voucher company to pay on time. Instead the first month you get a childcare voucher, keep it. That month you pay your nanny as usual.
The following month, you can then use that voucher you have, to part-pay your nanny. Payslip wise this is a deduction from the NET Pay figure.
For example, if the NET Pay due figure is £780 and the voucher amount is £243 (this is the typical voucher amount), then you give your nanny the voucher plus £537 - these days you would pay your nanny via BACS directly into their bank account. Many parents use the Internet Banking facility provided by their bank.
