Hiring a Nanny Without an Agency

Worried about finding a nanny yourself? If you do find your nanny elsewhere, we're here to help make sure they're safe with employment advice.

At Tinies we understand that parents often source childcarers through their own searches, but may struggle to carry out the checks and require help with employing childcarers (employment advice or payroll advice for example).

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When you're hiring a nanny yourself...

There are a number of checks we'd advise before offering a job to a nanny:

DBS Enhanced Disclosure

This is a police check on a nanny, but it also checks to see that the nanny has not been entered on a register as not being suitable to work with children. The ideal is to have a DBS check of less than 1 year old.

Passport, identity and Visa checks

According to the Asylum and Immigration Act 2006 all UK employers have a legal duty to make basic document checks on each person they intend to employ. There are many illegal operations out there, providing workers with false documents and visas. It is important to be on the look-out. Proof of current address should also be obtained.

References

Most nannies will provide written references from previous employers. It is important to verify those references by talking to the past employers, and asking questions about the abilities of the nanny.

Gaps in a CV

When reviewing the nanny's CV, always check for employment history gaps.