Our Favourite Things to Think about when Choosing a Nanny Payroll Service

When families first employ a nanny, there are several costly mistakes, including:

• Committing to a net rate when the nanny has other income and get a horrible shock when they see their costs.
• Unclear information over holiday arrangements.
• Agreeing a gross rate but don't budget for employer's NI.
• Agreeing to sick pay.

These complex issues are the reason why you will benefit from using a Nanny Payroll Service. It's important find a payroll service that specialises in Nannies, as they will know the ins and outs of the childcare industry. We asked the experts at Nanny Matters for their advice on what you should think about when choosing a service.

• The company deals with clients on a one to one basis.
• Provide a personalised service.
• Quick response times.
• Transparency with policies and costs.
• Ability to question your assumptions.
• Offer choices, such as hard copies or online pay slips.
• Liaise with companies such as HMRC and NEST on their clients behalf.
• Contract Review Service.
• All employees are covered by the same contract.
• They help set up and close down your PAYE scheme.
• Claiming tax refunds, or funding for SMP.

Please remember that there will also be a number of add-ons that you simply don't need, such as extra insurance. In most cases, your household insurer will provide you with adequate cover at no additional cost.

Pensions

As an additional complication for payroll, if your nanny is paid over £10,000pa, at some point you will have to enrol them into a pension scheme, so you should know how your payroll service plans to deal with this. Most will require you to set up the pension yourself, with little or no choice of pension providers, and then charge you for administering it.