- What does a nanny do?
- What different types of nanny roles are there?
- How to find the right nanny for your family
- How much does it cost to hire a nanny?
- What to expect during the hiring process?
- How do pay and benefits work for nannies?
- How to create a happy and healthy environment for your child and their nanny
Hiring a nanny for your children can be one of the most important decisions you make as a parent. Your child’s health, well-being and development rely heavily on their caregiver, so it is essential that when choosing someone they meet all the requirements and qualifications necessary to care for your child. To ensure you find exactly what you’re looking for in a nanny, here’s a thorough guide to help you throughout the process – from understanding duties, to managing your new nanny, and everything else in between.
What does a nanny do?
The duties and responsibilities of a nanny vary depending on the needs of each individual family. Generally, a nanny will be responsible for providing physical and emotional care to children in their charge. This includes dressing, feeding and bathing them; helping them do things like learning basic hygiene care such as brushing teeth and washing hands; taking them to activities and playdates outside the house, and providing instruction and support for educational goals.
Nannies will likely also be asked to do housework related to children ie. laundry, cooking and tidying their play areas. They are not typically expected to do general household chores for a family.
What different types of nanny roles are there?
When it comes to hiring a nanny, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Depending on the family’s needs, there are several different types of nanny roles that can be considered.
Full-time nannies
Full-time nannies typically work between 40 to 60 hours a week and are usually employed by families who need childcare for more than four days per week. These nannies tend to work with one family over an extended period of time and can either be ‘live in’ or ‘live out’. If you’re hiring a live-in nanny, they will live with you in your home, so it’s important to consider whether you would have the space to do this. Live-in nannies would need their own bedroom and are not able to share with children for example.
Part-time nannies
Part-time nannies usually provide care for less than 40 hours per week, often working only two or four days a week.
Nanny shares
A nanny share is when two or more families employ the same nanny. This could mean that the nanny cares for up to two families’ children at the same time or they split the week between the families. This arrangement can prove to be more cost-effective but it is important to understand that each family would be considered separate employers, with their own employer responsibilities.
Nanny/Housekeepers
A nanny and a housekeeper are two very separate roles, however, on occasion, the roles can be combined. Often this role will be for families who have children in school so the nanny housekeeper will have dedicated time in the day to complete general house-related duties. These duties will vary depending on each family’s requirements.
Nanny/PA
Similarly to a Nanny/ Housekeeper, a Nanny/ PA will typically divide their time between childcare and other duties. Often they may be in charge of tasks such as paying bills, shopping and other household admin.
Maternity nurses
Maternity nurses support new mums – typically within the first 4-8 weeks of a baby’s life. They help to educate parents on caring for their new baby, while also facilitating some time for rest and recovery.
Night nanny
Night nannies care for babies during the night and undertake tasks such as bottle-feeding, burping and nappy changes. They typically follow maternity nurses and their role is to help babies develop good sleeping habits and give parents some respite.
After school nannies
After-school nannies usually support working parents by collecting children from school and offering care while parents finish their working day. It’s not uncommon for after-school nannies to do school drop-off in the mornings also.
Temporary nannies
Temporary nannies work with families on a short-term basis, for example during school holidays. These positions are generally for less than 6 months but can be anything up to a year.
Travel nanny
Some nannies will also be hired as travel nannies, meaning they will travel internationally with families on a regular basis.
How to find the right nanny for your family?
As we have seen, there are a plethora of different roles that you can recruit for, so we’d recommend that you start by thinking about which will align most with your needs. For some positions, it might be fairly obvious what type of nanny you’d need. When it comes to factors such as whether to hire a full or part-time, you will want to bear in mind the more complex nuances of your family.
It’s also important for you to consider what type of qualifications or traits you’re looking for. Every nanny recruited by Bubble will, as a minimum, have first aid training and be DBS checked, but some families may want nannies with certain language skills or professional qualifications. Many parents consider their nanny as part of the family, so it’s also important that you consider hiring a nanny whose caring style matches or compliments your own to avoid conflict.
How much does it cost to hire a nanny?
Nanny salaries are typically discussed as a net hourly rate, and vary depending on the experience level of a nanny. You can read about this in more detail here.
What to expect during the hiring process?
When you make an enquiry with our team, we’ll start with an introductory call to better understand your requirements so we can start our search. Once we know the type of nanny you’re looking for, we’ll begin actively seeking candidates for your role from within our database and by headhunting other nannies. When we find a good fit, we’ll send their CVs for you to take a look at and then progress to a video interview.
The next stage will be a trial where the nanny will join you for a day to see how they fit with your family. Nannies will be compensated for their time on the trial at their standard hourly rate. If this is successful, you can then go on to make an offer of employment. We’ll communicate between the two parties and if your offer is accepted, we’ll take care of all the paperwork.
Throughout the process, we’ll check in regularly. You can also contact us via email, telephone or WhatsApp if you have any questions or concerns.
How do pay and benefits work for nannies?
As a parent, you’ll act as the legal employer of a nanny which comes with certain responsibilities. As their employer, you must pay liabilities including tax and National Insurance. You’ll also need to have Employer’s Liability Insurance as well as provide a pension service and an employment contract. Nannies will also be entitled to statutory entitlements such as annual leave, sick pay, and maternity or paternity leave.
We’ll help support you through this process with our contract and payroll service.
How to create a happy and healthy environment for your child and your nanny?
Once you’ve hired your new nanny, the dynamics of your family may change as your children get used to a new caregiver and you invite someone new into your home. This can be a big change for some families, but with a little work, this transition can occur more smoothly.
It’s also important to remember that this is a time of transition not just for you, but for your children. There will likely be a period of adjustment in which your children are getting used to your new nanny, so don’t be alarmed if they are a little wary of their caregiver at first. We would recommend gently easing into things and allowing your child to meet the nanny a few times before they take sole charge.
You’ll also now have the added responsibility of managing your relationship with your nanny. Our top recommendation is to set expectations and strong lines of communication from the outset. Having regular check-ins with your nanny is really important so that you feel in the know about your child’s wellbeing, but also to ensure that your nanny is happy and fulfilled in their role. Most families will have a handover chat at the end of each day, as well as a longer weekly check-in to discuss any issues that have arisen. You may also want to do more formal reviews throughout the year to discuss concerns such as salary, working conditions and annual leave.
If you’re looking for a nanny, congratulations! You’ve made a great decision for your family. We hope this article has helped to give you an idea of what to expect during the hiring process and what kinds of roles are available. If you have any questions or want more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Our team of experts would be happy to help you find the best nanny for your family.
