Nanny contract
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@Tamarin OK
If the nanny is an employee, you must provide them with 5.2 weeks of holiday per year (in this case, roughly 11.5 days), with the opportunity to accrue holiday every quarter for overtime worked. Employees are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if they meet eligibility criteria (e.g., earning over £123 per week and being off sick for at least 4 days in a row). Self-employed workers are not entitled to paid holiday or sick pay. They are responsible for managing their own leave and income. For a nanny to be genuinely self-employed, they must have control over how and when they work (e.g., setting their own schedule, working for multiple clients). If you dictate the terms (e.g., specific hours, duties), they’re likely to be classified as an employee, and you’ll need to provide statutory benefits. A self-employed arrangement might seem simpler, but it must align with HMRC rules on employment status. Misclassifying an employee as self-employed can result in penalties.
You’re best off using a legally binding, pre-written contract outlining the role and responsibilities - you could end up in hot water otherwise. Look up “NatWest Mentorlive” for employment contracts. However I do agree with @Tamarin, if you’re employing someone to be a nanny for 2 days a week - don’t be a tight arse!
I believe there are apps and companies in certain areas that employs nanny’s you can use them and then the company is responsible for holiday pay etc and if there is any sickness they normally try and sort out replacement x
I'd pay an agency to sort something like this for 2 days a week and then they would provide cover, be fully insured, do all pre employment checks and validate DBS checks etc. Especially if it's to enable you to work, you don't want to be reliant on one person. Technically someone self employed could just say "I don't feel like working today" and you'd not be able to do anything about it, at least an agency would try to send someone else to cover x
@Heidi very insightful. Thank you! Yes - so I hire a lot of people for music events on 1 day contracts as self employed. I had walked into this thinking Nannies might be set up in a similar way. I dictate the time, music played and clothing each person wears while working for me but still they are self employed. The nanny can dictate her schedule for the most part as my work is flexible and she will have other clients as I’m just having her for 2 days. So it’s possible - some Nannie’s are set up. Most are not. And thinking about it the 5 weeks would be less I imagine as she is not working full weeks. I’ve accepted I’ll most likely just go through nanny tax to sort and calculate it all out. Will save me effort. But - really good food for thought thank you. I’ll jump into HMRC to see what the rules are
@Julia yes I might look at this also! Thank you. Such short snippets of time to get this over the line.
@Adele very good shout. I’ve contacted some Agencies just now and already it’s sounding like a great option.
No. If you're employing somebody you have to pay holiday and you should pay sick days. If you can't afford to pay somebody fairly you can't afford a nanny, sorry.