Hiring Household Staff in London

The world's deepest tradition of private service, in a moment of unusual movement.

Few cities have a longer or more sophisticated tradition of professional household service than London. The roles that define the top of this profession, the career nanny, the governess, the butler, the estate manager, have been part of London life for generations, and the city remains one of the most discerning markets anywhere for placing them. It is also among the most international: London households are routinely multinational and multilingual, and many are connected to homes in more than one country.

What makes this moment distinctive for hiring is movement. In April 2025 the United Kingdom replaced its long-standing "non-dom" tax regime, under which wealthy international residents could shelter foreign income, with a residence-based system. The effect on international families has been real, though its scale is debated: Bloomberg, citing the Financial Times, reported that early HMRC data showed departures broadly in line with official forecasts, with a number of those families relocating to or adding homes in places such as the UAE, Switzerland, and Italy. For a household, the practical consequence is that more London-connected families now live across borders, which makes two-home and rotational placements increasingly common, and makes work authorization, both for international families hiring in the UK and for UK professionals taking roles abroad, part of getting a placement right.

Demand in London spans the full range: career and international nannies, governesses with strong academic backgrounds, household and estate managers for townhouses and country homes, and formal service for families who entertain. Discretion is paramount, as it is anywhere households are this prominent.

We maintain a presence serving London, and because we recruit to a specific brief and place professionals anywhere in the world, we are built for a market where a family's life, and its staff, increasingly span more than one country. At Nannies + more…®, it is simply how we work.

Source: Bloomberg, "Preliminary UK Tax Data Eases Worries of Non-Dom Exodus, FT Says," 2025.