How to Find a Nanny in London

A market with its own language and its own rules, where the details that trip families up are rarely the obvious ones.

London is one of the world's great cities for private childcare, with a deep tradition of professional nannying and a vocabulary all its own. Knowing that vocabulary is the first step. A nanny cares for children day to day; a maternity nurse specializes in the newborn weeks; and a Norland-trained nanny carries a particular and prestigious pedigree. Families often begin a search not quite sure which of these they actually need.

Once you know the role, the routes will feel recognizable, word of mouth, online platforms, and agencies, but the mechanics of employing a nanny in the United Kingdom are genuinely different from the United States, and this is where families stumble.

The most common error concerns pay. Nannies in Britain frequently quote their salary in net, take-home terms, but as the employer you should agree a gross figure. If you agree a net wage, you become responsible for all the income tax and National Insurance on top of it, which can add a great deal to the true cost. Always settle the gross number in the contract.

You are also, in the eyes of the law, an employer. That means registering with HM Revenue and Customs, operating PAYE payroll, paying employer's National Insurance, providing proper payslips, and, where the nanny qualifies, enrolling them in a workplace pension. A nanny is an employee, not self-employed, whatever is suggested otherwise. Most families use a specialist nanny-payroll service to handle all of this, and we would recommend the same.

Two further points are distinctively British. A DBS check, from the Disclosure and Barring Service, is the standard criminal-record check and is effectively expected, even though a parent is not legally required to obtain one. And Ofsted operates a voluntary register for nannies: registration is not compulsory, but a nanny who is on it allows the family to use the government's Tax-Free Childcare scheme, which is why many families ask a nanny to register and cover the modest cost themselves. For any candidate who is not a British or Irish citizen, you must also check their right to work in the UK.

London pay is among the highest anywhere, quoted by the week and varying with experience, live-in or live-out, and central versus outer London.

If navigating the terminology, the payroll, and the right candidate at once feels like a great deal to manage, that is the work we take on, presenting vetted professionals matched to exactly the role you need, with the placement guaranteed. This is the care Nannies + more…® is built to provide.