Employ a nanny

You are usually the employer of a nanny you hire yourself, unless they are genuinely self-employed or you pay them through an agency. Being an employer brings duties on tax, pay, contracts and insurance, even though you are not running a business. You cannot ask your nanny to become self-employed to avoid them.

Check they can work in the UK

Before your nanny starts, check that they have the right to work in the UK, either online with their share code or by checking their original documents, such as a passport. Keep a copy of the check. You could face a civil penalty if you employ someone who is not allowed to work and you have not done a correct check.

Check they are suitable to look after your children

Ask for references and check them. If your nanny is registered with Ofsted, they must have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check with barred lists, a first aid qualification and public liability insurance, and they must give you a copy of their certificate of registration if you ask for it.

Register as an employer and run payroll

Register with HMRC as an employer before your first payday. You then run payroll for your nanny: work out and deduct their Income Tax and National Insurance, pay employer National Insurance where it is due, give them payslips and report each payment to HMRC. This applies even if you pay them in cash. You can pay a payroll service to do this for you.

Pay at least the minimum wage

Your nanny must get at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for every hour they work. Keep records that show you pay it.

Give written terms of employment

Set out your nanny's hours, pay, duties, holidays, sick pay and notice period in writing. Your nanny is also entitled to paid holiday, rest breaks and limits on working hours, and if eligible to Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay and redundancy pay, which you pay as their employer.

Enrol them in a workplace pension

If your nanny is eligible, you must put them into a workplace pension scheme and pay employer contributions, and tell The Pensions Regulator that you have done so.

Get employers' liability insurance

Check whether your home insurance already covers someone you employ in your home. If it does not, take out employers' liability insurance from an authorised insurer.

Pay through Tax-Free Childcare

You can use Tax-Free Childcare to pay a nanny only if they are registered, for example on the voluntary part of Ofsted's Childcare Register. For every £8 you pay in, the government adds £2. If you are eligible, you can also use your childcare account to pay your nanny's Income Tax and National Insurance.