How to Hire a Nanny: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents

What should you decide before you look for a nanny?

Most hiring problems start with a brief that was never written. Before you post anything, answer six questions on one page: who is being cared for, when (the exact hours, including commutes and the awkward week), where, how much you can spend in total each month, what matters most to you, and the date care must start.

Write hours as numbers. 'Full-time' means 40 hours to one person and 55 to another. 'Monday to Thursday, 7.30 to 18.00, 42 hours a week' gives you an advert, an interview question and an agreement that all match.

Then pick three non-negotiables: things you would turn a lovely person down for. Typical examples are a driving licence, experience with babies under one, comfort with pets, or a firm approach to phones while the child is awake. Three nice-to-haves go on a separate list. If you are a single parent, ask one trusted person to read the brief; a second pair of eyes catches the hour you forgot.

Is a nanny the right choice, or would a nursery or childminder fit better?

A nanny gives you your hours, your routines and one-to-one care at home. The trade-offs are cost, the admin of being an employer in many countries, and the fact that when the nanny is ill, cover is your problem. A nanny share splits the cost between two families. Nurseries and childminders offer registration, inspection and built-in cover, but fixed hours.

Five questions settle most decisions: do your hours fit a setting's opening times; is a nanny's full cost within your real budget; how much does your child need one familiar adult right now; how much admin can you carry; and what is your backup when care fails?

If a nanny is the right type of care but the full cost is not, look hard at a nanny share before you give up. Two families with similar hours can split the cost, and the children get a regular playmate. It only works when both families agree hours, house rules, holidays and money in writing, and agree in advance what happens when one family's needs change.

How much does a nanny really cost?

The headline rate is only the first layer. Add employer or setting extras (in many countries, employer taxes or contributions, pension, insurance, holiday and sick pay), then running costs (food, travel, outings, a phone, a room for live-in help), then subtract support you are sure to receive. That total is the number to compare.

Rules differ by country, so check the official source. In the United States, the IRS says that if you pay one household employee cash wages of $3,000 or more in 2026, you generally must withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and federal unemployment tax generally applies if you paid household employees a total of more than $1,000 in any calendar quarter. In the United Kingdom, GOV.UK lists the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over as £12.71 an hour from April 2026, and Tax-Free Childcare adds £2 for every £8 you pay in, up to £2,000 a year per child, but only for registered childcare.

Watch the gross and net trap. If you agree a take-home figure, any change in tax rates changes your cost. Agree pay as a gross figure where you can, and ask a payroll service or accountant to show you the full employer cost before you make an offer.

Where should you advertise, and what should the advert say?

Use reputable agencies, personal recommendations, online platforms and community groups, and remember that none of them replaces your own checks. Ask agencies exactly which checks they do and what happens if a placement ends early. In some countries, domestic workers must be recruited through licensed agencies or official centres.

A good advert has six parts: who you are (without identifying details), the job, hours as numbers, the pay range and benefits, your non-negotiables, and how to apply. End with one question applicants must answer in two or three sentences, such as 'How would you settle a one-year-old who cries when her parent leaves?' It filters out mass applications and shows you how people think.

Leave out your child's name, photo, exact address, nursery or school and daily routine. Reply to every applicant you have screened, even with a no.

How do you interview a nanny well?

Start with a 15-minute phone screen covering availability, pay expectations, right to work where it applies, driving, and experience with children of the same age. Then run a structured interview of 45 to 60 minutes with both decision-makers if possible.

Use the same core questions for everyone, in the same order: experience, real scenarios, values and approach, and their questions for you. Scenario questions matter most. 'It is 3pm, our child has a temperature and is unusually sleepy, and you cannot reach us. What do you do?' A strong answer is specific, calm and puts safety and getting help first. Compare health answers with official guidance and your own health professional's advice.

Finish with ten minutes with your child while you watch. Then each interviewer scores independently on the same criteria, such as experience with this age, safety, warmth, communication, reliability and fit, writing a few words of evidence for each score. If you want to look at your own habits as an interviewer, the AssessAll Interviewer Judgment and Hiring Bias assessment is a useful place to start.

• Tell me about a typical day with the youngest child you have cared for.
• What did a parent ask you to do differently, and what did you do?
• Our child bites another child at the park. Walk me through the next ten minutes.
• Someone you do not know arrives saying we sent them to collect our child. What do you do?
• How would you tell us something you knew we would not want to hear?

How do you check references and backgrounds?

Work in layers. First, check identity documents in person and, where the law requires it, the right to work. Second, references: ask for at least two from families or settings the candidate has cared for children for, and verify each referee independently by finding a published number or business listing. Call rather than relying on letters, and ask open questions: hours and duties, what they did well, what could have been better, how they handled illness, why it ended, and whether they would employ them again for the same age of child. Listen for pauses.

Third, official background checks. Most countries have some form of criminal record or suitability check for work with children, but who can request it and how varies a great deal. Use the official process, get the candidate's consent, and never rely on social media as a background check. Treat any refusal or delay as a red flag.

What should happen on a nanny trial day?

Pay for trial time at the job's rate and agree it in advance. Send a short plan for the day, spend the first hour together on the house, safety basics and routine, then step back. Notice what they check, how your child responds by the end of the day, how they use quiet time, and the handover they give you.

Write your review the same evening under five headings: safety, warmth, routine, communication and initiative. Then decide: offer, second trial, or thank and decline.

What should a nanny agreement include?

Make the offer by phone and confirm it in writing the same day, conditional on references, background check and right to work. Then put the arrangement in a written agreement adapted to your local law. Cover duties, hours and overtime, pay (gross where you can) and how it is paid, tax and deductions, holiday and public holidays, sickness, any probation or settling-in period, confidentiality and photos, driving and outings, safeguarding, notice and ending. For a nanny share, add how costs, hosting and notice work between the families.

Write your house rules separately in a short handbook: routine, food and allergies, sleep (from your health professional and official safe sleep guidance), medicines with written consent, safety at home, outings, screens and phones, visitors and who may collect, photos, communication and an emergency page by the door.

Finally, set a rhythm: a warm daily handover, ten minutes weekly, a 30-minute monthly check-in and a yearly pay and terms review. Offering training such as first aid refreshers helps a good nanny stay and grow, and Jobulary can help you both turn that learning into a simple development plan.