More nannies recruited online
New Nannytax research reveals worrying over-reliance on unregulated websites to find family childcare
New research from Nannytax, the UK’s leading payroll service for nanny employers, has revealed a drastic change in the way in which nannies are recruited, with an more online reliance, including unregulated web adverts.
One in five of the 1,145 UK families surveyed say they would look at an ‘unregulated’ internet advertisement on sites such as Gumtree to recruit their nanny - an increase of 8% since 2011. One in five (22%) also found their current nanny online, with one in ten UK families recruiting their current nanny having seen an internet ad.
A third (31%) of nanny employers said they would search for their next nanny using a specialist professional nanny recruitment site (three times as popular as 2011), with one in ten finding their current nanny this way.
A quarter of those surveyed (26%) found their nanny via recommendations from friends, although half (49%) of those surveyed said they would ask for friends recommendations in future (this figure doubled in a year). However, nanny agencies remain the most popular recruitment route, with nearly half finding their current nanny via the agency (a figure that has remained stable year on year).
Helen Harvey, Payroll Services Director at Nannytax says: "There are many ways of finding the ideal nanny, but the important checks must always be made, however well recommended they come. The fear of recruiting a nanny online via an unregulated site, or just via a recommendation, is that the paperwork may not be so easy to check and their background isn’t fully investigated. This has happened, with disastrous consequences, which were widely reported from home and abroad last year, and it highlights the need to fully vet anyone coming into your home. Particularly when they have the most important role of protecting your children." Helen Harvey at Nannytax offers the following recommendations for anyone looking to recruit a nanny:
- Thoroughly interview any prospective nanny and check all paperwork and qualifications
- Necessary checks are the enhanced DBS check and ask for at least two written references, which you should follow up with a phone call or preferably a face-to-face chat
- Child based first aid is a must for all nannies, get to see their certificates and check they are up to date and make sure the nanny you recruit keeps her qualifications up to date
- Allow plenty of time to look at a range of nanny recruitment sources and build in time for the recruitment process, don’t just rely on word of mouth. If you don’t have the time to thoroughly check references, make sure you use a nanny agency.
The Nannytax research was managed by Nannytax via an online survey and took place between December 2012 and January 2013 amongst UK nannies (702), their employers (1,145 families) and UK nanny agents (46 agencies).
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Notes to editors
Nannytax is the UK’s original and leading payroll support service for employers of nannies and part of the Enable Group. Nannytax provides unlimited support and advice on all pay and employment related issues, as well as employment law support and Nannyinsure, public liability insurance specifically for professional nannies.
The Nannytax Benchmark Report
Nannytax surveyed 702 nannies, 1,145 employers (families employing a nanny) and 46 UK nanny agencies between December 2012 and January 2013 via an online survey. The annual benchmark report is the only overview of UK nanny working conditions, skills and salaries.
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