Families

• Ongoing support and guidance.
• 15% Discount for using us exclusively. *see terms of Business for conditions
• We will assist with contractual negotiations and can provide you with a sample employment contract.
• We will keep in regular contact with you throughout the interview and placement process and we are available after all placements to offer future advice, guidance and support.
• We only put forward candidates that we feel are suited to your position by their experience, qualification and personality.
• 10% discount if you are a returning client. *see terms of Business for conditions
• A support pack that includes; essential information on employing a childcarer, a job description to personalise, interview guide, tips and questions and essential information on tax, insurance and payroll companies.

• Register your details with us for FREE! We ask you to complete a registration form which asks questions about you, your family and your requirements – some questions may seem odd, such as, do you own a dog? But we don’t want you to spend time interviewing a nanny you love, only to find out she is allergic to dogs! They form may be long but the questions are relevant.

• We will contact our extensive database of childcarers and we will advertise your role on our website and on third party childcare job sites to gather further interest and a wider selection of CVs.

• Once we have a selection of suitable candidates whom have been through our registration process we will send you details of their work history, CV, profile and our interview notes to aid you in your selection process. We will follow up with a phone call to discuss the candidates and answer any questions you might have.

• Once you have decided on the candidates you would like to interview we will arrange a convenient time for both you and the candidate to meet. We will supply you with a selection of questions you may find useful to ask. After every interview we will communicate with you and the candidate to get feedback on how you think things went and ask any follow up questions you may have.

• Once you have narrowed down your selection of candidates we strongly advise a second interview takes place where the candidates can meet your child/ren and you can see how everyone interact – doing something fun is always a good idea, such as a trip to the park or local soft play centre.

• Once you have chosen who you would like to employ as your nanny, a formal job offer should be made in writing.

• Lemonjelly will provide you with a sample contract and details on how to set up as an employer or provide details on payroll companies.

• Only once an engagement is confirmed the introduction fee is payable to Lemonjelly.

• Lemonjelly offers pre and post placement care, so we will stay in touch with both you and your childcarer should you have any questions or concerns.

If you are employing staff on a professional basis you will be subject to certain legal obligations, governed by employment and tax law in the UK. These include

• Issuing the childcarer with a contract of employment.
• Registering yourself as an employer.
• Setting up and operating a PAYE scheme or employing a Payroll company.
• Setting up a workplace pension

Contract of Employment

You are required by law to issue your nanny with what are called written Particulars of Employment within the first eight weeks of commencement of employment.

The written Particulars of Employment are:

• Names of employer and employee
• The date when employment began
• Annual/Monthly or Weekly salary and interval when paid
• Hours of work
• Overtime requirement and method of payment (additional pay/time off in lieu)
• Holiday entitlement
• Sickness entitlement
• Pension arrangements, if any
• Length of notice on both sides to terminate the contract
• Title of the job
• Place of work
• Details of discipline and grievance procedures

Lemonjelly is happy to supply draft contracts to all clients upon the engagement of a childcarer.

Tax, National insurance and payroll

Once you have found your Nanny you will need to consider how to calculate and pay their salaries.

Your options are:

• Use a payroll service – we suggest Way2Paye and Nannytax.
• Use an Accountant
• Calculate it yourself
• Not declaring employment

Employers must

• Tell HM Revenue & Customs when an employee starts or leaves
• Work out accurately and deduct PAYE Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from each employee every pay day
• Record details of deductions and payments every pay day
• Provide you nanny with a monthly / weekly payslip
• Pay HM Revenue & Customs every quarter
• Report details at the end of the tax year
• Give each employee still working for you at 5th April a record of pay and deductions at the end of the tax year on form P60.

Payroll companies include

Way2paye – 01604 743346 www.way2paye.co.uk

Nannytax – 020 3137 4401 www.nannytax.co.uk

Zest Payroll – 01823 288537 – www.zestpayroll.co.uk – great for temporary or short term contract.

Permanent placements

Fees vary according to hours contracted each week

Temporary placements (up to 8 weeks)

When employing a nanny or childcarer it is recommended that you confirm a GROSS salary when offering a job as you are responsible for paying their tax, national (NI) insurance contributions and employer’s NI contributions.

Maternity nurses are responsible for their own tax and national insurance but please be aware that in the majority of cases a nanny cannot be self employed.

The law states that all employees must receive a written statement of employment within the first 8 weeks of commencing their employment; this should include days and hours of work, duties, responsibilities, salary holidays and disciplinary procedures. On acceptance of a job offer you make through Lemonjelly we will provide you will a sample contact.

All employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks holiday from 1st April 2009. i.e. Employees’ that work;

1 day get 5.6 days holiday per year

2 days get 11.2 days holiday per year

3 days get 16.8 days holiday per year

4 days get 22.4 days holiday per year

5 days get 28 days holiday per year.

Whether or not this additional leave is taken on a Bank Holiday is up to individual employers to agree with their nannies. Employers may choose to offer more holiday than this.

A registered Nanny is a nanny who has joined the voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register (vOCR).

Nannies wishing to register with the vOCR will need to meet certain criteria. They must;

• Be able to show they have had appropriate training or experience covering the common core skills in childcare and that she is suitable to work with children. No formal qualifications are required.
• Have public liability insurance
• Have a valid paediatric first-aid certificate
• Have an enhanced DBS disclosure and have it registered on the Update service.

For more information please contact Ofsted on 08456 404040 or visit www.ofsted.gov.uk

Salaries vary depending on age, experience, and qualifications

An essential document for peace of mind! The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS previously called a CRB) is in place to help prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups such as children. The check searches police records for all spent and unspent convictions, cautions and reprimands.  It will also check ‘barred lists’ – a list of individuals barred from working with children plus any addition information held by local police that is considered to be relevant.

All nannies and childcarers registered with Lemonjelly must have a DBS.

Employers Liability Insurance – as a family employing a childcarer to work in your home you should have insurance to protect yourself against possible claims made by a childcarer if they have an accident or suffer an injury in your home. This insurance can often be added to your household insurance, alternatively we suggest Morton Michel, specialist in childcare insurance – www.mortonmichel.com / 0845 2570900

Car Insurance – if your childcarer is driving your car you must make sure they are included on your policy. If they are using their own car their policy must include business use. If your nanny is using their own car they will need to be reimbursed for petrol and running costs whilst using their car for their nannying duties.