Direct Payments

If your child is disabled, you may be entitled to get Direct Payments through your local authority.

The first step is to contact your local council and request an assessment. If the outcome is that the child is need of support, you will be given a personal budget.

The personal budget should cover employer’s national insurance, fees for payroll, pension costs and holiday pay.

If the child is already receiving support through the local council, but you would like to change to Direct Payment this is possible. It is up to you if you would like the council to take responsibility of the support or if you do (Direct Payments).

 

Top 10 essential items every Nanny carries

Like every child is different, every Nanny and Manny are different, but the one thing they all have in common is that they are always prepared! Here are our top 10 essential items that every Nanny carries with them. What is your most essential item? Or What have we missed off our list?

  1. Mobile Phone with emergency contacts in – Mum, Dad, Grandparents, Neighbour, Doctor, Dentist, whoever is on your list make sure you have a plan of action if there is an emergency!
  2. Medical Information for each child. In the UK we have the Red Book which should contain all the vital info you need such as food allergies, medication, etc. But if you don’t have this then keep a note handy with all the details. If the child, you care for becomes ill the first questions you will be asked are ‘Is the child taking any medication’ ‘Does the child have any allergies’ Having this information to hand may save valuable time.
  3. First Aid Kit – You can buy a ready made one or simply carry the necessary items around with you such as Plasters, antiseptic wipes, safety pins, tweezers, gauze dressings, sterile eye dressings, crepe roll bandage, triangular bandage, disposable gloves.
  4. Tissues, wet wipes and hand sanitizer.
  5. Sunscreen and lip balm, even the most overcast days can require some protection from the sun, always better to be safe.
  6. Nappies (Or underwear if potty trained), Changing mat, wipes, cream disposable potty, – you never know when you might be caught out!
  7. Change of clothing, what child hasn’t rolled in the mud or been sick and needs to be changed.
  8. Healthy snacks – children are constantly hungry, ready prepared fruit, rice cakes, raisins, prepped veg and hummus. All great energy boosters if you have a flagging child.
  9. Bottled Water – Great for cleaning up a messy child or for a drink break through the day.
  10. Small toys and books, if you must queue, go on public transport of just keep a child occupied while you wait for something, having a toy or book handy will help deal with any boredom the child might feel.

What are the regulations if nanny is a student?

If nanny is a student, they will still be subject to paying Tax and NIC on their salaries like normal workers if they earn above their personal allowance, which for the current tax year (19/20) is £12,500.00 gross per annum (£1,041.67 gross per month).  If nanny’s earnings are below this threshold then they will not be subject to tax deductions on their salaries.

Nannies over the age of 16 will need to have Employee National Insurance deducted.

Nannies who are students and come from overseas will not be able to get a National Insurance refund if they return home, even if they work in the UK for a short period of time.

The only way a foreign student nanny could get exemption from National Insurance is to produce either an A1, E101 or E120 certificate from a European Economic Area (EEA)

If your student nanny leaves the UK to return to their native country during the tax year, they may be able to claim back some or all of the Tax which they may have paid on their salary in the UK.  They would need to complete and return a form ‘P85’ to HMRC, including parts 2 and 3 of their P45 from their current employment. If nanny, has worked in the UK for a full tax year, then they will not be able to claim back the Tax which they have paid on their earnings.

The P85 form can be obtained by contacting HMRC directly.

 

https://www.gov.uk/tax-right-retire-abroad-return-to-uk

Childminders – How to Make Your Home Childcare-Friendly

Childminders take care of children in their own homes, so it’s important that your home is not only child-friendly and safe, but also suitable for childcare.  Ensuring your home is correctly set up will make your life easier, and more enjoyable for the children in your care.

Following is a list of ideas you may like to use to help your home function as an efficient, yet still a home-from-home, childcare setting.

Toilet facilities

You may not have thought much about your toilet facilities before setting up as a childminder, but it is something that will need your attention.  As a childminder, you will be looking after children of different age groups whose toileting needs may be different to one another.

  • Invest in a potty and a special toddler toilet seat for younger children to use whilst in your home, and have a pack of wet wipes and disposable nappies available for emergencies.
  • You may not wish to have a lock on the door that is accessible to small hands.  Instead, provide a “do not disturb” sign that can be hung on the door whilst the toilet is in use by a child who wants privacy – and ensure that everybody knows what the sign means!
  • Liquid soap in a pump bottle is less messy, easier to use and more hygienic than traditional block soap.
  • A nice way to help children feel at home – and to help minimise the spreading of germs, particularly during this pandemic – is to provide individual hand towels for each child, or one if you can one use towel which you can wash and replace each day, hang them on a hook with their name above it.  Inexpensive self-adhesive hooks can be bought from DIY shops, and sticky labels from anywhere that sells stationery.

Personal property box

Young children tend to come with a lot of extra baggage.  Spare clothes, changing bags, sunblock, umbrellas and special toys may all be spending the day at your house too. When you find yourself minding three or four children, things can get pretty cluttered and crowded as you can probably imagine! Not all of us are lucky enough to live in large houses where a whole room can be dedicated to storing the children’s things, so you will need to be creative.  A good way for childminders to get around this is purchasing some inexpensive plastic storage tubs and allocating one to each child you regularly care for. These can be placed in a row somewhere in the house and will help you stay organised.  It will become part of the child’s routine to put any item they need to keep safe in the box, and to collect the contents of the box before leaving.

Dining cupboard

Younger children will probably require special plates, cups and cutlery to help them feed themselves.  If you can, dedicating a separate cupboard to these things will make your life a lot easier when it’s lunchtime or snack time.

Overall, the most important thing to remember is to stay organised.  The old saying, “a place for everything and everything in its place”, is very apt for those who are providing childcare in their homes.  A little forward planning will make your life exponentially easier.

How to Keep your Nanny Happy

A good nanny is like gold dust. Once you’ve found a nanny you love – and your children love – you will want to do all you can to keep her.  Keeping your nanny happy is important, and as her employer it falls on your shoulders to make sure she is treated fairly.

Following are some important points to remember as an employer of a nanny.

Trust your nanny

By employing her, allowing her to be with your children unsupervised and maybe even by having her live in your home, you have expressed your trust of her.  If you then come home from work and quiz her about the day, question her discipline methods or otherwise act like you’re suspicious of her, she will quickly become frustrated.  If you have a problem with the way that she is doing her job, it should be discussed openly and dealt with promptly. It is important for nannies, parents and children to be happy in their working relationship, so she would much rather discuss any issues you have in a professional manner.

Your nanny’s time is her time

If you have a live-in nanny, you must be firm about the boundaries that have been set.  If your nanny works, for example, Monday to Friday 8-6, the weekends and evenings are her time.  This means that the children shouldn’t be allowed to knock on her door, and she shouldn’t be called upon to work in any kind of capacity.  Having said that, your nanny may not mind the children popping in to see her on a Saturday morning, and if she’s not busy she might not have a problem with watching them whilst you pop to the shops quickly, but these boundaries should be set in advance.  Again, open and honest discussion from the start is key to a happy working relationship.

Leave the home how you would like it left

Nannies are not usually employed as housekeepers too, but just as a stay-at-home parent would, she will pick up after herself and the children throughout the day, leaving the house in a respectable state for when you arrive home to take over.  In return, it is not too much for her to expect the house to be left in the same way for her when she arrives to work in the morning. It is not fair to expect your nanny to arrive to a sink full of dirty dishes and the school uniforms in the laundry basket needing to be ironed.

Make your nanny feel valued

Your nanny is your employee, but she is also a valued member of your family.  If she feels unappreciated, she will likely look elsewhere for work.  It is not difficult to show your appreciation of her without crossing professional boundaries.  Offering a bonus once or twice a year is a great way to make her feel important – this could be a monetary bonus, or some extra paid holiday time.  Little things, like remembering her birthday and having the children make cards for her, will really make your nanny feel as though she is a welcome and valued member of your family.

Keeping hold of a good nanny is important, and not just for your own convenience.  Having a constant stream of different caregivers is not good for children, who need to form attachments to those who look after them.

Nanny and Private use of Car

If you have provided nanny with private use of a car, you need to inform HMRC straightaway. The quickest way is to complete a form P46 car

By notifying them straightaway, they will reduce nanny’s tax code the month she is given the car.

Failure to tell them when she has the car, will mean her tax code will be coded incorrectly causing an under payment.

Even though you have notified HMRC of the car via a P46 car, you will need to complete a P11d and pay Class 1A National Insurance on the benefit amount.

Please see link below

www.gov.uk/tell-hmrc-company-car

Get into the Christmas spirit with our top 5 festive books for children

Christmas is the perfect time to rekindle your child’s love of books and reading.

Children’s Christmas books are filled with happiness, wonder and strong morals. Reading is a simple, easy activity that can be enjoyed by children of all ages, no matter the weather.

Encourage them to learn by reading aloud or helping them to read along.

What are you waiting for? Pick up a book today and spark their imagination.

See below for our recommended top 5 festive children’s books!

Continue reading “Get into the Christmas spirit with our top 5 festive books for children”

30 Hours Free Childcare

The criteria for 30 hours for funded childcare, is that you must earn £131.36 a week which equates to 16 hours at the national minimum wage or Living Wage.

The 30 hours a week is for 38 weeks of the year and is for children who are aged 3 or 4 this equates to 1,140 hours per year.

You will not be able to claim this, if you or your partner has a taxable income of over £100,000, the child does not usually live with you, if the child is fostered or if you are from outside the EEA and it states you can’t access public funds on your UK residence card.

To register for funded childcare or for more questions:

https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

RTI Real Time Information

RTI stands for Real Time Information and was introduced by HMRC in 2012. HMRC put this system into place so that every time an employee is paid, it is the employer’s responsibility to make a submission to them detailing this payment.

By employers using RTI, it enables HMRC to process any amendments to employee’s tax free allowance in real time rather than as done previously on previous years records and pass this information to Department for Work and Pensions. In turn this makes sure Universal Tax Credit claims are based on accurate figures of an employee’s income.

As an employer, if your payroll submission is not sent to HMRC on time, £100 fines will be issued. It is important as an employer to make sure all pay details are sent to HMRC on or before the date nanny is paid.

Nanny or Au Pair

Age and Cultural exchange programme

An au pair is between the ages of 18-30 and comes to the UK to learn or perfect her English in exchange for childcare.

A nanny can be any age and does not take part in a cultural exchange programme.

Wage and working hours

Au pairs can only work on average 30 hours a week and on top of their accommodation will normally get what is classed as ‘pocket money’. ‘Pocket money’ on average is £100.00 per week and as long as they earn less than £118.00 per week and have no other income this does not need to be declared to HMRC.

A nanny receives a wage in line with the national minimum wage.

Language courses

Au pairs must have the chance to attend a language course.

A nanny does not have to attend a language course.

Employee/family

An au pair is seen as a temporary family member.

A nanny is seen as an employee.

Legalities

An au pair needs a visa specific to an au pair.

Nannies who are coming from abroad need a work visa or permit. A nanny cannot work under an au pair visa.