Once you’ve met a nanny and decided to hire them, Koru Kids will take care of all the admin. When you confirm to us that you want to hire your nanny, we’ll email you and ask you to do these three things:
- Complete the set-up form. This allows us to draw up your contract, set up your nanny’s payroll and pension, and if necessary register you with HMRC.
- Sign up to our Direct Debit. This allows us to invoice you, collect payment and pay your nanny each month.
- Make arrangements with your nanny to start work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the service cost?
Our pricing structure is really simple.
- Our nannies cost between £13.50-£17 per hour depending on their experience. Find out more about where your money goes here.
- £1 extra per hour for less than 9 hours a week.
- £9 per hour if you share your nanny with another family.
These costs are all-inclusive (gross). Per family, not per child.
We’ve kept it simple because childcare is complex enough and we want everything we do to make parents’ lives easier.
Families need different things from their nanny. Maybe you want someone fun and active, or a super smart student, or someone with years of professional experience. Our pricing reflects this. Most of our nannies cost £13.50 per hour and they all have great childcare experience, but the higher rates allow us to attract even more experienced nannies and pay them more.
This cost covers your nanny’s pay, the costs associated with you being an employer (e.g. taxes) and our services.
Unfortunately, neither tax-free childcare nor childcare vouchers can be used with this service as our nannies are not Ofsted registered. The cost of getting your nanny Ofsted registered usually outweighs the savings from paying in this way.
*Please note: Our short-term coronavirus contracts operate slightly differently. For these contracts, we are temporarily making DBS checks optional for a £50 fee. You can find more information here.
How does my nanny get paid?
Your nanny is able to submit hours as often as they like, and you’ll be sent these for review every Saturday. You will be notified by email (or by notifications on the Koru Kids App). You’ll then have up to the 28th of the month to review and approve/adjust the nanny’s hours (we recommend doing this regularly). You will receive an invoice estimate around this time too.
We’ll then send you a final invoice (for your records) on the first day of the month. If the total is less than the minimum hours, we’ll round up your invoice. The payment itself will be taken automatically by direct debit on the 7th of the month (7 days after your invoice).
We ask all of our families to pay for their childcare with a Direct Debit. Why?
- It’s easier for you: no more forgetting to pay or annoying bank transfers
- You stay in control: you’ll get your invoice 7 days before being charged, so you’ll always have time to tell us if the amount isn’t right
- You’re protected: all payments are covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee meaning your bank will refund you in the unlikely event something goes wrong
- It ensures your nanny gets paid on time: our nannies rely on your payment for income and using Direct Debit ensures they get paid on time
Where the nanny’s start date is more than two weeks in advance we will ask for a Reservation Deposit to secure the nanny. Find out more here.
How does holiday pay work?
The total amount per hour that your nanny receives (this will be between £9 and £13 depending on the age and experience of the nanny) includes their statutory holiday pay (12.07%). This keeps it simple as any holiday earned is paid at the end of each month. It also means that if the nanny takes a holiday, then it will be considered an unpaid holiday. You only pay for the time the nanny works. Read more here.
Do I need a National Insurance number?
Yes, we’ll need this to set you up as your nanny’s employer. If you do not already have one, you can find out how to apply for one here.
How does the contract work?
As you will be the legal employer of your nanny, the contract exists between you and them. Koru Kids will write the contract for you so you don’t need to worry.
Will there be a notice period?
Our standard nanny contract has a probation period of 2 weeks, where you or your nanny must give 24 hours notice to end the contract. After this probation period, the notice period is 2 weeks. However, this is free to be amended on agreement between you and the nanny.
For our short-term coronavirus contracts, there is no probation period. Instead, there will be a 24 hour notice period for the first 4 weeks of the arrangement, during which time you or your nanny need only give 24 hours notice to end the contract.
Find more information on notice periods here.
Can I change anything on the contract?
When we set up your contract, we will ask you to complete our set-up form which will ask for some preferences. We’ll then send out a draft version of your contract for you to review. If you wish to make any changes, just let us know!
Are the contracted hours flexible?
When you and a nanny decide you’d like to go ahead on a permanent basis, we’ll ask you to agree on a minimum weekly number of hours as well as the days and times you would like the nanny to be working with your family.
It is really important that you can commit to these minimum agreed hours every week during term-time. Your nanny will depend on this income.
However, we appreciate families need some flexibility with their childcare and understand these hours might vary from time to time. Sometimes you might be running 15 minutes late from work or you might like your nanny to do some babysitting. No problem! As long as your nanny is happy with this, you can arrange this directly with them. The nanny will then report all the hours that they work at the end of the month, and we’ll include these in your monthly invoice.
What if I don’t need my nanny to work one day?
If you don’t need your nanny to work, let them know as soon as possible. If this results in your nanny not working their minimum contracted hours we recommend you discuss this with your nanny. Often parents make up the hours with additional shifts within that month. This way the nanny’s income is protected for that month and you’re not paying for time you don’t need.
How do we arrange extra babysitting / holiday care?
Babysitting and holiday care can be arranged on an ad-hoc basis, and you can arrange this directly with your nanny. Your nanny will simply report these hours at the end of the month to us and they’ll be included in your monthly invoice. If your nanny isn’t available to help in the holidays, let us know and we will try and find another nanny to help out.
