Babysitter Payroll Services UK
Comprehensive Babysitter Payroll Services For UK Families
5 Steps To Get Your Babysitter Payroll Just Right
Step 1
Agree How Much You Pay Your Babysitter
Step 2
Set Up a Contract
Step 3
Understand Your Payroll Duties
Step 4
Choose a Babysitter Payroll Provider
Step 5
Set Up Payments
Why You Should Always Agree a Gross Rate
If you agree a net rate with your babysitter, either you or your babysitter could lose out significantly. Here is why:
A net rate means that as the employer, you pay the tax and NI on top – no matter how high it gets. You could end up covering tax from a previous year, before your babysitter even started. No family would ever knowingly agree to that.
A net rate means your babysitter misses out on any tax refunds – for example, after a period of lower earnings or a gap between jobs. That is simply not fair.
A net rate also means your babysitter misses out on increases to the personal tax-free allowance. Over time, the cumulative effect is that babysitters on net pay lose out on significant sums. That is not fair either.
Always negotiate a gross rate, and we will show you exactly how much your babysitter should take home net (or you can use our calculator).
Why a Written Contract Is Important
A solid contract is essential for babysitter payroll. It clarifies pay including alignment to the babysitter going rate, duties, hours, and termination – preventing disputes before they start.
We provide template contracts tailored for babysitter employment to keep everything legal and clear. Register now and get your babysitter payroll moving today.
Your Responsibilities as an Employer
Our job is to help make sure you meet your legal responsibilities as an employer and your contractual responsibilities to your babysitter.
HMRC requires you to register as an employer as soon as your babysitter starts, make monthly deductions from their pay, and submit payslip information on or before each pay day. We do all of this for you. You must pay over the tax and NI deducted, along with Employer’s NI, either once a month or once a quarter. We will tell you exactly what to pay and when to pay it. Your babysitter has various employment rights, such as paid holidays and the right to be paid the National Minimum Wage. We will explain all of these and guide you through.
Auto-enrolment pension legislation may also apply, normally requiring an employee letter after the first payday and a pension scheme within 3 months.
Your babysitter must be paid correctly, paid on time, and given a payslip. Our babysitter payroll services make sure this happens every time.
In a hurry? Register now and we will get things moving the next working day.
Choosing a Payroll Provider
All good babysitter payroll companies will provide payslips and tell you how much to pay HMRC, but many hit you with additional charges further down the line. Make sure you know what you are paying for before you sign up.
Watch out for those that try to sell you add-ons you simply do not need, such as extra insurance. In most cases, your household insurer will provide adequate cover at no additional cost, so try there first.
We have a single annual subscription for our babysitter payroll service charged from £260 pa, with no additional or hidden costs, regardless of how many babysitters you pay during that period.
If your babysitter is paid over £10,000 pa, they will at some point need to be enrolled into a pension scheme, so you should know how your payroll provider will deal with this. Most require you to set up the pension yourself, with little or no choice of providers, and then charge you for administering it. NannyMatters solutions are far more helpful:
You can choose any pension provider you like, deal with them direct, and we will not charge you anything for calculating and deducting pension contributions.
Or you can choose our fully-managed pension service for £60 pa, and we will set up a NEST pension scheme for you and deal with every aspect of it including the scheme setup.
We do not charge extra for:
- Paying a second employee alongside, or paying a temp when covering sick or maternity leave
- Setting up or closing down your PAYE scheme
- Claiming tax refunds, or funding for SMP
- Backdated payroll problems
We do charge extra for:
- Weekly payroll: an additional £70 pa. Monthly pay is best practice and we encourage it. If you want weekly we can do it, but we will help you explore alternatives to avoid unnecessary complexity.
- Our optional pension management service: from £90 pa
Setting Up Payments
Paying your babysitter on time is a fundamental responsibility. We can help you find the best method for you and your babysitter.
Monthly Pay
Paying monthly in arrears is the simplest and most common approach. You can pay 1/12th of your babysitter’s annual salary each month, or base it on actual hours worked. Our babysitter payroll experts will help you decide the best setup for your arrangement, including regular evenings, weekends, or irregular hours, and handle all the calculations for you.
Pay Day
We recommend choosing a clear, consistent payday – usually the last working day of the month or a fixed date such as the 28th. Setting a regular schedule keeps things simple for both you and your babysitter.
Transferring the Net Pay
We will confirm the exact amount to pay your babysitter so you can transfer it directly from your account. You stay in full control of your bank account at all times. Once payments settle into a routine, you can set up a standing order and we will make any adjustments when needed.
Cash in Hand
It is legal to pay in cash if it is processed through babysitter payroll, but unreported cash in hand payments are not allowed. Paying or accepting cash without declaring it to HMRC is against the law. Contact us for confidential advice if you are unsure about your current setup.
Tax-Free Childcare
If your babysitter is registered with the correct authority, you can use your tax-free childcare account to pay both your babysitter and HMRC. It is a convenient, compliant way to manage payments. Ask us for our free helpsheet for step-by-step guidance.
Get in touch with us
Office and New Enquiries
(Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)
(Allow next working day for a response)
West End House
Blackfriars Road
Nailsea
Bristol
BS48 4DJ
