Your new starter’s first week
Settling in a new nanny or housekeeper
A good first week is structured but not overloaded: confirm the written role, walk through the household routine, explain safety and practical information, agree how questions should be raised, and hold short check-ins before small misunderstandings become permanent habits.
What should happen in a nanny or housekeeper’s first week?
Start with the role already agreed, not a new list of tasks. On day one, show the new employee how the household actually works: the normal routine, priority duties, equipment, keys and access, emergency information, communication preferences and any child- or home-specific instructions they need to work safely.
Use the rest of the week to observe how the written brief works in practice. Correct misunderstandings early, answer questions without treating them as failure, and schedule a short end-of-week review so both sides can identify what is clear and what still needs adjustment.
A practical first-week onboarding plan.
Do not try to explain every household preference in the first hour. Sequence the information so the employee can use it.
What should be in the household information pack?
A short, current pack is more useful than an encyclopaedia of preferences.
- Names and useful contact details for the people the employee may need to reach.
- The normal daily or weekly routine and which duties are genuinely fixed.
- School, nursery, activity, delivery or appointment details that are part of the role.
- Emergency contacts, alarm or access procedures and any relevant household safety information.
- Instructions for appliances, equipment or systems the employee is expected to use.
- Household rules on privacy, visitors, phone use, photographs, food, deliveries and use of household property where relevant.
- Pet routines, driving arrangements, parking or travel details if they are part of the agreed job.
- The preferred method for ordinary questions, urgent issues and changes to the routine.
Make priorities explicit when two duties compete.
The new employee should not have to guess which unfinished task will be criticised later.
Childcare takes the lead during active care.
Child-related household tasks can be planned around care, school or nursery patterns, but the role should not depend on completing unrelated household work while a child needs direct supervision.
Define the order of household work.
Clarify recurring priorities such as laundry, bedrooms, kitchen routines, cooking or household organisation instead of presenting every task as equally urgent.
Agree the collision rule.
If childcare and household duties overlap, state what gives way. This is the simplest way to prevent role creep and unrealistic expectations later.
Use short check-ins instead of saving everything for a formal review.
Early feedback works best when it is specific and close to the event.
What is still unclear?
Questions about routines, equipment or priorities are useful evidence that the handover needs more detail.
Does the workload fit the hours?
If the employee can only complete the role by rushing, skipping breaks or extending the day, review the brief before calling it a performance problem.
What will change next week?
Agree the one or two adjustments that matter most and record any permanent change to duties or expectations rather than relying on memory.
From our work: we build the first week backwards from the original household brief.
In the current Filipino Domestic Services matching process, the household brief is defined before candidate introductions. It records the role, recurring duties, days and hours, location, live-in or live-out arrangement, intended start date and practical requirements such as driving, travel or cooking where they genuinely belong to the job.
Once a candidate is chosen, we ask the household to agree the contract, pay, schedule, duties and start arrangements with that person. That gives the first week a useful baseline: the household can explain how the agreed job works in the real home instead of quietly expanding the position after the employee arrives.
When a first-week concern appears, we therefore compare it with the original brief. Is the instruction unclear? Has the routine changed? Is the household asking for work that was never part of the position? That distinction matters because a handover problem, a workload problem and a genuine performance problem need different responses.
The practical principle is simple: do not make a new starter decode the household by trial and error. Give them the information needed to do the agreed role, then use early check-ins to refine the handover rather than rewrite the job.
Do not let onboarding replace the employer basics.
This is general household-employer information, not personalised legal advice.
For employees and workers, GOV.UK says the principal written statement of employment particulars must be provided on the first day. It includes core information such as the job, start date, pay and hours, with other specified information provided on day one or within the wider statement. The onboarding conversation should reinforce the written terms, not contradict them.
Acas distinguishes induction from probation: an induction helps someone settle in and understand the job, while a probation period is a more formal assessment arrangement. If probation applies, it should be reflected appropriately in the written employment particulars.
HSE guidance also says employers should provide clear information, instruction, training and supervision, with particular attention to new recruits or people taking on new responsibilities. In a private household, that means explaining the equipment, risks and emergency arrangements relevant to the work rather than assuming they are obvious.
First-week questions.
Should I stay at home for my nanny’s first day?
If practical, arrange enough handover time to explain routines, access, safety information and the agreed duties. You do not need to supervise every task all day, but the employee should know who can answer questions and how to contact them.
How much should I explain on day one?
Prioritise what the person needs to work safely and understand the normal routine. Leave minor preferences for later. Too much information at once is harder to use than a short written pack plus follow-up questions during the week.
Should a new housekeeper be expected to know my household routine immediately?
No. Previous experience does not make one household identical to another. Explain your actual priorities, equipment, storage, laundry preferences and recurring schedule, then confirm what is essential and what is simply a preference.
What if the employee says the duties are different from the interview?
Compare the current request with the original written brief and contract. Clarify misunderstandings first. If the household is materially changing duties or hours, treat that as a change to the arrangement rather than describing it as onboarding.
When should I raise a concern in the first week?
Raise specific concerns early and calmly. Describe the task or behaviour, explain the expected standard and ask whether the instruction was clear. If the issue is workload or role scope rather than capability, fix the brief instead of repeating the same criticism.
Is onboarding the same as a probation period?
No. Acas describes induction or onboarding as the process of helping someone settle into a role. A probation period is a separate, more formal assessment arrangement and, if used, should be reflected appropriately in the written employment particulars.
Sources and scope.
The first-week framework is grounded in the current FDS matching and post-placement process. Employment and safety points use current official guidance. This page is general information, not individual legal advice.
Turn the first week into a stable working relationship.
Keep the agreed role visible, then move from onboarding into clear house rules and regular check-ins.