Working in the UK as a Filipino domestic professional
Start with the role you can actually evidence, understand the working arrangement, prepare a factual employment history, know how right-to-work checking works and review the written terms before accepting a job. This guide is for candidates; it does not provide immigration advice or promise sponsorship.
What do you need before applying for domestic work in the UK?
You need a clear role target, relevant work history, realistic availability and location, and acceptable evidence of your right to work before employment starts. If an application progresses, be ready to discuss the specific duties and provide accurate employment or reference information relevant to that role.
Do not treat “Filipino domestic worker” as one job title. Nanny, housekeeper, cleaner and non-clinical companion roles have different responsibilities. Choosing the correct role improves both the application and the household match.
Choose your domestic role before you write the application
Use duties to choose, then link the evidence to that role.
Childcare-led work
Use this route when your main evidence is responsibility for children, routines, school or nursery logistics and child-related duties.
Household-management work
Use this route when your evidence includes recurring cleaning plus broader home management such as laundry, linen, organisation or cooking where agreed.
Cleaning-led work
Use this route when your strongest evidence is defined cleaning tasks, standards, products, equipment and consistent completion.
Non-clinical companion support
Use this route for companionship and agreed practical support, not for personal care, nursing or regulated clinical work.
Compare cleaner and housekeeper careers first
The candidate-entry guide helps separate the two household roles before you register.
A practical FDS candidate pathway
Registration starts the review; it is not the same as receiving a job.
Define the role
Choose the domestic role that matches your real work history and the responsibilities you want to continue.
Register your profile
Provide contact details, arrangement, schedule, experience, start date and London areas through the FDS candidate form.
Prepare your CV or work history
Use dates, settings and recurring duties. Avoid nationality-based traits and vague claims that cannot be supported by a previous role.
Prepare evidence
If your application progresses, FDS may request evidence relevant to the role. Keep employment history and potential reference details accurate.
Discuss the household brief
A real vacancy should define the role, hours, location and responsibilities so you can decide whether the job genuinely fits you.
Interview and household introduction
Where relevant, FDS may discuss the application and introduce the candidate to a household for its own interview and decision.
Review the employment offer
Before starting, understand who employs you, gross pay, normal hours, duties, location, start date, holiday and other written terms.
Right to work: prove your status through the official route
Do not rely on ethnicity, passport assumptions or an agency's marketing wording.
GOV.UK says you need to prove your right to work to an employer before you start work. Some candidates can provide a share code for an online check; British and Irish citizens use other accepted evidence routes. The method depends on your individual circumstances.
FDS candidate registration is not a visa application and does not create a right to work. The site does not provide individual immigration advice. If you are unsure which official route applies, use current GOV.UK guidance or an appropriately qualified adviser rather than relying on a job advert.
Know the working arrangement you are applying for
Role fit is also about time, location and employment structure.
From our work: FDS separates role, arrangement and location before a candidate reaches the household interview
The existing FDS candidate registration has always collected several practical dimensions separately: which arrangement the candidate wants, the hours or days available, years of experience, preferred start date and working locations.
We have kept those fields because one broad label such as “domestic worker” does not contain enough information for a sensible match. A candidate can have excellent housekeeping experience but need part-time live-out work in one part of London, while the available household requirement is live-in and full-time. That is not a quality judgement; it is a mismatch of the arrangement.
The same applies to role scope. We do not strengthen a candidate profile by describing Filipino nationality as evidence of care, reliability or work ethic. The useful evidence is the work already done, the schedule that can be sustained and the responsibilities the candidate understands.
That makes the registration form a filter before the interview, not a promise after it. A household introduction should happen only when the candidate's role evidence and practical availability are relevant to the live brief.
The candidate branch then keeps role-specific preparation separate, so a nanny, housekeeper, cleaner or companion can follow guidance that matches the work they are actually seeking.
Before accepting a job, read the written terms
Acas says an employment contract is broader than one document, while employees and workers have rights to a written statement of employment particulars.
- Who is the employer and who will pay you?
- What is the gross pay and payment frequency?
- What are the normal working days and hours?
- Which duties are core responsibilities and which are occasional?
- Where will you work, and is travel part of the role?
- What holiday and notice provisions apply?
- Is there a live-in accommodation arrangement, and what are the off-duty boundaries?
- What start date, probation or trial terms, if any, are actually agreed?
UK domestic-work candidate questions
Can I register with FDS if I am already working?
You can register your genuine availability and preferred start date. Do not promise hours you cannot accept. If you are leaving an existing job, review your current notice obligations before agreeing a start date with a new household.
Does FDS guarantee a job after registration?
No. Registration gives FDS candidate information to review against suitable household requirements. It does not guarantee a current vacancy, interview, introduction or employment offer.
Does FDS provide visa sponsorship?
Do not assume registration creates a sponsorship route. You must be able to evidence your right to work before employment starts. FDS does not provide individual immigration advice; use current GOV.UK guidance for your circumstances.
Should I apply for more than one domestic role?
Only where your experience genuinely supports each role. Separate the evidence. Childcare, household management, cleaning and non-clinical companionship are different responsibilities, so one generic profile is weaker than an accurate role-specific application.
What if I have experience from outside the UK?
Describe it accurately: setting, dates, duties, ages of children or household responsibilities, working pattern and any evidence or references that may be available. A real vacancy can then define which experience is relevant to the household's needs.
What should I do if a job offer is unclear?
Ask for clarity before accepting. Confirm employer, gross pay, hours, duties, location, start date, holiday and written terms. If a legal or immigration issue is unclear, use current official guidance or appropriate professional advice rather than relying on an informal promise.
Sources and candidate scope
The process section uses the existing FDS registration workflow. Rights and career points use current public sources.
Choose a role, then move through the candidate branch
Every link below stays within the jobseeker SCN.