Domestic worker rights in the UK
If you work as a nanny, housekeeper, cleaner or companion, your rights depend on your employment status and circumstances. Core protections can include minimum wage, paid holiday, payslips and written employment particulars. Employees can have additional rights such as statutory notice and family leave.
What rights does a domestic worker have in the UK?
Acas says workers generally have rights including the National Minimum Wage, paid holiday, payslips, a written statement of employment particulars for newer contracts, protection against discrimination and whistleblowing protections. Employees usually have additional rights, including minimum statutory notice and qualifying family-leave rights.
The exact rights depend on employment status, age, pay, service and the specific entitlement. This guide is general information, not personalised legal or tax advice. If the household or agency calls you “self-employed”, the label alone does not decide your legal status; use current Acas/GOV.UK guidance or professional advice where the arrangement is unclear.
Seven employment basics to check before you start
These are candidate-side checks, not a replacement for individual advice.
Know whether you are an employee, worker or genuinely self-employed
Status affects rights. Acas says the real working relationship matters; do not rely only on the label in a conversation or advert.
Check the applicable minimum wage
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 per hour; lower age/apprentice rates apply where legally applicable. Rates change, so check GOV.UK for the current figure.
Get the main terms in writing
Acas says employers must provide employees and qualifying workers with a written statement covering main terms such as pay and working hours, with the principal statement on or before the first day.
See what you earned and what was deducted
GOV.UK says employees and workers must generally receive a payslip on or before payday showing gross/net pay and variable deductions such as tax and National Insurance.
Check paid annual leave
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid statutory holiday each leave year, calculated against the applicable working pattern. Part-time and irregular-hours calculations differ.
Understand normal hours, rest and overtime
Adult domestic servants in private households have special working-time rules: the ordinary 48-hour average limit and some night-work limits do not apply, while Acas says rest entitlements still do. Overtime pay is not automatically required above the normal rate, but pay must not fall below minimum-wage requirements.
Read the notice term before resigning
Employees normally have statutory minimum notice after qualifying service and the contract may require longer notice. Worker and self-employed notice rights can differ.
Minimum wage and live-in domestic work
Living in the household does not remove minimum-wage entitlement.
Acas says most workers in the UK are entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage and explicitly includes domestic live-in workers. From 1 April 2026 the headline rate for age 21+ is £12.71 an hour; rates for ages 18–20, under 18 and qualifying apprentices are lower and should be checked against current GOV.UK tables.
Accommodation can affect the minimum-wage calculation under the statutory accommodation-offset rules. The value of a room cannot simply be substituted for wages at whatever rental value an employer chooses. If you are offered live-in work, check the gross pay, the hours that count as working time and any accommodation charge or deduction before accepting. This is general information, not an individual wage calculation.
Holiday entitlement should match the working pattern
Paid leave is not optional simply because the employer is a private household.
GOV.UK says almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per leave year. For someone working five regular days a week, that is usually 28 days including any bank holidays the employer chooses to count within the entitlement. Part-time work is pro-rated, and irregular-hours or part-year workers can use different statutory accrual rules.
Before starting, ask how the holiday year runs, whether bank holidays are included in the allowance, how leave is requested and how holiday pay is calculated. Do not assume “school holidays” or family travel automatically count as your paid annual leave unless the arrangement and legal rules support that treatment.
Domestic-worker working-time rules have important exceptions
Private-household work is not identical to office employment under the Working Time Regulations.
Acas says adult domestic workers in a private household are exempt from some ordinary working-time limits, including the 48-hour weekly average and limits on night work. However, Acas says they still have rights to a 20-minute break when working 6 hours or more, 11 hours' daily rest and 24 hours' weekly rest or 48 hours over 14 days.
That special rule does not mean a live-in worker is “always on duty”. Normal hours, sleep-in/on-call expectations and off-duty time should be defined. The pay and working-time treatment of standby or sleep-in periods can depend on the actual arrangement, so use current official guidance for a specific case.
From our work: FDS asks candidates about the working arrangement before there is an offer
The FDS candidate registration records whether someone is seeking full-time or part-time, live-in or live-out work, along with availability, start date and location. Those fields are not legal advice; they are practical information that should later line up with a real household offer.
That is why we encourage candidates to compare the offer back to the registration and interview. If you registered for live-out three days a week and the final role has become live-in five days, that is not a minor administrative detail. You need the actual hours, gross pay, duties, accommodation and written terms before deciding whether to accept.
We also keep tax and payroll responsibility separate from candidate marketing. A household employer will normally operate PAYE where required and deduct applicable Income Tax and employee National Insurance through payroll. A candidate should not be told simply to “handle their own tax” if the real legal relationship is employment.
The useful candidate habit is to ask for the structure in writing: who employs me, what am I paid gross, when am I working, what duties am I accepting and what leave or notice applies? That creates a factual base for resolving problems later.
How tax normally appears for an employee
This is an HMRC signpost, not a personal tax calculation.
GOV.UK says employers normally operate PAYE as part of payroll so HMRC can collect Income Tax and National Insurance from employment. For most employees, applicable tax and employee National Insurance are deducted before net wages are paid, and the payslip shows the deductions.
Your exact tax depends on your tax code, pay and circumstances. Do not use a candidate vacancy page to calculate personal tax. Check your payslip and HMRC records, and use official HMRC tools or appropriate advice if you think deductions are wrong.
Ask how the household handles safety, equipment and emergencies
The legal framework for domestic work has specific exclusions, so avoid simplistic claims.
HSE says a householder who directly employs a domestic servant in a private household is generally excluded from the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 under section 51, while other arrangements such as agency or self-employed work can be treated differently. That does not mean a candidate should accept unsafe instructions or unclear equipment use.
Before starting, ask for practical information relevant to the job: safe use of household equipment and cleaning products, emergency contacts, alarms or access systems, driving arrangements and any risks specific to the work. If you believe work presents a serious safety issue, use appropriate official or professional guidance for your employment status and circumstances.
Domestic worker rights questions
What is the minimum wage for a domestic worker in 2026?
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21+ is £12.71 per hour. Lower statutory rates apply to ages 18–20, under-18s and qualifying apprentices. Eligibility and the wage calculation depend on the actual arrangement, so check current GOV.UK guidance.
Am I entitled to paid holiday?
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid statutory annual leave. The number of days or hours depends on the work pattern, and special accrual rules can apply to irregular-hours or part-year workers.
Should I get a payslip?
GOV.UK says employers must generally provide employees and workers with a payslip on or before payday. It should show earnings before and after deductions and variable deductions such as Income Tax and National Insurance.
Should I get a written contract?
Acas distinguishes the full employment contract from the written statement of employment particulars. Employees and qualifying workers have a statutory right to a written statement setting out main terms, with the principal statement on or before the first day of work.
How much notice do I have to give when leaving?
It depends on employment status, length of service and the contract. Employees who have worked at least one month normally have a statutory minimum notice requirement, and a contract can require longer notice. Check the actual term and obtain advice if there is a dispute.
Can my employer call me self-employed and remove these rights?
The label alone does not decide employment status. Acas says status depends on the reality of the working relationship. If the arrangement is unclear, use the Acas employment-status guidance or appropriate advice rather than assuming the label is correct.
Sources and legal scope
This guide summarises current official information for candidates. It is not individual legal, tax or immigration advice and should be reviewed when statutory rates or employment rules change.
Use your rights knowledge inside the candidate branch
Review the working arrangement before accepting a role and return to FDS registration only for candidate purposes.