Nanny hiring guide
How to hire a Filipino nanny in London
Start with the childcare job, not the candidate's nationality: define the children's ages, normal schedule, sole-charge or shared-care responsibility, child-related duties, location, hours and working arrangement. Then shortlist against relevant experience, interview consistently, verify evidence and right to work, and put the agreed role and gross pay in writing.
What is the best way to hire a nanny in London?
Write a specific childcare brief first, then use the same evidence and questions for each candidate. A good process separates essential childcare experience from preferences, confirms the actual hours and working arrangement, checks references and qualifications, verifies the legal right to work, and gives both household and candidate enough information to decide whether the role fits.
Filipino Domestic Services can introduce candidates for the household to consider, but the household remains responsible for its own interview, checks and final employment decision.
Seven steps to hire a nanny.
Keep each step tied to the actual role so the process does not drift into generic ideas of what a nanny “should” be like.
What should a nanny job brief contain?
Ages, routines and care responsibility.
State the number and ages of children, nursery or school commitments, whether care is sole-charge or shared and any genuine additional needs relevant to the role.
Childcare first, then child-related practical work.
Include meals for children, school runs, activities, homework support, children's laundry or nursery organisation only where they are genuinely part of the job.
Normal days, hours and regular variations.
Make early starts, late finishes, proxy parenting, travel or weekend work visible rather than presenting them as occasional flexibility after hiring.
Explain why each essential criterion matters.
Driving, first aid, a language or particular age-group experience should connect to the actual childcare brief, not become an arbitrary screening list.
Use the interview to test judgement, not adjectives.
Acas recommends preparing questions, treating applicants consistently and basing decisions on the job description and person specification.
“Tell us about a role with children of similar ages.”
Ask what the candidate was responsible for, how long the role lasted and which parts of the day they managed independently.
“What would you do if two childcare priorities clash?”
Use a realistic situation from your own routine and listen for safe prioritisation, communication and a willingness to ask when expectations are unclear.
“How do you prefer to update parents?”
Agree how routine information, concerns and urgent matters should be communicated.
Invite the candidate to question the household too.
A good interview lets the candidate test duties, hours, parenting approach, travel and expectations rather than treating selection as one-way.
From our work: our nanny search starts with the childcare evidence the household will need to compare.
Filipino Domestic Services asks the household to define the role, children and household context, recurring duties, normal days and hours, location, live-in or live-out arrangement, intended start date and any real driving, cooking, travel or pet requirements. For a nanny role, those fields let us see whether the job is genuinely childcare-led before any candidate is introduced.
The older FDS nanny articles often mixed the hiring process with nationality-based descriptions such as warmth, loyalty, work ethic or a supposedly natural affinity for children. We have not carried those claims into this guide. They do not tell a family whether a particular candidate has managed a baby overnight, handled school-age routines, supported homework, driven in London or communicated well with previous employers.
Our practical comparison is narrower. We look at the experience the candidate says they have, whether that experience matches the ages and responsibilities in the live brief, whether the proposed schedule and location are workable, and what evidence the household should follow up at interview and reference stage.
That also makes the final decision clearer. The agency introduction is not the hiring decision. The household still interviews, verifies the evidence and decides whether the individual candidate and the actual role fit one another.
Budget for salary and the household's employer costs separately.
Use the dedicated Filipino nanny cost guide for current London salary evidence and employer-cost context. Agree gross pay rather than relying on an ambiguous net-pay promise.
If you need the complete agency process rather than only the nanny role, understand the FDS matching process before sending the enquiry.
Nanny hiring questions.
How do I start looking for a nanny in London?
Start by writing the childcare brief: children's ages, responsibilities, normal days and hours, location, live-in or live-out arrangement and start date. Then compare candidates against relevant experience rather than searching from a vague list of personal qualities.
What questions should I ask a nanny?
Ask about comparable childcare experience, daily routines, safety and judgement scenarios, communication with parents, school or nursery logistics and how the candidate would handle the real responsibilities in your job description.
What checks should I do before hiring a nanny?
Follow up references and relevant qualifications, verify the candidate's right to work and complete any lawful background, identity or driving checks that the role requires. The household remains responsible for its hiring decision.
Should I choose a nanny because they are Filipino?
No. Filipino identity is not evidence of warmth, work ethic, trustworthiness or childcare ability. Assess the individual's relevant experience, communication, references, right to work and fit with the actual household role.
Should I pay a nanny gross or net?
Agreeing a gross salary is clearer because PAYE deductions and employer on-costs can then be calculated from the employment terms. The nanny cost and payroll guides explain those employer responsibilities separately.
Can an agency choose the nanny for me?
An agency can introduce candidates, but the household should interview them, verify the evidence it relies on and make the final decision. An introduction is not a suitability guarantee.
Sources and hiring boundary.
The process is grounded in the current FDS household brief and official UK recruitment guidance. Legal checks are kept brief and linked to their canonical employer pages.
Turn the childcare need into an interview-ready brief.
Once duties, schedule and budget are clear, use the nanny service and interview toolkit to assess individual candidates.