After-placement travel planning
Travelling with your nanny or domestic staff
Treat family travel as work planning: agree which travel time is work, normal and extra hours, accommodation, expenses, days off and destination entry or work-permit responsibilities before the trip.
Do you pay a nanny differently when they travel with the family?
Travel does not create one automatic “holiday nanny rate”. Pay depends on the employment terms and the time that counts as work. Acas says travel during the working day will usually count as working time, while ordinary commuting to a fixed workplace usually does not. When the family requires the employee to travel as part of the job, record the working periods, additional hours and how those hours will be paid or otherwise handled under the agreed terms.
Keep expenses separate from wages. Transport, accommodation and necessary business-travel costs are employer-expense questions, with tax and National Insurance rules that depend on the item and the facts. A household should agree what it will book directly, what the employee may spend, what needs receipts and whether any allowance is reimbursement or additional pay. This is general information; use current HMRC guidance or payroll advice for the actual tax treatment.
Travel checklist: settle these points before tickets are booked.
The safest travel brief makes work, expenses and private time visible before the employee leaves home.
A family holiday is not automatically the employee's holiday.
If the nanny is travelling because the household requires them to work, the work and off-duty periods still need to be distinguished.
Separate travel expenses from compensation.
Pay and reimbursement answer different questions. The employee should know which necessary trip costs the household will cover and how to claim them.
Working abroad adds contract and immigration questions.
Do not wait until check-in to discover that the employee needs different documents or written particulars.
GOV.UK says the written statement must include the period abroad, currency of pay, extra pay or benefits and terms relating to return to the UK where the employee will work outside the UK for more than a month. This is general employment information, not contract drafting advice.
Business.gov.uk notes that many countries require a visa, work permit or other documentation even for short periods of work. Requirements are destination-specific, so use the destination government's rules or regulated advice where needed.
The household should allow enough time for the employee to obtain or renew any document they are responsible for holding; do not retain someone's passport as a household control measure.
Ordinary holiday insurance for the family may not automatically cover an employee working abroad. Ask the relevant insurer or broker about the actual arrangement.
From our work
We treat travel as part of the job specification, not a last-minute favour.
Filipino Domestic Services' current VIP and private-household staffing guidance asks households to describe travel, multi-property work, working hours and confidentiality expectations before candidate introductions are assessed. Those details matter because a candidate who is well suited to a London-based nanny role may not want or be available for several weeks of overseas work each year.
For a travel-heavy position, the useful brief says how often the family travels, whether the employee accompanies the children during journeys, what a normal day abroad looks like, whether evenings or nights are required, what private accommodation is provided and how expenses are handled. That lets candidates evaluate the real job rather than discovering the travel pattern after accepting it.
We do not decide foreign visa or work-permit eligibility. A candidate's UK right to work, nationality or passport does not answer another country's requirements. The household should check the destination rules and obtain appropriate immigration or tax advice where the trip creates individual issues. Filipino Domestic Services can keep the staffing brief clear; the household remains responsible for the employment, travel and compliance arrangements it agrees.
High-travel roles belong in the high-profile household brief from the start.
Travel, rota and multi-property expectations are material features of the job, not incidental perks.
Questions about travelling with a nanny or domestic employee.
Do I have to pay my nanny while we travel?
If the nanny is travelling because the job requires it and performing work, the working time and pay should be dealt with under the employment terms and applicable minimum-wage rules. There is no universal statutory “holiday nanny” premium, so agree the arrangement before travel.
Does flight time count as working time for a nanny?
It can. Travel during work will usually count as working time, and responsibility for children during a flight is a strong indicator of work. The exact treatment depends on the journey and employment arrangement, so use current Acas guidance for the facts.
Should I pay my nanny's travel expenses?
Necessary business-travel costs are normally an employer-expense question. Agree transport, accommodation, meals or subsistence, local travel and the reimbursement process before the trip, and check HMRC rules for the actual tax treatment.
Does my nanny need a visa to work with us abroad?
Possibly. Destination countries set their own entry and work-permit rules, and a UK right to work does not answer the foreign-country question. Check the destination's official requirements before travel and obtain regulated advice if needed.
What accommodation should a travelling nanny have?
Provide suitable accommodation that allows genuine rest and privacy. If the employee must share space with children or remain responsible overnight, state that as part of the work arrangement rather than calling the entire period off duty.
Do I need to change the contract for frequent travel?
Regular travel should be reflected in the employment terms. GOV.UK also requires additional written particulars where an employee or worker will work outside the UK for more than one month. Bespoke contract wording should be professionally reviewed where needed.
Sources and legal boundary.
These sources are current planning references. They do not determine tax or immigration treatment for a particular household or destination.
Write the travel week before you book it.
Hours, duties, rest, accommodation, expenses and destination documents should all be understood before departure.