Recruitment trial toolkit
Domestic staff trial day checklist
A trial should test the real job for a proportionate period, with agreed tasks, supervision, observation criteria and a clear decision afterwards. It should not be used to obtain ordinary productive work for free. Agree any FDS trial under the applicable client terms before it takes place.
What should happen on a domestic staff trial day?
Use a small set of tasks that genuinely test the vacancy, explain the household context and safety information, observe the candidate's method and communication, give enough time for questions, and write down the evidence against the same criteria used at interview. Keep the trial only as long as reasonably necessary for recruitment.
Acas says an unpaid work trial should be for a reasonable amount of time and genuinely used to assess whether the applicant can do the job. If a “trial” becomes ordinary productive work beyond what recruitment requires, minimum-wage obligations can arise. This is general information, not personalised employment advice.
Plan the trial before the candidate arrives.
- confirm the date, start time, expected duration and who will be present;
- state whether the trial is paid and any applicable FDS candidate-payment or fee requirement;
- choose two to four tasks that directly represent the role rather than a full working day;
- prepare any equipment, child information or household instructions needed to carry out those tasks safely;
- decide what you will observe: method, judgement, communication, organisation, role boundaries or another job-related criterion;
- do not use tasks that expose the candidate to unnecessary risk, private information or responsibilities that have not been explained;
- prepare the same decision sheet for each candidate who reaches the same trial stage.
Choose trial tasks by role.
Observe interaction around an agreed childcare activity.
Use an age-appropriate routine or activity where the parent remains available to explain the household and maintain a safe recruitment setting. Do not create an artificial emergency.
Use a small, representative household task.
For example, ask how the candidate would organise an agreed room, laundry process or weekly task sequence, then observe method rather than assigning a full clean.
Test prioritisation rather than speed at two jobs.
Give a realistic scenario where childcare and household responsibilities compete and ask what should happen first.
Keep the trial inside non-clinical support.
Conversation, a short accompanied activity or a household-planning scenario can test communication and practical fit without introducing clinical or regulated-care duties.
Record observable evidence, not a vague feeling.
Should a domestic staff trial be paid?
There is no single rule that makes every short recruitment trial unpaid or every trial automatically paid. Acas says the key questions include whether the trial is genuinely for recruitment, how long it lasts, whether the candidate is observed, whether the tasks relate to the vacancy and whether the employer gains value beyond testing skills. Minimum-wage obligations can arise when the arrangement goes beyond a genuine recruitment trial.
Filipino Domestic Services' current client terms can also impose candidate-payment or agency-fee requirements for an arranged trial. Agree those terms in advance. This is general information, not personalised legal or payroll advice.
From our work: the trial follows the interview brief instead of becoming a second, undefined job description.
Filipino Domestic Services' matching process asks the household to define duties, schedule, location, working arrangement and practical requirements before candidate introductions. The interview then gives the household a set of role-specific questions and evidence points. A useful trial should test only the unresolved practical parts of that same brief.
That prevents a common recruitment error: the household interviews for one job, then uses the trial to introduce a different list of tasks. A nanny candidate should not arrive expecting a childcare observation and discover that the household wants a full day of unrelated deep cleaning. A housekeeper candidate should not be judged on childcare responsibilities that were not part of the role. The trial is not the moment to broaden the job.
Our approach is to choose a small number of representative tasks or scenarios, tell the candidate what is being assessed and keep the observation linked to the actual vacancy. The household can then compare the trial notes with the interview answers and references rather than relying on a single impression.
Where FDS arranges the trial, the applicable client terms should be checked first so duration, candidate payment and any agency charge are clear. That commercial step is part of the trial design, not something to resolve after the candidate has worked.
How should you decide after the trial?
Compare the observation with the criteria you set beforehand. Separate a teachable household preference from a material mismatch in experience, judgement, schedule or role expectations. If a concern contradicts a reference or interview answer, clarify it before making the offer.
Return to the domestic staff interview toolkit and reference-check protocol where more evidence is needed rather than repeating trials without a clear question.
Domestic staff trial-day questions.
How long should a domestic staff trial last?
Only as long as reasonably necessary to test the recruitment question. Acas says duration is one factor in deciding whether an unpaid trial is genuinely a recruitment trial or has become ordinary productive work.
Should I leave a nanny candidate alone with my child on a trial?
A recruitment trial should be planned around safety and the evidence you need. A household can observe age-appropriate interaction without creating unnecessary sole-charge responsibility before the recruitment checks and employment decision are complete.
Can I ask a housekeeper candidate to clean my whole home as a trial?
A full productive clean is difficult to justify as merely testing a small sample of skills. Use representative tasks or scenarios and keep the trial proportionate to recruitment rather than replacing a normal paid service.
Does a trial have to be paid?
Not every genuine short recruitment trial is automatically paid, but minimum-wage obligations can arise when the trial is too long or provides productive work beyond what is reasonably needed to assess the candidate. Check the actual arrangement.
What should I score on a trial?
Record job-related evidence such as method, communication, prioritisation, safe judgement and whether the duties and schedule appear workable. Avoid scoring personality stereotypes or whether the candidate copies your existing method exactly.
What if the trial changes my view of the job itself?
Rewrite the role before making an offer. A trial can reveal that the task list, hours or priority order is unrealistic. Fixing the job design is better than hiring against a brief you already know has changed.
Sources and trial boundary.
The practical framework is grounded in the FDS household brief and trial stage. Employment-law statements use current Acas guidance and stay coupled to the general-information caveat.
Use the trial to answer one remaining recruitment question.
Then bring the observation back to the interview and reference evidence before making the offer.