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The employment status of au pairs, nannies, carers, personal assistants and other people who work in your home - how to tell if they're an employee or not, what happens with the National Minimum Wage, tax and National Insurance, what...

• Overview

  You’re usually considered the employer of a nanny, housekeeper, gardener…

• Au pairs

  Au pairs usually live with the family they work for. They are entitled to…

How to register as a childminder or nanny: the Ofsted Childcare Register, the Early Years Register, who can register, how to apply.

• Overview

  If you want to be paid to look after children under 8, you might need to…

• Which register to join

  There are 2 registers - the Early Years Register and the Childcare…

• How much it costs

  You need to pay an annual registration fee to Ofsted. You’ll also have to…

• Register as a nanny

  You can register with Ofsted as a nanny or au pair to look after children…

• Register as a childminder based at home

  You must register with Ofsted or a childminder agency to look after…

• Register as a childminder based outside the home

  You must register with Ofsted or a childminder agency to look after…

• After you apply

  When you submit your application Ofsted will: do background checks with…

• After you're registered

  You must continue to meet the registration standards while you’re working…

Find out how to register with Ofsted as a nanny, and what you will need to tell us about.

• Updated: 12 October 2021

Nannies registered with Ofsted must follow these requirements.

• Updated: 7 March 2023

Find out about the different rules that apply to some employment types to decide your employee’s entitlement of Statutory Neonatal Care Pay.

• Updated: 20 June 2025

Minimum working age and pay for children, how to apply for performance licences and what local council bylaws say about employing children, paying someone over 16

Minimum wage rates for different types of paid employment - time work, output work, unmeasured work, salaried hours work.

Apply for an Overseas Domestic Worker visa if you've worked for your employer for at least a year - eligibility, fees, knowledge of English, your employment rights.

Lays-offs and short-time working - pay, rights, temporary lay-off, redundancy, taking on extra work, claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, short-time regulations and payments

Search for a job in teaching or education in England, including jobs in leadership, education support and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).