More Nannies are Being Recruited Online Through Unregulated Websites
Ways of finding family childcare has drastically changed over the years and now, with the introduction of technology, more mums and dads are relying on the internet to find a nanny.
New research from Nannytax, a UK payroll service for nanny employers, has revealed a radical change in the way in which nannies are recruited, with a more online reliance, including unregulated web adverts.
The fear of recruiting a nanny online, or just via a recommendation, is that the paperwork may not be so easy to check and their....
One in five of the 1,145 UK families surveyed say they would look at an ‘unregulated’ internet advertisement on sites such as Gumtree to recruit their nanny - an increase of eight per cent since 2011.
One in five also found their current nanny online, with one in ten UK families recruiting their present nanny having seen an internet ad.
A third of family childcare employers said they would search for their next nanny using a specialist professional nanny recruitment site, with one in ten finding their current nanny this way.
Helen Harvey, Payroll Services Director at Nannytax, said: “There are many ways of finding the ideal nanny, but the important checks must always be made, however well recommended they come.
“The fear of recruiting a nanny online, or just via a recommendation, is that the paperwork may not be so easy to check and their background isn’t fully investigated.
“This has happened, with disastrous consequences, which were widely reported from home and abroad last year, and it highlights the need to fully vet anyone coming into your home. Particularly when they have the most important role of protecting your children.”
The survey also revealed that a quarter of those polled hired their present nanny as a result of recommendations from friends, while half of respondents said they would ask for friends recommendations in future.
However, nanny agencies remain the most popular recruitment route, with nearly half finding their current nanny via an agency - a figure that has remained stable year on year.
For more information check out Helen's Top Tips on What to Look for When Recruiting a Nanny.
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