The salary
In London a live-in housekeeper or nanny is usually paid between £600 and £850 a week gross, depending on hours, duties and experience. Live-out staff are paid by the hour or by the day. Whatever you agree, every hour worked must be paid at least the National Living Wage (£12.71 an hour from April 2026), and that applies to live-in staff too.
Talk about salaries in gross terms. Agreeing a "net" salary means you, as employer, carry any change in her tax or National Insurance.
On top of the salary
- Employer National Insurance, paid through PAYE on earnings above the threshold.
- A workplace pension: if she is 22 or over and earns above the auto-enrolment threshold, you must enrol her and contribute at least 3% of her qualifying earnings.
- Paid holiday: 5.6 weeks a year (28 days for someone working five days a week).
- Insurance: ask your insurer or payroll service about employer's liability cover; many nanny payroll packages and some home insurance policies include it.
- A payroll service, if you want one: a small monthly fee to run PAYE, payslips and the pension for you.
Room and meals
Her room and meals are part of a live-in arrangement, not a replacement for salary. The only thing the minimum wage rules allow is a small daily accommodation offset, set by the government each year. We publish salaries in money.
Our fee
Meeting candidates is free. If you hire someone we introduced, our fee is one month of her gross salary, paid once, seven days after she starts. For 12 months, if it does not work out for any reason, we find you another candidate at no extra cost, as many times as needed. There are no monthly fees, and candidates never pay us anything.