This help centre article has been written for the Koru Kids nanny service
Ending your nanny's contract: notice and redundancy pay
If you're thinking about ending your nanny's contract, here's what you need to know about notice and redundancy pay.
How much notice you need to give
Our standard nanny contract has a 2-week probation period. During this time, you or your nanny can end the contract with 24 hours' notice. After the probation period ends, our standard notice period is 2 weeks from either party, but you should check your contract before you give notice.
Legally, there is a statutory minimum notice period that must be provided when ending an employment. This is as follows:
How long your nanny's worked for you | Notice you need to give |
More than 1 month | 1 week |
2 to 12 years | 1 week for every full year worked |
12 years or more | 12 weeks |
If your contract with your nanny specifies a longer notice period, this replaces the statutory minimum.
As you're the legal employer of the nanny, you're free to negotiate different terms if you wish and we can change the contract accordingly. You must agree any changes in writing, to ensure there's a written record of your nanny agreeing to the amended terms - we can help support with this.
Paying your nanny during their notice
Your nanny gets paid for their notice period whether they work it or not. If they work it, they're paid as normal. If you'd rather they didn't work, you can pay them for the notice period instead. This is called Payment in Lieu of Notice (PILON). Let us know if you'd like to do this.
If your nanny leaves without working their notice
If you give your nanny notice and ask them to work their notice period, but they choose not to, they would not be entitled to Payment in Lieu of Notice. However, you cannot withhold payment for any hours already worked.
Redundancy Pay
What counts as redundancy?
Redundancy is when you end your nanny’s contract because you no longer need a nanny. It’s about the role, not the person, so it has nothing to do with how your nanny has done their job.
It’s likely to be redundancy if you’re ending your nanny’s contract because:
your children have started school or nursery, and you no longer need a nanny
you’re moving away
you can no longer afford childcare
a parent is now at home to look after the children
It isn’t redundancy if:
your nanny decides to leave
you’re ending the contract because of your nanny’s conduct or performance
you’re replacing your nanny with another nanny, as the role still exists
Not sure if your situation counts? Get in touch and we’ll talk it through with you.
Who gets redundancy pay?
Your nanny is entitled to statutory redundancy pay if they:
are employed by you, which is always the case with a Koru Kids nanny
have worked for you for 2 years or more
are leaving because you no longer need the role
If your nanny's coming up to 2 years with you, it's worth bearing this in mind when you plan ahead.
How much redundancy pay your nanny gets
It depends on your nanny's age and how long they've worked for you. Your nanny gets redundancy pay for every full year they've worked for you, up to 20 years. How much they get for each year depends on how old they were that year.
Their age during that year | Redundancy pay for each full year worked |
Under 22 | Half a week's pay |
22 to 40 | One week's pay |
41 and over | One and a half weeks' pay |
This is based on your nanny’s average weekly earnings, over the last 12 weeks. There's a legal limit on how much a week's pay can be, which goes up each April in line with inflation.
For example, if your nanny is 30 and has worked for you for 3 years, they'd get 3 weeks' pay.
How redundancy pay is calculated and paid
Our payroll team will calculate if your nanny qualifies for redundancy pay and add it to your final invoice. It's paid when their employment ends, or soon after. Your nanny's entitled to a written statement showing how much they're getting and how it was worked out - we will provide this for you as part of our service.
Want to know more?
If you have any questions, get in touch and we'll talk you through it. You can also read more about redundancy on Acas and GOV.UK.
Additional Information
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Tags: notice periods