Information for Mothers' Helps

A 'Mother's Help' does not hold a child care qualification. If you do not have any formal training but have a love of children, you will also be very much in demand.

Apply for a position as a Mother's Help

Duties

As a mother's help, your duties would be to assist the mother with the children and generally help around the house, e.g. vacuuming, dusting, preparing meals, light washing, ironing etc. If the single parent or both parents are working, you may be given sole charge of school aged children and an older and more experienced mother's help may be asked to take sole charge of young children.

Accommodation and Time Off

As a live-in mother's help, you can expect to have your own room with usually your own TV. Normally, you will share a bathroom with the children although sometimes you may have your own. Meals are also provided free. You will be entitled to 2 days off each week, normally taken at week-ends and apart from a few baby-sitting evenings a week, the rest of your evenings will be free. If you live out, you will normally work a 5 day week from Monday to Friday.

By the very nature of the job, the hours are not structured and sometimes you may have a longer working day. If the children go to school, there will be a routine in the school term time and then this will change slightly in the holidays.

Remuneration

Salaries will depend on age, qualification and experience. You are welcome to contact us to discuss salaries and we will give you a guide if you tell us about your past experience etc. A car is usually available for your social use if you live-in although you may have to pay for your own petrol for journeys made outside of work. Salaries are normally paid on a net basis i.e. income tax and national insurance will have been deducted from the gross salary by the employer and this statutory amount is sent to the local tax office. You should ask your employer for a payslip on the day of payment detailing gross payment, deductions and net payment and you will also have to declare your earnings to the tax office.

Medical Cover

If you are from abroad, there may be a reciprocal health agreement between your own country and the UK which allows you to receive emergency hospital treatment under the National Health Service for any illness contracted whilst in the UK. However, a local doctor may at his discretion charge a fee for his services and dental treatment is not provided under the NHS. You should check out the medical side before you leave your country and it may be wise to pack your medical insurance card.

Terms of Employment

It is a legal requirement, where the placement is permanent, i.e. for more than a few months, for an employer to give an employee a written statement of the employee's terms of employment within 8 weeks of the commencement of employment. These terms should include such matters as:- duties, start date, hours of work, pay, including any details of reviews, holidays, notice periods for termination of employment, accommodation arrangements, where necessary, sickness provision and confidentiality. This statement or contract should ideally be dated and signed by you and the employer to avoid any misunderstanding. Please note that your employment should operate on the basis of goodwill and hence, you should accept a degree of flexibility in the terms of your job.

Obtaining a job through Delaney International

If you would like to obtain a job through our agency, you will need to attend an interview either at our office in Surrey or with one of our appointed agents in the country where you are residing. You will need to complete an application form and bring along or send some photos, references (please include at least one child care reference) with addresses and telephone numbers, a letter about yourself with information about your child care experience, a police clearance check certificate and a doctor's letter as to your present state of health.

Applicants from abroad will need to apply for a visa unless they hold a British or European Union passport. Visas include a Working Holiday visa for those aged between 17 and 27 years which is granted for a maximum of 2 years. The majority of employers in the UK are seeking a nanny or mother's help who can work for 1 year so you will need to state on the relevant form that you intend to stay in the UK for 2 years. If you have a British born grandparent, you may be able to apply for a UK Grandparent Entry Certificate which allows you to stay for up to 4 years and you may seek full time employment. If you have a British born parent, you may be able to apply for a Right of Abode which allows you to live and work in the UK without restrictions. For more information on up to date visa costs and entry clearance forms, contact the British High Commission in your country.

Telephone Interview between prospective employer and employee

When we have received all your details, we send them out to families who will, as nearly as possible, match your requirements. Any employer interested in your details will want to phone you and discuss the job and ask you any relevant questions. Please remember to express an interest in the children and ask questions about them, Also you will want to enquire about the normal routine of the day, e.g. do you need to drive, is there any housework, will you need to look after pets? You should be prepared to cook simple meals, know about safety aspects relating to child care and be able to show initiative. If you like the sound of the job, the agency will email you the written details about it and you can discuss it further with the employer and also with us if you need our advice. Some families prefer to interview a girl face to face and so will arrange for you to attend an interview after your arrival in the UK.

Accepting a Job

Make sure that you are entirely happy with the job, i.e. duties, location, children, employer, salary, time off etc. before accepting it.

You must let Delaney International in the UK know immediately you accept a job including the date that you intend to commence employment. It is a good idea to keep in telephone contact with the family if the job does not start immediately and we are also here to offer assistance both before and after you start your job.

Many applicants book a flight in advance of being offered a job, as this encourages a family to offer you a job, either by telephone interview or subject to a face to face interview. Obviously, it is easier to attend interviews if you have a relative or friend with whom to stay. Alternatively, some candidates prefer to pay for a cheap hotel or youth hostel for a week or so, in order to have the opportunity of meeting the family and possibly being offered a choice of jobs.

On Arrival in the UK - Agency Contact

Once you arrive with the family, we will write to you and enclose a general information leaflet together with a list of other nannies/mothers' helps who are currently working over here, together with their addresses and telephone numbers. If you have any problems or uncertainties with your job, we will do our best to help you.

Apply for a position as a Mother's Help

We like you seeing our website but we would also like to talk with you, so if you'd like to be a mother's help in the UK or even Europe if you have the relevant passport, you can download the application form on our site. Make sure that you give us a call so that we can advise you about where to attend an interview.

Good luck and best wishes from Marcia Delaney.