Can nannies and nanny-housekeepers continue to work in the second national lockdown?

Published: 02/11/2020

Can nannies continue to work in the second national lockdown?

Nannies will be familiar with the rule of six and the three tier lockdown system, which saw London fall under tier 2 lockdown restrictions. For now, both of these rules are on hold as the second national lockdown comes into effect.

With the second national lockdown beginning on Thursday 5th November and lasting until Wednesday 2nd December, nannies and parents in London and across the country may be wondering what this means for them. 

Can nannies and nanny-housekeepers continue to work in the latest lockdown?

The short answer is yes. According to the latest government guidelines, nannies are able to continue to work in lockdown. This is outlined in Chapter 1, which states that people can leave their homes for specific purposes, including:

  • For childcare or education, where this is not provided online
  • For work purposes, where your place of work remains open and where you cannot work from home (including if your job involves working in other people's homes)

Nannies fall into both these exceptions as they 1) provide childcare that cannot be provided online and 2) cannot work from home. Additionally, the government specifically allows working in other people’s homes, which is where nannies typically work.

The government has also explicitly stated that "Nannies will be able to continue to provide services, including in the home."

Do nannies need to be registered to work?

 In Chapter 8 (‘Childcare and Children’s Activities’), the government states:

Parents will still be able to access some registered childcare and other childcare activities (including wraparound care) where reasonably necessary to enable parents to work, or for the purposes of respite care.

This may appear to imply that parents can only rely on registered childcare providers (e.g. Ofsted registered nannies), but there are several reasons to believe otherwise.

Firstly, this new lockdown is not meant to be stricter than the first, during which the government specifically stated that nannies can continue to support parents. Secondly, the government clearly states that jobs that involve work in other people’s homes are allowed, which is unlikely to exclude nannies if other workers, such as plumbers and electricians, are allowed to work. Finally, Chapter 8 also refers to childminders, nurseries and afterschool clubs which fall under the umbrella of “registered” childcare.

If nannies do not feel comfortable continuing to work in the next lockdown, we encourage them to speak with their employers. Alternatively, If they need additional guidance and support, we encourage them to get in touch with us at hello@mytamarin.com.

Can nannies be put on furlough?

If parents are not comfortable having their nannies and nanny-housekeepers work for them during the lockdown period, they can place your nanny on the furlough scheme, which has been extended throughout November. For more information on placing nannies on furlough, click here.

What’s next?

We expect the government to continue to provide additional and more detailed guidelines. We shall be monitoring these closely and informing you promptly of any relevant developments.

In the meantime:

  • myTamarin nannies continue to work normally, as before;
  • myTamarin nannies are available on a temporary basis should your permanent childcare arrangements fall through. In fact, if you're on our pay-as-you-go payment model, you have got 20 days of backup childcare per year included in your package, without any extra fees.


Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@mytamarin.com and we’ll get back to you with further advice and clarification.

For parents looking for temp nannies, or for nannies looking for their next temp role, sign up here.

Similar articles

Close