How to pay a nanny or housekeeper: wages and advances
It is the last day of the month. You have one number in your head, your nanny has another. They remember the Saturday they stayed late. You remember the €200 you handed over on the 12th, which they thought was for school shoes. Nobody is lying. Nothing was written down.
This argument costs more than the money: it costs trust. A few shared habits can help prevent misunderstandings.
1. Put the terms in writing before the first payment
- The rate and what it is for: an hour, a shift, a week or a month.
- Payday, and whether you pay by transfer or in cash.
- Extra hours, late evenings, weekends and travel.
- Days you do not need them: your holiday, a day with the grandparents. What happens with pay? Agree it now, not in August.
- Days off and paid holiday.
Check the local rules before agreeing these terms: an agreement cannot remove statutory pay or leave rights.
2. One record of days and hours that you both see
Questions about pay often come down to days and hours. Note the start and finish of each shift on the day itself, in a place you can both read. Records rebuilt from memory at the end of the month can easily differ. If a time needs correcting, show the correction to the other person before it counts.
3. Write down every wage advance the same day
Who received it, how much, on what date and against which period. Ask the person to confirm they received it. Record it clearly as a wage advance for the agreed pay period, separate from a loan or household expense funds. Show it in the calculation for that period so it is not counted twice.
4. Keep wages and household money apart
Cash for groceries is not pay. If both come out of one envelope, nobody can say what is still owed. Track household money separately: see our guide to cash and receipts.
5. Show the sum before you pay
Two or three days before payday, share the calculation: the period, what was earned, any extras, minus advances, the amount to pay. A question is easier to settle before payday than after it.
6. Pay so that it leaves a trace
Keep evidence of each payment. A bank transfer records the payment, but does not replace a payslip or other wage document required by local law. For cash payments, record receipt in the form required locally. For example:
- UK: employers must give employees and workers a payslip on or before payday, including people employed in your home.
- Spain: Real Decreto 1620/2011 requires an individual receipt for each wage payment, and the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (art. 29.1) gives the right to advances for work already done.
- US: IRS Publication 926 explains when you owe federal employment taxes on what you pay a nanny or housekeeper. States add their own rules.
7. When someone leaves mid-month
Calculate the pay due up to the end of employment and include any other amounts required by local rules. Account for wage advances already paid without counting them twice. Check the rules on deductions and payment deadlines. Reconcile household expense funds separately. Our handover checklist covers the rest.
This guide is about keeping records straight. Tax, payroll and employment rules for household staff depend on your country — check the local rules or ask an adviser.
In Domiq, invited staff record the start and end of their shifts on their phones, and you can both view those records. A wage advance is recorded with its period, and the person confirms receipt. On the free plan (up to 2 staff) you keep shifts, advances, expenses and receipts. From the Home plan, Domiq works out the pay for the period from the agreed rate, the shifts and the advances. It does not calculate tax or issue payslips.