By Filipino Nanny | Updated 21 August 2026
A nanny is an in-home childcare professional whose duties, hours and working arrangement are agreed with the family. An au pair usually lives with the family, but the label does not remove UK employment or right-to-work obligations. Choose between them by defining the actual childcare responsibility, hours, accommodation and legal position rather than relying on the job title alone.
This guide focuses on families in the UK and uses current GOV.UK guidance. Immigration and employment rules can change, so check the official position for the individual before hiring.
Nanny vs au pair: quick comparison
| Factor | Nanny | Au pair |
|---|---|---|
| Core role | In-home childcare under an agreed job description | Usually lives with the family; actual duties and employment status depend on the arrangement |
| Living arrangement | Can be live-in or live-out | Usually live-in according to GOV.UK |
| Minimum wage | Employment rules apply according to the actual employment relationship | GOV.UK states au pairs are entitled to National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage |
| Right to work | Must have valid UK right to work and the employer must complete the appropriate check | Must have valid UK right to work; GOV.UK says an au pair must not be hired while on a visitor visa |
| Ofsted registration | Nannies do not have to register but may join the voluntary Childcare Register | Someone working as an au pair can choose nanny registration where the childcare fits that category |
| Best comparison question | Do we need a defined professional childcare role? | Does the actual live-in arrangement, duties and legal position fit what we are offering? |
What is a nanny?
A nanny looks after children in the child’s own home. Ofsted’s current guidance says a nanny can care for children from one or two families at the same time in one of those families’ homes. Nannies do not have to register with Ofsted, although they may choose voluntary registration.
A nanny role can be full-time or part-time and live-in or live-out. The family should set out the children’s needs, working days, hours, duties, pay and any accommodation before employment begins.
What is an au pair under current UK guidance?
GOV.UK says au pairs usually live with the family they work for and are entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage. Depending on earnings, Income Tax and National Insurance may also apply.
Right to work is critical. GOV.UK says families can hire an au pair where the person has an appropriate status or visa that permits the work, and they must not hire an au pair who is in the UK on a visitor visa or visiting for six months or less.
There is no general “au pair visa” that makes the employment rules disappear. The family needs to check the person’s actual immigration status and the real working arrangement.
Why the live-in label does not decide the role
A live-in nanny and an au pair may both live in the family home, so accommodation alone does not tell you which label fits. The more useful questions are what responsibility the person has for the children, how many hours they work, whether they have sole charge, what duties are expected and how the relationship operates in practice.
Our live-in nanny guide explains why living in the household does not mean round-the-clock availability. Working hours, rest, overnight duties and accommodation should be defined separately.
How our enquiry process frames the decision
Filipino Nanny Agency’s client enquiry form does not use “live-in” as a substitute for the role. Families first identify whether they are seeking a Nanny, Nanny-Housekeeper, Temporary/Holiday Nanny, Temporary/Holiday Nanny-Housekeeper or Housekeeper. The form then separately asks whether the need is full-time or part-time, how many weekly hours are required, the days needed, postcode and intended start date.
That workflow is useful for an au-pair comparison because it forces the family to define the work before discussing a candidate. If the real requirement is a substantial childcare job with regular responsibility for children, it should be scoped as that job rather than treated as an informal live-in arrangement.
Across those 203 submissions, 118 selected Full Time and 85 selected Part-time. We do not use that split to estimate au-pair demand because the form has no au-pair option and families can arrive at the agency only after considering many routes elsewhere. The useful operational point is narrower: when a family reaches us, we turn the request into a defined staffing brief instead of treating “live-in” as a job description. That helps keep accommodation, working hours, childcare responsibility and household duties as separate questions. It also prevents an au-pair label from being used as a shortcut around the actual work being offered.
Employment responsibilities matter more than the label
GOV.UK says that when a household directly employs someone to work in the home, it may be responsible for matters including employment terms, payslips, minimum wage, paid holiday, PAYE, National Insurance, workplace pension duties and employer’s liability insurance.
The exact legal treatment depends on the actual facts, not merely what the family calls the person. If you are hiring a nanny directly, see our nanny employment legal guide and right-to-work check guide.
Choose a nanny if…
- You need a defined in-home childcare role.
- You want agreed responsibility for children during specified hours.
- You need full-time or part-time care that may be live-in or live-out.
- You are prepared to employ the person on clear terms and meet the obligations that apply.
Consider an au pair arrangement only if…
- The person has valid UK right to work for the arrangement.
- The actual duties, hours, accommodation and pay comply with current rules.
- The role you are offering genuinely matches the arrangement rather than using the label to avoid defining a nanny job.
Can an au pair provide the same childcare as a nanny?
The job title alone cannot answer that. Families should assess the actual responsibilities being offered and the individual person’s relevant experience, references, communication and right to work. If the role involves substantial or sole-charge childcare, define that responsibility explicitly and recruit against it.
What should you compare next?
If you are still comparing childcare models, see nanny vs nursery and nanny vs childminder. If you are leaning toward a nanny, read why families choose Filipino nanny candidates and what to verify individually. If you have decided that a professional in-home childcare role is the right category, see our Filipino nanny services in London. If you are still deciding between childcare and household support, use our role-selection guide. For working arrangement decisions, compare live-in vs live-out nannies.