16 guides
Guides to hiring household help
For families hiring house cleaners, babysitters, nannies, pet sitters, dog walkers and handypeople directly. We're not an agency or marketplace, and nobody pays us to recommend them.
Before you hire
What you need, which route to take, where to look and what to pay.
- Work out exactly what help you need
A one-page description that makes every later step easier.
- Agency, company or independent?
The trade-offs in cost, vetting, paperwork and flexibility.
- Where to find good household help
Referrals, community boards and marketplaces, and how to use each safely.
- Setting fair pay
How to research local rates and what to put in writing.
Finding and vetting
Job posts, interviews, references, background checks and paid trials.
- Writing a job post that attracts the right people
What to include, and what to leave out for safety.
- Interview questions that reveal a good fit
Questions for experience, judgment and reliability, by role.
- How to check references properly
A short script, and the answers that should make you pause.
- Background checks for household help
What a background check can show, and the consent rules you must follow.
- Start with a paid trial
Why a short, paid trial protects both of you.
Pay, taxes and paperwork
Employee or contractor, household employer taxes, agreements and insurance.
- Employee or independent contractor?
Why it matters, and the general factors that decide it.
- Household employer taxes ("nanny tax") basics
When they apply, what's involved, and how families handle them.
- Write a simple work agreement
The points to agree in writing before the first day.
- Insurance when someone works in your home
Workers' compensation, homeowners coverage and what to ask a company.
Working together
The first week, home access and ending things fairly.
- A good first week
Set up the person you hired to succeed.
- Keys, codes and home access
Give access safely, and take it back cleanly.
- Ending an arrangement fairly
Notice, final pay and paperwork.