Candidate FAQs

Nannies Plus serves families in Alameda county, Contra Costa county, Marin county, and San Francisco, as well as families in Benicia, Vallejo, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Sonoma. We work with candidates who live in these areas, and/or candidates who live within a 30 minute drive of these areas.

No! Candidate representation is complimentary. To register with Nannies Plus, you will need to meet our candidate requirements, but there are no fees to job-seek or be placed in a position through Nannies Plus.

Please note that if you are placed in a position through Nannies Plus, you will be expected to provide TB test results and an unexpired pediatric CPR & first aid certification, both of which may incur fees.

No, Nannies Plus does not employ candidates in any way, shape, or form. We provide professional representation to help nannies and family assistants find jobs. A family seeking a nanny or family assistant through Nannies Plus becomes the employer of the candidate they choose to hire.

The first step is to submit an intake form so that we can gain some preliminary information about your qualifications and background. Once we receive your intake form, a member of our team will reach out via email to let you know if you meet our requirements (which we will verify during the placement process).

If you do meet our requirements, you will be invited to schedule a 15-minute phone interview. During this call, we will talk over all of the information you have submitted to us, as well as learn more about your experience and your basic job preferences. This call also serves as an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about our agency so you can decide if we are a fit for you on your job search!

At the end of the phone interview, if we’ve determined, at our sole discretion, that you are a good fit for Nannies Plus, and you have agreed that Nannies Plus is a good fit for you, we will schedule a formal candidate interview, which generally lasts between 45 and 90 minutes, and takes place over Zoom.

During your formal interview, we will learn about all of the important details of your preferences for your job search and ideal job, we will unpack your work experience and childcare background, and we will get to know you as a person, your childcare philosophy, and your caregiving style.

In order to conduct formal interviews efficiently, we require that each candidate submit a Nannies Plus Work History Form or a detailed childcare resume at least 12 hours prior to the interview. We also require that each candidate submit contact information for their professional references at least 12 hours prior to the interview. If you have trouble gathering and/or submitting these items, you must alert a member of our team as soon as possible. If we do not receive these important items and have not already made other arrangements with you by the deadline, we will cancel the interview without allowing an opportunity to reschedule. Please note that we will not be calling your references until we are preparing to present you for a job, and we will only reach out to your references once we’ve received your express permission.

Following the interview, we will request additional documents for your file and send you on-boarding paperwork. Once these items are complete, you will officially be registered with Nannies Plus! From then on, we can consider you for positions through our agency as they become available.

We cannot guarantee that we will have the right position for you within your ideal timeline, location, pay rate range, or other important preferences. We strive to help every nanny and family assistant find their perfect match, but the timing of what positions we have available while you are looking for a new job plays a significant role in your search with Nannies Plus. Even if we have a position you are interested in, and we believe you would be a great fit for, the family ultimately decides who to hire, so you may want to consider using multiple avenues for your job hunt.

Nannies Plus considers professional childcare experience to be any of the following positions held after the age of 18, and for a consistent schedule of 20+ hours per week:

• Nanny & family assistant positions
• Daycare & before/after school care provider positions*
• Preschool and TK-5th grade teaching positions
• Newborn care specialist and postpartum doula positions
• ABA, RBT, paraprofessional, and 1:1 aide positions

Please note that all nanny candidates are required to have a minimum of 1 year of professional nanny, family assistant, daycare*, or preschool experience. NCS, postpartum doula, behavioral technician, and paraprofessional work count towards the 3 year minimum requirement when combined with at least 1 year of professional nanny, family assistant, daycare, or preschool experience. 

*Daycare & before/after school care positions must be at non-“drop in” locations. 

All Nannies Plus candidates must have a minimum of 3 years of verifiable* professional childcare experience after they turned 18. This 3 years must include:

• at least 12 consecutive months of full-time experience as a nanny, family assistant, daycare provider, or preschool teacher OR
• at least 12 consecutive months of consistent part-time experience, 20+ hours per week, as a nanny or family assistant.
• Additionally, all Nannies Plus nannies must have at least 12 consecutive months of childcare experience within the last 3 years.

*Please note that in order for experience to be verified, candidates must be able to provide references confirming at least 3 years of professional childcare experience after the age of 18. Nannies Plus is not equipped to call international references and, therefore, requires that all candidates meet minimum requirements with positions held in the United States.

Many of our candidates have foundational experience babysitting, caring for children in their family, volunteering, working at summer camps, or may even be parents themselves, in addition to meeting our professional experience requirements. 

Nannies Plus cannot count toward our minimum professional experience requirements:

• any job which took place before the candidate turned 18
• any on-call or babysitting work, taking place on an as-needed basis
• any childcare provided for family members or personal friends
• any unpaid non-professional or volunteer childcare
• any very part-time (fewer than 20 hours/week) or inconsistent experience 
• personal experience as a parent, aunt/uncle, grandparent, godparent, etc.
• indirect childcare, such as swim instruction, school bus driving, coaching, etc.

Yes. Nannies Plus requires that all candidates:

• are legally eligible to work in the United States;
• are willing and able to accept a legal, W-2 position;
• have a valid driver’s license and clean driving record;
• are willing to undergo criminal background checks;
• have stellar references; 
• have intermediate to advanced English communication ability;
• AND have access to email and a device which supports Zoom.

When you are classified as an employee, for tax purposes, you are responsible for state and federal income taxes. Typically, with your permission and proper withholdings documentation (W-4), your employer will deduct these from your paychecks. This helps ensure that at the end of the year, you don’t owe the government a significant amount of money. 

Your employer is also responsible for state and federal unemployment taxes, which make you eligible for unemployment benefits if you were to lose your job in a qualifying manner. Additionally, some families pay social security and Medicare taxes–these need to be paid by someone, but legally the family you are employed by can choose whether they will fund these taxes or have them deducted from your paycheck.

Most families use a payroll service that specializes in household employment to do this accurately. While legal pay reduces your net (take-home) wage, it does also provide you protection against being paid less than minimum wage and being denied overtime pay or legally required sick leave. For more information about legal pay, visit the Homework Solutions Knowledge Center.

Employees who are paid more than $750 quarterly and employers who pay more than $750 quarterly to a single household employee are required to report to the IRS. 

According to the IRS, one of the biggest factors that determines the difference between an employee and an independent contractor is control. If you have a boss who directs your work responsibilities, controls your schedule, and provides any materials you reasonably need to do your job, you are an employee. 

A household employee is specifically an employee who works in a private home. Babysitters, nannies, family assistants, butlers, house managers, personal assistants, groundskeepers and maids/housekeepers, chefs, gardeners, and caretakers who are not employed and subcontracted by a larger enterprise are examples of household employees.

As a nanny or family assistant, the family you work for determines their needs and how you can meet those needs. They schedule you for the hours that they require help, and you cannot send a subcontractor in your place, nor are you employed by a contracting company. The family provides your work materials and work environment. This makes the family your employer and you a household employee.

Yes, Nannies Plus requires that all candidates possess a valid driver’s license and clean record with the DMV.

While owning your own vehicle is not a requirement for all jobs through our agency, many jobs require a car for use during work hours. Some families are able to provide a car for use on the job, but in general, owning a vehicle which is safe for transporting children is a great way to increase your chances of finding a job opportunity through Nannies Plus.

If a family does not require that a candidate have a car to use on the job, they may still require that the candidate have reliable transportation to and from work through a friend or family member, or are within walking or biking distance of their workplace. For this reason, if you do not have a personal vehicle, it is important to be clear with our team about your means of transportation to and from work.

All families working with Nannies Plus have stated that they will offer mileage reimbursement at the federal rate for the use of your own vehicle on the job.

Vehicle insurance is assigned to an individual vehicle, rather than an individual driver. Therefore, the owner of the vehicle being driven on the job needs to insure the vehicle. If you are driving a car that does not belong to you, it is generally suggested that the owner of the vehicle add your name to their vehicle insurance policy as an authorized driver.

If you are driving your personal vehicle during work hours, mileage reimbursement at the federal rate is recalculated yearly, intending to cover the cost of expenses related to driving for work. This includes gas, maintenance, and vehicle insurance. If you own a vehicle and accept a position through Nannies Plus, our agency will ask for proof of insurance on that vehicle prior to your first day of work.

References are the first thing that families see when deciding whether they’d like to move forward with meeting a candidate. Families will be looking for candidates whose references are an outstanding testament to their ability to fulfill the duties of the job.

Nannies Plus requires a minimum of three relevant, professional, and high-quality references. Professional references are parents (employers) or direct supervisors who have worked with the candidate for more than 6 months (except in the case of NCS or doula references). Every candidate must:

• have at least one nanny/family assistant OR daycare/teacher reference from within the last 3 years AND
• have at least one reference that verifies at least one relevant long-term position (12+ consecutive months) AND
• be able to provide a reference from their most recent position once notice is given.

In cases in which the candidate has signed an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) or been employed by a family who is otherwise unwilling to provide a reference, our team will review all of the candidate’s available information pertaining to their experience and background to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether the candidate still meets Nannies Plus requirements.

Please note that references from family members or personal friends cannot be considered professional references. These supplemental references will be requested and/or contacted only in addition to professional references, and you must specify if you are related to or friends with any of the references you submit.

Yes, if the references you are able to provide meet all of our other reference requirements and you meet our experience and qualification requirements, you can register with Nannies Plus with fewer than three professional references. We may ask for supplemental references from friends, family, or colleagues to ensure that a candidate with fewer professional references still stands out!

Please note that references from family members or personal friends cannot be considered professional references. These supplemental references will be requested and/or contacted only in addition to professional references, and you must specify if you are related to or friends with any of the references you submit.

Prior to sending a new candidate for an interview with a family, we run the following checks:

• Motor Vehicle Report (DMV)
• Government Watch List (OFAC terrorist search/”no fly” list)
• Social Security Number Validation (identity verification)

After your first interview with a family through Nannies Plus, if you continue to actively interview with families through Nannies Plus, we will run new motor vehicle reports every 6 months. We do not repeat other background checks. 

Once a candidate is offered a job with a family through Nannies Plus, the candidate must become registered with TrustLine.

TrustLine is the state of California’s official background check for license-exempt in-home childcare providers (nannies, babysitters, newborn care specialists, and doulas). TrustLine provides a detailed, thorough background check using LiveScan fingerprints, which are sent to the California Department of Justice, the Child Abuse Central Index, and the FBI for review. State law requires that every nanny or family assistant who finds a job through a domestic placement agency becomes registered with TrustLine by their first day of work.

TrustLine registration requires an online application, followed by completion of LiveScan fingerprints. Our team can walk you through the process of applying for TrustLine if support is needed. 

If you are already registered with TrustLine, you will not need to register again. We will verify your registration status following your Zoom interview with our team. If you are not registered with TrustLine, it is only required for candidates who have accepted a job offer with a family through Nannies Plus. If you have completed LiveScan fingerprints for Community Care Licensing, but are not registered with TrustLine, your fingerprints may be transferable. If they are not, you can expect to pay $80+ for new LiveScan fingerprints up front, but once your TrustLine registration has been processed, and you have completed 30 days in your new position through Nannies Plus, we will reimburse you for your TrustLine expenses.

A work agreement is a living document that outlines the expectations between nannies or family assistants and families for the duration of their time working together. Work agreements provide a valuable framework for all parties in the working relationship. 

Work agreements vary on format and style, depending on the family (employer), and contain important information which may include the nanny or family assistant’s hourly pay, what benefits are included in the offer package, general outline of expectations and job duties, emergency plans for the children in case of sickness or natural disaster, how much notice the family requires for the nanny or family assistant’s vacation dates, and more!

Nannies Plus is happy to answer any questions our registered candidates may have about work agreements. We cannot provide legal advice, but we can offer insights about important details to include in your agreement, and insights about up-to-date industry standards.

Nannies Plus works with families who have stated that they are willing to follow all the laws and best practices when it comes to employing a nanny and/or family assistant. This means that all jobs through Nannies Plus offer:

• market-rate legal, W-2 pay with the standard overtime pay when required
• standard benefits of legal pay: unemployment & workers compensation
• accrued sick pay
• a minimum of 2 weeks of paid vacation 
• guaranteed hours

Some Nannies Plus families also choose to offer additional benefits, such as: a healthcare reimbursement, reimbursement for investment in job related professional development, additional paid time off, raises and bonuses, professional or recreational memberships, etc.

When a nanny or family assistant is provided with guaranteed hours, it means that they will be paid for their regular schedule, even if the family has an occasional change in their needs. For example, if the family travels for several days or weeks and the family assistant stays home, or if a parent comes home from work early, therefore unexpectedly relieving the nanny from their shift early, the nanny or family assistant is still entitled to pay for their regular schedule! Depending on the terms of the work agreement, the nanny or family assistant may still be expected to perform some reasonable duties (eg. household tasks, pet care, grocery shopping) while the family is not home.

Guaranteed hours also do not take the place of paid time off or sick leave. Should a nanny or family assistant require time off for a vacation, personal day, or illness, they should expect to use paid time off (PTO) to be compensated for that time.

Guaranteed hours are not legally required for parents to provide as domestic employers, however, Nannies Plus only works with families who agree, in good faith, to provide candidates with guaranteed hours as a benefit.

There is no law requiring household employers to offer healthcare benefits. Some families choose to offer a healthcare reimbursement, either directly from their family to their nanny or family assistant, or pursuant to a health reimbursement arrangement like QSEHRA (the Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement). Click here for more information about QSEHRA.

The team at Nannies Plus considers a number of factors when determining which families will be your best fit, and we take your job preferences very seriously. We advocate for rates commensurate with your experience (ultimately the family, who is the employer, dictates the final rate, and you may accept the opportunity or pass on it), and we also pay special attention to the nuances of candidate-family compatibility, such as personality match and caregiving style. Remember, you always have the right to turn down an opportunity that doesn’t feel like it’s the best fit for you!

Nannies Plus deeply values clear and prompt communication. We ask candidates to read and sign our Communication Pledge when we begin to process applications for specific job opportunities. This pledge outlines our communication expectations, including (but not limited to):

• a maximum 24-hour response time for all correspondence from the Nannies Plus team, even if you are unavailable for a new position;
• AND an agreement to keep Nannies Plus informed about changes to availability and job preferences.

Strong, active communication throughout your professional representation by Nannies Plus is critical in order to move swiftly to help you secure your ideal position (and to help families secure their ideal nanny or family assistant). Being a strong communicator also shows dedication, courtesy, and reliability which are important qualities in any professional!

As much as Nannies Plus would love to place every qualified candidate in a position, we can not guarantee a job placement for any registered nanny or family assistant. Our top priority is making sure that candidates and families are a great fit with one another. We also consider important factors such as location, start date, schedule, rate, and benefits. 

For this reason, not every candidate can be considered for every job that they are interested in. When there is a strong match and we move forward with connecting a candidate with a family for an interview, the family ultimately decides which candidate to hire, so we cannot guarantee placements.

You are always welcome to pause your job search with Nannies Plus (e.g. to travel, take time off for parental leave, because you found a new job, etc.). 

Whenever you are ready to be considered for new jobs through Nannies Plus again, all you need to do is inform one of our candidate coordinators and we will schedule a 15-minute “refresh call” to update your file so that we can pick up where we left off!

Once you’re a registered candidate in the Nannies Plus system, your file is evergreen. This means that if we do not find a job for you this time around, the door is always open to be considered in the future! We encourage all of our registered candidates to keep us up to date with their job search criteria and availability, so that we may continue to consider you for positions as they become available.

Nannies Plus takes COVID-19 precautions very seriously. At this time, we are conducting all formal candidate interviews with the agency remotely, over the phone and Zoom. Candidates and families both have the option to request their initial meeting be over Zoom, as well. 

We recommend best practices during in-person interviews, as outlined by the CDC here.