Double your ratios and grow your business. The complete legal roadmap to employing staff in 2026.
The fastest way to increase your revenue is to increase your capacity. Hiring an assistant allows you to care for more children, but it comes with new legal responsibilities.
With one assistant present, your ratios effectively double. You can care for up to 12 children under 8, provided you have the floor space.
Avoid common tax traps. PAYE vs Self-Employed.
If you control their hours and provide the equipment, they are an employee. You must run payroll and pay Employer's NICs.
Very rare for assistants. Usually only applies to "co-childminders" operating as a formal business partnership.
Mandatory checks before they start working with children.
Must be an "Enhanced check with barred list" via the Ofsted/Capita portal. Update service strongly recommended.
Statutory requirement: Secure references from current/most recent employer. "To whom it may concern" (open) references are prohibited.
Assistant must complete the Ofsted health booklet, signed by their GP and processed via the Gov Gateway.
Valid certificate must be obtained before solitary charge; ideally before start date.
Your legal obligation as an employer in 2026.
If you are asked to provide a reference for a former assistant, you have a legal duty to share factual information about any substantiated safeguarding concerns that met the harm threshold. Do not include unsubstantiated or false allegations.
Plan for the long-term success of your team setting.
Hiring an assistant is a major milestone. Check our Strategic Growth Guide for ROI analysis.
Yes. You must report new assistants via the Gov.uk Ofsted portal. 2026 Rule: You can work with up to 3 assistants (4 people total) under a childminder registration. 5+ people requires "Childcare on Domestic Premises" registration.
When can you leave an assistant alone?
Assistants can only care for children alone for up to 2 hours per day (e.g., for school runs) if they have first aid and you have written parent permission.
KinderStart allows you to track staff monitoring, supervision meetings, and DBS renewals in one place.
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KinderStart strives for accuracy. Competitor features and pricing comparisons are based on publicly available information as of May 2026. Details are subject to change by respective providers.