The Formalities of Hiring a Domestic Helper or Nanny in the Cayman Islands Hiring a Domestic Helper Through an Agency Expect to pay CI$12 per hour for a minimum of four hours if hired on a full-day or half-day regular weekly basis. On a temporary basis allow CI$14 or more per hour. The convenience of using an agency is that they train the staff, pay their health insurance, pension, and will replace them if they can’t work for any reason. Agencies also interview and trial potential domestic helpers. See page 47 for details on the two most reputable agencies on Island.
Hiring a Domestic Helper A domestic helper is primarily employed to clean the house, prepare food and babysit the children. They would transport the children to activities but they would not be expected to plan activities or get involved with doing homework. The top salary for a domestic helper that works five days per week, for a nine hour day is CI$400 per week. You would expect this person to be able to drive. If you only want the person on a part-time basis then expect to pay CI$80 for an eight hour day. For occasional babysitting you will find that almost everyone will ask for CI$10 per hour. For non-agency helpers, you will need to take care of their health insurance, give them at least two weeks paid vacation per year and pay them double time for working any public holidays. By law, you do not have to contribute to a domestic worker's pension. A good employer will also pay for one airline ticket home per year.
Hiring a Professional Nanny A professional nanny is expected to have a university degree and/ or some form of childcare training. Their role is to focus on the children and not household chores. For a professional nanny working part-time (1pm-6pm Monday to Friday) you would expect to pay CI$2,000 per month. Overtime pay is either CI$15 or CI$20 an hour, depending on their qualifications. Typically a nanny's job includes washing the children’s laundry, doing dishes, doing the household’s grocery shopping, preparing a weekly menu, preparing a healthy well rounded dinner or homemade baby food, arranging age appropriate activities, helping to organise and drive children to after school activities, assisting with homework, hosting and organising playdates. They would be expected to help develop a well-rounded, responsible child with a strong moral compass. They encourage the child's independence and ensure they
have healthy relationships with their friends and adults. The nanny would not be expected to clean the house. You can find professional nannies by word of mouth, through www.care.com or through www.norland.co.uk/agency. If you are looking for a live-in au pair then visit www.greataupair.com. Most nannies would expect to be provided with a car to use seven days a week, a monthly fuel allowance of CI$50, a flight home once a year, two weeks paid vacation, non-contributory health insurance and to be paid their monthly salary whether the family are away on holiday or not. It is not unusual for a nanny to travel with the family on vacation and stay overnight as needed. For overnight stays the going rate is a sleep fee of CI$10 an hour or CI$40-CI$50 a night and then CI$15-CI$20 an hour for the hours the children are awake but outside of the nanny’s regular working hours.
Things Worth Noting If you are an expat then you cannot submit your domestic helper’s or nanny's work permit paperwork until your own work permit has been approved. It is illegal to have them pay for their own work permit. Helpers are not allowed to have dependents on their work permit and the absolute maximum time they are allowed to stay on the Island is ten years. You can take out a work permit for any nationality of a helper or nanny as long as you can demonstrate a genuine need. It is worth noting that the Department of Immigration does not usually grant expatriates a work permit for domestic help or a nanny, unless they show sufficient need i.e. they have children who need looking after. If this is the case you will also need to provide certified copies of the birth certificate of each child to be cared for and think carefully about the information you provide in your cover letter to support your application. Please note, a work permit for a ‘Nanny’ needs to be advertised in the newspaper for two consecutive weeks but a work permit for a ‘Domestic Helper’ does not need to be advertised. The work permit for a domestic helper costs CI$250 per year while for a nanny the cost is CI$650.
Top Tip! Most phone plans run on pre-paid credit. As such, you may want to consider giving your helper/nanny a monthly CI$50 phone allowance so they can contact you.
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