Choosing a nanny agency in Zurich: 9 questions before you sign

Start with three different service models

Put each offer into a model before comparing prices. Phrases such as full service and personal support do not settle the question: the contract needs to say who does what.

• Contact platform: You find profiles and contact people. You organise selection, interviews and employment according to the platform’s terms.
• Placement agency: A provider helps with search and selection. Where you hire directly afterwards, your family remains the employer.
• Staff leasing: The provider employs the caregiver and supplies them for assignments. Confirm the contractual structure and division of responsibilities.

What work does a nanny agency in Zurich take on?

A platform may suit you if you have time for initial conversations and can write a precise role description. Placement support may help when you need a structured shortlist. Still ask what screening means: an existing profile, an interview and a reference conversation are three different pieces of evidence.

For staff leasing, the employment and service arrangements should give you a clear practical picture. Who approves leave? Who receives an absence report? Which duties can you ask the nanny to perform? Write these questions down before assuming a monthly invoice transfers every responsibility away from your household.

• Prepare your nanny search in seven steps

9 questions before signing with a nanny agency

Send these questions to every shortlisted provider. Ask for answers in the offer or for the relevant clause in the terms. Make a note of promises made on the telephone and ask for written confirmation. This gives you comparable evidence even when providers give their packages different names.

• 1. Who is the contracting entity? Get the full business name, address and actual service model in the documents.
• 2. What checks are performed? Ask about identity, relevant experience, references and the scope of document checks.
• 3. What does the search cover? Specify hours, location, children’s ages, languages, start date and essential time windows.
• 4. When is the first payment due? Find out whether registration, starting a search or successful placement triggers a charge.
• 5. How is the success fee calculated? Ask about the salary base, minimum charge, additional costs and the payment trigger.
• 6. Is VAT included? Compare final amounts for the same assignment, rather than one net price against another gross price.
• 7. What happens if employment ends early? Ask about deadlines, conditions, exclusions and whether the remedy is a replacement search or a refund.
• 8. Who handles payroll administration? Allocate registration, insurance, payslips and annual paperwork separately.
• 9. How does the agreement end? Check cancellation, exclusivity, automatic renewal and any fee if you find a candidate yourself.

Published fees: Two offers with different scopes

These examples illustrate pricing models. They do not establish whether suitable nannies are available in your neighbourhood or whether any individual caregiver will be a good fit. A narrow lunchtime role in Küsnacht is a different search from three full working days in central Zurich.

Request the current terms before signing. A fee page alone cannot give a complete answer about replacement searches, candidate suitability or everything covered by the contractual relationship.

• Separate placement fees from ongoing nanny costs

Sources for this section: Rockmybaby Swiss · Babysitting24

Check authorisation without treating it as a quality rating

SECO distinguishes regular paid placement from commercial staff leasing, each requiring the relevant authorisation. Its official directory helps check the business and authorisation scope. Cross-border activity additionally requires federal authorisation.

Search for the actual contracting business and resolve any difference between the brand and company name. A directory entry is not a quality ranking. It cannot tell you whether a caregiver suits your child or how well a promised replacement search will work. This guide provides a checking framework, not verification of individual providers.

Sources for this section: SECO

Offer scorecard: Record evidence, not just impressions

Copy this table for two or three offers. Enter the exact amount or contract clause. An empty field means unresolved, not free or included. Once clarified, you can score each point 0 for unsuitable, 1 for partly suitable and 2 for suitable. This is an editorial decision aid, not an official scoring method.

Essential working hours, affordability and an identifiable contracting entity are prerequisites. A high total must not hide a missing prerequisite. Discuss differences between parents before a pressing start date makes the decision feel urgent.

• Allocate employer responsibilities before the first day

A good agency offer still needs a separate candidate decision

An impressive agency presentation cannot replace a conversation with the person who will care for your child. Use the same core questions for each candidate. Ask them to describe an afternoon involving collection, a meal and handover, then explore a difficult moment they actually handled.

Arrange a paid trial with clear responsibility. Record observations: does the candidate ask questions at the right time, and respond to your child’s signals? A quick yes can feel reassuring, but the start date, commute and working hours need to remain workable after the first week.

An unclear answer is initially a reason to ask another question. Repeated pressure to pay before the terms are understandable is a reason to pause the purchase. You should be able to make a considered decision without signing during the first conversation.

• Twelve questions for a useful nanny interview

Write one search brief that every provider can price

A comparable offer starts with a comparable job. Describe a normal week before asking about fees: where care happens, children's ages, fixed start and finish times, school collection and the expected start date. State whether the role is temporary, ongoing or only for particular afternoons. Include child-related duties separately from general cleaning. This prevents an agency from quoting for a different job from the one your family intends to offer.

Separate essentials from preferences. Tuesday collection at 15:15 may be essential; a particular second language may be desirable. Give every provider the same distinction. If everything is compulsory, a provider cannot explain which adjustment could broaden the search. If nothing is compulsory, the shortlist may contain impressive profiles that cannot cover your actual working hours. Ask providers to identify any conflict in the brief before they start charging for a search.

For a Gold Coast household, include the practical commute rather than a vague Zurich location. A home in Küsnacht with an early start and school collection elsewhere presents different travel requirements from a home beside a station. Provide useful access information without circulating a child's full daily itinerary to every prospective provider. Ask when precise addresses are needed and who receives them. The provider should explain how it checks whether a candidate can sustain the journey.

A useful enquiry reads: We need care on Tuesday and Thursday, 08:00–17:00, for two children, with school collection and child-related meals. Please price the search for this brief, state assumptions and explain any additional household duties included. Add your actual budget basis and start window. This is a sample request, not a market-rate offer. Keep a dated version so that later changes in hours or duties can be linked to any revised fee.

Turn screening promises into specific evidence

Ask what screened means for each stage. A completed online profile, an agency interview, a reference call and a verified document are different checks. Request a description of the process and a summary of what has been completed for the proposed candidate. The family does not need every private document to make a decision, but it does need to understand what remains outstanding and who resolves it before a trial or start.

For references, ask whether the agency spoke directly with a former employer, which employment period the reference covers and whether the referee discussed relevant duties. A reference from occasional evening babysitting may be useful without proving experience with three full days of infant care. Ask the candidate for concrete examples in your own interview. Where information differs, give the candidate a fair opportunity to clarify instead of assuming that one imperfect date proves misconduct.

For qualifications, distinguish the document held, its relevance to the role and any expiry or renewal requirement. If the provider says a certificate is in progress, ask what that means operationally and when completion is expected. Do not silently treat planned training as completed training. If you require driving, clarify the licence, actual driving experience, vehicle arrangements and relevant insurance questions. Screening is a collection of defined checks, not a single reassuring adjective.

Use this question: For this candidate, which checks are completed, which are pending, when were they performed and what decision remains with us? Record the answer in your comparison notes. Ask how sensitive records are stored and whether sharing a summary would meet your need. Avoid demanding unnecessary copies of identity or health information merely because another agency supplied a large dossier. Evaluate relevance and clarity rather than the thickness of the paperwork. Ultimately your family still decides whether the individual and the actual role fit.

Compare the full purchase cost and the payment triggers

Ask each provider for a written calculation using the same intended arrangement. Identify registration, search, placement, optional administration, tax and any later fee. Note the event making each amount payable: opening a file, introducing a candidate, signing employment or starting work. These events are not interchangeable. A family can owe a contractual placement fee before the nanny's first day if that is the agreed trigger. Check cancellation terms against this sequence.

The public Rockmybaby page checked on 30 September 2026 lists a 12% gross-annual-salary permanent placement fee, excluding VAT, and contains inconsistent registration amounts: CHF 280 in the heading and CHF 250 in the withdrawal text. Ask for the current written amount and crediting terms. Babysitting24 lists CHF 39.90 including VAT for a one-month private-family contact membership with automatic renewal. These are different services, not equivalent quotations for one managed search.

As a hypothetical arithmetic exercise, 12% of CHF 60,000 is CHF 7,200 before any applicable VAT. This salary base is deliberately illustrative, not a recommended nanny salary. Ask whether the provider's annual base includes a thirteenth salary, bonuses or other components and how a part-time schedule is annualised. If registration is credited against the final fee, show the deposit and remaining balance without counting the deposit twice. Do not add an assumed VAT amount before confirming the tax treatment of the specific quote.

For subscriptions, compare the total committed amount rather than only an advertised monthly equivalent. Record the renewal date, cancellation method and what access remains afterwards. For placement, calculate three scenarios: successful hire, family withdrawal and a search that produces no suitable hire. An unanswered price field needs clarification. The cheapest initial payment does not tell you which of those scenarios is affordable or what work your family must still perform.

Sources for this section: Rockmybaby Swiss · Babysitting24

Read the agency contract independently from the nanny contract

An agency mandate governs the provider's service. An employment agreement governs the working relationship with the caregiver. Put both documents on the table and identify the parties separately. Check that an agency promise to help prepare a template does not become confused with individual legal review, employer registration or ongoing payroll. Ask who is authorised to make decisions and which action requires family approval. A package name does not define those boundaries.

Read exclusivity carefully. Ask whether you may search independently, use another provider or hire someone already known to you. Clarify fees if the same candidate appears through two channels. Keep dates and the origin of introductions in your own notes so that a later discussion can use evidence. Ask how long any introduction-based fee obligation lasts and what happens if the role changes or the candidate is hired months later. Have unclear clauses reviewed before signing.

Check cancellation and changes together. A family postponing the start, reducing hours or relocating may be treated differently from withdrawing the search entirely. Ask what the provider will do, what remains payable and whether the brief can be amended without a new mandate. A telephone assurance such as we will work something out needs an agreed written meaning if it affects money. Save the signed terms and the version referenced in the offer.

A practical request is: Please point to the clauses covering independent candidates, postponement, exclusivity, cancellation and the payment trigger, and show how they apply to our brief. This makes it possible to compare providers without making unsupported claims about which company is better. Where a term affects your employer obligations, take that question to the appropriate adviser. Clear procurement terms help purchase the service; they do not replace a properly organised employment relationship.

Test replacement terms against an actual early departure

The word guarantee needs a defined remedy. Ask whether the provider offers another search, a replacement introduction, a fee credit or a refund. Establish the deadline, what triggers eligibility and how quickly you must notify the provider. Check exclusions and whether a change in the family's hours or duties affects the remedy. A promise to search again does not guarantee that someone can start tomorrow or cover an absence next Tuesday.

Use a hypothetical case: the nanny resigns after six weeks because the commute is unsustainable. Ask the provider to explain the steps under its current agreement. Who receives notice, what documents are needed, how is the replacement brief agreed and what costs remain? Repeat the exercise for a family deciding to change the role from childcare to extensive housekeeping. The two cases may receive different contractual treatment. Do not infer the answer from a headline on a fees page.

Separate the replacement process from employment duties. The family must still deal correctly with notice, pay, approved expenses and the end of access. An agency can begin a new search while the current employment continues. A provider's refund or replacement discussion does not by itself suspend the employee's rights. Confirm which party coordinates the practical transition and how the child will be introduced to a new caregiver. Budget for a possible gap rather than assuming the remedy supplies immediate cover.

Ask for the answer in a form you can use: notification contact, time limit, conditions, remedy and costs. Place that summary beside the relevant clause, not in place of it. If promotional wording and the terms disagree, ask for a corrected written explanation before purchase. The purpose is to understand what you are buying under foreseeable circumstances. A family backup plan remains useful even when the contractual replacement service is clear and generous.

Set milestones and a communication routine for the search

Before paying to start, agree what happens next. Ask who receives the brief, who contacts candidates, how profiles are presented and when you receive an update even if no match has been found. A useful milestone is something the provider can perform and explain, such as reviewing the brief or arranging interviews. Avoid interpreting an indicative target date as a promise that a suitable nanny will definitely begin by then.

Set one family decision contact and one backup. If one parent wants full days while the other requests only afternoons, the provider may spend time on two incompatible searches. Agree the brief and how quickly the family can respond to profiles. Tell the provider when you are unavailable. Keep updates in one place with the date, proposed candidate, unresolved point and next action. This is simpler than reconstructing separate calls and messages when a decision is due.

At each update, ask about fit rather than sheer volume. Ten profiles outside your essential hours are not necessarily more useful than two whose availability is confirmed. If the brief attracts no suitable response, ask which specific requirement is limiting the search and what evidence supports that view. Consider changing one preference at a time, while preserving essential care windows. Record a changed brief before it becomes the basis for new costs or a different candidate promise.

A short weekly update request could be: Please confirm current matching candidates, outstanding checks, interviews to arrange and any decision needed from us. If there is no match, please identify the constraint and your proposed next action. Adapt the frequency to the search; this is a suggested workflow, not an entitlement every provider includes. Ask whether post-placement support ends at the first day or continues for a stated period and what questions it actually covers.

Know when an unresolved answer deserves a pause

A single unclear answer may be an administrative gap; repeated evasiveness changes the decision. Pause if you cannot identify the contracting entity, obtain the terms before payment or understand the employment model. Pressure to transfer money immediately is not evidence of candidate suitability. Request the missing information with a specific question and review the response calmly. Describe the issue factually in your own notes rather than assigning an unsupported fraud label.

Distinguish document gaps from sales pressure. A pending reference may be acceptable for an initial conversation if it is disclosed and has a completion plan. Calling every check complete while refusing to describe it is a different problem. An available candidate can still be unsuitable for your hours, and a provider's general reputation does not solve that mismatch. Keep essential conditions visible so that urgency does not cause you to redefine the job after paying.

Avoid vague affordability assurances. If a quote says everything included, ask it to identify salary, employer contributions, insurance, placement and optional administration separately. If the provider is only a placement agency, it cannot settle the family's ongoing cost simply by quoting its own fee. Likewise, a lower subscription price does not remove the family's work of selection and hiring. Ask for the missing calculation instead of trying to guess the full price from a headline.

When information remains unresolved, write: We cannot approve payment until the attached questions about scope, fees and responsibilities are answered in the contract or offer. This is a decision script, not an allegation against a named business. If you have already signed and there is a disagreement, gather the offer, terms, dates and payment records, then seek appropriate advice. Public reviews can suggest questions to ask, but they are not a substitute for the documents governing your particular purchase.

Use a family decision meeting before the final commitment

Hold a short meeting after comparable offers and candidate information arrive. Review the job brief first, then the provider agreement, then the individual candidate. These are connected decisions with different evidence. Confirm that the family's budget includes employer costs under the actual model. A provider can be well organised while a candidate cannot cover essential collection times; a likeable candidate cannot make unclear fees disappear. Write down unresolved items before deciding.

Use the scorecard as a discussion aid rather than a mathematical verdict. Essential hours, an identifiable contracting entity and an affordable full arrangement are prerequisites. Then compare useful differences such as interview coordination, documented checks, administration scope and support after the start. A score of two means suitable for your family under the recorded evidence, not officially approved quality. If parents score differently, discuss the reason rather than averaging away a real disagreement.

Before the final commitment, arrange the candidate conversation and any paid trial with clear responsibilities, duration and payment. Give the provider accurate feedback based on observations: the candidate clarified collection permissions, could explain the commute or needed different hours. Avoid a vague statement that the personality felt wrong when a concrete scheduling issue is the actual obstacle. Keep the candidate informed respectfully through the agreed channel, especially if the family is still considering another offer.

Close the meeting with a written decision list: selected model, provider terms accepted, candidate decision, remaining employment tasks, owner of each task and planned start. Use the related hiring guide to organise registrations, insurance and payroll separately. If the family is still searching, revise only the identified constraint and send the same amendment to relevant providers. Your goal is a workable care relationship supported by a purchase you understand, with records that remain useful after the sales conversation ends.

Your next step

Your next useful step is a comparable offer, not a longer list of names. Write down your weekly schedule, send the nine questions and resolve every blank field. Use our planning materials to organise your childcare needs before approaching providers.