Babysitter Contract Template (UK)
Updated on 9 August 2026
A babysitter contract sets out who's responsible for the children, when, for how much, and what happens in an emergency. The safety and emergency structure in the widely circulated free version of this document — named emergency contacts, medical and allergy information, safety precautions — is genuinely useful and is kept here.
Where it falls short for the UK market is money and status: it promises overtime pay with no rate attached, and it says nothing about when paying a babysitter regularly crosses into HMRC household-employer territory, or when Ofsted childcare registration can actually come into play — which, for most family babysitting, it doesn't, but the reason why is worth stating rather than leaving parents to guess.
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Other details
Babysitter Contract
This Babysitter Contract is dated and is entered into between , of ("Parent"), and ("Babysitter").
1. Children and responsibilities
Children in care:
Responsibilities:
2. Payment
Parent agrees to pay Babysitter per babysitting event, for up to hours. If an event lasts longer than hours, Babysitter is entitled to overtime pay at for each additional hour.
3. Work schedule
4. Safety and emergency procedures
Emergency contacts:
Medical and allergy information: . Babysitter agrees to be familiar with this information and to follow any instructions Parent provides.
Babysitter agrees to comply with the household's safety precautions, including childproofing measures, safety gates, and securing hazardous items, and to understand the fire evacuation routes and gathering points for the home.
5. Transportation
Babysitter is not authorised to transport the children except in a genuine emergency.
6. Photos and social media
Babysitter shall not photograph or post about the children on social media without Parent's separate written consent.
7. Term and termination
This Agreement begins on and ends on , unless ended earlier under this section. Either party may end this arrangement without cause by giving days' notice to the other.
- Dishonesty
- Non-performance of responsibilities
- Theft
- Misuse of appliances, equipment or vehicles
- Unapproved guests
- Smoking, alcohol or illicit drug use while responsible for the children
- Breach of any term of this Agreement
This Agreement, together with any attachments, is the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior discussions or understandings on this subject.
Parent/guardian
Date:
Babysitter
Date:
Fix the overtime gap
"Entitled to overtime pay" with no rate attached is a promise with nothing behind it. This template requires an actual overtime rate alongside the maximum hours per booking, so both sides know the number before it matters.
Know when Ofsted registration does (and mostly doesn't) apply
This is the point most likely to confuse UK families: Ofsted's childcare registration regime targets childminding, which is care provided on the childminder's own domestic premises for reward. If a babysitter looks after a child in the child's own home — the ordinary babysitting scenario — that generally isn't childminding at all, and Ofsted registration isn't usually required regardless of how many hours are involved.
The registration question becomes relevant in the different scenario of a childminder caring for children at their own home: that carries a 2-hours-a-day threshold under the Childcare Act 2006, with its own set of specific exemptions (including a narrow exemption for babysitting between 6pm and 2am in hotels or similar places for no more than two families at a time). This template is built for the ordinary case — babysitting in the child's own home — and states the position for that case rather than importing childminder-specific rules that don't apply to it.
Know when this becomes HMRC household employment
If you pay a babysitter regularly and their earnings reach the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit — commonly quoted as roughly £123 a week or £533 a month, though this figure is reviewed and can change — you're generally expected to register with HMRC as an employer and run PAYE, deducting tax and National Insurance and paying employer's National Insurance. Most occasional, irregular babysitting sits well under this and creates no such obligation, but a family with one regular, paid babysitter should check the current threshold on HMRC's own guidance rather than assume casual arrangements are always exempt.
Address transportation and photos explicitly
If the babysitter may drive the children, that needs its own authorisation — a separate insurance and consent question from in-home care. This template makes it an explicit toggle. Photos and social media are a practical modern addition: stating upfront whether the babysitter may photograph or post about the children avoids an awkward conversation after the fact.
Add a real notice period
The source document lists specific for-cause grounds for ending the arrangement (dishonesty, theft, unapproved guests) but says nothing about a routine, no-fault end — which is how most babysitting arrangements actually end. A short notice period covers that ordinary case.
Clause-by-clause guide
- Children and responsibilities
- Names the children in care and the babysitter's specific responsibilities.
- Payment and overtime
- Sets the rate per event, maximum hours before overtime applies, and the actual overtime rate.
- Work schedule
- States the agreed days and times of care.
- Safety and emergency procedures
- Emergency contacts, medical/allergy information, safety precautions and fire-evacuation awareness.
- Transportation authorisation
- States whether the babysitter is authorised to drive the children.
- Photo and social media consent
- States whether the babysitter may photograph or post about the children.
- Term and termination
- Sets the arrangement's start and end dates, named for-cause grounds, and a notice period for ending without cause.
UK household-employment and registration notes
This is informational, not tax or regulatory advice — check current figures and your specific circumstances directly.
Check whether Ofsted registration applies
Care provided in the child's own home is generally not 'childminding' under the Childcare Act 2006 and does not usually require Ofsted registration, unlike care provided on a childminder's own premises.
GOV.UK — Childminders and childcare providers: register with OfstedCheck the current HMRC household-employer threshold
If a babysitter's regular earnings reach the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit, you're generally expected to register with HMRC as an employer and run PAYE; confirm the current figure directly with HMRC rather than relying on a fixed number.
How to complete the contract
- List the children and responsibilities. Name the children in care and the specific duties the babysitter will handle.
- Set pay and overtime. Add the rate per event, maximum hours, and the overtime rate.
- Complete the safety section. Add emergency contacts and medical/allergy information.
- Set transportation and photo rules. Decide whether driving and photos/social media are authorised.
- Set the term. Add start and end dates and the notice period for ending without cause.
Frequently asked questions
Does a babysitter need to be Ofsted registered?
Not for ordinary babysitting in the child's own home — that generally falls outside the childminding registration regime altogether, regardless of hours. Ofsted registration is more relevant to a childminder caring for children at their own home, which carries different rules.
Do we need to pay tax and National Insurance for a babysitter?
Usually not for occasional, casual babysitting. If you pay one babysitter regularly and their earnings reach the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit, you're generally expected to register with HMRC as an employer and run PAYE — check the current threshold directly with HMRC.
What overtime rate should we set?
That's the family's own decision — there's no fixed statutory rate for informal babysitting. What matters is stating an actual number, rather than promising overtime pay with no rate attached.
Should the babysitter be allowed to drive the children?
Only if both sides have discussed and agreed it — it raises separate questions about the babysitter's driving record, insurance, and the specific situations where driving is authorised.
What should happen if either side wants to end the arrangement without a specific reason?
The contract should state a routine notice period for either side to end the arrangement without cause, separate from the specific for-cause grounds like dishonesty or theft.
Does the babysitter need a DBS check?
Not as a legal requirement for informal family babysitting, though some families ask for one as reassurance. See the companion DBS check consent form if you want to request one.
Does the babysitter need their own liability insurance?
Most informal babysitting arrangements rely on the family's home insurance rather than a separate policy held by the babysitter, but this varies by household and by how often the arrangement occurs. If the babysitting is regular and paid, it's worth both sides confirming what cover actually applies to an in-home accident.
What if the babysitter is themselves under 18?
Many families do use younger babysitters, but it's worth thinking about the babysitter's own maturity and judgement for the specific children and situation, and confirming their parent or guardian is comfortable with the arrangement, since this contract is between adults in the usual case.
Related templates
Disclaimer
This template and guide are for general information only. They are not legal or tax advice, and no solicitor, Ofsted, or HMRC has reviewed or approved them. Registration and household-employer thresholds change; confirm the current position directly with Ofsted and HMRC before assuming any specific rule or figure applies to your arrangement.
