Understanding Your Payslip as a Nanny (Explained Simply)

Payslips can look like a secret code – especially if you’ve just started a nanny job or moved from cash-in-hand to payroll.

The good news: once you know what each line means, a payslip is just a story of how your pay went from “gross” to “in your bank account”.

This guide explains the main parts of a UK nanny payslip in simple language, so you can quickly check you’re being paid correctly and know what to do if something looks off.

Why your payslip is important

Your payslip isn’t just a boring bit of paper.

It’s proof of:

• What you’ve earned

• What’s been deducted (tax, National Insurance, pension, etc.)

• That your employer is running things properly through PAYE

• Your income for mortgages, renting, visas, loans or benefits

Every time you’re paid (weekly or monthly), you should get a payslip – digital or paper. Keep them somewhere safe.

1. The top section: who, when and what period

At the top of your payslip you’ll normally see:

• Your name and sometimes address

• Your employer’s name (usually the family, sometimes “Mr & Mrs X as employers”)

• Payroll number (an internal reference for you)

• Pay date – the date the money is paid

• Pay period – what dates this payslip covers

  • For example: 01–31 January or Week ending 10 March

Check that:

• Your details are correct

• The pay period matches what you’ve actually worked

2. Gross pay: the starting point

Gross pay is your pay before any deductions.

You might see:

• Basic pay – your normal hours x your hourly rate, or your monthly salary

• Overtime / extra hours – any extra hours at the agreed rate

• Enhancements – e.g. evening rate, weekend rate if your contract includes them

• Holiday pay – either shown separately or included in your basic pay, depending how your contract is set up

All of this is added together to make your total gross pay for the period.

This is the number everything else works from.

3. Tax: what “PAYE” means

Next you’ll see Income Tax, often shown as:

• PAYE tax or just Tax

This is the tax taken off your pay under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system. The amount is based on:

• Your tax code (we’ll come to that in a minute)

• How much you’ve earned so far in the tax year

• The pay period (weekly or monthly)

If you have more than one job, the tax code and amounts can be a bit more complicated – but the payslip should still show clearly how much tax has been taken this period and year to date.

4. National Insurance (NI): for state benefits and pension

You’ll also see a line for National Insurance (sometimes “NI” or “EE NI” for employee’s NI).

This is different from tax and goes towards things like:

• State pension

• Certain benefits

• Maternity allowance and other entitlements

The amount depends on:

• How much you earn

• Your NI category letter (another small code on your payslip)

Again, the payslip should show NI for this pay period and NI for the tax year so far.

5. Pension contributions (if you’re enrolled)

If you’re enrolled into a workplace pension, your payslip will usually show:

• Your pension contribution (money taken from your pay)

• Your employer’s pension contribution (extra money they pay into your pension)

These might be labelled:

• Employee pension / EE pension

• Employer pension / ER pension

Your contribution reduces your take-home pay now, but builds up savings for the future. If you’ve opted out of auto-enrolment, you won’t see pension deductions – but make sure that was a clear, conscious decision.

6. Other possible deductions

Depending on your situation, you might also see:

• Student loan – if you have one and earn above the threshold

• Union or professional fees – if agreed

• Child maintenance or court orders – if applicable

• Attachment of earnings orders – if HMRC or a court has asked your employer to collect money

All of these should be clearly labelled. If you don’t recognise a deduction, ask your employer or the payroll provider to explain it.

7. Net pay: what actually hits your bank account

Once all deductions are taken off your gross pay, you get your net pay (also called:

• Take-home pay

• Net pay this period

• Net pay to employee)

This is the amount that should match:

• The payment into your bank account, or

• The cash / transfer you receive for that period

If the number on the payslip doesn’t match what you were paid, flag it straight away.

8. Year-to-date (YTD) figures: your running totals

Most payslips include year-to-date (YTD) totals, such as:

• Total gross pay so far this tax year

• Total tax paid so far

• Total NI paid so far

• Total pension contributions so far

The tax year in the UK runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year, so these figures reset every April.

These totals are useful when:

• Checking if your tax seems roughly right

• Completing forms that ask for income in the current tax year

• Comparing your P60 (year-end summary) with your payslips

9. Tax codes and NI category letters – what the little codes mean

Somewhere near the top or side you’ll see small codes like:

• Tax code – e.g. 1257L, BR, 0T, D0

• NI category – e.g. A, M, H

Very briefly:

• Your tax code tells your employer how much tax-free allowance to give you and at what rate to tax the rest

• Your NI category tells them what NI rules to apply (standard, reduced, apprentice, etc.)

If you think your tax code is wrong (for example you’ve stopped another job or changed hours), you can:

• Check it on your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK

• Call HMRC and ask them to explain or correct it

Your employer and payroll service must use the tax code HMRC tells them to use.

10. Holiday, hours and other useful information

Some nanny payslips also show:

• Hours worked this period – especially if you’re hourly paid

• Accumulated holiday – how much paid leave you’ve earned and used

• Sick pay – including any Statutory Sick Pay

• Maternity pay – including Statutory Maternity Pay if you’re on maternity leave

This helps you track:

• Whether you’re being paid for the right number of hours

• How much holiday you still have available

• That sick or maternity pay has been included correctly

11. How to check your payslip quickly each month

You don’t need to become an accountant, but it’s worth running through this mini checklist each time you’re paid:

• Is your name and address correct?

• Does the pay period match the weeks you’ve worked?

• Does gross pay match your agreed hours and rate (plus any overtime)?

• Does the net pay match what actually hit your bank?

• Are the deductions (tax, NI, pension, etc.) what you’d expect?

• Are YTD totals going up in a way that makes sense?

If something looks wrong:

1. Ask the parents (your employers) or the payroll company to explain

2. Keep a copy of the payslip and any messages

3. If needed, contact HMRC for help with tax code or underpayment issues

Good employers will always want to sort mistakes quickly.

Where Hirelo fits in (for nannies)

If the family uses Hirelo for nanny payroll, your payslips are:

• Generated automatically from your agreed hours and rate

• Based on current HMRC rules for tax, National Insurance and pensions

• Stored securely so you can access them whenever you need proof of income

That means you can:

• See quickly how your pay has been worked out

• Spot extra hours, holiday and statutory pay clearly

• Feel confident everything’s being done properly through PAYE

If something doesn’t look right, both you and the parents have a clear record to check.

Understanding your payslip is really just understanding your money – what you’ve earned, what’s been taken off, and what ends up in your pocket. Once you’ve decoded it a couple of times, it becomes much less scary and a lot more empowering.