Greetings all. I am currently organizing a family trip to the UK and we plan to bring our nanny to assist with the children. While drafting the required employment details for her visa application, I am uncertain about one specific clause. Do I explicitly need to state in the employment certificate that we will pay the UK National Minimum Wage during our stay? Is this a mandatory requirement for the Overseas Domestic Worker visa, or can it be omitted if the contract is otherwise standard? I want to avoid any unnecessary complications.
Realizing this is not merely a suggestion but a requirement, I wanted to clarify the rule. The Update: You absolutely must include the undertaking regarding the UK National Minimum Wage. This ultimately will be the standard against which the Entry Clearance Officer assesses the application. The Constraint: The rules state that you must provide evidence that the worker will be paid adhering to the National Minimum Wage Act while IN the UK. So FYI, omitting this specific line is one of the most common reasons for refusal.
If you’re applying under the UK Overseas Domestic Worker (ODW) visa, the employment terms are taken quite seriously and the contract needs to meet specific UK standards.
One of those standards is that the worker must be paid at least the UK National Minimum Wage while working in the UK. Because of this, it’s generally recommended that the employment contract explicitly states that their pay during the UK stay will comply with UK National Minimum Wage regulations.
UKVI typically expects the contract to confirm things like:
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The worker’s role (e.g., nanny/domestic worker)
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Working hours
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Salary or hourly pay
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Confirmation that pay will be at least the UK National Minimum Wage
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Accommodation arrangements (if applicable)
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That the worker will travel with and work for the same employer they normally work for overseas
Even if your contract is otherwise standard, omitting the wage compliance clause can sometimes lead to additional questions or delays, because the caseworker needs to be satisfied that the worker will not be underpaid in the UK.
So while the checklist may not always phrase it as a mandatory sentence, in practice including a clear statement about meeting UK minimum wage requirements is strongly advisable and is standard in most successful ODW applications.
Also remember the ODW visa generally requires that the worker has already been employed by you overseas for at least 12 months before the application.