Why an agency site is regulated differently from a nursery site
A nursery is regulated as a childcare setting. A nanny agency is regulated as two things at once: an employment intermediary, and a business handling sensitive data about children, families and candidates. The rules that bite on your website are mostly the first kind, and agency owners rarely expect them.
Three areas catch people out: what you may charge a work-seeker, and therefore what your candidate page can say; how you describe checks and registrations you may not hold; and how you handle criminal record and children's data collected through your own forms.
Orientation, not legal advice. Your regulator and a local adviser are the authorities, and the detail below changes.
United Kingdom
Agency regulation. Nanny agencies are covered by the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, enforced by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. The distinction matters on the site: an employment agency introduces a candidate the family then employs, while an employment business supplies workers it employs itself. Say which you are, because your terms and your fees follow from it.
Fees to candidates. The conduct regulations restrict charging work-seekers a fee for finding them work. Your candidate page should be clear that registering is free, and any separately charged optional service needs care.
Checks. DBS certificates at the level appropriate to work with children, and the update service where a candidate is registered. In England, nannies may join Ofsted's voluntary childcare register, which matters to families using government childcare support, so say whether your candidates typically are.
Data. UK GDPR and PECR. Criminal offence data carries extra restrictions, so keep certificates out of web forms, and keep marketing consent separate from the enquiry.
Au pairs. There is no dedicated au pair visa. Placements generally depend on a candidate already having the right to work, such as through the Youth Mobility Scheme. Do not imply a route that no longer exists.
United States
Agency regulation. State law, not federal. Several states license employment agencies, and some restrict or cap fees charged to job seekers. Check your state and any city rules, and put your licence number on the site where it is required in advertising.
Background checks. If you obtain reports through a consumer reporting agency, the Fair Credit Reporting Act sets disclosure, written authorisation and adverse action steps. Describe your process on the vetting page in terms that match what you actually run.
Au pairs. Au pairs enter through the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, and only sponsors designated by the US Department of State may place them. The scheme sets conditions on hours, stipend, the education component and host family obligations. If you work with a designated sponsor rather than being one, say so plainly; if you are one, say which programme.
Advertising and texting. FTC rules on deceptive advertising and state consumer protection acts. The TCPA governs marketing texts to families and candidates, so consent and opt-out belong in your forms.
Privacy and accessibility. State privacy laws above their thresholds, and ADA claims applied to websites with WCAG 2.1 AA as the working standard.
Canada
Agency regulation. Provincial. Ontario licenses temporary help agencies and recruiters under employment standards law; British Columbia licenses employment agencies; other provinces have their own rules. Several provinces prohibit charging a fee to the worker.
Checks. A police information check including vulnerable sector screening, arranged locally.
Caregivers. Canada has no au pair scheme. Foreign caregivers arrive through immigration pathways with work permits, which is a different conversation from an au pair placement. Describe accurately what you can and cannot arrange.
Privacy and language. PIPEDA federally, Quebec's Law 25 with its consent and policy requirements, and French language obligations for sites serving Quebec. AODA in Ontario for accessibility.
Australia
Agency regulation. State based. Some states regulate private employment agents and restrict fees charged to work seekers; check your state's rules before writing your candidate page.
Checks. A Working with Children Check, issued and numbered by each state or territory, with its own verification portal. Say which states your candidates hold checks in.
Au pairs. There is no au pair visa. Placements typically involve people on working holiday visas, which carry their own conditions including limits on time with one employer. Say which visa arrangements you work with rather than implying a scheme.
Consumer law and data. Australian Consumer Law on misleading conduct, ABN and, for a company, ACN on your pages, and the Privacy Act for businesses over the threshold.
European Union
Agency regulation. National law, reflecting the widely adopted principle that private employment agencies should not charge workers for placement. Some member states license or register agencies.
Au pairs. Most member states run their own au pair arrangements, with conditions on pocket money, weekly hours, board and a language course. They differ considerably. If you place into several countries, give each its own short section rather than one blended description.
Data. GDPR, with criminal conviction data restricted under Article 10 and children's data given specific protection. ePrivacy consent for cookies, including those set by any embedded form.
Company details and accessibility. E-commerce information duties, strictest where the Impressum tradition applies, and the European Accessibility Act for many private digital services above the micro-enterprise threshold.
What is the same everywhere
Do not claim a registration or accreditation you do not hold. Name the checks you require rather than saying "fully vetted". Keep candidate documents and children's details off the public site. Say who employs the nanny, because in most placements it is the family and that shapes their obligations. And build to WCAG 2.1 AA, the practical standard in every market listed.
Where this sits
Country-aware wording on vetting, fees and candidate registration is part of every nanny agency website we build, and the same approach runs through our childcare websites. The packages are on pricing. Write what you actually do, name it correctly, and take local advice on the rest.