Nanny · Hiring
Nanny interview and trial day: the questions that count and what the trial day costs
Your nanny interview questions
The 3 questions that tell you most
- Your child throws a tantrum on the floor at Coop. What do you do?
- The child falls at the playground or swallows something. What do you do?
- When do you call us straight away, and what do you decide yourself?
Ask her to bring: ID with permit, references and, if she has one, a recent special criminal record extract.
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All 14 questions with notes ↓
A good nanny interview is about situations, not qualities. After it, a short, paid trial day shows how she is with your child. Here you'll find the questions for your child, what you may not ask, the special criminal record extract and the probation in your canton.
The interview: questions that tell you something
Every candidate answers «Are you patient?» with yes. «What do you do when …» shows how she thinks. Pick your child's age and the list adapts.
Interview notes
About your child
1. Your child throws a tantrum on the floor at Coop. What do you do?
Listen for: Stays calm, no threats, no punishment.
2. What does a good morning with a two-year-old look like?
Listen for: Outdoors, a steady rhythm, little screen time.
3. The child won't eat and won't nap. How do you handle it?
Listen for: No force, rituals, agreed with you.
4. The child falls at the playground or swallows something. What do you do?
Listen for: First aid, 144, Tox Info 145, then you.
5. How would you support potty training?
Listen for: Patience, and your rules rather than hers.
Attitude and limits
6. Why do you work as a nanny, and what do you enjoy about it?
Listen for: Enjoys children, not just a job.
7. What was difficult in your last job, and how did you solve it?
Listen for: Honest, without running down the family.
8. When do you call us straight away, and what do you decide yourself?
Listen for: A clear line: fever, accident, a stranger at the door.
9. Do you have a first aid course for small children, and when was it?
Listen for: A recent course; if not, offer to pay for one.
10. What do you do when our child is sick and stays at home?
Listen for: Care, medicine only as agreed.
Practicalities
11. Which days and hours suit you, also a year from now?
Listen for: Workload, evenings, how long she wants to stay.
12. Which residence permit do you have, and do you have an AHV number?
Listen for: You have to check it: ask to see the permit.
13. May we call your last family?
Listen for: Only with her yes. Ask about the children, not the pay.
14. When could you start, and have you already planned holidays?
Listen for: Agree holidays early.
There is no required qualification for nannies in Switzerland. That is why the Swiss Nanny Association encourages families to discuss training, experience and certifications openly in the interview, and recommends that every nanny has an up-to-date first aid and CPR course.
Two answers belong in the contract afterwards, because they cause the most arguments later: who pays what when your child is sick, and whether evenings with the baby monitor count as working time.
Talk about holidays too: who sets them when the family is away, and what applies when the nanny comes along on holiday. Write down what you agree; the clauses families often forget are in the guide to nanny contract clauses.
What you may ask and what you may not
In the interview, only what concerns the job counts (Art. 328b CO). Training, experience and how she is with children: yes. Her private life: no.
Allowed
- Experience with children of this age
- Training and first aid course
- Residence permit and AHV number
- Days, hours and start date
- Special criminal record extract, because she works with children
Not allowed
- Pregnancy or plans for children
- Religion, political party or union
- Past illnesses and operations
- Origin, partner or sexual orientation
- Debts and debt collection
Turning a candidate down because she is pregnant is discrimination (Art. 3 Gender Equality Act). She can claim compensation of up to three months' wages for it (Art. 5 GlG).
You don't ask about her health yourself. If the job needs physical fitness, say to carry a 12 kg child, ask for a doctor's certificate: it only says whether she is fit for the job. Past illnesses are none of your business.
Check her work permit before the first working day, which means before the trial day: as the employer, that is your duty (Art. 91 FNIA).
References: only with her yes
Call previous families only if she agrees. Ask about reliability and how she was with the children. The previous family may say nothing about pay or the contract.
If she brings a work reference or a recommendation letter, read it before you call. Then you can ask specific questions.
The special criminal record extract: the one for working with children
It shows whether she is under a professional, activity, contact or exclusion ban imposed to protect minors. Other convictions are in the ordinary extract. For a nanny, the special extract is the right one.
Criminal record
Special extract
- Name
- Sample, Anna
- Born
- 14.03.1996
- Issued
- 22.10.2026
No professional or activity ban and no contact or exclusion ban recorded.
CHF 17
Fee
about 2 weeks
Delivery
3 months
Confirmation valid
6 months
Checkable online
After the interview you fill in the employer's confirmation online, sign it and give it to her. It carries a code and is valid for three months.
The nanny orders the extract with this code: online (print the form, sign it and post it with your confirmation and a copy of her ID) or in person at a post office counter, with the confirmation and her ID.
It costs CHF 17 and arrives by post after about two weeks.
If it has no entry, its authenticity can be checked online as long as it is no older than six months.
Fair is: you pay the CHF 17, for example with the first wage. The Federal Office of Justice explains the order step by step.
If she has only lived in Switzerland for a short time, the Swiss extract says little. Then also ask for a criminal record extract from her home country.
The trial day: short, paid and insured
If she looks after your child on the trial day, that is work, and work is paid: the employment contract applies from the first hour (Art. 320 para. 2 CO). So agree the hourly rate beforehand.
A pure get-to-know visit, where she only watches and you look after the children, is not a working day. Keep the trial day short: three to four hours, a normal morning, you at home or reachable.
Handover
Trial day · Zurich
- 08:30Arrive: the flat, emergency numbers, allergies
- 09:00Play, outdoors, you nearby
- 11:30Cook and eat lunch
- 12:30End: a short talk, pay her
Minimum wage for a nanny in Zurich: CHF 20.35 an hour.
- Accident-insured from the first hour: take out the policy before the trial day.
- AHV from the first franc. Exception until the end of the year she turns 25: if she earns no more than CHF 750 with you in the whole year, the wage is free of contributions, unless she asks for them.
- If it works out, the trial day is her start date.
Most families only take out accident insurance after saying yes. The trial day comes before that. If something happens then, the Ersatzkasse UVG pays, and you pay the premiums afterwards, with a surcharge.
What hourly rate is usual is shown in nanny pay by canton. The Swiss Nanny Association gives typical market rates of CHF 25 to 40 gross an hour, depending on experience.
After the yes: probation in your canton
Probation is already the employment, with pay, insurance and contract. What differs is above all the short notice. Under the CO there is also no protection against dismissal during illness or pregnancy in probation, and in some cantons sick pay only starts after probation. By law it is the first month; many cantons set it differently in their standard employment contract.
Probation in Zurich
1 month
Notice during probation: 3 days
After that, in the first year: 1 month notice to the end of a month.
Source: NAV ZH Art. 17 Abs. 2 und Art. 18 Abs. 1
- If she is off sick or injured during probation, the probation is extended by those days (Art. 335b para. 3 CO).
- Under the CO, protection against dismissal during illness or pregnancy only starts after probation (Art. 336c CO).
Two things to do before the first working day: the nanny's AHV registration and the written employment contract with your canton's probation.
If you are the nanny
A trial day is work, and a good interview goes both ways. You may ask the family these questions:
Is the trial day paid, and how much an hour?
Are you registered and accident-insured, also on the trial day?
Will I get a written contract and a payslip every month?
Who pays for the special criminal record extract?
You don't have to answer questions about pregnancy, religion or your partner. The new family may only call your previous families with your yes.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay the nanny for the trial day?
May I ask about pregnancy in the interview?
May I call the nanny's previous family?
What is the special criminal record extract, and who pays for it?
How long is a nanny's probation?
Is the nanny insured on the trial day?
Sources
- Swiss Code of Obligations (CO, SR 220): Art. 320 para. 2, 328b, 335b and 336c.
- Gender Equality Act (GlG, SR 151.1): Art. 3 and 5.
- FDPIC: data processing by employers; phases of employment (selection, references).
- Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA, SR 142.20): Art. 91.
- Federal Office of Justice: special private extract and employer's confirmation; Criminal Records Act (StReG) Art. 55; Criminal Records Ordinance (StReV) Art. 54: fee CHF 17.
- Accident Insurance Act (UVG): Art. 73 and 95; AHVV Art. 34d para. 2 let. a (threshold of CHF 750 a year for young household employees).
- Cantonal standard employment contracts for household work: probation and notice, as of 2026 (among them Solothurn § 24, Ticino Art. 12, Fribourg Art. 18, Vaud Art. 1, 5 and 6).
- Swiss Nanny Association: information for families (swissnanny.org).
As of 22 October 2026. General information, not legal advice for an individual case.
Register your nanny
Made your choice? Register the nanny, with the trial day as her first working day. What applies in your canton is on the canton page.