An undercover researcher posed as 'Emily', age 22, who told agencies that her only relevant experience was babysitting for her sister and that she wanted a job looking after children while their parents were out.
'Emily' phoned 20 nanny agencies across the UK - ten agencies were randomly chosen from the Yellow Pages and ten were members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which represents employment agencies.
Which? said that five of them were prepared to take her on their books, despite her lack of experience, and some did not insist on references or a proper criminal records check. It is now calling for a comprehensive national nanny registration scheme that insists on minimum qualifications or experience and a full CRB check.
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