Fees & How We Work

Our Fees & How Placement Works

Clear, written terms before anyone is introduced. A placement fee on a successful start, a free three-month re-match, and fully declared employment — placed by a founder who still does the job herself.

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Quick answer

Lumière charges a placement fee for a successful, permanent placement, payable once your chosen nanny accepts and starts. Longer or specialised searches may begin with a retainer that is credited against that fee. We do not publish a fixed amount or percentage — your exact fee and the relevant salary band are always confirmed in writing before any introductions. Every placement is fully declared and carries a free re-match within the first three months.

How Lumière Works

A Search, Not a Database

Lumière is a boutique, founder-led agency based in Nice on the French Riviera. We do not sell access to a list of names. Each engagement is a proper search — we understand the family from the inside, then hand-pick a small shortlist of nannies we would be comfortable working alongside ourselves. The way we charge follows directly from that: you pay for a successful placement and the work behind it, not for browsing profiles.

From Brief to Placement

We begin with a confidential consultation covering your children's ages and routines, the languages and qualifications you need, your schedule and how the role should fit around family life. From there we set out your fee and the salary band in writing, then open the search.

You meet a curated shortlist — typically two to three candidates matched to your family — rather than a database dump. We arrange interviews and trial days, verify references in person, and stay alongside you through the offer, contract and first weeks of settling in.

How the Fee Is Structured

  • A placement fee for a successful, permanent placement, payable when your nanny accepts and starts
  • For longer or specialised searches, an optional retainer that reserves dedicated search time and is credited against the placement fee
  • No charge simply for receiving candidate profiles
  • Your exact fee and the relevant salary band confirmed in writing before any introductions
  • A free re-match within the first three months, on every placement
  • Fully declared employment — contracts, social charges and payslips, never cash-in-hand
The Principle

Retainer, Placement Fee & What Sits Where

Placement agencies broadly use two building blocks. Understanding them in principle helps you read any quote — ours or anyone else's — with confidence. Lumière keeps the structure simple and always sets out the exact figures in writing before the search begins.

Element What it is How Lumière handles it
Placement fee A one-off fee for a successful, permanent placement Payable once your chosen nanny accepts and starts; confirmed in writing up front
Retainer A smaller upfront amount that reserves dedicated search time Used only for longer or specialised searches, and credited against the placement fee
Salary & employer charges The nanny's pay plus the employer's social contributions Paid by the family as the employer; we quote the relevant salary band before introductions
Re-match guarantee A cover period if the placement ends early A free re-match within the first three months, included on every placement

This page explains our fee structure in principle. It is not a quote and shows no specific amount or percentage, because the right figure depends on the role, seniority and location. For salary bands by role and city — live-in, live-out, rota and maternity — see the Lumière Salary & Cost Guide. Your exact fee is always confirmed in writing before any introductions.

Value

What You Are Paying For

The fee reflects work that a database or a job advert cannot do: judgement, verification and accountability. Every candidate we put forward has completed Lumière's Training & Standards Programme and been checked in person before you ever see a profile.

Included in Every Placement

  • A confidential briefing consultation to define the role properly
  • A curated shortlist matched to your family, not an open database
  • Background checks and references verified in person, before introduction
  • Help structuring a compliant, fully declared employment contract
  • Post-placement support through the settling-in period
  • A free re-match within the first three months

Quoted in Writing, Every Time

Before we introduce a single candidate, you receive your fee and the relevant salary band in writing — no figures revealed only at the end, and no obligation to proceed after a quote. That lets you plan the full cost of a placement, salary and employer charges included, with complete clarity.

If you are still deciding which type of nanny you need — live-in, live-out, rota, maternity or governess — start with Which Nanny Do I Need? and we will shape the search, and the quote, around the answer.

Explore Further

Plan Your Placement

Salary & Cost Guide Which Nanny Do I Need? Live-In Nanny Live-Out Nanny Rota Nanny Maternity Nurse Governess & Teacher Family Offices & Private Staff About Lumière

Fees & How We Work: Frequently Asked Questions

How does Lumière charge?
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Lumière works on a placement-fee basis: a single fee for a successful, permanent placement, payable once your chosen nanny accepts and starts. Some longer or more specialised searches begin with a retainer — a smaller upfront amount that reserves dedicated search time and is credited against the placement fee. We do not publish a fixed figure or percentage here because the right structure depends on the role, seniority and location. Instead, we set out your exact fee, and the salary band it relates to, in writing before any introductions are made.
Is there a fee if the placement doesn't work out?
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Every Lumière placement carries a free re-match within the first three months. If the placement ends within that window, we search again for a suitable replacement at no further placement fee. It is the same commitment we make on every search — we would rather re-match once, properly, than leave a family without the right nanny.
When do I pay?
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The placement fee falls due once you have chosen a nanny and she has accepted and agreed a start date — not before, and never simply for receiving profiles. Where a search begins with a retainer, that portion is agreed at the outset and credited towards the final placement fee. Payment terms are confirmed in writing in your engagement letter before the search begins.
Are placements fully declared and legal?
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Yes. Lumière only places nannies on fully declared terms — a written employment contract, registration with the relevant social security system, employer social charges paid and proper payslips issued. We never arrange cash-in-hand work. We guide families through the employment formalities in each jurisdiction we place in, so the arrangement protects the family exactly as much as the nanny.
Do you quote before introductions?
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Always. Before we introduce a single candidate, you receive your fee and the relevant salary band in writing. There are no figures revealed only at the end, and no obligation to proceed after a quote. This lets you plan the full cost of the placement — salary, employer charges and our fee — with complete clarity from the start.
What's included in the fee?
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The placement fee covers the whole search: a briefing consultation, a curated shortlist of candidates matched to your family rather than a database, background checks and in-person reference verification, help structuring a compliant employment contract, and post-placement support through the settling-in period. It also includes the free three-month re-match. Every nanny we put forward has completed Lumière's Training & Standards Programme.

Where to Go Next

Understand the numbers, choose the right role, or open a confidential conversation whenever you are ready.

Salary & Cost Guide

Real salary bands by role and city — live-in, live-out, rota and maternity — the figures your fee quote will reference.

Learn More →

Which Nanny Do I Need?

A short guide to the different structures of care, so we can shape the search — and the quote — around your family.

Learn More →

Family Offices & Private Staff

For family offices, estate managers and advisers placing childcare into private households, with discretion and NDAs.

Learn More →

Arrange a Confidential Call

Tell us about your family and the role, and we will set out your fee and the relevant salary band in writing — before any introductions, with no obligation to proceed.

Arrange a Confidential Call

The Lumière difference

Founded by a working career nanny, not a recruiter

"I founded Lumière because the families I worked for kept asking the same question: where do we find another nanny like you? I still take private placements. Every nanny I place is one I would work alongside."

Hanna founded Lumière Placements after years inside private households as a career nanny. She continues to take selected private placements alongside leading the agency, a working-nanny perspective that shapes every shortlist Lumière puts forward. Lumière is the only French Riviera-based boutique placement agency, placing across Monaco, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Nice, and worldwide, founded and led by an active working career nanny.

Why families choose Lumière

Based
French Riviera
Founder
Hanna, working career nanny
Approach
Families understood from the inside, the right nanny for the right family
Qualifications
Norland, CACHE, NNEB, Montessori
Vetting
References verified, DBS where applicable
Employment
Declared, full contracts
Reach
17 cities · 3 continents
Specialisms
Live-in, rota, governess, maternity, yacht, travel
Every Lumière nanny completes our Training & Standards Programme, founder-led by a working career nanny, not a corporate recruiter. Over 100 nannies placed, with a free re-match in the first three months.