Terms of service

Version 2026-01-15 · Last updated 15 January 2026

These terms govern your use of HomeNest. They are a contract, so they are more formal than the rest of our writing — but we have kept them as short and plain as we can.

1. Who we are and what we do

HomeNest Child Care is a childcare business operating in Ghana. We operate a platform that introduces families to caregivers, operates and partners with daycare centres, and provides related tools for arranging and recording childcare.

2. Your account

• You must be 18 or over to hold an account.
• You are responsible for what happens under your account, so keep your phone and your access to it secure.
• Give us accurate information. Vetting depends on it, and a false statement in an application is grounds for us closing the account.

3. What we do and do not promise

We vet caregivers rigorously and we show you the evidence for every check, including its date and its limits. We do not promise that any caregiver is safe, suitable for your family, or free of risk. No honest organisation can promise that.

Our checks are one input into your decision. You remain responsible for interviewing, forming your own judgement, and supervising the care of your child.

4. Nanny placement

• The placement fee becomes payable once your chosen caregiver starts work. Not before.
• The employment relationship for a placement is between you and the caregiver unless you have taken managed payroll, in which case the arrangement is set out separately in your managed payroll agreement.
• A replacement guarantee applies for the period stated in your contract. Within it, if the placement ends for any reason, we will find a replacement without a second placement fee.
• You agree to pay the caregiver the salary you agreed, on time, and to give the notice set out in the contract.

5. Working outside the platform

If you engage a caregiver you met through HomeNest privately, outside the platform, you lose the insurance cover, the replacement guarantee, the dispute process and the daily records — and so does the caregiver. We will say this plainly at the time rather than catching you out with it later. Where a placement is deliberately moved off-platform to avoid our fee, the placement fee remains payable.

6. Bookings, cancellations and refunds

• Hourly bookings cancelled more than 12 hours before the start time are refunded in full.
• Cancelled inside 12 hours, half of the first hour is paid to the caregiver, who turned down other work.
• If a caregiver does not arrive, you are refunded in full and we will try to find cover.
• Daycare withdrawal requires one calendar month’s notice.

7. Payments

• Prices are in Ghana Cedis. Invoices itemise VAT, NHIL, the GETFund levy and the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy separately.
• HomeNest does not hold customer funds. Payments settle to our merchant account and caregiver payouts are released after the work is completed and the dispute window has closed.
• Overdue invoices are followed by three reminders before an account is suspended. We will always contact you before suspending anything.

8. Conduct

You agree not to:

• Harass, discriminate against, or mistreat a caregiver, a family, or our staff.
• Ask a caregiver to do work that was not agreed, or to work hours that were not agreed, without agreeing it with them properly first.
• Withhold a caregiver’s identity documents. This is a serious matter and will end your account immediately.
• Misrepresent your identity, your household, or your experience.

9. Safeguarding overrides everything in this contract

Where we have reasonable grounds to believe a child is at risk, we will act — including suspending a placement, contacting authorities, and sharing information with them — regardless of any other term in these terms, any confidentiality expectation, or any commercial consequence to us.

10. Disputes

Raise a dispute in the app and we will investigate, ask both sides for their account, and decide within seven days. Our decision on refunds and payouts is final within the platform; it does not affect your right to pursue a legal remedy.

11. Liability

We are liable to you for losses caused by our own negligence or breach of these terms. We are not liable for the acts of a caregiver beyond our own failures in vetting or supervision, for indirect or consequential loss, or for losses arising from arrangements made outside the platform. Nothing here excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded — including for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

12. Ending the relationship

You may close your account at any time. We may suspend or close an account for a breach of these terms, for non-payment after reminders, or on safeguarding grounds. Where we do, we will tell you why unless doing so would prejudice a safeguarding investigation.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Ghana.