Babysitters and nannies in Casablanca, properly vetted

Local usage separates the two by how regular the work is. A babysitter comes occasionally — one evening, a weekend — and is paid per booking. A nanny is employed on an ongoing basis, usually full time or on a fixed half-day schedule.

The legal line is blunter than most families expect. Under Law 19-12, which governs domestic work in Morocco, the moment childcare becomes recurring — even a single fixed evening every week — you are in an ongoing employment relationship, with everything that follows: a written contract, capped working hours, weekly rest, paid annual leave and CNSS registration.

The practical consequence is worth stating plainly. Hiring a babysitter when what you need is a nanny means starting over every three months, because those profiles turn over quickly by nature. Four different faces in a year for a child under three is not flexibility — it is instability. The reverse is just as costly: employing a full-time nanny for three evenings a month is paying for a post you are not using.

Three things move the salary more than anything else in Casablanca.

The child's age. An infant under 18 months adds roughly 500 to 800 MAD a month compared with a toddler — more responsibility, more hours of genuine attention, a smaller pool of people who have really done it.

Languages. French adds 500 to 1,000 MAD a month. English adds more, and it is worth being straightforward about why: genuinely English-speaking childcare is scarce in Casablanca, and the families competing for it are the ones who pay best. If English at home is non-negotiable for you, budget for it rather than being surprised by it.

The neighbourhood. Anfa, Ain Diab and Californie pay 15 to 25 % above the city average. Part of that is the market; part of it is transport — the further you are from where staff live, the more the commute has to be worth their while.

Evening babysitting is priced in two steps, and this is where most disputes start. A flat rate covers the first three hours; every hour after that is charged separately. An evening starting at 9 p.m. and ending at midnight stays inside the flat rate. One starting at 7 p.m. and ending at 1 a.m. does not. State the real end time when you book, not when you pay.

One more line item English-speaking families routinely forget: after 10 p.m. there is no usable bus in Casablanca. A grand taxi or ride-hailing trip out to Hay Hassani, Sidi Bernoussi or Ben M'sik costs 50 to 100 MAD, and it is customarily paid by the parents.

Law 19-12 applies in full regardless of anyone's nationality — yours or your employee's. Foreign families are not outside it.

A written contract is mandatory, drawn up on the regulatory template set by the labour authority. It names both parties, the start date, the duties, the salary, the hours, the rest days and the trial period. Take the trial-period length from the official template rather than estimating it: the general labour code figure does not apply to domestic work.

CNSS registration is required from day one. Employer contributions run at roughly 18-20 % of gross salary, and give your employee basic AMO health cover and pension rights. The CNSS documents the procedure itself under employeur de maison — déclaration de vos salariés (French). An accountant will handle the monthly filing for 100 to 150 MAD.

Working time is capped at 10 hours of effective work per day, with at least one full rest day a week. Paid annual leave is 18 days. Those 18 days are your employee's leave, not yours — there is no rule placing them during school holidays, and it is a point to settle when you sign, not in October.

The full text is published in the Bulletin Officiel. This page describes the framework; it is not legal advice.

You send us what you need through the form on this page. A consultant calls you back — in French, in English or in Darija — to pin down the schedule, the ages, the languages and the neighbourhood. We then propose profiles whose references we have called ourselves.

What we do not do: publish caregivers' phone numbers on a directory page. Every introduction goes through us, which is how we can vouch for a reference at all. And we do not send you a profile we have not spoken to.

Our team replies in English by phone and WhatsApp. Be aware that the caregiver herself may not speak English unless you asked for it — say so at the outset and we will filter on it, rather than discovering the gap in week two.