Recruitment – It’s family business

Do you have a member of the family (over 16 years old) who has a few hours a week spare and would benefit from a few extra pennies? When taking everything into account, it could be worth considering.

Let’s look at everything involved when taking on a new employee:

• Check if the person is eligible to legally work in the UK
• Ensure you are paying at least the minimum national wage as defined by current law
• Register the person for PAYE with HMRC, if they are not already
• You then become responsible for calculating and deducting PAYE and NIC AND making payments to HMRC under the RTI (Real Time Information) system on behalf of the employee.
• You are also responsible for providing your employee with a payslip
• Keeping accurate payroll records is a legal requirement AND they must be kept for a minimum of three years, including records of expenses and benefits

When employing family members it can be a win-win; it can reduce the overall household tax bill with little to no administration and take advantages of lower rates of tax as well.

Again, there are a few requirements:

• The family “employee” must be over 16years
• They must carry out actual work AND be paid a commercial wage for doing so

In 2013/2014 a family employee can earn more between £109 and £148 a week and not have to pay NIC. Similarly you as an employer will not have to pay employers NIC.

And let’s face it, better the devil you know!