Do you employ a Personal Assistant -Businesslink tool - taking on an employee in 5 easy steps

Business link has created a tool to help people employing for the first time:

http://www.improve.businesslink.gov.uk/resources/tools/taking-employee

Decide how much you should pay someone

• What you must do:

  You need to make sure you pay at least the national minimum wage.
  The national minimum wage rate will depend on the age of your worker and the type of work they do.

• Why you must do it:

  If you pay less than the minimum wage you will be required to make up the shortfall and pay a fine.
  If you refuse to pay the national minimum wage on purpose you may be prosecuted, resulting in a criminal conviction and penalty.
  Your worker can also take you to an employment tribunal if you fail to pay them at least the minimum wage. 

• How you can do it:

  Use our tool to check that you are complying with national minimum wage law.

More on pay obligations.

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Check if someone can legally work for you

• What you must do:

  Before you offer someone a job you need to check that they have the legal right to work in the UK.
  
  You need to check and keep copies of certain documents before your worker starts. The documents you need to check will depend on the type of worker you are employing.

• Why you must do it:

  If you unknowingly employ someone who doesn’t have the right to work in the UK, you can face a fine of up to £10,000 per worker.
  
  If you knowingly employ someone who doesn’t have the right to work in the UK you will face a more severe penalty such as a prison sentence.

• How you can do it:

  Use our tool to check your worker’s right to work in the UK.
  Understand your data protection obligations when keeping copies of your worker’s documents.
  Contact Acas to find out if you have to make any other checks.

More on other legal checks you might need to make.

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Get employment insurance

• What you must do:

  When you become an employer, you must take out an employers’ liability (EL) insurance policy. Your policy must be with an authorised insurer, must cover you for at least £5 million and must cover all your employees in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
  
  You must also display your EL compulsory insurance certificate or make it available to Health & Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors when they ask.
  
  If you’re only employing a family member or someone who is based abroad, you don’t need compulsory EL insurance.

• Why you must do it:

  Under the law, you are responsible for having the right insurance and for checking that your insurer is authorised.
  
  The HSE is responsible for enforcing the law on EL insurance. You can be fined up to £2,500 for each day that you do not have appropriate insurance.
  
  If you do not display your EL compulsory insurance certificate or refuse to make it available to HSE inspectors when they ask, you can be fined up to £1,000.

• How you can do it:

  Check that your insurer is authorised by consulting the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Register.

More on employers’ liability insurance.

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Register and pay your worker for the first time

• What you must do:

  When you take on an employee for the first time, you normally need to register as an employer with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to ensure you deduct the right amount for PAYE (Pay as You Earn) and National Insurance contributions.
  
  You will need to make PAYE payments when you pay your workers more than a certain amount.
  
  Once you have done this, you must provide your employee with a list of the deductions you have made from their pay in writing.

• Why you must do it:

  The fine for not registering as an employer is calculated according to how late you are in registering.
  HMRC charges late payment penalties on PAYE amounts due that are not paid in full on time. The minimum fine is £50, but it could be more. 

• How you can do it:

  Check if you need to register with HMRC.
  Register with HMRC.
  Find out what deductions you need to make from your employee’s pay.
  Information about issuing pay statements to employees.

More on pay obligations, including providing a payslip.

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Send details of the job in writing to your worker

• What you must do:

  If you’re employing someone for more than a month, you need to provide them with a written statement of employment within their first two months.
  
  

• Why you must do it:

  If you don’t provide your employee with a written statement of employment, you may be taken to an employment tribunal.
  
  If the employee’s claim is successful, the tribunal will award a compensation of two to four weeks' pay. A week's pay for this purpose is subject to a statutory limit. For the current limit, see our table of current tribunal compensation limits.

• How you can do it:

  Use our tool to create a written statement of employment.
  Guidance on putting together an employee’s written statement of employment.

More on writing contracts and written statements.

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