Category: nannies

Query on P60

After nanny is issued with her P60, she may look at it and query some of the details.

One common question from both nanny and the employer is that the total gross pay is too low. The gross pay is for the previous tax year only, not the whole of the employment and may also include earnings from a previous employer if nanny started part way through that tax year.

Another query regarding the pay is that it is too high. If nanny is paid a net salary say £1000 a month, they would expect the pay to say £12,000. However, that is the net salary, the tax, employee national insurance, employee pension costs and student loans are on top of this and then added to the net to give the gross salary.

Story Time: Why is it So Important?

Did you know that 20% of UK parents spend no time at all reading with their children? Or that just 50% of parents with young children read for just 1 hour each week?

Not only does reading to your children help to improve their academic performance, but more importantly it strengthens your bond, improves their imagination, helps children learn to read, teaches them about the world around them, and provides important morals to help make your child a nicer person.

Continue reading “Story Time: Why is it So Important?”

HMRC Payment Deadlines

In order to avoid penalties and interest, it is important to make sure you pay HMRC on time for tax, employee and employer national insurance and student loan deductions.

Here is a note of each quarter’s payment and payment deadlines:

 

Quarter                       Period for                                  Payment Date

Quarter 1                     6th April to 5th July                       22nd July

Quarter 2                     6th July to 5th October                 22nd October

Quarter 3                     6th October to 5th January           22nd January

Quarter 4                     6th January to 5th April                 22nd April

 

If your PAYE exceeds over £1,500 a month, you will have to pay HMRC monthly instead of quarterly.

The best way to pay them is directly via their website, you will get a confirmation email from them stating all the transaction details in case there was ever a dispute of payments- https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/pay-online/epaye

Change to Payslips from April 2019

Some employers may not be aware that there was a crucial change to the Employment Rights Act 1996 coming into effect at this date as well.

The change affected anyone who receives a payslip. Employers are obliged to present all their workers with an itemised pay statement. This applies to not just “employees” but also “workers” who may not currently be processed through the payroll system and should provide a greater degree of transparency for the worker to establish the hours of work for which they are being paid. More information on employment status can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/employment-status.

On top of that, in the case of employees whose pay is dependent on the time worked, the number of hours worked must be shown on their payslip.

What do you need to do?

Employers must provide payslips for ALL their workers from April 2019. They must also “include the hours worked on itemised pay statements, but only if the pay varies as a consequence of the time worked”. So those staff filling out timesheets with fluctuating hours will need those hours displayed on every payslip.

The employer must either:

  • Show the combined number of hours worked for which payment is being made; or
    • Itemise the figures for different types of work worked and/or different rates of pay.

Similar to National Minimum Wage (NMW) implementation, the new amendment will not apply to wages, or salary paid in respect of a period of work, which commences before the date the order comes into force on 1st April 2019

The reason for these changes is that by introducing these changes the Government hopes to reduce the NMW violations and encourage better transparency, which in result will lead to workers being more in control of their rights.

Nannies and your Company

I have my own company; can I pay nanny through my payroll?

No. Nannies are considered a personal employee and should not be under a company’s PAYE. Nannies should not be paid through your company, but through your own personal bank account.

Therefor you need to register yourself as an employer of a nanny and register nanny through this new company and process and submit payroll through this new company.

You can either do this yourself through HMRC or contact us at payrollfornannies.co.uk and we will then hopefully take the responsibility of doing this on your behalf

Employment Allowance

HMRC allow most employers to get £3,000 off their National Insurance liability.

Unfortunately, if you employ someone for personal, household or domestic work you are unable to claim this as the employees are being employed in a personal capacity to support the running of a household.

It is important to know the rules otherwise you could end up paying back this money to HMRC.

You can claim on the following:

old age

mental or physical disability

past or present dependence on alcohol or drugs

past or present illness

past or present mental disorder

You cannot claim the Employment Allowance if you are employing a nanny unless the nanny is employed for an individual who needs care because of one of the reasons set out above.

To claim for the Employment Allowance, it will need to be submitted via payroll software by means of sending an EPS (Employment Payment Summary).

NMW National Minimum Wage 2020/21

From April the NMW (National Minimum Wage) rates are changing for the 20/21 tax year.

As an employer you must comply with the national minimum wage, if you do not you could end up in an Employment Tribunal or be reported to HMRC and face a fine of up to £20,000.

The new hourly rates for the tax year 2020/21 are:

  • Apprentice   – £4.15
  • 16 to 17 year old   –  £4.55
  • 18 to 20 year old   –  £6.45
  • 21-24 year old   –  £8.20
  • 25+   –  £8.72

If nanny lives in the family home and not separate accommodation provided by the employer, then the national minimum wage does not apply.

For live in nannies, there is a daily accommodation offset rate of £8.20 per day, £57.40 a week. These rates are set every April, so it is important to keep up to date with the new legislation. These rates are from April 2020.

For accommodation provided to nanny other than the family home, this will need to be declared as a Benefit In Kind.

Zero-Hours contracts

‘Zero hours contract’ is a non-legal term used to describe many different types of casual agreements between an employer and an individual.

Generally speaking, a zero hours contract is one in which the employer does not guarantee the individual any hours of work. The employer offers the individual work when it arises, and the individual can either accept the work offered, or decide not to take up the offer of work on that occasion.

Regardless of how many hours are offered, the employer must pay at least the National Minimum Wage.

Everyone employed on a zero hours contract is entitled to statutory employment rights. There are no exceptions.

A person will benefit from the employment rights associated with their employment status and individuals on a zero hours contract will either have the employment status of a ’worker’ or an ‘employee’.

Any individual on a zero hours contract who is a ‘worker’ will be entitled to at least the National Minimum Wage, paid annual leave, rest breaks and protection from discrimination.

Valentine’s Day Activity Ideas for Young Children

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and it’s the perfect time for young children to unleash their creativity.

Choose from our top 5 valentine’s activities for young children and have a great day with arts and crafts making gifts for friends, family and nanny!

Continue reading “Valentine’s Day Activity Ideas for Young Children”

Unpaid Parental Leave

Eligible employees can take unpaid parental leave to look after their child’s welfare, for example,

spend more time with their children

look at new schools

settle children into new childcare arrangements

spend more time with family, such as visiting grandparents

Their employment rights are protected during parental leave.

Parental leave is unpaid. Employees are entitled to 18 weeks leave for each child and adopted child, up to their 18th birthday.

The limit on how much parental leave each parent can take in a year is 4 weeks for each child (unless the employer agrees otherwise).

You must take parental leave as whole weeks (eg 1 week or 2 weeks) rather than individual days, unless your employer agrees otherwise or if your child is disabled. You don’t have to take all the leave at once.

Employees qualify if all of these apply:

they’ve been in the company for more than a year

they’re named on the child’s birth or adoption certificate or they have or expect to have parental responsibility

Employees must give 21 days’ notice before their intended start date. If they or their partner are having a baby or adopting, it’s 21 days before the week the baby or child is expected.

Employees must confirm the start and end dates in their notice. Unless an employer requests it, this doesn’t have to be in writing.