Tag: parent

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).

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.

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.

How to Handle Their First Haircut – Tips for Parents

Taking your child to the hairdresser for the very first time might seem like a daunting experience, but with these top tips, it’ll be a smooth, enjoyable experience for both you and your child.

The first thing to remember is that there’s no set age as to when your child will need their first hair cut and that you won’t be about to lose their precious baby curls!

You only really need to cut your child’s hair if it’s starting to creep towards their eyes, if it’s irritating them in any way or if the fly-away sections of hair at the sides of their face start to look out of control.

If your child is ready for their first trim, remember these top tips:

Continue reading “How to Handle Their First Haircut – Tips for Parents”

Seven pros of sensory play

Sensory play is a catch-all term for activities which focus on stimulating a child’s senses : hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. It can involve messy play, singing and dancing, cooking or gardening to name just a few activities which have maximum sensory input.

 

  1. Children learn best when multiple senses are stimulated.  Songs are more easily remembered than poems because of the additional sensory stimulation the music provides. Memories can be provoked by smells or tastes. Sensory stimulation makes abstract ideas concrete.
  2. Sensory play allows children to experiment. Experimentation is crucial for developing advanced cognitive skills such as analysing and predicting. It allows children to explore cause and effect and allows them to find solutions to problems.
  3. Children control sensory play. By giving children materials which stimulate their senses and letting them get on with it they are able to make decisions and follow their own path, which gives them confidence to take control in other areas too. They may initially be afraid of slime or gloop but giving them time and space to experience it safely they are in control of the experience and will participate in their own time.
  4. New experiences means new words to describe them. Sensory play is a goldmine for vocabulary and linguistic development. Children learn the meaning of adjectives such as warm and cold, sticky, smooth, slimy and hard as well as comparatives (bigger, smaller, runnier, rougher) and
    lots of words to describe actions.
  5. Sensory play enhances physical development. From dancing to music to trying to kneading dough or trying to pick dinasours out of slime, sensory play can be adapted to focus on specific motor skills or enhance overall motor development and hand-eye coordination.
  6. You can do sensory play anywhere, any time. You don’t need a special table with a waterproof cloth to take part in sensory play. Even mealtimes can be an occasion to stimulate senses by identifying colours, smelling the different foods and experiencing taste and texture.
  7.  Sensory play is fun for adults and children alike. Make a bowl of gloop and try not to play with it. We dare you!

Tax Year End Adjustments

As the end of the tax year approaches, are nanny’s payslips correct?

It is important to make sure that what is being submitted to HMRC is correct, and the P60 we will shortly produce is right.

Has nanny had a pay change that is not reflected on the payslip?

Have you given nanny a bonus recently?

Has nanny recently changed address or changed her name?

Always check nanny’s payslips as her tax code may have changed causing her net pay to differ

What are the regulations if nanny is a student?

If nanny is a student, they will still be subject to paying Tax and NIC on their salaries like normal workers if they earn above their personal allowance, which for the current tax year (19/20) is £12,500.00 gross per annum (£1,041.67 gross per month).  If nanny’s earnings are below this threshold then they will not be subject to tax deductions on their salaries.

Nannies over the age of 16 will need to have Employee National Insurance deducted.

Nannies who are students and come from overseas will not be able to get a National Insurance refund if they return home, even if they work in the UK for a short period of time.

The only way a foreign student nanny could get exemption from National Insurance is to produce either an A1, E101 or E120 certificate from a European Economic Area (EEA)

If your student nanny leaves the UK to return to their native country during the tax year, they may be able to claim back some or all of the Tax which they may have paid on their salary in the UK.  They would need to complete and return a form ‘P85’ to HMRC, including parts 2 and 3 of their P45 from their current employment. If nanny, has worked in the UK for a full tax year, then they will not be able to claim back the Tax which they have paid on their earnings.

The P85 form can be obtained by contacting HMRC directly.

 

https://www.gov.uk/tax-right-retire-abroad-return-to-uk

30 Hours Free Childcare

The criteria for 30 hours for funded childcare, is that you must earn £131.36 a week which equates to 16 hours at the national minimum wage or Living Wage.

The 30 hours a week is for 38 weeks of the year and is for children who are aged 3 or 4 this equates to 1,140 hours per year.

You will not be able to claim this, if you or your partner has a taxable income of over £100,000, the child does not usually live with you, if the child is fostered or if you are from outside the EEA and it states you can’t access public funds on your UK residence card.

To register for funded childcare or for more questions:

https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Nanny or Au Pair

Age and Cultural exchange programme

An au pair is between the ages of 18-30 and comes to the UK to learn or perfect her English in exchange for childcare.

A nanny can be any age and does not take part in a cultural exchange programme.

Wage and working hours

Au pairs can only work on average 30 hours a week and on top of their accommodation will normally get what is classed as ‘pocket money’. ‘Pocket money’ on average is £100.00 per week and as long as they earn less than £118.00 per week and have no other income this does not need to be declared to HMRC.

A nanny receives a wage in line with the national minimum wage.

Language courses

Au pairs must have the chance to attend a language course.

A nanny does not have to attend a language course.

Employee/family

An au pair is seen as a temporary family member.

A nanny is seen as an employee.

Legalities

An au pair needs a visa specific to an au pair.

Nannies who are coming from abroad need a work visa or permit. A nanny cannot work under an au pair visa.

Christmas Bonus

It is that time of year, you may want to give nanny a Christmas bonus, but remember it must be processed through the payroll!

As HMRC class this as taxable income.

If you have decided to give nanny a Christmas bonus, whether it be £50 or £1,000, you must declare it and it is subject to tax and NI.

If you have agreed a net bonus, there will be additional tax and national insurance on top of this amount. Whereas, if you have agreed a gross bonus, (please don’t give them that amount), as tax and national insurance will need to be deducted from that and you then pay nanny the net amount.

A gift such as a voucher, chocolates, wine will not be seen as a benefit in kind as long as it does not exceed £50.00.