News

It is a legal requirement to have Employers’ Liability insurance as an employer and your policy must cover you for at least £5 million and come from an authorised insurer.

You will have heard or seen the adverts regarding workplace pensions. This means that, with very few exceptions, employers must register with a pension provider from the employee’s start date and enrol their employees, regardless of whether their employees wish to pay pension contributions.

An employment allowance exists whereby certain employers can get a rebate of employer’s national insurance up to £3,000 per annum.

With effect from 6 April 2018, the minimum statutory contributions are changing. The total minimum contribution per employee will be 5% with a minimum employer contribution of 2% (previously 1%).

As an employer, you are normally obliged to pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to a nanny who is sick for 4 or more calendar days in a row, regardless of the length of time that nanny has worked for that employer. No payment of salary or SSP is due for the first 3 days unless it is a term of the contract of employment.

On 1 April 2018, the national living wage increased to £7.83 per hour for employees aged over 25. On that date the national minimum wage also increased to £7.38 per hour for employees aged 21 and over, to £5.90 for employees aged 18-20 and to £4.20 for workers aged 16-17. In addition there is an apprentice rate of £3.70 per hour.

Maternity rights and Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for nannies are two tax and payroll topics that our clients frequently ask us about. This article aims to provide employers of nannies and other domestic staff with key details regarding the main issues.

Sara Graff, the Principal of Taxing Nannies, is a Chartered Accountant of many years standing.

Our Guide to Childcare Options aims to provide easy-to-understand insights into the choices available to people who return to work after maternity leave – including employing a nanny.

Were you aware that if your nanny is found to be illegally employed, you may be liable to civil penalties and an eye-watering fine of £20,000? And if you knowingly employ illegal workers, there can be prison sentences of up to 2 years as well as unlimited fines.