Employing a PA
Skills For Care offer helpful step-by-step guidance about recruiting a PA, and templates such as a sample job description, job advert, interview letter etc.
If you choose to employ PAs using your direct payment, there are a few things to consider. There are legal requirements and general good practice to adhere to, such as:
- Record keeping
- Using payroll and providing pensions where applicable
- Providing holiday pay and keeping a record of this
- Ensuring employer’s and public liability insurance is in place
- Ensuring your PA has business use on their car insurance if using it for work purposes
- Safe recruitment practice, eg right to work checks and DBS checks
- Health and safety
- Access to training
- Providing contracts of employment
Responsibilities
Employing your own care and support – information for individual employers
Skills for Care have developed an employing personal assistants toolkit that will help you to think about your responsibilities as an employer, and includes guidance, templates and resources about recruiting, training and managing your team.
As an employer you should prevent discrimination. You must not state or imply in a job advert that you’ll discriminate against anyone. This includes saying that you are not able to cater for workers with a disability.
Employer liability insurance
If you choose to use your direct payment to employ personal assistants, it will include funding for employer liability insurance. £61 will be included in the funding, and we recommend that you choose an insurance policy that includes a legal/HR helpline.
You must get employer liability insurance as soon as you become an employer - your policy must cover you for at least £5m. It safeguards employers against legal and compensation expenses from employee claims. It's a key type of insurance, because if one of your employees falls ill or sustains an injury in the context of the work they do for you, you could be held liable. It's compulsory because employers are responsible for the health and safety of their employees whilst at work, and you can be fined £2,500 every day if you don't have employer liability insurance.
Payroll
You're able to choose which payroll provider you use. If you'd like additional information, please speak to your social care practitioner or social worker. We'll add funding to the direct payment, typically between £6 and £8 per week, to pay for the payroll service.
Examples of what payroll providers do include:
- Provide payroll support, and answer any related queries
- Register you as an employer with HMRC
- Register themselves as the company agent with HMRC
- Provide payslips and payroll reports as required
- Provide full PAYE records, such as starter and leaver forms, including P45
- Issue P60 forms to employees at the end of the tax year
- Implement tax code notifications, including student loans, NI, and other statutory deductions
- Ensure that clients meet the current minimum wage and living wage rates where applicable
- Assist with auto-enrolment with pension regulation, including enrolling in a pensions scheme and managing deductions
Skills for Care have a webinar that explains your responsibilities as an employer of personal assistants (PAs).
Dealing with employment issues
We encourage direct payment employers to choose an employer insurance policy that includes an employment/legal helpline that provides 24/7 help.
Worried about employment and the law?
Your insurer should be able to offer practical, jargon-free advice. This could relate to sick pay, maternity leave or a performance issue. If you're not sure whether your policy includes an employment/legal helpline please contact your insurer.
If your policy doesn't include a helpline, there's support available from ACAS on 0300 123 1100. The helpline is open from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Skills for Care - toolkits and resources
Often, people don't want to think about things going wrong, but sometimes they do, and it's good to have a plan for how to deal with problems. The Skills For Care website explains how you can sort out some of the problems that you might come across.
Skills for Care have also produced a guide for individual employers and personal assistants – a way of agreeing how we'll work together.
Training
You'll need to consider the training your PA may require. There are a number of opportunities for you as an employer to access training:
Free training
ACAS
Training, events and tailored support to help you deal with workplace problems and keep up to date with best practice.
Training via insurance
You can find training provided by your direct payment employment insurer. If you use Mark Bates insurance, they do online training and webinars via ILG which is included in their policy.
If you use FISH insurance, they too offer some training via Aquarium, this may be included in your policy.
Other insurance providers may also offer training.
Skills for Care
They offer a lot of support and advice including training via webinars and on line events, please see webinar and event recordings. As well as events and and a newsletter.
Open University
Free learning from the Open University, eg a course about human resources: recruitment and selection.
Peer support
- Learning and support from other employers as well as updates, can be found by joining peer support networks.
- Again some insurance providers offer this, such as Mark Bates via ILG.
- Drop-in – peer support drop in for employers. For next dates and an invite to a virtual drop-in email direct.payments@shropshire.gov.uk
Funding for training
Skills for Care - Individual employer funding
You can apply for funding to train you and your personal assistants (PAs). Find out more from the Skills for Care website, or speak to you social work team for more information.
If you continue to experience employment issues after contacting your insurance provider, you can contact your social work team who can put you in touch with the Direct Payments Team on 0345 6789044.
Contact us
If you need help please call us...