Being an Employer - Barnsley Council Online

Being an Employer
Putting People First in Barnsley
Adult
Social
Care
LEAFLET SEVEN
BARNSLEY
Metropolitan Borough Council

During the planning process you may decide that you want to employ
your own Personal Assistant(s). If you or someone else employs staff to
provide your support, the person acting as employer will
have legal responsibilities.
It is up to the Employer to
ensure that they are aware
of, and comply with, these
responsibilities.
This leaflet gives a brief
summary of Employers
responsibilities
and is for guidance
only. It does not
cover all situations
and is not a full
statement of the law;
further sources of
information are given
at the end.
Advice and guidance
about being an employer
is available from
Penderels Trust, their
contact details are at
the back of this leaflet.
You can go online to the
Council website
www.barnsley.gov.uk to
see clips of local people
who are using their
Personal Budget to
employ a personal
assistant.
2

What Legal Responsibilities might I have?
This section gives a summary of the type of legal responsibilities you are
likely to have. It is accurate at the time of writing, but you are strongly
advised to check it for yourself.
Working Time Directive
In general, employee’s aged 18 and
over are entitled to the following:
• 5.6 weeks holiday per year
• Work no more than 6 days out
of every 7 or 12 out of every
14
• Take a 20 minute break if their
shift lasts for more than 6 hours
• Work a maximum 48 hour
average working week
Further information can be found
from Business Link at
www.businesslink.gov.uk
Illegal Working
Employers have a legal
responsibility to check that their
workers are eligible to work in the
UK before employment starts. As
an employer, you are responsible
for verifying the documents
provided by the candidate and
must take a copy of the
documentary evidence provided
by the candidate.
Further information and lists of
documentary evidence to work in
the UK are available from the UK
Boarder Agency at
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
3

CRB Checks
If you are employing an individual
to care for a child using direct
payments, you should ask your local
authority to carry out checks under
the Protection of Children Act
1999.
Should you be looking to employ
an individual to support yourself or
another adult, it is good practice to
carry out CRB checks and we
would strongly recommend this.
Your local authority or support
service can offer advice and
guidance about how to obtain
these checks and any costs
involved.
Further information is available
from the Self Directed Support
Team on 01226 772425 or
Penderels Trust on 01226 201661
Written Statement of
Employment Particulars
Most employees who are
employed for 1 month or more
must receive a written statement of
employment detailing information
such as hours of work, rates of pay,
notice and disciplinary procedures
and annual leave.This must be
issued to the employee within the
first 2 months of employment.
Further information about
employment paperwork can be
found at Business Link at
www.businesslink.gov.uk or ACAS
at www.acas.org.uk
Minimum Wage
You will need to ensure that the
rate you pay your staff conforms to
the requirements of the National
Minimum Wage.
Further information and rates are
available from Business Link at
www.businesslink.gov.uk or HM
Revenue and Customs on 0545
6000 678
4

Unfair Dismissal
Employees have the right not to be
unfairly dismissed. In most
circumstances they must have at
least one year’s continuous service
before they have this right.
Further information about
dismissals can be found at Business
Link on www.businesslink.gov.uk or
ACAS at www.acas.org.uk
Notice Period
Employees who have been in
continuous employment for more
than 1 month and less than 2 years
are entitled to at least 1 weeks
notice of termination of
employment. After 2 years
continuous employment, this
increases to one week for each
year to a maximum of 12 weeks.
So for example, if you have 5 and a
half years continuous service, you
will be entitled to 5 weeks notice.
Further information can be found
at Direct Gov on
www.direct.gov.uk
Tax and National Insurance
By law, you must operate Pay as
You Earn (PAYE) on the pay of
your employees.This may be done
through a payroll provider who can
do this on your behalf.
As an employer, you must pay
National Insurance contributions
for any of your employees whose
earnings are over a certain level
(this usually increases each year).
You will also have to deduct your
employees National Insurance, but
as before, you may wish to use a
payroll provider to make these
deductions on your behalf.
Further information is available
from HM Revenue and Customs
New Employer Helpline 0845 60
70 143 or Penderels Trust 01226
201661
Statutory Sick Pay
If an employee is sick for four
consecutive days or more, they
may be entitled to Statutory Sick
Pay from you.
Further information is available
from HM Revenue and Customs at
www.hmrc.gov.uk or Penderels
Trust on 01226 201661
5

Maternity
Your employee will have certain
rights if she becomes pregnant,
such as statutory maternity leave,
paid time off work for ante-natal
care and up to 52 weeks statutory
maternity leave. Depending on the
length of time she has worked for
you and her average earnings, she
may also be entitled to statutory
maternity pay up to 39 weeks.
Further information is available
from Business Link on
www.businesslink.gov.uk , Direct
Gov on www.direct.gov.uk or HM
Revenue and Customs on
www.hmrc.gov.uk
Paternity
If your employee’s partner is
expecting a baby and your
employee will be responsible for
bringing up the child, they could
have the right to statutory
paternity leave and in some cases
statutory paternity pay.
Further information is available
from Direct Gov on
www.direct.gov.uk or Business Link
on www.businesslink.gov.uk
Redundancy
Should you need to make your
employee redundant, they may be
entitled to redundancy pay
providing they have been in
continuous employment for 2 years
or more.The amount they will be
entitled to will be based on the
length of time they have worked
for you, their age and the amount
of weekly pay.
Further information can be found
at Direct Gov on
www.direct.gov.uk and ACAS on
www.acas.org.uk
Equal Opportunities
Unless the reason for
discrimination arises from a genuine
requirement for the post, jobs must
be open to all regardless of race,
colour, nationality, ethnic or national
origin, disability, sex, sexual
orientation or marital status.
Further information and codes of
practice giving guidance about
equal opportunities can be found
on the Equality and Human Rights
Commission website –
www.equalityandhumanrights.com
6

Employers Liability Insurance
Most employers are required by
the law to ensure against liability
for injury or disease to their
employees arising out of their
employment. It is important that
you ensure appropriate employers
liability insurance is in place before
your staff begin employment.This is
to make sure that you are insured
against any possible claims which
may arise.
Further information regarding
employers liability insurance is
available from the Health and safety
executive on www.hse.gov.uk and
Penderels Trust on 01226 201661
Health and Safety
When you employ staff, you take
on responsibilities for ensuring their
health and safety whilst working for
you.
Further information is available
from the Health and Safety
Executive information line on 0845
345 0055.The National Centre for
Independent Living also produces
leaflets covering Health and Safety
for people employing personal
assistants.
Disciplinary and Grievance
A good employer should set rules
to benefit the employer and his/her
employees.This should clearly indicate
what conduct the employer considers
to be acceptable and what action
will be taken if the rules of conduct
are broken. If you are employing a
personal assistant(s) you are advised
to follow the guidance set out in the
ACAS Code of Practice Disciplinary
and Grievance Procedures when
dealing with any disputes. Further
information is available from
Business Link on their website
www.businesslink.gov.uk or from
Penderels Trust on 01226 201661.
Contact information
Business Link
www.businesslink.gov.uk
Health and Safety Executive
www.hse.gov.uk
Penderels Trust
www.barnsley@penderelstrust.org,uk
Human Rights Commission
www.equalityandhumanrights.com
ACAS
www.acas.org.uk
Direct Gov
www.direct.gov.uk
Her Majesty’s Revenue
and Customs
www.hmrc.gov.uk
UK Border Agency
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
7

Further copies of this leaflet are
available to download from our website
www.barnsley.gov.uk
You can also pick up a copy from any
Barnsley Connects Service Centre
or contact the Adult Social Services
Communications Team,
PO Box 679, Barnsley, S70 9JE.
Telephone 01226 772370.
BARNSLEY
Metropolitan Borough Council