to feel uncomfortable about hiring a cleaner who is not paying taxes on her earnings?

[PatronSaintOfDucks]

We are currently looking for a cleaner. We never had one before, so we know very little about the process. We rang up one lady who advertised via our local convenience store notice board. She came over for an "interview", brought all sorts of ID and promised references. She says she has lots of clients in our area. But it seemed obvious that she is not declaring her earnings for taxes. We asked if we could pay her by direct debit, she declined and asked for cash on the day. We asked if she had insurance and offered to contact the company who insures our house to see if we could add her onto it. She asked us not to bother.

On one hand, she probably does not earn much, even with a busy week, and needs the money that would have gone to taxes. On the other hand, this kind of work feels somehow wrong. We would have been happy to provide "job security" such as a formal contract that would outline such things as holiday pay and notice periods, but this feels weird.

Am I being unreasonable for feeling this way? If she has all the clients she says she has, do most people not mind it?

YANBU. It's dishonest, illegal, and tax evasion affects how much money is spent on everyone else. All those on a similar income who do pay tax "need the money" too. Agree with Lydia that going with an agency is your best option.

If you are offering her a contract with holiday pay etc then it sounds like you are employing her - and tax is your responsibility.

However, most cleaners are self employed. You use their services and it's up to them to sort out their tax.

Do you ask every service provider you use about their tax affairs? Childminder, plumber, hairdresser, taxi driver?

painauchoc, yes, I was planning to go via my house insurance. She is definitely going to be working closer to 3 than 30 hours, so you must be right on the employer issue.

Popoozle, chances are she does not earn above her tax-free allowance.

Thecleaninglady, thanks for the comments.

Insurance wouldn't improve her conditions of work. Your household insurance would cover her if eg she fell down the stairs. If you want to go via an agency, you will pay more. I pay my cleaner cash in hand out of my taxed income - why should the government get double bubble on my earnings? The amount of tax a cleaner would pay would be miniscule anyway, it's not going to save the UK economy

At work we pay the cleaner cash - she works 5 hours for us. She is an employee and tax office knows what we pay her, but she earns below the taxable amount so pays no tax. And she doesn't have a bank account. So cash is easiest for her and we are happy to do this.

RitaMorgan, no of course I do not ask every service provider. But they generally accept bank transfers, provide receipts, and are registered businesses. This is also not a one-off encounter, but someone who will be in my home every week and someone who I will have some kind of long-term relationship with.

OP if someone gets injured while in your employ it is likely to be your responsibility not theirs. If you think that this may be an issue, you need to get employers liability insurance. Others have advised you to use an agency, this may be your best course of action.

But the cleaner won't be an employee and so employers liability isn't relevant. In terms of whether someone is an employee or self employed, the tax office has a simple checklist on their website you can use to check whether they would consider you the employer or not. If you want to do things properly, it would be worth looking at this issue first.

its up to you, but id always pay cash and wouldn even consider it my business what she did apart from that as long as she did her job properly

Anyone who wants to report tax evasion - see this handy form <a class="break-all" href="https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/shortforms/form/TEH_Report?dept-name=TEH&sub-dept-name=&location=39&origin=www.hmrc.gov.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here.

Ok, I think I agree that her taxes are not my business. But insurance is, even though she is not my "employee". Thanks, ladies! You are all fabulous.

LapsusLinguae, thanks for the insight into the world beyond.

"My old cleaner was working 40hrs a week "

You either have a big house or you are very serious about having a mega spotless house.

Sorry to bump this zombie thread but I have begun to worry about my cleaner and would appreciate any advice re tax etc.

I want to pay her tax if I am liable for it. I do not want to dodge it. I also don't want to have to get rid of her because she is lovely and does a good job.

I hired her through an agency but pay her direct, cash in hand. She does three hours a week. the agency set her hourly rate and will send someone else if she is unwell or quits or whatever.

Can anyone advise whether I am liable for tax as an employer or whether she is legally self employed ?

Somewhere - she is self employed (or more accurately if there is an employer it is likely to be the agency). The general rules are does the person doing the work have some degree of autonomy about when or whether they do the work? Can they send someone else to carry out the work? Do they only work in one place or for one employer?

If she was employed by you then you would set her hourly rate, you would dictate whether someone else came instead of her and you would be her sole or majority job.

Thanks for the advice Mrs P. The answers to your q's: yes yes and I don't know.
I don't set her hourly rate, the agency told me what it was.
The agency can send someone to cover for her.
She only does 3 hrs a week for me but I have no idea whether I am her only job.

I really don't want to get her into trouble but I don't want to get myself into trouble either !