How do I pay our lovely cleaner?

[Alwaysfullofquestions]

We’re hiring a woman to clean once a week because work is getting busier and busier and i also have a chronic illness which causes fatigue so I struggle to keep on top of it.

My only question is how do I pay her? She wants to be paid in cash but I want to make sure I’m doing it correctly, should I be paying by BACs? Or does it not matter? Anyone I’ve hired before for things like gardening or rubbish removal has been online banking.

Just want to make sure I’m doing it right and sorry if this seems like a stupid question!

If your cleaner is lovely then just do whatever she’d prefer, don’t see why you wouldn’t TBH.

A lot of cleaners probably don't earn enough after expenses to use up their personal allowance anyway, so their tax liability would be zero.

And I agree about Amazon. They make megamillions in the UK and pay next to nothing in tax. That's why I boycott them.

@Triffid1

Amazon don't "dodge" tax, they do not pay much corporation tax, because they do not make much profit, businesses pay corporation tax on profit not turnover.

That's funny. Jeff Bezos is one of, if not THE richest man in the world. Of course Amazon makes lots of profit.

Having said that, I'd agree it's not tax dodging so much as legitimate tax loopholes that are irritatingly available to massive corporates like Amazon and that the tax authorities should absolutely be closing those loopholes.

@Amberflames jog on - I am not responsible for knowingly helping someone to evade tax because I may cash to my cleaner. As a pp pointed out, that would mean every time I pay cash at a market or for any other service there's a problem.

A builder who knocks of 20% for VAT IS my problem because in that case, I am basically attempting to get out of paying the VAT and HE is enabling me in my tax dodging.

Amazon makes very little profit because it reinvests nearly everything back into business growth, from AWS, to chip fabs, to it's own box company etc. Jeff Bezos is the world's second richest man (Musk is the first) because Amazon is worth so much money, his wealth is a combination of the value of the shares he owns combined with the money he has from selling share he previously owned. Amazon has never paid a dividend and his salary is often just a nominal dollar a year.

Amazon are doing what is actually the idea scenario for business, growing and adding value for shareholders by growth in value, rather than just handing out profit through dividend, which almost always leads to short termism in the business.

@MatildaIThink yes, I take your point re share price etc, but that doesn't change the fact that they do make a profit. The point I was making is that everyone always seems to think Amazon is dodging tax, and doing something borderline illegal and/or immoral. But in reality, they benefit from a tax system that allows allows huge corporates to find lots of loopholes - such as offshore registration. As a small business owner with none of these convenient loopholes, I find it extremely frustrating but don't blame Amazon - I blame the tax authorities.

Just pay her cash. Whether she's paying tax on it or not (probably not) is irrelevant to you. Honestly it's mental to me that people who can afford others to do their domestic work for them would begrudge a cleaner a couple of pounds. They must be so detached from the realities of life on a low income. Pay the woman cash!

My DD pays the milkman, the window cleaner , the hairdresser and Uncle Tom cobbley and all by bank transfer. I think so many people don't have cash these days that I would ask her if you can just pay her that way . Good luck .

I'm a self employed gardener and I prefer to be paid in cash as I don't want to be giving headspace to chasing people who have forgotten.

I have a new customer and he forgot a couple if weeks ago. Its easily done, and I dont want to have to log on to online banking daily to check.

With cash I collate and bank monthly, its just simpler.

Oh and before anyone mentions, every penny declared to hmrc.

Oh and before anyone mentions, every penny declared to hmrc.

@ChangeChingyChange

It's up to you, if she wants cash its because she's tax dodging. If you feel uncomfortable with this then insist on Bank transfer only. She could say no then you've lost her as a cleaner. I'd have the conversation with her before she starts. Would it really bother you that much to not just pay her in cash?

You CANNOT make such assumptions. What a nasty comment

Some people still don’t have bank accounts believe it or not

@notanothertakeaway

I've always tended to assume people who insist on being paid in cash are not paying tax. I suspect that's often the case

However, there was a recent thread here where loads of people explained that cleaners, gardeners etc often prefer cash because it's (1) guaranteed money, (2) simple, (3) easier than issuing invoices & having to check bank statements to see if they've been paid

We pay our cleaner by standing order and she's fine with that. It does mean that we pay her whether she comes or not e.g. if she is on holiday or ill. But she knows the money is guaranteed and has never requested cash

I can imagine it's quite a hassle for cleaners to issue invoices and then check bank statements to see if they've been paid. And they won't want to carry out work in advance, trusting that invoices will be paid

But I can't see any legitimate reason for objecting to payment by standing order

When I was really struggling a few years ago I used to do tutoring. At the time I preferred cash because I needed the money and if it was paid into my account it would get swallowed up by fees or whatever.

@RaisedByPangolins

All those who think cash = tax dodge are confusing people like cleaners and gardeners charging £10-15 an hour with builders charging £1000s and wanting paid in cash.

Even then, it's not necessarily tax dodging!

We've paid our builder a mix of cash and BACS. It's all been accounted for and the tax declared appropriately. The cash was used to pay labourers and for skips etc all with proper paperwork - I know because most weeks I've seen it as the lads often collect their wages off me.