the difference between working with a assistant vs childminder

[discoverandgo]

Hi there, My daughter in law would love to become a childminder, she has worked in schools and loves children, she is currently in the process of applying for her DBS, about to do her pediatric 1st aid ( booked on the course), along with safeguarding and infectious control courses. As im a established childminder who often turns people away due to being full, could i take her on as a assistant ?? The real goal as to her being a self employed childminder where we would work together until she feels comfortable or ready to go alone. What else should we know or do?? i know i would need to inform ofsead, would they come and do another inspection?? TIA for any advice.

The main difference is she would be your employee so assuming you're doing to pay her, you would need to register an an employer and pay her tax, ni and insurance once she's over the threshold (around £100pw off the top of my head). As an assistant she could only be left in sole charge for shorter periods (I think it's 2 hours) and then only if she has first aid. You would also need parents permission for her to be left with children and keep track on a register. You would need to contact Ofsted if you want an assistant and complete the relevant paperwork.

As a stating point being an assistant sounds the way to go whilst she's finding her feet but if it's something she wants to do longer term being a childminder in her own right makes sense and I know quite a few childminders who co-mind with grown up children or spouses and it works well.

My childminder has done this - her friend started working with her as an assistant while waiting for her own registration to come through. It works really well and even though they are both now registered they still work together every day. I like that my daughter has two adults looking after her plus she is with a bigger group of children so more friends to play with.

No i would ask her to invoice me as a adhoc contractor therefore she would be registered as self employed and i don't have to go down all the pension/ NI/Tax road, Parents would all meet her before and have a new policy to include her in care provision. Does that all sound ok or is there something im missing?? i know i have to inform Ofsted. Thanks again :D

Not sure if you can do it legally with her self employed. You need to check IR35 legislation which determines if somebody is employed or self employed. Both parties wanting self employed doesn't equal self employed!

I know more about self employment than about ofsted, but it seems to me that if she is using your registration to work, that's more of an employee status than if she was registered in her own right.

best i contact ofsted i think, she is in the process of registering but its not a quick process

If you rely on her for numbers she will need to be employed by you as she won't be able to turn down work.

Also talk to your insurer. They may not be happy with you having a paid helper who is not an employee on your premises. It's a bit like subletting space in your business.

If they don't do many hours, get paid very much (you would need to pay at least NMW) then they are unlikely to want a pension and if earning under £10,000 would not be auto-enrolled. You would need a scheme but you can do that with a provider who does not charge.

This often comes up about the self employed status. You can have them as self employed. i asked HMRC and have been happily doing it for about 5 years now.

Thank you, yes were going to work as 2 independent registered childminders, both with our own insurance, both as self employed.