Hello there,
We have an 8 year old, a six year old with a learning disability and a three month old so I have needed some extra help during the pinchpoints like after school so that I can breast feed the baby. I found a really nice girl who's good with the kids with good references and a dbs on childcare.co.uk who was looking for mothers help type work. We agree week by week when she'll come a for few hours with me there too, fitting in around her part time retail job, and I pay her cash in hand. Is this ok if it is never more than 8 hours a week and she is happy? Or are we legally obligated to set her up as PAYE? Would it be an alternative for us to pay her a bit more on the basis that she is working freelance and organising her own tax? Would it be a good idea for us to draw up a bit of an informal contract? Also, do we need any kind of insurance in case she hurts herself in any way? We don't have the resources to commit to a lot of hours and a complicated agency style contract right now but it would be good to know where we stand with this and what the right thing to do is. Thanks!