Au pair and HMRC/registering as an employer??

[MrsMorse]

We have had one au pair who just left and are about to get our second, but I’m confused if I need to do anything with HMRC? I didn’t think I did, but read a small comment online saying we should register as their employer!? help!

You definitely would need to if you had a nanny.

I think that doesn’t apply to au pairs? They don’t get anywhere near the min wage either so I’m not sure how that gets worked out tbh...

If you pay over £118 per week you need to register as an employer with HMRC or use a payroll service.

www.gov.uk/national-insurance-rates-letters

APs are not entitled to NMW but they are subject to NI and tax.

Thank you, I knew this to be honest. Is there something about letting hmrc know they are with you because of real time information? Our last (and first) au pair had a second job at the pub earning about £40 a week which we took her to £150 total as we paid £110

I do mine through Nannytax. The AP needs to get an NI number first.

Nannytax are quite expensive but then I don't have to worry about it!

Mrs Morse - no you’re fine. You just need to ensure that your au pair is registering her second job as a second job. I ask for a wage slip as proof.

Who does she register it as a second job with please?

If she has two jobs that take her over the threshold in total, she will need to get a national insurance number and you will still need to register as an employer, even if no tax/NI is payable on her earnings from you.

Otherwise, her other job will be her primary job and use her tax-free allowance so you will be liable for tax/NI on what you pay her.

Some AP families forbid secondary employment to avoid this exact situation.

Dropoff - no that’s not right. As long as she registers her second job as a second job there is no need for you to register as an employer.

So when she takes on the new job the company need to use the code BR as a tax code (she just needs to tell them that it is a second job).
You then to keep a wage slip as proof.

OP HMRC will talk it through with you if you’re unsure.