Who can tel me about Childcare Vouchers & nanny work [hmm]

[navyeyelasH]

Hey everyone bit of a confusing situation here so bear with me, I'm hoping that someone will be able to help me out.

Right I work as a nanny Mon-Thurs for a lovely family been with them for ages and they sort out my tax etc and I get paid "real money" as they don't qualify for vouchers etc.

With my Fridays, evenings and weekend free I have decided to set up a ad-hoc childcare service, so effectively I will be self employed, will invoice parents they pay invoiced, I sort out my own tax (is that right?!).

As a result of setting up my ad-hoc service I have got regular work on Fridays. This family want to pay me using vouchers. For this Friday job would I be better of remaining self employed (if this is even allowed?) or should they pay me like my Mon-Thurs family do?

If I did remain self employed how would this effect the voucher payment, I'm assuming they can pay me using vouchers even though I am self employed because child minders are self employed but can be paid through voucher scheme?

Hope this all makes sense, Ofsted is about as clear as mud and so is the inland revenue!

Thanks v much xx

I think if you're working regularly for a family as a nanny that you can't be doing it on a self-employed basis. So the second family would need to employ you, and pay you like your Mon-Thurs family do.

Hi Cosette, thanks very much for the help.

Now I'm not doubting you here because I am sure you are right (this was my thought too), but is there someone more "official" I can check this at do you think?

It's just that I'm going to need to tell the Friday family that I can't be self employed so need to make sure I have my facts right. Sounds like I'm being ungrateful but I am sure you get what I mean .

You'd expect it to be on ofsted somewhere right but I can't find anything for the life of me!

Oh,

I just stumbled upon this: www.nannytax.co.uk/news/moneybox3.html is says that your are classed as an employee if "your income comes from just one source ? or two if you have two part-time jobs (as against from a number of different sources)"

But I get my income for a minimum of 3 sources each week (min of 4 if you include the Mon-Thurs family) sometimes more depending on bookings. We need a confused smiley!

I think you need to be registered, like childminders, to be able to be paid by voucher.

Hi Moshie, I am registered through the voluntary part of ofsted already, I pay for it & my liability insurance myself.

This is such a confusing situation! I really hope that I can be classed as self employed as you do get some good tax breaks and I have bought car sets and buggys and things.

Maybe my hope is clouding my judgement!

you do need to be registered to be able to use the vouchers

so if you are not,and unlikely to be if your perm mon/thur job doesnt need you to be

so

fri job will have to pay £100 to get you a new crb, you will also need first aid, as well as a common core certicate - which is where it gets confusing - some new quals will cover this, but other older quals (ie NNEB) might not depending when you passed

a basic common core course costs about £160 - there was a post and links about it

calls Nick for help to find it

tech if you are going to work for this fanily for over 6mths you can not be se nanny for them, as se nannies can only be temp or MN, but you CANT stay in a position for over 6mths as a temp,as then its a perm position, and nannies cant be se as perm

does that make sense to you?

oops you replied as i typed

could have saved my fingers a bit

one question - why are you registerd if you mon/thur family cant/dont use vouchers? Seems a waste of money for you to spend imo

though ALL nannies should be insurance by mortonmichel etc , and have public liab

Yup it makes sense, I am already registered with Ofsted but never heard of this common core certificate?

Anyways, I'm guessing that For my Mon-Thrs family & my Fri family that I will be classed as an employee. then for any ad-hoc work that lasts less than 6 months I will be self employed??

I am registered because it makes it more attractive for ad-hoc families. Even if they can't use the vouchers families see ofsted registration as some seal of approval & sign of commitment to career.

I can't find anything official on this either. Seems that HMRC may make judgements on a case by case basis.
If you speak with a Status Officer at HMRC they may make a judgement for say your proposed Friday job.

Thanks everyone, I will try and give them another call tomorrow, it seems they don't like to answer the phone!

In case anyone needs to know this I finally got through to HMRC & my local status officer.

You can be a Self Employed nanny if you provide care for various different families that change frequently, buy things for your business (ie I just got some car seats & a buggy) and determine your own hours & rates.

If the work becomes more "regular" with a family then they MUST employ you. But the status officer said that the words "regular" are open to negotiation and reflected in case law. So could mean same family regardless of days but could also mean seeing same family on same days each time if you see what I mean?

I have one family that I look after all the time and my hours are dictated by that family and laid out firmly in a contact. For this reason I am classed as an employee with that family and they sort my tax/ni out; but then I have loads of other families and for them I am self employed. I have worked for one family for 3 months but vary the days I work to suit my schedule and some weeks do not work for them at all, so the status officer said that is SE work as I dictate my availability to the family not them to me etc.

It's a bit confusing really! In addition, if a nanny declares herself SE incorrectly it is the family who pay the price & penalty which is a backdate in taxes and a fine apparently so it pays to et these things straight!