How to fill in NI form for Au Pair

[DrEvil]

Hello. After poring over the useful links provided on another thread by DIOM and Mranchovy, and having an entirely useless conversation with HM Revenue and Customs where the conversation went as follows;

Me: hello, I'm ringing to clarify a few points on employing an Au Pair.

HMRC girl: a what?

Me: (in a very clear voice) an au pair.

HMRC girl: very long silence............ How do you spell that?

Me: A U P A I R.

HMRC girl: oooooohhh, I've never heard of one of those before, what it do then?

Long protracted conversation follows about what an AP is and does and how much I pay her, followed by much consulting with supervisor and me being on hold, followed by her finally coming back, then getting cut off!

Anyway, we have to get AP an NI number which is winging it's way to us as I post. My question this time is is there a 'satisfactory' way of filling in this form?

The call centre lady said that if we completed the form and they were happy they would send the NI number by return, but if there were 'ishoos' AP would have to go for an in depth interview.

Now, we are paying £470 pm to reflect her experience for around 25 hrs, which comes out at £4.70 ph which is obviously below min wage, but then there is a variation as she is live in I believe.

Are they likely to be concerned as her pay doesn't reflect NMW?

Sorry, the form for the NI number is winging it's way to us.

No they won't as long as you make it clear she's live in.

Does she have a temporary NI number so you can start registering the payroll stuff straight away?

The form is fairly self-explanatory as long as AP has a satisfactory level of English or you hold her hand through it.

Thanks Frak,

no, the NI people didn't say anything about a temp number, perhaps because she's below the PAYE / NI threshold, the earnings threshold (ET) I believe its called and therefore although I have to register as an employer and provided an NI number for her we don't actually pay it iyswim.

are they speeding up getting the ni number? nice. i HAD to go for an interview (and filled the form there). if its her first time in the country, it will be pretty quick and straightforward.

I had the same sort of convo with the tax office a while ago, I said I was a MH/AP and after explaining what I did and how much I was paid and that it was cash in hand the guy was like "Well, you'd be a part time earner..." wtf? I work full time! I'm just waiting for them to send me a form to fill in again (have been waiting a good few months for this form now rolls eyes)

Pixi, did you live in the UK before you were 16? You should have been sent a NI number when you turned 16.

AFAIK there isn't a form to apply for an NI number any more, you have to go for an interview, so if you are waiting for a form you will be waiting for a long time!

HMRC are not very good at advising about this because it is actually administered by DWP, so ring your nearest JobCentre Plus find it here to arrange an interview.

agree with mranchovy

Oh yes, I have an NI number as I've never left the UK, but the tax office just can't decide what I should be earning in order to get taxed on it Every time I've called they have had a different opinion as to what my status is, so I never get answers! I'm just going to wait until I get back to PGL next year and until they send me that whole "What were you doing between Nov08 and Dec09?" spiel, because they aren't doing a brilliant job at sending me any forms of anything at the moment!

why oh why did I have to grow up?

MrA: we now have the form (from Jobcentre Plus) and it has been sent off back to them inc. copies of the APs passport and visa. It was Jobcentre Plus that advised that she would be unlikely to need an interview, it seems they are only interviewing complicated cases. So there is a form, which proved to be fairly straightforward in the end.

On the HMRC site they link you to DWP ( same as MrAs link) and administrate it from there.

All seems a bit pointless though as her Tier 5 visa specifically says she has no recourse to public funds.

Hello DrEvil... I'm sure you have all the information you need by now but just in case... my advice is not to get tied up in any way with mentioning any benefit of accommodation and the value of it. You don't need to.

This is just for jobs where accommodation is provided like certain hotel employees who get a free room as part of the deal - this benefit I think is called the accommodation allowance.

It is valued at just over £30 per week, but may confuse the person receiving the form because you are paying a lot more than normal to your au pair. So if they see this AND that you have listed an accommodation allowance then the two added together would need to be more than the minimum wage in their eyes. Obviously if your au pair lives-in and joins in with household things with you you don't need to pay her the NMW or detail any benefit of living accommodation.

Treeesa: thanks. Strangly the form is just her lersonnal details and visa info and nothing about me/ the job so it seems not to be an issue now.