can you help me word a contract please

[mummysaidno]

I am drawing up one between myself and an assistant. She will be self employed and responsible for own tax etc, giving me an invoice each month. firstly I am struggling to know what to term the contract as, any ideas?

Email me (my website is on my profile) I got one from business link

I don't think that HMRC will view this person as self-employed, leaving you liable for £££ in tax and NI plus a possible fine.

How can I make such a bold statement? Because you are calling her an assistant. Assisting someone is almost always a position of employment.

More about this here.

I agree with MrA. I can't see how someone helping you as a CM can be Self Employed. They are surely under your control.

hi i have an assisstant i phoned inland revenue to check i explained that childminders were self employed that they usually dont make enough to pay tax anyways and pay the lower case national insurance but can actually apply to be excempt so would i need to be there employer as they wouldnt be making enough plus i woulndnt be making that much either they said tht it was ok we explained tht she was self employed as an assisstant and when need would be phoned and asked to come in and help. ( like a builder being contracted for a year on a job they are still self employed). i did keep asking to make sure it as ok and they ensured me it was ok. surely if they dont make enough to pay tax themselfs then as an employer you wouldnt need to pay employers contribution would you ??

The person you have as an assistant isn't a childminder though, are they? They do work for you... so if they don't earn enough (in total in all their jobs, not just when working for you) to pay tax - well the lower earnings limit for NICs - then you don't need to do anything.

See www.hmrc.gov.uk/PAYE/intro to see details of Lower Earnings Limits and when you need to operate PAYE.

If calling HMRC about employment status, you must speak to a Status Officer, not just a helpline... as far as I can tell it is up to a Status Officer to decide if a job is SE or PAYE, not anyone else.

Even if you did have to pay employers NI, it's tax deductible... so helps to reduce your tax bill.

Did you really say "childminders usually dont make enough to pay tax" - surely that's not right. Some childminders can be turning over £60k, sure a lot of that is taken off in expenses, but they will still pay some tax. If a childminder only cares for one or two children, then maybe they won't earn enough... but many childminders I know will have their full quota of children... plus some over 8's. They will certainly be paying tax.
As a childminder with an assistant... surely you will be making enough to have to pay some tax on profits. By employing an assistant, you can deduct the costs of employing that member of staff from your profits (at least that's how I understand it) so you wouldn't be wanting them to be SE.