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Wendybird
06-07-2012, 07:35 PM
I am thinking of expanding my business from September. I am considering whether to take on a sibling pair full-time in addition to the ones I have. This would mean I need an assistant for 2-3 days initially, but would look to add another space as well - up to full-time.

Does anyone have a full-time assistant? What is your experience? What should I be aware of, be thinking about when I look to hire someone? Are you registered as an employer or do they work as self-employed? Do you pay minimum wage? Any pointers / tips would be great. I'm really torn about it and need to make a decision fairly quickly!

Thanks!

mr man
06-07-2012, 09:04 PM
Hoping for some replies, as i was thinking the same.

rickysmiths
06-07-2012, 09:53 PM
Firstly don't assume you can increase your numbers by working with an assistant. It will depend on the sq footage space you have.

Secondly to be able to be left in sole charge of the mindees they will have to have First Aid and from Sept will only be able to be left for a max of two hours a day.

If they earn over a certain amount a week they will need to be employed and you will need to be their employer and pay tax and NI and produce a PAYE payslip. many accountants will do this for a reasonable fee. They will also have paid sick leave, paid holiday, maternity pay. You would have to pay for their training as well, maybe a work polo or coverall, any extra insurance and mileage if they needed to use their car for school runs or outings.

The best place to find the levels of pay per week would be on the HMRC website.

I must say when I looked into it a couple of years ago I didn't think it was worth the expense and hassle for the little or no extra profit I was going to make out of it. I have stuck to my numbers on my own and make a very good living without the agro of employing someone.

What do you do on the day if they ring in sick?
How do you cover their holidays?
What do you do if several families give notice and you can't afford or don't need an assistant because you can't fill your vacancies immediately?

Wendybird
07-07-2012, 08:18 AM
Yes, these are all good things to consider. I'm not sure the maximum pay for self-employment exists any more, I can't find any evidence of it. Does anyone who works with an assistant talk to me about their experiences? I think I would realistically be looking at registering several assistants so as to have back-up in case of illness or holiday really and then putting together a loose rota. Then people could refuse the work if they wanted, which I believe is a key factor to being self-employed from what I can see. Clearly I would speak to HMRC before moving forward with it, but on the surface it does look profitable and I would be doing it so as to be able to keep current mindees. I have two of my own under-fives, so I'm not talking masses of mindees!

mummyof3
07-07-2012, 10:51 AM
I work with an assistant 2 days a week and soon will be increasing to 3/4 days a week. She is self employed so she works 'as and when' needed alongside her other job. I do pay a lot of money out to her and sometimes wonder why I take on extra children because I don't see much of the profit and benefit to this. The big positive is you get adult conversation and someone who has an extra pair of hands and eyes!

You will need to weigh up the options and see how this would work for you. I am allowed more children when working with her but the children I have taken on more or less pay her fees so really its extra work, extra paperwork and I don't see the financial benefit but I do love working with her.

Hope this makes sense!! :D

rickysmiths
07-07-2012, 12:16 PM
Yes, these are all good things to consider. I'm not sure the maximum pay for self-employment exists any more, I can't find any evidence of it. Does anyone who works with an assistant talk to me about their experiences? I think I would realistically be looking at registering several assistants so as to have back-up in case of illness or holiday really and then putting together a loose rota. Then people could refuse the work if they wanted, which I believe is a key factor to being self-employed from what I can see. Clearly I would speak to HMRC before moving forward with it, but on the surface it does look profitable and I would be doing it so as to be able to keep current mindees. I have two of my own under-fives, so I'm not talking masses of mindees!

Its not Self Employment it when you Employ someone there is a max amount per week you can pay them before they have to become employed by you and not self employed.

ziggy
07-07-2012, 12:51 PM
I seriously considered taking my friend on as my assistant. We get on really well and often take mindees to visit her as she has donkeys, chickens etc

I charge £20 per child for full day, £3.20 per hour part time and £3.50 for schoolies so i really cant see any financial gain from having an assistant

Having said that i would enjoy the adult company

Personally i dont think it is worth the hassle but i'm sure other minders with assistants will say different

winstonian
07-07-2012, 02:05 PM
I work with an assistant - she does 16.5 hours a week taking her just under the level where I would need to pay her tax and national insurance - she is employed by me and gets paid holiday. I charge £3.25 - £3.50 an hour but as my husband and mum are also assistants but work for free I do make more than I pay her.
I have to say she is wonderful, she has her NNEB and the days she is here are so much easier. Also all teh kids love her and on 1 day she brings her little boy and pays me to have him.

Little Bear
07-07-2012, 10:02 PM
I have 3 part time assistants, but only 2 work with me at any one time. My business is going from strength to strength. I love the flexibility you have with another set of eyes and hands. All my assistants are NVQ Level 3 qualified and First Aid trained as well as attended all core training.
It's good to have another opinion on observations, especially with the 2 year old assessment coming in.
I would recommend working with assistants, yes you do need to look in to costs but having a couple of part time staff rather than 1 full time gives you cover when 1 employee is ill and can reduce your employer NI you pay when you split the hours between the employees. I have to pay employer NI I think it's around the 17/18 hour.
:jump for joy:

Wendybird
08-07-2012, 10:08 AM
I have 3 part time assistants, but only 2 work with me at any one time. My business is going from strength to strength. I love the flexibility you have with another set of eyes and hands. All my assistants are NVQ Level 3 qualified and First Aid trained as well as attended all core training.
It's good to have another opinion on observations, especially with the 2 year old assessment coming in.
I would recommend working with assistants, yes you do need to look in to costs but having a couple of part time staff rather than 1 full time gives you cover when 1 employee is ill and can reduce your employer NI you pay when you split the hours between the employees. I have to pay employer NI I think it's around the 17/18 hour.
:jump for joy:


Yes, I was thinking a couple of part-time people registered as assistants as well - makes sense in terms of cover too. It would really suit mums at the local school as the hours I would need would mean they could drop off and pick up their own kids. Do you pay minimum wage?

Wendybird
08-07-2012, 10:09 AM
I work with an assistant - she does 16.5 hours a week taking her just under the level where I would need to pay her tax and national insurance - she is employed by me and gets paid holiday. I charge £3.25 - £3.50 an hour but as my husband and mum are also assistants but work for free I do make more than I pay her.
I have to say she is wonderful, she has her NNEB and the days she is here are so much easier. Also all teh kids love her and on 1 day she brings her little boy and pays me to have him.

That sounds like a really nice arrangement. I think I would need a couple of people as DH could cover in an emergency, but does work outside the home full-time.

Wendybird
08-07-2012, 10:12 AM
I seriously considered taking my friend on as my assistant. We get on really well and often take mindees to visit her as she has donkeys, chickens etc

I charge £20 per child for full day, £3.20 per hour part time and £3.50 for schoolies so i really cant see any financial gain from having an assistant

Having said that i would enjoy the adult company

Personally i dont think it is worth the hassle but i'm sure other minders with assistants will say different

I charge £5 an hour, so may be able to make it work financially. I would dearly love the adult company as well. I am doing this very small time at the moment, but we are in the process of buying a new, bigger house and there is scope to grow the business. If I decide not to grow the business I can see I'll really only be able to do it for another couple of years at most without going insane as a lone worker (extrovert, me.) :D

Wendybird
08-07-2012, 10:16 AM
Its not Self Employment it when you Employ someone there is a max amount per week you can pay them before they have to become employed by you and not self employed.

I can't find that figure on the HMRC website, I think maybe they class it differently now? I need to phone them this week to check it out. A maximum amount earned doesn't make sense really as people like consultants, freelance writers, designers, engineers, etc will all be paid quite well and can do very regular work for businesses, but still retain their self-employment status? Like you, I'm not sure I can do with all the hassle of registering as an employer, etc. Though I may decide to if the numbers stack up. I am very much in the thinking about it stage :thumbsup: