Cash in hand to our cleaner

RAS

From the benefits board it appears that the earning disregard for a single parent is £20-25 depending on the benefit.

NAR

SnargleFlip wrote: »

However, as we pay our cleaner directly, in cash, she's not employed by this agency nor is she strictly speaking employed by us.

So therefore she is self-employed and is responsible for paying her tax and NI and also declaring to all relevant government departments/agencies details of her earnings, which may or may not affect benefits.

Lilacblue

This is not a simple area. This lady may say that she is self-employed (or you may believe her to be) but the tax office may take a different view and conclude that she is an employee. Worst case scenario is then that you become liable for outstanding tax/NI/employers NI deductions that she has not paid (note though this is absolutely worst case...she would be chased for the money first). To be honest, if she is being investigated for benefit fraud I'd be surprised if anything is going through the books in the correct way. The agency acted merely as an introductory agency and are therefore out of the picture (although a good agency should be ensuring that cleaners have liability insurance etc)

So. Is she self-employed or is she an employee? Well, ask yourself the following questions...

Does she provide you with an invoice?
Did she set the rate of pay or did you?
Is she able to substitute another worker to do the work in her place?
Do you control her working times or does she?
Does she provide her own equipment and cleaning products?

The answer to these questions should be YES.
You can use a really useful online tool at the HMRC website, which will take you through the process of understanding self-employment status.

I'd advise in future that you get invoices from her, at least this covers your back. You can't control whether she's acting legally or not, but you can protect your own position. Good luck.

masterlumps

she *should* be registered as self employed for tax and NI (even if she doesnt earn enough to have to pay tax)

if she is being investigated for benefit fraud the chances are she is not registered with HMRC

you have no liablity though

i am a self empolyed taxi operator and it is up to ME to sort my affairs, not all the people who pay me

msmyth18

PLEASE do not even bother helping her. Benefit cheats dont deserve help

ailuro2

Pay her by cheque from now on, or by bank transfer straight into her account, that way it is traceable and will show you weren't trying to pay her 'off the books' as it were, that should put your mind at rest.

cavework

As far as I understand it regarding cleaners. If someone is self employed they must have more than one client and invoice for work completed. HMRC can be very strict on this
If she hasn't other clients and is not invoicing be very careful as you could be deemed to be her employer and back dated NI and tax could become your responsibility.
Ask for her public liability insurance and as someone has already said pay by cheque after you receive an invoice.

katebl

Just out of interest (thanks OP for starting an informative thread) what would be the minimum detail anyone would expect to see on an invoice from your cleaners? Or would a receipt for cash paid suffice? What exactly is a legal requirement when not earning enough to register for VAT?

If I need to start a new thread please tell me, don't want to hijack but this could help OP too?

cavework

katebl wrote: »

Just out of interest (thanks OP for starting an informative thread) what would be the minimum detail anyone would expect to see on an invoice from your cleaners? Or would a receipt for cash paid suffice? What exactly is a legal requirement when not earning enough to register for VAT?

If I need to start a new thread please tell me, don't want to hijack but this could help OP too?

Invoice with ref number should be addressed to client stating hourly rate and hours worked or charge for job completed , dates the invoice covers from and to, VAT if applicable. Name and address of self employed person and landline phone number ( mobile is not acceptable).
This invoice number should be quoted when payment is made by the client.
VAT does not make any difference except if VAT registered the VAT element should be entered as a seperate element on the invoice before the total sum due.

Newly_retired

I had cleaners from an agency for a number of years and always paid them cash. It never occurred to me that I might have any sort of liability for their NI or tax, though I did wonder how their pay might affect their benefits, but to be honest, I thought it was up to them, not me.