Wife cannot work - Mental Health Issues

fishybusiness

You seem to be making it very complicated.

I agree, as long as her PAYE paperwork and returns are up to date and correct, no one cares. It's legal, and plenty do it to pick up the tax allowance.

You could make her a director instead, and she could be an office holder, subject to self assessment rather than PAYE.

UKSBD

McKneff wrote: »

If your company is doing well, why not just let her resign, and just let her be like thousands of others and just be a stay at home mum, earning nothing.
Why do benefits have to come into it at all. just let her help out where she can. As a favour to her husband. Seems simple enought o me x

You seem to be making it very complicated.

2 points really
With her working for the company it's an approx. £4k tax saving a year




Regarding benefits
I'm thinking more long term and what would happen to her and our family if anything happened to me.

Darksparkle

fishybusiness wrote: »

I agree, as long as her PAYE paperwork and returns are up to date and correct, no one cares. It's legal, and plenty do it to pick up the tax allowance.

You could make her a director instead, and she could be an office holder, subject to self assessment rather than PAYE.

Directors go through PAYE too on salary and benefits.

UKSBD

Darksparkle wrote: »

So a wage of £8500 is approx £163 a week. So that would allow entitlement to SSP. So if she got a fit note confirming she isn't fit to work the company can choose to either pay her SSP for 28 weeks or occupation sick pay at a higher rate if they wish.

As she is eligible for SSP, she cannot claim ESA unless you dismiss her. It wouldnt be redundancy because it is her that is no longer available to work rather than the job no longer being there.

I don't really want to dismiss her or put her on sick pay.


As others have said, I am over complicating thing


The problem is my wife says she feels guilty taking a wage from the company and is worried she will get in to trouble (related to her mental health issues, she overworries about everything)


I just want to reassure her that what we are doing is OK (I hope)


I think I should have just asked this question in an accountants forum, too many weird replies here

Guest101

It's not weird at all though.


Consider what variety of jobs there are.


People get paid to wear clothes, people get paid not to wear clothes. People get paid to watch tv, people get paid to do all sorts of things.

GirlFromMars_2

UKSBD wrote: »

2 points really
With her working for the company it's an approx. £4k tax saving a year



Regarding benefits
I'm thinking more long term and what would happen to her and our family if anything happened to me.

Firstly, hopefully you have life insurance. I'm assuming the business is of a nature that it would not continue to support your wife & family if you were unable to work?

Secondly, sorting out your wife's benefits now is important, as you say she's been paying National Insurance contributions, so she should be entitled to contributions based benefits now, but if you wait too long to claim she would not be entitled if her NI contributions have run out.

As people have said, she is entitled to SSP, so maybe moving towards that with a view to claiming ESA-Conts once that runs out. A first step would be getting her to her GP for a fit note, and advice about how to improve her health so that maybe she can return to work at some point.

Not everyone needs a Face to Face assessment for ESA, just make sure she has enough supporting medical evidence & that her evidence meets the descriptors.

Darksparkle

UKSBD wrote: »

I don't really want to dismiss her or put her on sick pay.


As others have said, I am over complicating thing


The problem is my wife says she feels guilty taking a wage from the company and is worried she will get in to trouble (related to her mental health issues, she overworries about everything)


I just want to reassure her that what we are doing is OK (I hope)


I think I should have just asked this question in an accountants forum, too many weird replies here

Why wouldn't you want to pay her sick pay? It's the company that pays it, it's not a benefit.

Or make it a company policy that allows sick pay to be paid at full pay for X number of months. Mines is 5 months full pay, 5 months half pay.

UKSBD

Guest101 wrote: »

It's not weird at all though.


Consider what variety of jobs there are.


People get paid to wear clothes, people get paid not to wear clothes. People get paid to watch tv, people get paid to do all sorts of things.

Changing your tune a bit.
Earlier you said they could be paid to do nothing.

UKSBD

Darksparkle wrote: »

Why wouldn't you want to pay her sick pay? It's the company that pays it, it's not a benefit.

Or make it a company policy that allows sick pay to be paid at full pay for X number of months. Mines is 5 months full pay, 5 months half pay.

That makes it sound even more dodgy,


It may not be, but when you are trying to reassure someone with mental health issues that they are not doing anything wrong, telling them you are paying them sick pay when they are still doing a bit of work isn't really the right answer, thanks though.

Darksparkle

UKSBD wrote: »

That makes it sound even more dodgy,


It may not be, but when you are trying to reassure someone with mental health issues that they are not doing anything wrong, telling them you are paying them sick pay when they are still doing a bit of work isn't really the right answer, thanks though.

It's difficult to give advice if your not willing to accept any or change the circumstances.

You said in your OP she is doing nothing.

If I am sick and can't work for more than a week, I get a fit note from my GP. My employer then pays me full pay for 5 months then half pay for 5 months. There is nothing dodgy in them doing so, it's my contractual right. It actually makes them a better employer than some who only pay SSP.

My employer can still choose to dismiss me during sick leave depending on the circumstances or they can choose to continue to employee me. They have processes in place for that too. It's all part of being an employer.