When you start work as a nanny the parents who employ you are responsible for operating a PAYE (Pay As You Earn) scheme on your behalf.

This means that you are their employee and they must register as an employer with HMRC, which can be done through the local tax office.

Your Employers should..

Pay your tax & National Insurance Contributions…

• It is your employer’s responsibility to make the correct deductions from your gross pay and pay these to HMRC. Your gross wage is made up of your net pay + your income tax + employee’s National Insurance Contributions (NICs). Additionally your employer also has an employer’s NIC to pay. It is strongly recommended that you agree a gross wage with your new employer, not a net wage.

• Your income tax and the NICs are payable to HMRC on a quarterly basis.

Provide you with regular payslips…

Your employer must provide you with a payslip every time you are paid. The payslip must show your gross wage, the tax and NI deductions made on your behalf, as well as your net wage. You should keep your payslips in a safe place, as you may need them as proof of earnings when applying for a loan or a mortgage.

Provide you with an employment contract…

• Your employer must provide you with either an employment contract or a statement of the terms and conditions of your employment within two calendar months of your start date.

• The document should include all terms and conditions that you have agreed with your employer, including your start date, hours of work, starting salary (which should specify gross or net), holiday entitlement etc. It should also include their agreement to operate PAYE on your behalf.

• The contract might also include a detailed description of your duties, house rules and disciplinary procedures and any other benefits to which you may be entitled (e.g. use of a car provided by your employer or re-imbursement of motoring costs if you use your own vehicle for work).

• Your contract of employment is a legally binding agreement and obliges both you and your employer to keep to the terms of employment spelled out in it. These terms can of course be changed at any time by mutual agreement.

• A standard form of contract is available from Nannytax and most nanny agencies and they can be modified to fit the circumstances specific to your particular employment.

• It is your employer’s legal responsibility, not yours, to ensure that a PAYE scheme is set up and that your income tax and NICs are paid when due. Non-compliance is a criminal offence and may result in a substantial fine.

  
  
  
  
  Information gathered from Nanny Tax 2011.
  For more information on your regulations and rights please go to www.nannytax.co.uk