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Employment law

If you have decided that your personal assistant is an ‘employee’ then that
makes you an employer and you will have obligations under employment law.
Even if your personal assistant is self-employed for tax purposes, for employment
law they may have a different status such as a ‘worker’ which means that you
may need to know some of the content of this section too. See page 12 for more
about this.

As an employer you will have certain responsibilities, which include, but are not
restricted to:

• Complying with employment law (e.g. giving a written statement of
particulars of employment) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) law;
• Satisfying yourself as to the identity of a person and ensuring that anyone you
employ has a right to work in the United Kingdom;

• Operating a payroll so that you can pay your employee.

See www.gov.uk/employing-staff for further obligations to think about when
employing someone for the first time.

The rest of this section considers some of the legal aspects of being an employer
in more detail. However, it has been written in very general terms and as this is a
complicated area, you should ensure you take appropriate advice before acting
or refraining to act on any of the contents here. We have included links to further
information where possible. You can also find a wealth of information on the
ACAS website: www.acas.org.uk

We tell you more about ACAS and other sources of help at the end of this chapter.

Employment contract

The agreement to enter into an employment relationship with someone (i.e. the
‘contract’) doesn’t have to be in writing – it can be verbal. However, an employer
is required by law to give an employee a written statement setting out the main
details of the employment within two months of the beginning of the employment.

It must include details such as:
• The names of the employer and employee

• The date the employment began

• Details of pay, hours of work, holidays and
holiday pay (see later)

• The place of work
• A description of the work the employee is employed to undertake.

page 18 Taking on a personal assistant – a basic guide • Employment law