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Introduction

The government are encouraging independent living by giving you more choice
on how your needs are met. They have done this by allowing bodies such as local
government social services, the NHS and Department for Work and Pensions to
give you money.

The idea is that rather than having services arranged
for you, you can use the money to pay for someone
(a personal assistant) to provide the help and support
you need to live independently. Even if you don’t
qualify for help from the government, you may choose
to use your own money to pay someone to help and
support you.

Whether you use money from the government to
pay for a personal assistant or your own money, you
may become an employer and have to deal with the
responsibilities that this brings such as tax, National Insurance contributions,
paying wages and employment law.

The responsibilities of being an employer may present difficulties for some
people, due to the lack of information available. This is particularly the case with
regards to the tax implications of being a small employer. For example there is
lots of information on the government’s website (www.gov.uk) about running a
payroll and paying an employee if you are an employer but it’s quite difficult to
pick out the bits that are most relevant to those who take on a personal assistant
and put them altogether.

The aim of this guide is to introduce you to the main things you need to know
about if you are thinking of taking on a personal assistant. We hope that this will
provide at least a starting point to help you understand the responsibilities of
being an employer, particularly from a tax perspective.

Our factsheets supplement some of the more technical parts of this
guide in a handy format. You can download these factsheets from
www.disabilitytaxguide.org.uk/about/resources

There is more detailed information again, on our website:
www.disabilitytaxguide.org.uk

Becoming an employer is a big responsibility and may seem like a daunting
prospect, but all of our disability tax guide material, when taken together, will
hopefully provide you with sufficient background knowledge to help you feel
confident in what you need to do.

page 5 Taking on a personal assistant – a basic guide • Introduction