What you need to know when employing domestic staff

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What you need to know when employing domestic staff

When you employ domestic staff in the UK you become an employer and as such you take on a host of responsibilities. For instance, you have to draw up an employment contract with your employee within 2 months of their starting date and you must also give your employee a payslip every time they get paid.

It is a legal responsibility that you have employer’s liability insurance, and you must also make sure that you pay your employee at least the NMW or above.

In addition you need to have a good understanding of the basics of employment law, because it’s surprisingly easy to make mistakes when you're juggling issues such as holiday entitlement, SSP, benefits in kind, SMP and redundancy pay.

Stafftax has more than 17 years' experience in doing payroll for domestic employers, and our website is packed with essential information for new as well as experienced employers. Use the Stafftax website as a resource to familiarise yourself with all your legal obligations and don't hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

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Your annual Nannytax subscription entitles you to unlimited use of our extensive employment law support service. We encourage you to make as much use of the legal help-line as you need to manage your employment relations effectively.

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Wealth warning

Domestic employment is probably the only profession left in the UK where wages are still commonly agreed on the basis of net (i.e. take-home) pay. But there are considerable financial implications at stake for both employer and employee.