Employment law
When hiring a Personal Assistant, you must make sure that you understand how to manage your staff understand what records you need to keep under employment law.
Before your Personal Assistant starts
Skills for Care have a webpage to Before your PA starts page.
This webpage will cover:
- Contract of employment
- Paying for your personal assistant
- Redundancy
- Maternity, paternity, and adoption rights
- Health and Safety
- Insurance
- Keeping records
Insurance and Legal advice
Employer’s liability insurance:
It is essential for individual employers to carry employer’s liability insurance to ensure protection for themselves and their personal assistants in the event of an accident or incident. Both Self funders and people who use direct payments will still need to have insurance.
Staffordshire have recommended three insurance companies to choose form. The specific details and types of cover within your insurance policy can differ between companies.Please click below the links to be redirected to the insurance companies.
You should talk to your insurance company if you have any questions or queries about your staff, this doesn’t mean you are making a claim. You should have your policy number when ringing up so they can keep a file of the discussions and you are indemnified if there is a future issue.
Contract support:
Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service:
Acas gives employers free, impartial advice on:
- Workplace rights
- Rules and good practice
- Help to resolve disputes
- Online Learning
For contract templates or employment advice please see the Acas website or call 0300 123 1100 .
Acas have a prerecorded webinar run by a care sector specialist from Acas and covered a variety of topics in employment law for employers.
Please visit ILG Community website to watch the latest webinar
Employment legislation:
- The Gov.UK website offers advice and support around contracts of employment and working hours.
- For employment legalisation please the Gov.UK website.
Queries about pay
HM Revenue and Customs pages offer guidance and forms Including getting started as an employer, calculators, payroll, expenses, and benefits, paying, penalties and statutory payments.
Please see the HM Revenue website
Calculating your Personal Assistants hourly rate:
The PA hourly rate calculator calculates the suggested hourly rate payable as a guide based on the information you provide. We are not liable for any claims made by you or your staff relating to the information provided.
For assistance calculating holiday entitlement, a tool is available on the government's website, Calculate holiday entitlement.
Please also see our Personal assistant calculator.
Note: If you pay the maximum rate there will be no room to increase the pay to your PA.If your PA has worked for you for 2 years or more you should follow advice provided by Gov.UK about redundancy.