Sometimes it can be beneficial to your business to employ members of your family, young people or volunteers, but it is important to consider the consequences of these decisions. When you work with a management accountant we will provide you with ongoing business support to enable you to make good decisions for your business.

If you hire family members you must:

• avoid special treatment in terms of pay, promotion and working conditions
• make sure tax and National Insurance contributions are still paid
• follow working time regulations for younger family members
• have employer’s liability insurance that covers any young family members
• check if you need to provide them with a workplace pension scheme

If you have volunteers or voluntary staff working in your business, you will need to consider the following matters:

• you are responsible for their health and safety, and you
• must give inductions and training in the tasks they’re going to do.

You can employ young people if they are 13 years or over but there are special rules about how long they can work and what jobs they can do. Once someone is 18, they are classed as an ‘adult worker’ and different rules apply. As well as following these rules you must do a risk assessment before taking on young workers.

Young peoples rights include:

• statutory maternity pay and ordinary statutory paternity pay if they qualify as a result of their continuous employment,
• paid time off for study and training, and
• redundancy pay.

Remember the National Minimum Wage varies according to age. If employing your spouse or children, you should be especially careful to observe the above points. In particular, document their duties and make sure that they are paid a commercial rate per hour for the type of work that they undertake. Employing family members can be a good move, but seek advice to prevent it causing problems in the future.

When you use a management accountant with TLA Business Services you will have access to a on-going business support helping you to make good business decisions. Call us now to arrange your meeting on 01905 21411