Under UK law, you become an employer when you take on a nanny and that brings with it certain responsibilities, one of which is to maintain payroll records for your nanny’s pay. In practice, this means submitting figures to HMRC every pay day and making deductions from pay.
Some nannies will suggest that they pay their own tax and National Insurance. Unfortunately, in 99% of cases this just isn’t an option, since HMRC clearly categorises this type of work as employment, not self-employment. HMRC places the responsibility firmly on you as an employer, regardless of your nanny’s circumstances elsewhere. By law, you must be registered as an employer and make quarterly tax and NI payments.
It’s a very important distinction; an employment situation attracts Employer’s National Insurance, whereas payments to a self-employed person don’t. This means that the taxman loses out considerably when employers treat employees as if they were self-employed. That’s just one of the reasons why HMRC rules are so very strict on the matter.
Very, very rarely a genuine case of self-employment may arise. For example, if a nanny were to specialise in settling newborns and therefore flit from job to job. If you think your case may be exceptional, you must use the employment status indicator tool on the HMRC website to determine the nanny’s true status. The tool is anonymous and provides a useful insight into the difference between employment and self-employment.
For example, a self-employed person will typically (but not always) be paid per job of work, whereas an employee will normally be paid an hourly rate or salary.
For a definitive answer, use HMRC’s Employment Status Indicator tool here: www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/esi.htm