Employing people
Discussion
How easy / difficult is it to become an employer?
Say I start a business, initially probably as a Limited Company after establishing beforehand that it's likely to develop.
It then takes off and I need help to expand or maintain performance, so decide to employ 1 or 2 people, possibly part time.
How does that stage happen?
Can you do it all yourself easily, or would most people use a service?
Ta.
Say I start a business, initially probably as a Limited Company after establishing beforehand that it's likely to develop.
It then takes off and I need help to expand or maintain performance, so decide to employ 1 or 2 people, possibly part time.
How does that stage happen?
Can you do it all yourself easily, or would most people use a service?
Ta.
It's easy enough.
You satisfy yourself that you have the cash-flow or funding to pay their wages.
You advertise for suitable people.
You take them on and that's it.
Your obligation to them supersedes any to yourself so if money's tight one month, they get their wages; you don't. You have an obligation to take from them Income Tax and NI (to which you add a further 11%) and pay this to HMRC on their behalf.
You need to have a contract of employment for each person that you can either commission a Solicitor to produce or adapt from many free templates. You need to think about a fair package in terms of remuneration, holidays, sickness, etc. Just look at other jobs advertised for similar roles in your industry to get a feel for what's right in your sector.
My only advice is that for start-ups, I'd employ the most skilled and capable person you can afford as your first employee, otherwise, you'll end up spending all your time on training and support at the expense of running the business.
You satisfy yourself that you have the cash-flow or funding to pay their wages.
You advertise for suitable people.
You take them on and that's it.
Your obligation to them supersedes any to yourself so if money's tight one month, they get their wages; you don't. You have an obligation to take from them Income Tax and NI (to which you add a further 11%) and pay this to HMRC on their behalf.
You need to have a contract of employment for each person that you can either commission a Solicitor to produce or adapt from many free templates. You need to think about a fair package in terms of remuneration, holidays, sickness, etc. Just look at other jobs advertised for similar roles in your industry to get a feel for what's right in your sector.
My only advice is that for start-ups, I'd employ the most skilled and capable person you can afford as your first employee, otherwise, you'll end up spending all your time on training and support at the expense of running the business.
and comply with all legal / liability / hr requirements etc.
it is not as simple as offer a job and pay them cash / the tax...
avoid discrimination / allow for maternity or paternity leave if relevant / handle sick pay / etc. etc.
have in place relevant policies for everything from holidays to IT use / etc.
write good contracts
think about business continuity if they leave suddenly (can you manage client work)
etc.
you can outsource much of this - but not all of it - initially the taking on of another person doesn't double the amount of work - adds maybe 50% as you have to put in all the other time as well
it is not as simple as offer a job and pay them cash / the tax...
avoid discrimination / allow for maternity or paternity leave if relevant / handle sick pay / etc. etc.
have in place relevant policies for everything from holidays to IT use / etc.
write good contracts
think about business continuity if they leave suddenly (can you manage client work)
etc.
you can outsource much of this - but not all of it - initially the taking on of another person doesn't double the amount of work - adds maybe 50% as you have to put in all the other time as well
It's not as hard as it seems, I've always employed people in my main company, but I've taken that over from others so I'm used to the process and we have an accounts person who does payroll etc etc but I've never done it from scratch "for myself" until recently when my sideline business needed staff. It's fairly easy to get setup, I did payroll for two months then outsourced it, my accountant does it for less than a tenner a month, I really can't be bothered to do it myself when it's so cheap to get someone else to do it!
As others say, the paperwork etc is the easy part, just make sure you keep an eye on them, make sure they know what they're meant to do etc. etc.
As others say, the paperwork etc is the easy part, just make sure you keep an eye on them, make sure they know what they're meant to do etc. etc.
There are plenty of free or easily available resources which give the info required to protect an organisation. For a small business the key factor is to hire well and with appropriate due diligence. If you operate a "don't be a dick" policy then you are greatly reducing the chance of getting hit with the biggest hassles.
Thanks for all the replies.
Is there a website where small business bods congregate (other than this fine sub-forum, obviously)?
Similar to the Landlords site that I know exists, but never use.
I'd like to have all my links in 1 place if possible.
Would speed up getting the background info that I need to check on legislation etc.
Is there a website where small business bods congregate (other than this fine sub-forum, obviously)?
Similar to the Landlords site that I know exists, but never use.
I'd like to have all my links in 1 place if possible.
Would speed up getting the background info that I need to check on legislation etc.
DragsterRR said:
Nothing to do with misogyny, it's to do with economics.
Grade-for-grade my female employees (8 in UK, 12 overseas) earn more fees and cause less hassle than their male counterparts. We are a consulting firm and if we can't plan around known events (e.g. sprogs dropping) then we would be in the mire. I appreciate that for other businesses it could cause different challenges. trickywoo said:
I'd say its fine until something goes wrong.
There is an awful lot of legislation out there and if you are unlucky enough to get a bad egg who's intention is to work the system to their benefit it could get expensive / stressful.
This. I know of one guy looking for a lorry driving job. This is not for actually working, this is because he knows he needs a operation on his foot and will go on the sick while healing, then take up his old job that only runs during the summer. There is an awful lot of legislation out there and if you are unlucky enough to get a bad egg who's intention is to work the system to their benefit it could get expensive / stressful.
akirk said:
you can outsource much of this - but not all of it - initially the taking on of another person doesn't double the amount of work - adds maybe 50% as you have to put in all the other time as well
Totally this - if you can beg steal or borrow a person do everything before taking anyone on because once you do (in a lot of cases) its like having the worlds most annoying and expensive puppy.I was a serial employer now its biz partner as a workmate and outsource everything we cant do even reception and messages. Once bitten.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Ah thats the rub Captains of industry and large organisations can cope better with maternity leave. ie the BBCBut the majority of business in the UK are small under 5 employees which then causes them massive disruption and cost along with keeping the role open etc.
Dont forget you also have to pay a pension now -
Staff are the hardest part of running a business I would suggest. Also the most important.
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