Job for 16 y/o son

[fridgedoctor]

Hi, can anyone help me with some advice
I work for myself, small Ltd co.
My son is 16, but off school for exams/study leave (all exams now sat)
Can I give him a job helping out, and pay him a smallish wage ( also carry on into summer hols - he is keen to earn)
I see some mention of 24 hrs a week, and other contradictory stuff.
Will it be a ball ache RE child benefit?
He is staying on next year.
Thanks

[mph1977]

fridgedoctor said:

Hi, can anyone help me with some advice
I work for myself, small Ltd co.
My son is 16, but off school for exams/study leave (all exams now sat)
Can I give him a job helping out, and pay him a smallish wage ( also carry on into summer hols - he is keen to earn)
I see some mention of 24 hrs a week, and other contradictory stuff.
Will it be a ball ache RE child benefit?
He is staying on next year.
Thanks

for over 16s the limitations are more related to hours worked on top of their study / approved job with training ... there are some other considerations with workers under 18 mainly related to increased duty of care, shift lengths and night working

[Mr SFJ]

Speaking from when I worked with my dad when I was 16, I can vaguely remember it was a ball ache to make it feasible. So I started work in retail.

IMO working in retail is almost a right of passage as a teenager as you learn to deal with irate customers and it teaches you how to grit your teeth. Also it teaches good communication skills.

W/O retail, I don't think that I would be in the job I am now, as I need people skills to communicate with clients.

[mike-r]

I remember doing a few weeks work for my dad, voluntary of course. Pocket money may have increased significantly in the same period.

[Pit Pony]

Put him on the books and pay him up to the NI limits (£8K a year?) and keep a record of the tasks, he did and the hours he worked. (In case HMRC ever suspect it's all a con, to get money out of the business tax free.
You will need to UP your employer's liability insurance, and be seen to do risk assessments for each task with particular emphasis on his age