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Let us call you back!
Contact us and let us call you back at when it's convenient.Did you know?
Estimates vary, but unhappy customers are believed to be 10-20 times more likely to circulate negative stories about your business than happy customers are to circulate positive stories.
Ever stopped to wonder actually how much the kids cost you per year in pocket money? Well instead of paying it out of your pocket, get your company to pay them a wage!
They will have to work for their money, but every Saturday morning spent in employment within the company may teach them something about the real world and also clear the jobs that are often left undone such as cleaning, stock counting, data entry, sweeping up, or filing etc.
As long as the task is safe and doesnt require heavy lifting its legal to employ children over twelve. The hours cant take up school time and cant be before 7am or after 7pm. You may also need to consult your local authority about permits, even to employ your own child.
You must add your child to the payroll of the company as a regular employee. Help them to complete a form P46 (new employee without a tax record), as they will be employed for more than one week. The company will get tax relief for the full amount of their wages and you get to keep more of your own after tax income!
They will have their own personal allowance of £6,475 (for 2009/10) to use which will cover all their Saturday morning earnings leaving nothing to tax under PAYE. There will be no NI to pay for under 16s and no employers contributions either. For over 16s if you pay them less than £110 a week in 2009/10 there is no NI to pay.
But how much do I pay them?
A good benchmark on what to pay per hour is the National Minimum Wage for those aged 16 to 17. This is currently £3.57 per hour. People younger than 16 can be paid less than this.
How long can they work?
If they are 13 or 14 they can work for two hours a day on a school day, one hour before school and one hour after. In the school holidays they can work for up to five hours a day but no more than 25 hours per week. For two weeks of the school holidays they cannot work at all. On Saturdays they can work up to five hours and for up to two on a Sunday.
If they are 15 or 16 the above applies, except they can work for up to eight hours a day in the holidays and on Saturdays but no more than 35 hours a week.
Always topping up their phone?
Teenagers nowadays are always on the phone and it can cost a fortune!
Put their phone through the company and save money as a benefit in kind! As long as the company owns the phone and the sim card and the contract is in the company name then it is perfectly OK and tax free.
Tip
Although aged between 12 and 16 and too young to pay tax you should always ask the taxman to issue an NI number so end of year PAYE forms can be completed correctly.
About the Author
Mark Higham
Is the Managing Partner at Numero Accountancy LLP and an ACCA qualified accountant. Having spent time working in large Plc's and Private Limited Companies in Senior Finance roles Mark start his own practice in 2005. In this time Mark has been a finalist in Doncaster Chambers Entrepreneur Year and Numero have been finalists in the Rotherham Chamber New Business Start-Up and Most Innovative Use of Technology Awards.Posted on 21st July, 2010