Note for employers

Being an employer is a question of fact. So if you have people working for you, you need to be clear about the facts. Your workers could be:

• Employees – so you are responsible for deducting and paying the tax and National Insurance
• Self-employed – so they are responsible for their own tax and National Insurance
• Workers covered by special schemes – such as agency workers, managed service companies, and workers in construction
• People who work in your home providing personal care or other services

You need to put your workers in the right category. If you get it wrong, you could face a large tax bill and financial penalties.

There is a lot more to being an employer than just tax. So if you need to know more about being an employer, a good starting point is the Gov.uk website page – Employing people https://www.gov.uk/browse/employing-people

If you are not sure if you are an employer, start with the section ‘Am I an employer?’

Once you are certain that you are an employer, look at these sections for information on how RTI – operating PAYE as an employer.