Taking the plunge - employing your first assistant

While many childminders are happy working alone with no plans to expand their business, for some childminding businesses taking on another pair of caring hands can become a necessity.

At the start of November, the government introduced changes designed to give childminders more flexibility in how they work, encouraging them to stay in childminding, grow their business and hopefully attract more people to join or rejoin the profession.

The new category of ‘childminder without domestic premises’ enables some childminders to work entirely from non-domestic premises, while the number of people who can work together under a childminder’s registration has increased to 4.

Whether or not the changes will have the desired effect, they certainly haven’t come too soon, as the sector continues to struggle meeting the demands of a growing economy and extended childcare entitlements.

First steps in employment

Recruiting staff might seem like a daunting challenge, especially when it’s for the first time. Quite aside from the more personal attributes you may be looking for, there’s a host of regulatory, legal and tax implications that have to be considered.

Fortunately, all PACEY ‘practitioner’ and ‘practitioner plus’ members have the benefit of access to legal and tax advice helplines, provided by legal protection experts ARAG. Members can use the helplines to get advice on any legal matter affecting their business, not just employment, and there is no limit to the number of times you can call.

If hiring your first employee still seems daunting, it might be helpful to remember that, of more than five and a half million businesses in the UK, around one and a half million of them, employ at least one person.

A path through the legal maze

The area of advice that ARAG gets the most calls about from business owners is, perhaps unsurprisingly, employment law. While it’s a field that is almost constantly evolving, we’re likely to see some major changes over the next year or two, as the new government aims to pass its flagship Employment Rights Bill.

Whatever the future holds, the key to understanding employment law is appreciating that it is always moving forwards. From regular, incremental increases to minimum wages, statutory sick pay, maternity and paternity pay, to court and tribunal decisions that can have an impact on things like holiday pay entitlement.

Such details are important to get right, but that is why PACEY practioner and parctitioner plus members have legal protection, to guide them through the legal maze and, potentially cover the costs if something goes wrong.

Every situation is different, which is why we always recommend that any PACEY member facing a legal question gets specific advice about their particular circumstances, but there are some general things to be aware of when you start looking to employ assistants.

Discrimination - Nobody wants to be accused of being discriminatory, so it’s important to remember that discrimination can occur during recruitment, before you’ve even employed anyone.

That’s why it’s important to make sure any employment decisions are made on fair and objective grounds, and not based on a candidate’s age, sex, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or whether or not they are married or pregnant.

DBS checks - All employers have to conduct checks on prospective employees, even if it’s only to confirm that they have the legal right to work in the UK. Childminders will be familiar with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks that must be made to legally work with children but, if your assistant is likely to care for children unsupervised, then you will need to carry out an enhanced check with barred lists.

Terms and conditions - As soon as you employ somebody, you have a legal obligation to provide them with the terms and conditions of their employment, in writing. This is known as a ‘Written statement of employment particulars’ and should include some basic information about the employer, the employee, the hours, location, pay and benefits, along with some other details about the work, such as holiday entitlement.

Not providing a written statement to all employees is one of the most common mistakes that smaller employers make, but it’s another area that your PACEY legal cover can support.
Training and supervision - No matter how suitable a candidate may be, there’s no substitute for proper training. While there are no minimum qualifications needed to become a childminding assistant, the registered childminder is responsible for an assistant’s supervision and training.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework for childminders sets out requirements for the supervision and training of assistants, providing detailed guidance on safeguarding, welfare and suitable people.

Pay, pensions and insurance - Another area that may seem complicated are the rules around wages and pensions. The National Minimum and National Living Wages change every year and set different minimums for staff over 21, between 18 and 20, under 18 and for apprentices.

Employers also have to make National Insurance (NI) contributions, deduct and pay employees’ tax and NI and must give employees a payslip with details of all their pay and deductions.
As well as paying at least the correct minimum wage, almost all full-time and many part-time workers will qualify for auto-enrolment in a pension. Employers are legally obliged to offer a workplace pension scheme, and must allow any employee to join it, whether they qualify for auto-enrolment or not.
Employers also have to take out employers’ liability insurance, in case anything should happen to an employee during the course of their work.

Easier than it looks
As childminders progress along their journey as an employer, there is a host of other legislation and regulation that they’ll need to be aware of, such as maximum weekly working hours; sickness absence and statutory sick pay; paternity, maternity and adoption leave; grievance and discipline.
But it’s never as daunting as it may seem, and PACEY provides practitioners with all the advice and support they need to take on assistant childminders and successfully grow their childcare business.