Many farm owners are self-employed and do not need to employ any staff. However, in some cases many farmers come to a point where they need to employ staff to cope with the high volume of work. Therefore, if you are employing staff for the first time you will need to consider the following:
Pay as you earn
If you are employing staff for the first time you will to register with HMRC for a pay as you earn scheme. When registering for this scheme you will need to prove to HMRC that you have the relevant software to submit payroll data with HMRC using real-time reporting. You will also need to provide HMRC with your business UTR number.
When you employ someone we recommend that you have a contract of employment in place that is reviewed regularly which defines the duties and responsibilities of the role. This is extremely important for both the employer and the employee so they both know what to expect of each other.
You may also may want to implement an employee handbook which highlights policies such as health and safety, annual leave entitlement, employment law and much more.
If you need any help with your payroll, please contact our payroll team.
Pensions
If you are employing someone for the first time you need to keep in mind that it is a statutory requirement for an employer to provide a workplace pension even if your employees do not qualify for one. To be eligible for the workplace pension the employee must be over 21 years of age and earn more than £10,000 per year and be under the state pension age.
For employees that are part of your workplace pension scheme you will need to make the correct submissions to HMRC each month and to the pension provider you choose. You will also need to deduct any national insurance contributions from the employee’ gross pay.
National Insurance Employment Allowance
It is also important to remember that if you are only employing a handful of staff you will more than likely to eligible for the Employment Allowance.
Find out more about the Employment Allowance.
If you need any help with your pensions, please contact our financial planning team.
Providing accommodation
It is common for farm workers to be provided with accommodation as part of employment. Depending on the type of accommodation provided, this could trigger a tax charge as a benefit in kind.
More from our agriculture experts
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If you are looking for advice in a particular area, please get in touch with your usual Hawsons contact.
Alternatively, we offer all new clients a free initial meeting to have a discussion about their own personal circumstances – find out more or book your free initial meeting here. We have offices in Sheffield, Doncaster and Northampton.
Dan Wood
Partner
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