What do I need to think about when taking on my first employee?

Jul 27, 2020

Q&A Monday | Season 1 | Episode 2 | Question 7

“I’m looking to take on my first employee, what do I need to prepare for this?”

Helen: So the first thing that is actually really, really important is that you tell HMRC that you’re going to become an employer. There is an online form that you can fill in, it’s nice and easy and isn’t too complicated at all. You’ll just have to provide a few details, and as a Limited Company you will have to provide the Directors details. It will most probably take at least 2-3 weeks for you to get your references from HMRC, so just be aware that you cannot do it all at the last minute.

If you happen to register, but then the person you’re looking to recruit doesn’t come onboard or delays, you can actually submit a nil activity report for your payroll. If they do come onboard and you have enough time, then you can do your payroll in Quickbooks and Xero. It is a really simple, hand held process to take you through all the information you need, which is essentially the same as your new starter form. In both of the systems the payslips will be sent directly to your employee so you don’t have to worry about issuing them.

You can also easily get all the reports through the system so that you know how much tax and national insurance you might have to pay. This is all of course something that we are able to help with if you would prefer and if you have any further questions in readiness of taking on your first employee please do feel free to comment below or message us.


Q&A Monday

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