Information

Care Needs & Direct Payments, leading to Payroll and Budget Management

When caring for someone it may get to the point where you need outside help. Firstly you should seek a care assessment from the local council, social services.

When you have been assessed you have the choice of receiving Direct Payments which give you flexibility and control of the care you need.

If you choose to employ a carer (rather than use an agency) you become an employer and need to provide a payroll. This sounds really intimidating. It need not be. This is where we come in! The council will usually pay the fee for this service.

A step further is to have a managed account where we take care of your whole budget and the responsibilities that go with it.

Here is a booklet which explains the processes in more detail. If you would like further help please contact us directly.

Please click here for the booklet in pdf form.

Sick Pay

Families regularly ask us about sick pay for their PAs. This will vary from family to family depending on how often and how many hours the PA works. We recommend including something about it in your PA contract. With most PAs working occasional days we advise rescheduling your hours as the family don't receive money in their Direct Payments to cover sick pay.

Where a PA earns more than £112 per week (correct at Nov 2015) they can get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if they have been off work for at least 4 days. For further information please go to Gov.Uk Please contact us if we can help with any further questions.

A Cautionary Tale about ESA

One of the families we know well has just discovered to their cost that their disabled young person was put on Contributions-Based ESA when Incapacity Benefit ceased. As he has never worked (due to lack of support) he should have been put on Income-Based ESA. As a result he has been fined for claiming help with dental charges (only allowable on Income-Based ESA). If it wasn't for the hard work and continued support of his mother he would be in quite a predicament. So we would urge any family who might be in a similar position to check it out and if necessary get transferred before it catches up with you!!

Pensions and Employing Carers

People have started to receive correspondence from the Pensions Regulator. This is causing anxiety and worry for some families. Please don't worry we will do all we can to help, but for most families it just won't be an issue as your carers do not fall into the eligible category. We will act as the point of contact with the Regulator.

Here is the crucial information from the Regulator.

"The law on workplace pensions has changed. Every employer with at least one member of staff (even if it’s a carer to help you around the home) now has new duties, including enrolling those who are eligible into a workplace pension scheme and contributing towards it. This is called automatic enrolment.

If you directly employ one or more people to provide you with care and support, you’re an employer and automatic enrolment duties will apply to you. If they are aged 22 or over (and under state pension age), and you pay them over £192 a week or £833 a month, you’ll need to provide a pension for them." If you pay your carers less than this, they are not eligible.

Websites

Baby Basics are a charity who provide support for mothers struggling to support the financial and practical needs of a new baby Baby Basics website

The Golddigger Trust is an award-winning Sheffield charity working with young people around self-esteem and exploitation Golddigger website

The Caring Choice: A Sheffield based company focused on quality care for the elderly and those with disabilities Caring Choice website

Work Ltd: Worthwhile Occupational & Recreational Krafts -- Life skills and occupational training for people with learning disabilities Work Ltd website

Hidden Gem Cafe is to be found at Work Ltd, well worth a visit Hidden Gem Cafe website

The Snowdrop project in Sheffield provides support to the survivors of human trafficking Snowdrop website

Rotherham Friends of Young Onset Dementia, a hard-working self-help group of carers Rotherham Friends website

The PDA Society for families and friends of those with Pathalogical Avoidance Syndrome PDA website

For families and friends of those with Frontotemporal Degeneration (rare dementia) RareDementia support website AFTD website

Surewise is a speciality Direct Payments Insurance Intermediary Surewise website

Parkside Payroll is not responsible for the content of external websites

Parkside Payroll ltd.