The Government has launched a new online toolkit and employment mythbuster document, to help guide start up businesses through the process of hiring their first members of staff.
The new online toolkit launched by Employment Relations Minister Norman Lamb, provides first-time employers with a step-by-step guide through their obligations when taking on a member of staff.
The Government's new Taking on an Employee toolkit, which can be found on the Business Link website, takes employers through the process of hiring their first member of staff and explains the core legal obligations in five easy to read steps.
The toolkit includes information on;
- Setting pay
- Getting the right insurance
- Understanding tax requirements
- Checking employee's eligibility to work in the UK.
In addition, an employing staff mythbusters document has been published which aims to address some common misconceptions about hiring a member of staff. This document includes helpful advice on registering with HMRC, anti-discrimination laws, dismissal rules, setting up payrolls and probation periods. Also available from the site will be information about Government support, financial and otherwise, to encourage employers to take on their first employee.
The tool was produced after the Government analysed feedback from the Red Tape Challenge initiative. Employers suggested that the current guidance was too complex, that the information on how to do this was not readily available and that it was unclear as to where to find this. This toolkit combats these problems by clearly outlining what an employer must do, why they must do it and how they can take the action to comply.
Employment Relations Minister, Norman Lamb said:
"For many one-person businesses there is a belief that the process for taking on their first member of staff can be a daunting and overly complicated process. And with no one easily accessible source of guidance it can really feel burdensome. The Taking on an Employee toolkit aims to tackle this problem and will help empower our sole-traders, our one person businesses, to take that next step.
