What is Employers Liability Insurance and what can your policy offer you?

If you are an individual employing personal assistants (PAs) to support you, or you are thinking about employing a PA, it is important to remember that employment law still applies.

For example, you need to pay staff according to HMRC rules and regulations, potentially offer staff a workplace pension and make financial contributions.  You also need to check staff are eligible to work in the UK, treat staff fairly and take into account their statutory employment rights.

Fortunately there is support available from your local DP support team, payroll provider and insurer to help you manage these responsibilities.

Just as important as the legal requirements mentioned above is the need to develop a good working relationship with your PA.

Below is some essential guidance to help you get started:

Recruitment

Every employer needs to recruit at some stage and finding the right person for the job can make all the difference.

Remember…;

• Go into as much detail as possible regarding the job role when advertising
• Prepare a set of relevant questions before interviews and make sure each interview is consistent
• Interview more than once if required

Try to avoid…;

• Hiring someone because you feel obliged e.g. friend, family; always hire the person you think is right for the job
• Rushing your decision – if no applicants are suitable consider re-advertising elsewhere
• Pre judging or discriminating – seek advice from your local DP support team or insurer

Rule Setting

Once you have recruited the right person for the job it is important to make them aware of the way you work and how you like things to be done e.g. what should they do in the event they are going to be late for a shift?

You must also issue your PA with a written employment contract within 8 weeks of their start date (day one from April 2020).  This document should detail the main terms and conditions of their employment, rates of pay, hours of work etc.

In some cases you may wish to issue an employee handbook with more detailed information about you and the job.  Mark Bates Ltd can provide policy holders with a template employee handbook and help to personalise it to meet your needs.

Ongoing Management

The ongoing management of staff can be tricky.  Below are some top tips to remember:

• Be respectful to your employee at all times
• Establish fair and manageable boundaries – be flexible where possible but firm when necessary
• Meet with your PA regularly to discuss how they are getting on in the role
• Don’t leave things to fester – deal with any issues as and when they arise
• Always seek advice in the event of an issue or disagreement

Employer’s Liability Insurance for individual employers

Employer’s liability (EL) cover is there to protect you should any of your employees seek compensation as a result of an injury at work.  It is a legal requirement to have EL insurance in the UK if you employ staff.

Very few insurance providers in the UK have policies tailored to suit people employing staff to support them to live independently.  Fortunately the Home Employment (HE) policy from Mark Bates Ltd does exactly that.

Primarily designed for people in receipt of Direct Payments employing PAs, but also suitable for self-funders, the HE policy provides much more than simply employer’s liability alone…..

Key benefits of the Home Employment policy include;

• £10m Employers Liability
• £5m Public Liability
• 24/7 Employment Law Helpline
• Legal Expenses & Compensation Awards
• Personal Accident Cover
• Redundancy Cover
• Pension Cover

For more information about the Home Employment Policy from Mark Bates Ltd, please click here or contact us on 01476 514478.