When your business gets to the stage where you need to start bringing in extra help, it can be a really exciting time. You’re growing, you’re increasing your bottom line, and it’s time to recruit your first employee, so you can continue to make big things happen and make progress against your overall vision.
However we’ve seen it time and time again, when that flash of excitement quickly turns into worry and doubt. There’s no denying that there’s a ton of things that you need to think about when taking on your first employee, and you wouldn’t be the first business owner to wonder if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.
But you can stop stressing right now, because we’re here to help. We want to share some of the key things you need to think about to make sure you have everything covered.
So first things first, let’s get practical…
Take out suitable insurance cover
When you become an employer, you need to have employers’ liability insurance. Your policy must cover you for at least £5million, and be issued by an authorised insurer. This is a serious matter, and you could be fined £2,500 for every single day that you are not adequately insured.
Notify HMRC that you’re now an employer
You need to let HMRC know that you’re now employing staff, and this needs to be done before the first scheduled payday. The process can take up to two weeks, and can usually be all done and dusted online.
Be clear on what you want
All to often frantic business owners start the recruitment process not really knowing what they really need from the position. They start interviewing and find someone they like, offer them the job and before to long it becomes clear that either that person isn’t right or the role they are doing isn’t what both thought it was going to be. Taking some time at the start of the process to draw up a job description is time well spent and can save you a whole lot of trouble later. It also makes managing that person easier, as you both know what is expected of them.
Carry out the appropriate pre-employment checks
When you’ve selected that new employee, it’s your responsibility to ensure they have a legal right to work here in the UK. You might also have to apply for a DBS check (previously known as a CRB check) in certain circumstances, such as if your member of staff will be working with children or vulnerable people. You might think that things like this are merely box ticking exercises, but you could face serious penalties if you don’t fulfill your obligations in these areas.
Ensure that you’re paying minimum wage
If you fail to pay your staff minimum wage, then you’re breaking the law. This is a fairly straightforward consideration, though you need to be mindful that there are different requirements in place for different groups of people. The figures can change on a fairly regular basis, so make sure that you’re keeping up to date with the latest news and legislation. When you sign up for our email updates, you’ll get everything you need to keep you up to date delivered directly to your inbox, so go on sign up today.
Don’t do it alone
Following the advice that we’ve outlined here will help you to get off to the best possible start when it comes to recruiting your first employee. The reality here though is that there are many, many things that you need to consider as part of the process, and it would be impossible to cover absolutely everything.
Have you considered, for example:
- How much holiday your new employee will be entitled to?
- What will happen if they’re sick?
- How you’ll encourage them to make the best possible contribution to your business?
- Whether you should pay additional pension contributions on their behalf?
When you really start to think about everything that you need to address, you can see that it can be a real can of worms.
Rather than struggling on your own, it makes good business sense to get some help. And that’s where we come in. We can make sure that you’re fully prepared for the future. Get in touch today, and we can arrange to have a no-obligation chat about working together.
Alternatively click here to book a Discovery Call and see how we can help your business grow.