Direct payments from social services are payments made to you or the person you're looking after so that you can buy care services for yourself rather than having social services providing the care to you.
You have the right to ask for direct payments after you have been assessed by social services.
The aim of direct payments is to give you more flexibility in how the services you need are provided. Giving you money (either as a personal health budget or via a pre-paid card) instead of social care services means that you have greater choice and control over your life. Meaning you are able to make your own decisions about how your care is delivered.
However, if you use the direct payments option there are rules that you must follow including keeping records and acting as an employer to the personal assistant that is providing you with care, which means that you have to operate a payroll.
The good news is we operate a direct payments payroll service
We provide a direct payments payroll service for personal assistants (PAs), whether they are employed directly by you or through an agency. We can also hold the personal health budget on your behalf to ensure it is safeguarded – there is no additional charge for this service. That said, many service users are now operating pre-paid cards – which we can deal with cost effectively.
This is how the direct payments process works...
- Following initial contact from you or a referral from your local authority such as Barking & Dagenham or Havering informing us that you have decided to employ a personal assistant we will contact you to book a home visit.
- During the home visit we will explain exactly how the payroll service works and answer any questions you or your carer may have.
- You will receive 2 copies of our Payroll Service Engagement Letter. You will need to sign one copy and return it to us before the first payment is due. You keep the other copy for your records.
- We take care of all payroll requirements including:
- Maintenance of payroll records
- Preparation of payslips to pass to employees
- Completion of H M Revenue & Customs (HMRC) payslip for PAYE and National Insurance contributions
- Payments to employees
- Payments to HMRC
- Preparation of end of year PAYE returns and submissions to HMRC
- Provision of P60s to employees
- Pensions – assessment for PA’s that are eligible for automatic enrolment
- Preparation of Contracts of Employment
- Dealing with ID checks on employees to ensure right to work in the UK
Please contact Stephen Mitchell on 01708 766922 for further information and to discuss your requirements.
The direct payments payroll service is provided by Foot & Ellis-Smith Limited a company run by Stephen Mitchell who is also a director of the main accountancy practice.
Our office is based in Brentwood however we make regular visits to clients in Barking & Dagenham, Romford and Havering areas so please do not worry about distance – we make home visits at your convenience.
Alternatively, you may decide to use an Agency rather than employ a personal assistant directly – in this case we can deal directly with the Agency on your behalf.
Whatever your decision we will provide an efficient payroll service.