Care & support · England
Employing your own assistant
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This guide is for people in England.
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A personal assistant is called a PA.
You pay them to help with your everyday life.
Start with the support you want.
You can help choose the right person.
Explain what matters to you.
Ask someone you trust to support you.
You may become the PA’s employer.
Employers have responsibilities to their workers.
Ask for help to understand them.
The cost is more than the worker’s wages.
There can be pension, holiday and other costs.
Agree the full budget before hiring.
Ask for help with recruitment and paying staff.
Check exactly what the help includes.
You may still be the employer.
Check references and the right to work.
A DBS check gives information about criminal records.
Ask which check the job allows.
Ask permission to see the original certificate.
A copy or photograph is not enough.
Do not keep a copy or photograph.
Some people are legally banned from particular care work.
Do not employ them for that work.
Get help and report the situation to police.
Calling someone self-employed does not decide their status.
Ask an adviser to check the working arrangement.
Agree the job, pay and leave in writing.
Plan training for the help you need.
Some health tasks need training from clinical staff.
Check who will supervise those tasks.
Plan help when your PA cannot come.
Agree who arranges a replacement.
Get advice before ending someone’s job.
What you can do next
Contact your funding team or employer-support service.
Ask for a plan before you recruit.
Read the official employer checklist Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- MoneyHelper: employing a private carer Web page
Questions about costs, contracts and organising support.
- Current DBS application route Web page
For eligible personal employees and self-employed workers.
- HMRC employment-status tool Web page
Check the proposed arrangement for tax purposes.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Employing a personal assistant
Plan recruitment, employment costs, training and reliable support that fits your life.
Adults arranging their own support · England · Employment duties depend on the arrangement
Choose the support you want
A personal assistant, often called a PA, is someone paid to help with your everyday life. The role might include personal care, communication, work, study, parenting or getting out with friends. Start with your own goals, preferred routines and the qualities that help you feel respected. Ask a trusted person to help you describe the job without taking over your choices. Hiring through an agency is a different arrangement: check who employs, supervises and pays the worker.
Confirm the employer and the funding
Directly hiring a PA usually makes you an employer. A council direct payment or NHS personal health budget does not automatically make the council or NHS the employer. Before recruitment, record who signs the contract and who has authority to act. If someone cannot manage a particular decision, get advice on the lawful arrangement; a relative is not automatically entitled to sign for them. Ask the relevant funding team what support and expenditure are agreed.
Budget for the whole job
The hourly wage is only part of the cost. Work out pay, employer contributions where due, pension costs, paid leave, replacement cover, recruitment, insurance, payroll and necessary training. Include travel or other agreed work expenses. For council direct payments, appropriate employment costs must be reflected in the budget when employing staff is the agreed way to meet needs. Ask how future notice or redundancy costs would be met. Challenge a shortfall before making commitments you cannot fund.
Get practical help without losing your say
Ask the direct payments or personal health budget team about local employer support, a payroll service and managed accounts. Payroll means calculating wages and deductions. A managed account helps administer the funding. Neither service necessarily becomes the employer or handles recruitment, absence and disputes. Get a written list of tasks, fees, responsibilities and emergency contacts. Ask for accessible instructions and help that continues after the first worker starts.
Recruit fairly and check suitability
Write a clear job description, hours, pay and essential skills. Explain your communication and access needs. Arrange interviews in a way that lets you take part; use real examples of the support you want. Seek references and check identity and the legal right to work before employment starts. Treat applicants fairly. Ask an employment adviser before setting requirements about an applicant’s sex, age or other protected characteristic. Personal care roles do not make every restriction lawful.
Use the correct DBS check
A DBS check is an official criminal-record check. The work involved determines which level is allowed; not every PA role qualifies for the same check. Some adult personal care is eligible for an enhanced check with the adults’ barred list. Since 21 January 2026, eligible personal employees can apply themselves through a registered Umbrella Body. A private individual employer cannot apply on their behalf through this route. Use the current GOV.UK guidance and ask your employer-support service to help check eligibility.
Handle DBS information carefully
With the applicant’s consent, view the original certificate and check it matches their identity and role. A photograph or copy is not acceptable. Do not retain a photocopy, photograph or other copy of its contents. An Update Service status check needs the person’s consent and the correct eligibility. Do not employ someone barred from the relevant regulated activity; report their seeking that work to the police. A certificate is one part of safer recruitment, alongside references and discussion of the role. It does not prove someone will always provide safe care. Get specialist help if you are uncertain about eligibility or disclosed information.
Check status, paperwork and pay
Calling a worker self-employed does not settle their legal status. The real working arrangement matters. HMRC’s employment-status tool addresses tax status; employment rights may need separate advice. Where you employ someone, arrange PAYE and payroll where required, payslips and current minimum pay. Provide the required written employment particulars, including the main statement on day one. Agree duties, hours, pay, leave and notice. Get advice on overnight work and sleep-ins rather than assuming every arrangement has the same pay rules.
Pensions, holiday and safe working
Assess your workplace pension duties even if you employ only one PA; whether enrolment is required depends on the worker’s circumstances. Workers usually have statutory paid holiday, including part-time workers, with special calculation rules for irregular hours. Plan breaks, working hours, sickness arrangements and safe working. Arrange the insurance required for your situation, including employers’ liability where applicable. Ask a qualified adviser to check the current rules instead of using an old template or pay rate.
Train for your own support needs
Plan induction with you at the centre: privacy, consent, communication, preferences, boundaries and how to raise concerns. Identify training for moving and handling, equipment or other tasks before the PA does them. Clinical tasks, such as certain feeding or medicine procedures, need an appropriate clinical plan, training, competence checks and clear supervision arrangements. Agree who provides training, pays for it and reviews it. A generic certificate does not show someone can safely carry out every individual task.
Plan cover and keep the working relationship clear
Write down who arranges help when a PA is ill, on holiday, delayed or leaves. Keep backup contacts accessible and agree when to contact the council or NHS team about unmet essential care. Meet regularly to discuss what is working, changes and concerns. Store employment and personal information securely. If a problem arises, obtain employment advice promptly. Do not simply stop wages, dismiss someone or cancel a contract without checking the lawful process.
Use the employer planning worksheet
The worksheet is an original checklist for discussions with your funding team and employment adviser. It is not an employment contract or payroll calculation. Record unanswered questions and named people responsible for them. Review it before recruitment, when support changes and when costs rise. You should not have to understand every employment rule alone, but you do need to know which responsibilities remain yours.
Words you could use
“Please help me plan the full costs, employer duties, training and backup arrangements before I recruit a personal assistant.”
More useful links
- MoneyHelper: employing a private carer Web page
Questions about costs, contracts and organising support.
- Current DBS application route Web page
For eligible personal employees and self-employed workers.
- HMRC employment-status tool Web page
Check the proposed arrangement for tax purposes.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- GOV.UK: employing someone at home Web page
Who becomes an employer when hiring domestic or care support.
- GOV.UK: getting ready to employ someone Web page
Employer duties, payroll, pensions and safety.
- GOV.UK: employing someone step by step Web page
Recruitment, right-to-work checks and starting employment.
- GOV.UK: written employment particulars Web page
The day-one main statement and other required information.
- Care and support statutory guidance Web pageFuller information
Paragraphs 12.27–12.31: appropriate employment costs and continuity.
- DBS: personal employees Web page
The application route introduced in January 2026.
- DBS: private individual employers Web page
Viewing certificates, no retained copies and Update Service consent.
- DBS: adult social care roles Web page
Eligibility depends on the actual work.
- HMRC: checking employment status Web page
Tax status depends on the actual arrangement.
- The Pensions Regulator: employing care support Web page
Automatic-enrolment duties for individual employers.
- Acas: holiday entitlement Web page
Paid leave, part-time and irregular-hours distinctions.
- GOV.UK: employers’ liability insurance Web page
Insurance requirements and exceptions.
- NHS England: delegating healthcare tasks to PAs Web page
Individual clinical decisions, training, competence, supervision and accountability.
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