Employing or hiring a Personal Assistant

You can either employ your Personal Assistants, (making you the Personal Assistant’s employer) or hire self-employed Personal Assistants.

Employed Personal Assistants	Self-employed Personal Assistants
Have set working patterns	Can choose when they work
Have employment rights such as annual leave	Don’t get annual leave
Get paid via the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, with a pay cheque	Invoice for the hours they work

More information on the difference between being an employee and a self-employed person.

Basic steps to hiring a Personal Assistant

• Create a job advert and ask the Personal Assistant Team for help finding a Personal Assistant
• Look at who has applied and decide who to interview
• Decide who you would like to hire
• Complete pre-employment checks (Right to Work Check, DBS Check and contacting references)
• Check employment status of Personal Assistant (employed or self-employed)

Job adverts can be published on job sites and social media, as well as the local paper or community noticeboard.

The Personal Assistant Team can help with this process. You can contact us by emailing: pa.register@reading.gov.uk

If you employ your Personal Assistants:

• You need to get Employers’ Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance
• You need to agree a start date and write a contract
• You need to contact a payroll provider to deal with all pay-related requirements and who will register you as an employer

More information on becoming an employer is available here. This includes paying your PA, employing multiple PAs, data protection and disputes.

If you hire self-employed Personal Assistants

• Tell the Personal Assistant Team so that we can do the relevant checks with the Personal Assistant
• Agree fees and their terms of service
• Personal Assistant will provide invoices

Qualifications and training

No specific qualifications, training or experience are needed to become a Personal Assistant.

When you advertise for the role of Personal Assistant, you must describe what training or experience you would expect them to have.

You can also offer your Personal Assistant training so they feel confident with their role.

If you’re not sure what to put in your job advert, contact the Personal Assistant Team: pa.register@reading.gov.uk