Budget Considerations
Here is what potential employers should be aware of when working out how much is needed in a budget to pay for the costs of employing Personal Assistants. Independent SDS Information and Support Organisations can assist with this.
The easiest way to stay on top of employee costs is to use a payroll service or accountant. Search for a payroll service using the Find Help search tool.
Budgets are broken up into regular costs and contingency costs.
Regular costs are things like:
- Personal Assistants’ wages (including their holidays and pension)
- insurance
- a payroll service (if you choose to use one).
Contingency costs are things like:
- emergencies
- training
- sick pay.
Personal Assistant Wages
Each April the Scottish Government sets the minimum rate for social care workers including Personal Assistants. You can find out what the current rate is here: Minimum hourly rate for PAs
This is the amount paid to a PA before taking out tax or other deductions. This is a specific rate that only applies to PAs that support adults (people 18+). Please note, this rate does not apply to PAs of children and young people, although they should still be paid at least the national living wage. You can find out more about this here: National Minimum Wage and Statutory Payment Rates
Wages usually increase with time, so this should be considered in the budget process. If there is no increase in the planned budget then the contingency budget would need to factor this in.
Pensions
If you use a payroll company or an accountant, they can usually help you set up a pension for your Personal Assistants. Most companies charge a set up fee for arranging pensions. The charge for this can be between £50 and £150. This money should be factored into the contingency budget, because you might not know exactly how many employees might want this option.
Some Local Authorities provide the pension set up fees as part of the start up costs for recruiting PAs.
Employers must currently contribute at least 3% of annual wage into a pension for each employee. Find out more about pensions here: Pensions and Auto-Enrolment (Workplace Pensions)
Payroll
If you choose to use a payroll company, allow around £6 to £15 per week to pay for their services.
This is dependent on what service provider is chosen and is also based on the number of payslips produced, for example if casual workers are used.
Insurance
Insurance for PA Employers can cost around £60 to £130 per year, however there are lots of different levels of insurance cover available.
As an Employers, you must be insured to protect you and others from issues that might arise, like an accident. The insurance required is Public and Employer’s Liability Insurance and this is often sold with Indemnity Cover which will cover an employer for financial losses from a claim.
Find out more about insurance here: Employers’ Liability Insurance for PA Employers
PA Holidays
The current statutory holiday entitlement for employees is 28 days (5.6 Weeks).
PAs must be paid while on holiday. The maximum statutory holiday entitlement is capped at 28 days, although employers may give more contractual holiday than that.
A replacement worker would need to be paid during the holiday, so calculating the additional contingency is based on the PA wages for the period of the holiday entitlement.
Contingencies
Emergencies
This is a budget that is set aside for things that may or may not happen. Below are examples of what this can be used for, but this is not everything you could face by way of an emergency.
Statutory sick pay
If a PA is off sick, they may be eligible for statutory sick pay. Find out the rules about statutory sick pay and how much you will need to factor into your budget here: National Minimum Wage and Statutory Payment Rates
Training
Some training for PAs may be required by your insurance provider, for example moving and assisting training. Costs can vary but you can expect to pay around £100 per PA with an annual refresher of £100.
Additional hours
If the person being supported is unwell or has a family crisis, they may require extra hours of support. You may be able to build this into your contingency budget.
Redundancy and long term sick leave
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and Redundancy payments (subject to eligibility criteria) are a legal requirement. Either of these may be more than a typical budget contingency may allow, and it is likely that additional money would need to be paid into the package to meet these costs. How the Local Authority manages these costs varies, and should be included in the package for clarity.
Next steps
Take a look at the resources available below to guide you in more detail.