Initially you may be planning to undertake all the work in your business yourself however as the business grows it will become apparent that you need assistance. As soon as you take on your first employee the business will have to register as an employer with HMRC. This can be done by calling the New Employers Helpline on 0845 60 70 143 or by using the registration tool on HMRC website (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/intro/register-email.htm)

As an employer you have to:

- Prepare payslips for staff each time you pay them.

- Deduct tax and national insurance contributions from your employees wages.

- Pay employers national insurance to the Revenue on earnings above the lower limit.

- The Tax and national insurance deducted has to be paid to HMRC every month.

- At the end of each tax year, a Return has to be sent to the Revenue detailing all employees paid and the amounts of tax and national insurance deducted.

In addition to the above, employers have to comply with legislation covering:

- National Minimum Wage.

- Working hours and time off.

- Equality and diversity.

- Maternity and paternity leave.

- Health and safety at work.

Payroll is often an area of the business which owners look to outsource as it is difficult to maintain sufficient expertise in constantly changing payroll legislation. The Tax Partnership has run a successful payroll bureau for over 10 years and can deal with all aspects of maintaining your businesses payroll for a fixed monthly cost. Full details of this service please see here.