I looked into this in some detail a few years back.If a "private individual", rather than a company / organisation, uses the services of a plumber, builder, electrician etc, there is no requirement on that individual to investigate any tax affairs nor to pay any tax or make any provision for it.HMRC have a comprehensive set of guidelines for deciding if someone is self employed or not yet their staff will also tell you that rulings given by front-line staff are almost always reversed on appeal, regardless of what the ruling was.The situation is different for a domestic cleaner, unless that cleaner has themselves formed a limited company or works directly for a limited company or agency. If they work for you directly, you are subject to all of the normal employer liabilities, including PAYE (unless provided with an exemption certificate), employer's NIC (if earning above the lower earnings level) and you are required by law to see some proof of nationality. If the cleaner is not an EU national, you are also required by law to see their passport (not a copy) or Home Office agency document proving they are entitled to work in the UK.A few years back Baroness Scotland was caught out as her cleaner had a false stamp in her passport:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8605399.stmAn accountant once told me that he was not aware of any case where a private individual had had to treat a tradesperson as an employee and that HMRC will invariably accept receipts as proof that a contract for services (self employed) had been entered into rather than a contract of services (employee). He also told me that conveniently, from his perspective, there is no formal legal definition of what constitutes a receipt, so this term covers a wide range of formats.In practice, most people who pay a cleaner do so cash in hand, thus avoiding all of the many legal requirements they would otherwise become liable for. I'm not sure of the moral position but this must be extremely common.
Phil Kay ● 4527d