Using direct payments to employ staff

Legal responsibilities as employers

8.1.    Direct payments may be used to employ staff, to engage self employed personal assistants or to pay an agency to provide services. People using direct payments to employ staff become employers and as such have legal responsibilities. An outline of responsibilities can be found at:

Help from HMRC if you have additional needs and Employing staff for the first time

8.2    Where direct payments will be used to employ staff, the council will:

• advise the person responsible for managing direct payments that there are legal responsibilities involved in becoming an employer and maintaining good employment practices
• urge the person to seek advice about:
  • employer legal responsibilities, including being responsible for all employment related costs, such as workplace pensions, redundancy
  • compulsory employers’ liability insurance
• provide a list of direct payment support service providers (published on the council's website - Home | Gloucestershire County Council) which can provide information, advice and support  

Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) checks

8.3    Adults with capacity and any nominated person acting on their behalf are not obliged to carry out DBS checks for people they employ through direct payments but please see paragraph 8.5 below. 

8.4    An authorised person must carry out DBS checking for any person from whom a service is secured through direct payments except where the authorised person is the adult’s spouse / partner, a close family member (as defined at Appendix 1) or a friend of the adult who is involved in the adult’s care but please see paragraph 8.5.below. 

8.5    The council strongly recommends that DBS checks are carried out for all personal assistants even when the person managing direct payments is not obliged to do so.