Resources

We hope that the following will help with the recruitment and employment of your PA.

Skills For Care

Skills For Care - Helpful step-by-step guidance about recruiting a PA, and templates such as a sample job description, job advert, interview letter etc.

Keeping safe - We'd recommend that you don't put your home address, phone number or details about yourself on the job advert. You can use a PO box instead
Make sure you ask for two written job references from the people you interview and follow them up
When you interview people do it away from your home address if you can (eg library) and have someone with you to support you
When the PA starts working with you arrange for a friend, parent or someone you trust to spend some time with you when your PA first starts work
When identifying a potential PA we recommend a DBS check - liaise with your social worker who can arrange one. Find out more about the importance of a DBS check and the process involved.

Employed PA versus self-employed PA. There are important differences about employing a PA and using the services of a self-employed PA. You have more responsibilities by being an employer of a PA and will need to have help from payroll and have insurance in place. Being self-employed is determined by the type of work you do and being registered as self-employed by HMRC. Find out more from the Skills For Care website.
Contract of employment - this is a legal requirement for you to have with your PA when employed, from day one. This explains both your and the PA's rights, such as holiday entitlement, notice periods, how to deal with a grievance etc. It's a useful tool for sorting out any disagreement. Sample contracts are attached to this page. You can also find out more from the Skills For Care and ACAS websites.
Find out more about your responsibilities as an employer
Find out more about developing/training your PA
For advice about problems with employing a PA you can contact your insurance provider if they offer free legal advice. Further information can be found in our 'Employment support' section.