Advice on employing and recruiting staff

Our Economic Growth team can provide advice on employing and recruiting new staff, particularly young people or apprentices.

Employing staff

When employing staff, the statutory requirements for January 2023 are:

Register as an employer

Register as an employer with HMRC when hiring staff or subcontractors before the first payday, but no more than two months in advance. If you own a company and are its employee, you must also register.

Income tax and National Insurance 

Collect income tax and National Insurance contributions from your employees and pay them to HMRC using the PAYE payroll scheme.

Employers' Liability Insurance

Take out employers’ liability insurance to protect the company from employee claims.

Employment contracts

Prepare a written statement of particulars, known as a contract of employment which must provide specific information.

Wages

Pay at least the National Minimum Wage, or National Living Wage. It will change on 1 April of every year.

Pension schemes

Enrol employees in a pension scheme if:

1. Aged between 22 and 66 years (66 is the current State Pension age, which will rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028).
2. They earn a minimum of £10,000 a year.
3. They work in the UK.

Comply with employment law

Comply with statutory employment legislation.

Recruiting staff

Recruit the right person. What skills and experience do you need?

Job descriptions

Prepare a job description outlining the duties that need to be performed. 

Free job description templates are available from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).

Person specification

Prepare a person specification – an honest assessment of skills, qualifications and attitudes required to carry out the duties identified in the job description. The person specification will assist in the selection process and ensure that every applicant is treated similarly. It is important to comply with equal opportunities legislation. Assess what is essential to ensure the employee is productive and what can be trained on the job or through a recognised pathway such as an apprenticeship. The desirable elements can be the decider when two or more candidates meet the essential requirements. 

Working hours

Decide on the working hours required. Is the role full-time or part-time, and will there be a need to work unsocial hours, such as weekends?

Flexible and hybrid working

Can the work be done flexibly with two or more part-time staff?

Where will the work be done, at the workplace, remote working, or a hybrid? Since the pandemic, more people have been looking for flexible work.

Take care by identifying what skills, knowledge, qualifications and attitudes are required to do the job. Please see the official requirements regarding discrimination.

Advertising vacancies

You can find ideas on how to advertise vacancies in the responses to the NNDC recruitment survey conducted in July 2022.

Method of promotion	% response
Word of mouth	98
Facebook	93
UK online agencies, for example, Indeed	82
Contacting people in other employment	64
Instagram	63
LinkedIn	62
Local schools and colleges	58
Staff incentive to recommend someone	54
Local JCP	53
Twitter	50

Local firms have also used large roadside banners and advertising boards on roundabouts and buses.

City College Norwich provides a free web page for employers to post job vacancies.

Icanbea.org is a careers website funded by the Mason Trust, aimed at young people. Employers in Norfolk and Suffolk can have their web page on the site, produced and hosted for free.

Sources of recruitment include the local Jobcentre Plus and the Forces Employment Charity.

For more information and suggestions, please contact the Economic Growth team. 

Useful websites 

• Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)
• Employing staff for the first time - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Employing people - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)