Employing a Personal Assistant (PA) in Care and other staff

Employment and payroll information when employing a PA or other staff.

Employing a Personal Assistant (PA) can be empowering and can help you live your life with autonomy.

A PA can offer tailored support; whether you're looking to live independently, balance work and social commitments, or want more choice and control in your day-to-day life.

Hampshire Personal Assistant (PA) finder

The Hampshire Personal Assistant (PA) Finder is a free service to connect people seeking a PA in care with people who are, or want to be, a PA.

The service also offers information about payroll, holiday and sickness payment guidelines and legal responsibilities regarding HMRC and National Insurance payments:

Hampshire PA finder
Advantages of employing a PA

Some of the advantages of employing a PA include:

  • gaining greater independence: a PA supports how you want to live, enabling you to do more of the things you enjoy
  • the ability to tailor your support: A PA can help with tasks that matter most to you, such as personal care or help around the home
  • consistency and trust: you can recruit someone you trust and feel comfortable with, helping to build a consistent and reliable relationship
  • empowerment and control: you can set the hours, agree the tasks, and manage how your support is delivered
  • improved wellbeing: having the right support can reduce stress and build confidence
  • supporting your local community: employing a PA can help create local jobs and strengthen community-based care and support
Incentives and recognition for PAs

To support retention of PAs, direct payments can be used to offer incentive schemes such as ID badges, wellbeing support and discount cards. These gestures help recognise the valuable role a PA plays.

It is recommended that such incentives are offered only after a consistent period of employment (such as six months) to ensure commitment and sustainability.

The direct payment recipient can only choose to purchase one incentive scheme/card using their direct payment.

Understanding payroll

One of the key responsibilities of managing a direct payment is handling payroll if you employ a PA in care. You do not need payroll if your PA’s employment status is self-employed.

See further information about understanding payroll.

Information about payroll can also be found within the ‘Payroll’ section on the Hampshire PA Finder.

Managing direct payments

To manage your direct payment more easily, the preferred payment method for direct payments is the Virtual Wallet.

See more information about managing direct payments:

Managing direct payments
Support with direct payments

If you have any questions about direct payments or require further information, contact the Direct Payment Support Service (DPSS).

The DPSS can not assist with setting up direct payments. To enquire about setting up a direct payment, make a request to the adults' social care team.

Direct Payment Support Service (DPSS)