So, let’s break it down

Employees

When you take on an employee there are the options for temporary, fixed contract or permanent roles. This gives you the flexibility to either support a short term project or have hire an extra pair of hands to fill an unexpected stress point. Having an employee join you can make a business less lonely as you grow from one person to a team!

However, with an employee you do need to consider your legal obligations including statutory rights (sick leave, holiday entitlement) and workplace pension obligations as well as additional taxes (Employer National Insurance Contributions). 

Ask yourself how you are going to provide the resources that your potential employee needs to work: equipment, their place of work, uniforms, IT infrastructure, health and safety, insurance.

You also need to consider training requirements, supervisor and onboarding time, contracts, pay structure, setting up and running a PAYE scheme, integration to a team… and that’s after your go through the recruitment process! It may feel intimidating, but remember, you’re not alone, and depending on the employee there may even be grants or other financial aid to support your hire.

Before taking on an employee we would always recommend that you speak to a HR consultant (have a look at our HR spotlight here: Ali Leggo) or utilise official resources such as gov.uk or acas.org.uk . If you subscribe to our fee protection service you also get access to Vantage Tax’s employment and HR helplines, free of charge.

Outsourcing

The great thing about outsourcing is that you can utilise a variety of experts in their field and know that you don’t need to worry about supervising them or worrying about HR matters.

However, due to the fact that you are working with businesses, the cost per hour will be higher as, like you, the professionals have costs that they need to cover too.

Some of the experts you may consider to help you take the load off your feet:

• Sales: lead generation agencies
• Marketing: social media guru, website developer, brand partners
• Finance: bookkeeper, accountant
• Administration / technology: virtual administrator or receptionist, IT service desk, personal assistant
• Human resources: HR consultant, recruitment consultant

Remember..

If things don’t work out for any reason a consultant will not have employment rights, so it is often easier to part ways, but you should always consult your contract or letter of engagement to ensure there are no nasty surprises. Remember though that it’s a two way street and if there is a short termination clause you may find yourself with a short term gap to fill unexpectedly.

At the end of the day any working relationship needs to be grounded in trust to work. It’s important to consider public reviews, testimonials, portfolios, track records and references.

You may also be interested in our related blog posts below!..