Office at home

Hi Red,

I thought that a change of use would require planning permission and if you are running a business from the garage you may need to pay business rates. If you have an employee you need employer's liability insurance as a minimum. It might affect your home insurance too.

Tony

Make sure you also remember to carry out a risk assessment once the refurb is complete. Business link are a great source of information on insurances and liabilities.

You do need a H&S cert if you are employing. Also, you need Employers liability Insurance. You cang easily get all your insurances consolidated these days.. It should be a simple combined policy.. you should already have home workers insurance. I'd stay away from the big boys though (HSBC,etc), they'll cost you an arm and a leg.

If you are considering employing someone you should also speak to your local HM Revenue & Customs office, if you haven't already done so. You will need to register as an employer and you may need to set up a PAYE system, deducting tax and National Insurance Contributions from your employee's wage, keeping records and filing forms. You will also need a basic understanding of holiday pay, sick pay etc.

The alternative is to have someone work for you on a self employed basis. They pay their own tax, are not entitled to the benefits of an employee and the amount of paperwork you would deal with is significantly reduced.

I see from an earlier post that you have been pointed in the direction of Business Link. I have nothing but praise for Business Link. They are a free business support service offering advice on all aspects of setting up and running a business. You can speak to them through local advisors or over the phone.

Tracy.

Hi Red,

Just wondered how you are getting on with this - I am considering doing something similiar and am using you as my test case!