Employment status of PAs
The Scottish Government is undertaking an inquiry into how the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 has worked since it came into force. LITRG have submitted some comments focusing on the employment status of PAs.
Self-directed support allows individuals to have more control over their social care and support services, including the option to hire their own personal assistants (PAs) using direct payments.
We are not health and social care experts - however there is an issue around employment status of PAs, which is a UK-wide matter, connected to tax. In particular, we do not believe that HMRC are currently vigorously policing employment status for tax purposes in the care sector. This has widespread ramifications, including for the entire concept of SDS.
We think there is a great deal of potential for officials and Ministers in Scotland to try and encourage HMRC’s approach in this area.
The call for views can be found here.
Our response can be found here.