Tell HMRC if you’ve underpaid National Minimum Wage in the social care sector
Get help to work out if you’ve underpaid your workers for sleep-in shifts and tell HMRC using the social care compliance scheme.
Overview
You need to check that you’re paying your workers at least the National Minimum Wage, on average, for the time worked in each period you pay them for (known as the pay reference period). You may have underpaid your workers if you have not included any hours worked during overnight shifts where they can sleep on the premises (sleep-in shifts).
Contact HMRC if you need help deciding if your workers are working during sleep-in shifts.
If you think you might have paid your workers less than National Minimum Wage, you can apply to join HMRC’s social care compliance scheme. If you’re accepted onto the scheme and declare any underpayment, you will not:
- have to pay the financial penalty, currently 200% of the amount you owe your workers, up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker
- be publicly named for underpayment of National Minimum Wage
You’re classed as an employer in the social care sector if you provide personal care and other practical assistance for children or adults to help them live independently or improve their quality of life. This can be for reasons of age, illness, disability, pregnancy, childbirth, dependence on alcohol or drugs, or any other similar circumstances.
You can also be an employer as an individual, if you employ someone to provide care for you.
If you’re a care worker, find out what you should do if you think you’ve been paid less than the National Minimum Wage.
Who can join the scheme
You can apply to join the scheme if you’re a social care employer who provides sleep-in shifts. You should be one of the following:
- an employer
- someone who funds their own care
- someone who receives money to fund their own care (such as through a direct payment, social care personal budget or personal health budget)
A representative of one of these can also use the scheme on their behalf. You cannot join the scheme if you’ve previously:
- been prosecuted for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage
- declined an invitation from HMRC to join the scheme
Applications will be accepted at HMRC’s discretion.
Contact HMRC if you fund your own care, or receive money to fund your care and need additional support.
How to join the scheme
If you’re accepted, HMRC will contact you about your next steps.
If you have a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) reference number or a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number, you’ll need these details to complete the form.
The deadline to join the scheme is 31 December 2018.
Once you’ve joined the scheme
When you’ve been accepted onto the scheme, you must:
- review the amount you’ve paid your workers - HMRC will help you with this process
- return the declaration form, usually within 12 months of receiving it, or by 31 December 2018 if sooner
- pay your workers any underpayment for sleep-in shifts, usually within 3 months of returning your declaration or by 31 March 2019, whichever is sooner
- pay your workers any other National Minimum Wage underpayments you discover before you return your declaration form
- pay any additional tax and National Insurance contributions that result from any underpayment
- make sure you pay your workers at least the National Minimum Wage for time worked during sleep-in shifts from the point you discover you’ve underpaid
- keep records of how you decided if you’ve underpaid your workers and calculated what you owe
Contacts
Contact HMRC on Telephone: 0300 123 4494 (8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday) for:
- further information about the scheme
- help deciding if your workers are working during a sleep-in shift
- support calculating any underpayment you might find
Last updated 24 July 2018 + show all updates
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The 'Decide if sleep-in shifts are counted as work' section of the guide has been removed.
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