Do you need payroll for a cleaner or gardener

Q: Which facts usually decide it for domestic help?

Points towards self employmentPoints towards employment Works for many households and advertises to the publicWorks only or mainly for you Quotes a price for the job and invoicesPaid by the hour for whatever you ask them to do Brings their own equipment, products or machineryUses your mower, tools and cleaning products Can send a colleague or helper in their placeMust turn up personally Chooses when and how the work is doneYou set the days, hours and method Bears the cost of putting poor work rightPaid regardless of the outcome No single factor settles it. A cleaner who comes every Tuesday is not an employee merely because the visit is regular, and a gardener with their own van is not self employed if in every other respect they work as you direct. What counts is the whole picture of the working relationship in practice, not the label in any written agreement.

Q: What does running payroll for one household employee involve?

Software and reporting. HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is free payroll software for employers with fewer than 10 employees. Pay and deductions are reported to HMRC on or before each payday. Paying HMRC. Usually monthly, but an employer expecting to pay less than £1,500 a month can ask to pay quarterly. National Insurance. For 2026 to 2027, employer contributions are 15% of earnings above £96 a week, and employee contributions are 8% of earnings between £242 and £967 a week. Employment Allowance cannot be used for someone employed for household work such as a gardener, unless they are a carer or support worker. Other duties. An employment contract, payslips, at least the minimum wage, paid holiday, a workplace pension if they qualify, a right to work check and, according to GOV.UK, employers' liability insurance.

Q: How does this work for two typical households?

Illustration only. Household A uses a cleaner who trades under her own name, has twenty regular customers, quotes £60 per clean, brings her own products and vacuum, and sends a colleague when she is unwell. She is very likely self employed. The household pays her invoices and has no payroll duties. Household B hires a gardener directly for 14 hours a week at £13 an hour, using the household's tools, working the days and tasks the owners set, and he cannot send anyone else. He is very likely an employee. He earns £182 a week, which is more than £96, so the household must register and run payroll. Employer National Insurance is 15% of £86 (£182 less £96), which is £12.90 a week, with no Employment Allowance to offset it. His earnings are below the £242 primary threshold, so no employee National Insurance is deducted.

You only need payroll for a cleaner or gardener if they are your employee. A cleaner or gardener who runs their own business, works for many households, sets their own hours and invoices you is usually self employed, and you have no PAYE duties. If you hire someone directly to work set hours under your direction, they are probably your employee, and you must register as an employer before the first payday if they earn £96 or more a week or meet any of the other PAYE conditions.

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Is my cleaner or gardener employed or self employed?

There is no special status category for domestic help. The same legal tests apply as for any worker, and GOV.UK says that you are usually the employer of a nanny, housekeeper, gardener or anyone else who works in your home if you hire them and they are not self employed or paid through an agency.

GOV.UK describes a self employed person as someone who runs their business for themselves and takes responsibility for its success or failure. It lists signs that someone is probably self employed, including that they give quotes to get work, are not under direct supervision, submit invoices, pay their own tax and National Insurance, and get no holiday or sick pay. Signs of an employee include being required to work regularly, doing a minimum number of hours and expecting to be paid for the time, someone else deciding the workload and how it is done, being unable to send someone else, and working at an address the hirer specifies. The courts’ framework behind these indicators is explained in our page on the employment status tests.

HMRC’s online status tool can be used for a household arrangement too; see our page on the Check Employment Status for Tax tool.

Which facts usually decide it for domestic help?

Points towards self employment	Points towards employment
Works for many households and advertises to the public	Works only or mainly for you
Quotes a price for the job and invoices	Paid by the hour for whatever you ask them to do
Brings their own equipment, products or machinery	Uses your mower, tools and cleaning products
Can send a colleague or helper in their place	Must turn up personally
Chooses when and how the work is done	You set the days, hours and method
Bears the cost of putting poor work right	Paid regardless of the outcome

No single factor settles it. A cleaner who comes every Tuesday is not an employee merely because the visit is regular, and a gardener with their own van is not self employed if in every other respect they work as you direct. What counts is the whole picture of the working relationship in practice, not the label in any written agreement.

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What if the cleaner comes through an agency or an app?

If you book through a cleaning company that employs its own staff, the company is the employer and handles payroll. If an agency introduces someone and you then hire and pay them directly, the agency has not become the employer, and the status question is back with you. Where the agency supplies and pays the worker, HMRC’s agency rules can make the agency responsible for PAYE. HMRC’s Employment Status Manual at ESM2064 gives an example of a domestic helper supplied by an employment business to visit elderly people, concluding that the agency legislation did not apply because nobody had a right of supervision, direction or control over how she worked.

One trap to avoid: special National Insurance rules treat some cleaners as employed earners even without a contract of employment, but HMRC’s manual at ESM4018 explains that these rules cover cleaners of offices and premises other than a private dwelling house. Cleaning a private home is assessed under the normal rules.

When must a householder register as an employer?

If your cleaner or gardener is an employee, GOV.UK says you must register for PAYE if any of these applies to them in the current tax year:

they are paid £96 or more a week
they get expenses or benefits
they get a pension
they have had another job
they have received Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit

The “another job” condition catches many domestic workers, who often have several part time posts. If none applies, you do not need to register, but you must still keep payroll records. Registration must happen before the first payday and no more than two months before you start paying. GOV.UK also says household employers must run payroll even if they pay the employee in cash. Our page on registering as an employer walks through the process.

What does running payroll for one household employee involve?

Software and reporting. HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools is free payroll software for employers with fewer than 10 employees. Pay and deductions are reported to HMRC on or before each payday.
Paying HMRC. Usually monthly, but an employer expecting to pay less than £1,500 a month can ask to pay quarterly.
National Insurance. For 2026 to 2027, employer contributions are 15% of earnings above £96 a week, and employee contributions are 8% of earnings between £242 and £967 a week. Employment Allowance cannot be used for someone employed for household work such as a gardener, unless they are a carer or support worker.
Other duties. An employment contract, payslips, at least the minimum wage, paid holiday, a workplace pension if they qualify, a right to work check and, according to GOV.UK, employers’ liability insurance.

Does the minimum wage apply to domestic help?

It applies to employees and to other workers who personally perform work, but not to someone genuinely self employed. The government’s minimum wage guidance also excludes family members of the employer who live in the employer’s home, and notes that friends and neighbours helping under informal arrangements, such as a neighbour feeding a pet while you are away, need not be paid it. Once there is a contract, a minimum wage relationship may exist. From April 2026 the rate for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour; see our page on minimum wage rules for employers.

How does this work for two typical households?

Illustration only.

Household A uses a cleaner who trades under her own name, has twenty regular customers, quotes £60 per clean, brings her own products and vacuum, and sends a colleague when she is unwell. She is very likely self employed. The household pays her invoices and has no payroll duties.

Household B hires a gardener directly for 14 hours a week at £13 an hour, using the household’s tools, working the days and tasks the owners set, and he cannot send anyone else. He is very likely an employee. He earns £182 a week, which is more than £96, so the household must register and run payroll. Employer National Insurance is 15% of £86 (£182 less £96), which is £12.90 a week, with no Employment Allowance to offset it. His earnings are below the £242 primary threshold, so no employee National Insurance is deducted.

What are the common mistakes?

Assuming that paying cash, or calling someone a contractor, removes PAYE duties. GOV.UK says you cannot ask your employee to become self employed.
Forgetting the “another job” condition when weekly pay is below £96.
Treating a long standing gardener as self employed after the arrangement has drifted into fixed days, set tasks and the household’s equipment.
Ignoring the consequences. GOV.UK warns that if employment status is wrong, individuals and employers may have to pay unpaid tax and penalties.

For a live in or childcare role, see our page on employing a nanny.

If HMRC opens a check into your return, tax investigation insurance pays your accountant’s fees. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess; it never pays tax, interest or penalties. Read how our cover works or get a quote.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.