FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What are Direct Payments
    Direct payments allow you to receive cash payments from your local authority instead of care services. This can give you much more flexibility and greater control of the support you need either as a 'carer' to help you in your caring role or a ‘recipient’ to help you decide how your care and support will be arranged and provided.
  • What can I use my Direct Payment for?
    Direct payments give you more flexibility over how your care and support is arranged and provided. They can be allocated to parents & carers to enable them to have respite from their caring role, or a disabled dependent to help them to access their local community with a carer/support worker. They can also be offered to help support the elderly to continue living at home whilst being cared for by family or people they know. Direct payments must be used as agreed and are monitored closely by Social Workers and Care Managers to ensure assessed needs are being met. We will work with you to make sure you receive the support you need according to the care plan in place.
  • Can I self-refer to this service?
    Only if you are self-funding. Families in receipt of a Local Authority Direct Payment or NHS Continuing Health Care will require Social Worker or Care Manger approval.
  • How much does the service cost?
    For a fully fund managed service, our pricing settles at around £500 per year and is dependent on the number of support staff you employ and whether or not you need to run a pension scheme. All of our fees are included in your Direct Payment, leaving your personal finances intact. Fees are deducted from your fund quarterly and your insurance premium and staff wages are paid directly from your fund's bank account at agreed intervals.
  • What services do you offer?

    We have two core services - fully fund managed & payslip only.


    Both cover the following areas:

    • Registration with HMRC or transfer of existing PAYE scheme fom another service provider.
    • Registration of starters, leavers and all necessary administrative work.
    • Advice on HMRC requirements, legislation and procedures & full compliance with RTI reporting.
    • Completion of statutory payment calculations.
    • Provision & maintenance of online timesheet submission system, reconciliation and calculation of wages, tax, national insurance & student loan deductions when necessary.
    • Full pension support with Government default NEST pension scheme.

    In addition, our fully fund managed service also provides the following:

    • Timely payments to support staff and service providers by direct bank transfer via ‘faster payments’
    • Tailored employment documentation for each employee, advice on employment law issues, referrals to specialist services when necessary
    • Assistance with DBS applications and renewals
    • Assistance with the acquisition & renewal of 3 party liability insurance
    • Preparation and submission of Local Authority monitoring
    • Secure storage of all associated documentation on site for 4 years
  • Should I get my staff DBS checked?
    If your direct payment or personal budget is for a young person under the age of 16, is an adult living in the same house as someone under 16 or is classed as a 'vulnerable adult', it is a legal requirement that an enhanced DBS check is processed for anyone you intend to employ. We will process the application on your behalf and the cost will be covered by your funding source.
  • What is Employer's Liability Insurance?
    As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to insure against accidents or injuries that occur whilst your staff are working for you. Consequently, when employing someone, you must take out Employer's Liability Insurance. We will help you to acquire and renew your policy on an ongoing basis.
  • Is my employee entitled to paid holiday?
    Under the Working Time Regulations act, workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid leave (holiday) each year based on the number of hours your employee is contracted to work.
  • What happens if my employee is sick?
    If your employee is sick for four or more consecutive days, they may be entitled to sick pay if they earn above the national insurance threshold. If they don’t, they may choose to use their holiday entitlement in lieu of sick pay.
  • I only need help with my PAYE scheme. Can you help if I don’t need a fully fund managed service?
    We offer a targeted service for families that do not require a fully fund managed package. However, It should not be viewed as a cheap alternative to our comprehensive service. It is for those with the time, knowledge and inclination to run their payrolls themselves and any family using this service must have the use of a home computer, access to the internet and be familiar with internet banking protocol. Users of the service must be well organised and be aware of their obligations as an employer. It is co-produced with a local accountant and is specifically set up to deal with high volumes of work. 'DP Support' remains responsible for the face to face contact required to set up the service and will invoice you quarterly.
  • Where can I find out more?
    If you have any more questions about our services, please contact us via our enquiries form on our Contact page.