Within domestic staff recruitment and employment, it is still surprisingly common for wages to be discussed and agreed on a net (i.e. take home) rather than a gross basis. Whilst it may be helpful for the employee to know how much money they'll have in their pocket each payday, some employers, particularly those employing for the first time, get a false impression of employment costs as they do not realise that there will be Tax and National Insurance Contributions to pay on top of the net wage.

Net, Gross and Total Cost: what's the difference?
The net wage is the take-home pay; the amount the employee receives in their pocket or bank account each payday.

The gross wage is the employee's net pay + Tax + Employee's National Insurance contributions.

In addition to the gross wage, employers have to pay Employer's National Insurance contributions; this is called the Total Cost. So the total cost is the gross pay + employer's NI.

An Example
A carer has agreed a net wage of £200 per week. Let's assume this is their only job and they have a standard tax code.

Their gross weekly wage would be approximately £227* per week.

The employer's total cost would be approximately £240* per week (that's the gross wage plus employer's NI contributions).

(* Figures are rounded up or down to the nearest pound and assume a standard tax code for tax year 2011/2012).

• There are several reasons why your employee's tax code can vary from a standard tax code; for instance, if they have two part-time jobs and the other employer is already using up their personal tax-free allowance in their wage calculations, then you, the second employer, must pay tax from the first penny the carer earns, since the personal tax-free allowance can only be claimed once. Another reason for an unusual tax code would be if HMRC were collecting unpaid or underpaid tax from previous employment.

• If your carer has a student loan you will be responsible for paying this if you agree a net salary with them.

• The difference between the net pay and the actual cost of employing can be staggering (up to 50% more) and may come as an unpleasant surprise, especially to an inexperienced first-time employer.

A net pay arrangement is equally unfavourable to your carer as they would not benefit from any increases in their personal tax-free allowance.