SPM181500 | Paying and Recovering - SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP/SNCP: who is the employer

Although the legislation makes it clear that the person who is liable to pay the secondary (employer) Class 1 NICs is the employer for SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP/SNCP purposes, it may not always be easy to:

• identify the liable employer, or

• decide if an organisation is a:

• single business, or

• collection of separate businesses.

It will sometimes be necessary to consider other factors such as:

• who the employee’s contract of service is with

• who pays the employee

• whether employees are moved from one part of the organisation to another

• whether there is a bank account for each part of an organisation or a single one for the organisation as a whole, or

• whether there is a profit and loss account for each part of an organisation or only one for the organisation as a whole.