You can pay your son or daughter out of your business, but they must do some real work for that money, work which is worth what you pay them. You can’t pay over the odds for an office assistant just because the worker is your relative.
The work need not be performed at your business premises. Skills which could be used to promote your business online or to design marketing materials could be applied remotely, perhaps while they are away at university. However, you need to be able to prove that adequate work was performed for the rewards. Where work is done in between studying and is not supervised, there needs to be an accurate record such as a timesheet. Alternatively, the individual could be paid according to output, such as for every leaflet designed or each customer query answered.
There are rules on how many hours a child aged under sixteen is legally allowed to work, during school term time and during the holidays. Where the pay is more than £113 per week, you must put it through the payroll, just as you would for any other employee.
