Employing students in the summer break

If you employ students to manage your staff needs over the summer break period, you will need to add them to your payroll and apply PAYE and NIC rules.

Students should be advised that they will pay tax and NIC if:

• they earn more than £1,042 a month on average, and
• pay NIC if they earn more than £166 a week.

Students can also apply for a possible tax refund if they work for part of a tax year.

Students who normally live and study in the UK but work abroad during the holidays will need to pay:

• UK tax on anything they earn above their Personal Allowance, currently £12,500, and
• National Insurance if they work for a UK employer.

If you work for a foreign employer you don’t need to pay National Insurance in the UK, but you might have to pay contributions in the country you’re working in.