Do I need to register as an employer?

I’m a sole trader, I pay my wife £120 weekly for admin, for that I know that I don’t need to register as her employer. If she was to take a small income from her Sipp, say £200 per month, her total income would be £8900 and she would still be well under her PA of £11320 and I believe that no NI is payable on pension income. It seems mad if I had to register in that situation as it would be under the employer’s threshold too? She is already entitled to full State pension when she reaches 67.

Hi
Please see PAYE and payroll for employers to establish if you would be required to register a PAYE scheme.

That information is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. It doesn’t say there’s a blanket rule that however small a 2nd income stream, an employer MUST register an employee and run payroll, it’s all very wooly and vague. It doesn’t specify whether someone with both paid income + a small occasional personal drawdown/adhoc pension payment that together are still well UNDER both Personal allowance AND employer/employee LEL Primary threshold , so absolutely NOTHING to pay by anyone, needs to be registered and Payroll ran. You would expect clear, unambiguous information. Staff salaries don’t even have to be accounted for separately on the self assessment short form, it can all just be lumped under Expenses in box 20. So HMRC don’t actually know if there are any staff wages when using the short form. It really is infuriating, especially with the helpline closed.

Hi
Generally if they are below the LEL then you wouldnt need to run a payroll, however this is a general rule.
If your question relates to self assessment, there is an online webchat which I believe you can use as the phone line is closed.
Self Assessment: general enquiries