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CARE VISITS AT HOME Good Old Fashioned Service
ASK DEBBIE........ for help, advice and assistance
Brian Pettitt (centre, front row) visits the air ambulance base in Marden
£70,000 total for air ambulance
A FORMER Kent County Council highways inspector from Ayles- ford who set up a lottery to raise funds for the air ambulance has reached a £70,000 milestone for the charity. Brian Pettitt launched the High-
ways 101 Club in 1991 after the hel- icopter was called to a major accident on the M20. He was involved in clearing wreckage from the crash site and persuaded colleagues to sign up to the weekly draw to support the charity. With the help of his wife Lesley,
who does the accounts, the club now has 108 members paying £1 a week for the chance to win cash prizes of £35, £15 and £3.50. Brian said: “I came up with the
idea when I was working for Kent County Council.We were called to assist with an accident on the M20 where a low loader with three dig- gers on it hit Forstal Road bridge.
One of the diggers fell off and blocked the London-bound car- riageway, causing a multiple pile-up involving a coach. “The air ambulance was called
and it must have come back about three times to take patients to hos- pital. That’s when I thought we needed to support the service. “Iwent back tomycolleagues and
said if I came up with something to raise money, would they be game for it, and they said yes, go for it.” The 73-year-old recently visited
the helicopter base with family, friends and formerwork colleagues to hand over their latest £5,000 in- stalment from the Highways 101 Club.
Brian said: “It’s brilliant to have
raised £70,000 and the same amount has been paid out in prizemoney, so this is a big thank you to all those who support it and the two people who help me collect the money, David Ardley and Ian Chambers.”
£5,000 for Christmas lights
A BIGGER and brighter Christ- mas display is being planned at East Peckham, with solar-pow- ered decorations and a tall tree in the village centre. With an available budget of
£5,003 for the 2014 lights, parish councillors wished to improve on last year’s decorations, with the emphasis on the centre of the village.
Beetle drive
AN evening of family fun is planned at a beetle drive organised for St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Aylesford on Saturday, October 18. Tickets for the event at the Brassey Rooms, Station Road, Aylesford, at 7pm are £3 per adult, £2 per child. Please bring your own drinks and snacks. For details, contact Aline on 01622 716608/07771 636872.
As well as using the existing motifs, it is hoped to acquire 20- 25 solar-powered trees and strings of lights to hang be- tween them. Central village businesses
will be asked to take part in the Christmas event which will in- clude carols and songs from the Street Singers and the EP Silver Band.
Trees face axe
A CHRISTMAS tree, conifer, oak and two ashes were earmarked for removal at 3 Swan Cottages, The Green, Offham. Agent James Bailey of Arbortree
toldTonbridge and Malling Council the work, in a conservation area, would allow more light into the property. It was hoped to replace the trees with species such as Japan- ese maple and twisted willow.
Dear Debbie,
My mother has a live-in Care Worker who stays with her permanently. The live- in Care Worker is self-employed but I met someone the other day who told me that my mother should be deducting PAYE from her wages. Do you know if this is correct or do I need to talk to an accountant?
Yours sincerely Sheila R
Dear Sheila,
The information you were given is almost certainly correct. Being employed or self-employed is not a matter of choice for the individual. Employment status flows from the nature of the work involved. Take a look at the Taxman’s guidance at
www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/esi-01.htm and decide for yourself. I think the guidance makes it pretty clear that live-in care is an employed position and our conversations with HMRC in the past have confirmed employment status in two particular live-in care situations.
The employer has responsibilities to pay National Insurance, to deduct and account for PAYE and possibly to pay compensation in the event that the employee is injured at work. The employer is the person to whom the care is being provided or a care agency if one is involved.
The obligations of being an employer are not insignificant and might include for example being held accountable for any unpaid PAYE by the live-in Care Worker should their tax affairs not be maintained in good order. If your mother’s live-in Care Worker has told her that her self- employed status is fine, I would ask her for justification in the light of the Taxman’s guidance and be cautious if you’re not satisfied with the response. Best wishes
Debbie Moulton, Care Manager Bluebird Care
• Help with getting up or going to bed
• Personal Hygiene • Cleaning the home • Preparing Meals • Assist with medication • Overnight Care
• Washing or Ironing • Shopping
• Sightseeing or leisure activities • 24hr Live-in-care
• Trips to see friends or relatives
MAIDSTONE • 01622 809530
maidstone@bluebirdcare.co.uk
www.bluebirdcare.co.uk/maidstone Malling October 2014
15
If you have a question that you would like to ask Debbie then please email her at
debbie@bluebirdcare.co.uk
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