Help for Parents of Grooms  

Is your son or daughter a groom? Do you worry about how they are employed and their well being?

The BGA is aware that many parents are increasingly concerned about their children working for riders in our industry. The BGA is committed to achieving 'Social Change' and is working very hard with employers to help them to modernise their working environments.

Working with horses is a very rewarding job, one which will mean a fit and healthy lifestyle, the opportunity to travel and have a career doing something your son or daughter really enjoys.

Listed below are a variety of questions that have come to us and we have done our best to provide helpful answers.

If you have a question, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to answer it for you.

My daughter has never paid any Tax or National Insurance.  Do employers submit groom details to tax offices?  I know very little about this side of things - please can you advise? If your daughter is employed, then her employer has the legal obligation to operate PAYE on the payments made to their employees if their earnings reach the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit (LEL). For the tax year 2008-09 this is £90 a week, £390 a month or £4,680 a year. If your daughter is earning less than £90 per week then she does not have to pay tax or National Insurance on her wages as her earnings are below the earnings threshold.

Will my daughter get a contract of employment? A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and an employee. The contract is made as soon as an employee accepts a job offer, and both sides are then bound by its terms until it’s properly ended (usually by giving notice) or until the terms are changed (usually by mutual agreement). The employees rights and duties, and those of the employer, are called the ‘terms' of the contract. The contract doesn’t have to be in writing. Your daughter is legally entitled to a written statement of employment particulars containing the main terms of the contract, such as rate of pay, holiday entitlement etc, within two months of starting work. The BGA offers a free to download version – CLICK HERE

What will she have to pay for? i.e livery, food, rent, utilities. This will depend on the employer and the employment situation. What you must ensure is that she is paid the minimum wage: There are three levels of minimum wage, and the rates from 1 October 2008 are:     * £5.73 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older     * A development rate of £4.77 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive     * £3.53 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of compulsory school age For more info. CLICK HERE The employer will then be able to deduct from her wages the maximum of £31.22 per week for her accommodation.  For more info.  CLICK HERE

How many hours per day will she be expected to work? The law states that you should not have to work more than 48 hours a week on average, unless you choose to, or work in a sector with its own special rules. Your normal working hours should be set out in the contract of employment or written statement of employment particulars. CLICK HERE for more info. Working with horses is not a 9-5 job and it should be expected that as a groom, there will be long days. However it is important to note that they must still be paid at least the minimum wage for their hours worked.  She must by law receive a rest period within her working day, this will depend on her contract as to how long and whether she will be paid during the break period. For more info. CLICK HERE

What about days off? She has just worked for 21 consecutive days.. is this legal? No this is not legal. An adult worker is entitled to: Daily rest - a break between working days If you are an adult worker you have the right to a break of at least 11 hours between working days. This means as an adult worker, if you finish work at 8.00 pm on Monday you should not start work until 7.00 am on Tuesday. Weekly rest - the 'weekend' If you are an adult worker you have the right to an uninterrupted 24 hours clear of work each week or an uninterrupted 48 hours clear each fortnight. CLICK HERE for more info

Are holidays with pay? Since 1 October 2007 all workers have had a statutory right to at least 4.8 weeks paid annual leave (that's 24 days paid holiday if you work five days a week). From 1 April 2009 this entitlement will increase to 5.6 weeks (28 days). for more info. CLICK HERE If you son or daughter is self employed i.e. a freelance groom, then they will not be entitled to any paid holiday.

My sons’ employer has just told him that he is now 'self employed' what does that mean? Your son is only self employed if he is running his own freelance business and so invoices the clients and pays his own tax. Be warned, some employers will make their staff ‘self employed’ when in actual fact they are not – this is a tax evasion and illegal. For more info. CLICK HERE