Personal Assistant support

Finding someone you trust in your own home is not ordinary recruitment.

A Personal Assistant sees your kitchen, your routine and your bad mornings. Skills matter, but so does whether you can relax around them. We run the process properly and leave the judgement where it belongs — with you.

Ask us about recruiting a PA What is a Personal Assistant?
How recruitment runs

Six stages, with your decision at the centre of it.

You can be involved in all of it or almost none of it. What we will not do is choose for you.

  1. Working out what the role actually is

    Not a generic job advert. What happens on a typical day, which hours genuinely matter, whether driving is needed, whether the person will be alone, what kind of manner suits you. This conversation is the difference between a good appointment and three months of near-misses.

  2. Advertising it where the right people look

    We write and place the advert, keeping your personal details out of it. How much is disclosed, and when, is up to you — most people prefer to stay anonymous until shortlisting.

  3. Sifting and shortlisting

    We speak to applicants, check the basics, and put forward the ones worth your time. You will get a short list with honest notes, not a folder of forwarded CVs.

  4. Meeting people

    Interviews arranged around you, at home, somewhere neutral or by video. We can sit in, suggest questions, or stay out of the way entirely. Where it is appropriate and agreed, a paid trial shift often tells you more than an interview does.

  5. Checks before they start

    Identity and right-to-work verification, a DBS check at the level appropriate to the role, and references covering recent relevant work. We will tell you plainly what has been confirmed and what has not.

  6. Setting up the employment properly

    Contract, terms, pay rate, holiday entitlement, payroll registration and pension duties. From there it runs, and we handle the administration for as long as you want us to.

Being an employer

What the role of employer actually involves.

None of this is meant to put you off. It is meant to be the thing nobody told you at the start.

When you employ a Personal Assistant you take on genuine legal responsibilities. Most people manage them perfectly well, particularly with the administration handled.

  • Paying correctly
    At least the National Minimum or Living Wage for their age, with payslips, PAYE and National Insurance handled through payroll.
  • A written contract
    Employees are entitled to a written statement of their main terms. It protects both sides when something is disputed.
  • Holiday and sick pay
    Paid annual leave accrues from day one, and statutory sick pay may apply. Both need calculating rather than guessing.
  • Pension duties
    As an employer you may need to assess your PA for automatic enrolment into a workplace pension, and re-assess periodically.
  • Insurance
    Employers’ liability insurance is normally required. Whether the cost can come from your budget depends on your arrangement.
  • Health, safety and training
    Making sure the person is trained for the support they give, and that the working environment is reasonably safe.
  • Records and data
    Keeping employment records, and handling your PA’s personal information properly under UK data protection law.

Oakline supports you in these duties; it does not take them over. Unless a different arrangement has been agreed with your funding body, you remain the employer. We are not a legal or tax adviser, and where a question needs that expertise we will say so.

When a PA leaves

The gap is the bit people dread. It is also the bit we plan for.

Good Personal Assistants move on. They move house, go into nursing, have children. It is not a failure of the arrangement, but it does arrive suddenly and it lands on a family that is already stretched.

We start replacement recruitment as soon as you tell us, usually during the notice period, and we handle the leaver administration — final pay, outstanding holiday, records and references. What cover is possible during a gap depends on what your arrangement allows, and we will talk through the realistic options rather than promise something we cannot deliver.

Keeping someone good

Recruiting well is only half of it.

  • A clear contract and consistent, predictable pay
  • Hours that are reliable rather than constantly shifting
  • Training that makes the job easier rather than ticking a box
  • Honest conversations early, before small problems set
  • Being treated as a colleague rather than a service
  • Somewhere for them to raise a concern if they need to

We help with all of these, because a PA who stays two years is worth far more than three who stay four months.

Questions

Questions about Personal Assistants.

Do I have to interview people myself?

You do not have to run the interview, but the decision should be yours. Most people want to meet the shortlist, and we will arrange and sit in on interviews if that helps. Some people prefer a short informal meeting at home instead of a formal interview, which is completely reasonable.

How long does it take to find someone?

It varies a great deal with the hours, the location and the type of support. A straightforward weekday role in a well-connected area can move quickly; a role with a few hours on Sunday mornings takes longer. We will give you a realistic view at the start rather than an optimistic one.

We do not guarantee that a suitable person will be found, because that depends on who is looking for work at the time.

What if the person we choose is not right after all?

It happens, and it is better addressed early than endured. We will talk you through the options as an employer, including probation periods and how to handle a difficult conversation properly, and we will start recruiting again when you are ready.

Can my Personal Assistant be someone we already know?

Often yes — plenty of good arrangements start with someone the family already trusts. The employment side still needs doing properly: a contract, the right checks, payroll and clear expectations. We can set that up around a person you have already chosen.

If the person is a close relative, additional rules may apply and approval may be needed. We have explained that separately.

Am I really the employer, or is Oakline?

You are, unless a different arrangement has been agreed with your funding body. Oakline provides the recruitment and administrative support around your role as employer. That distinction matters legally, and we would rather be clear about it than let it stay vague.

It also means you keep the choice over who supports you, which is the whole point.

Recruiting a Personal Assistant

Tell us what a good day would look like, and we will build the role around it.

You do not need a job description or a plan. Start with what support is needed and when, and we will turn that into something we can advertise.

Talk to us about recruiting a PA

Where to go next