Locally Engaged Staff

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

National minimum wage enquiry point

020 7215 5703

HM Revenue and Customs

Diplomatic Liaison Office

Tel: 0161 261 3145

Fax: 0161 261 3356

Income Tax Annual Returns Enquiries

Tel: 0161 261 3052

Employment

Missions may employ, as locally-engaged staff, persons who have valid leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom with permission to take employment.  Visitors do not qualify.

Section 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 changed the rules governing the immigration status of locally engaged staff of diplomatic missions. Essentially, the rules are that individuals who are offered employment at a diplomatic mission when they are resident outside the UK will qualify for exemption from immigration control (ie they do not need a work permit). But staff recruited in the UK, with permission to take employment ,will remain subject to immigration control.

Minimum wage

The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 set out the national minimum wages to be paid to workers in the United Kingdom. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy website explains the requirements of employers under the legislation. Protocol Directorate expects diplomats to comply with this legislation.

Permanent Residents of the United Kingdom

For administrative purposes, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will regard locally engaged staff as permanent residents, unless the mission gives a convincing reason for not doing so, either at the time of appointment or on a subsequent change of appointment. The test should normally be whether or not the proposed member of staff would be in the United Kingdom but for the requirements of the sending State.

National Insurance contributions

Liability to pay

Almost all categories of employees in the United Kingdom must pay Class 1 earnings related National Insurance contributions. This applies equally to staff who are engaged locally by diplomatic missions or as private servants of members of staff of such missions. Normally the contributions are deducted from employees’ wages by the employer who then accounts for them to the HM Revenue and Customs Accounts Office, which deals with the collection of tax and National Insurance contributions.

Responsibility for payment

If a diplomatic mission chooses not to deduct and account for the employees’ contributions in this way, the individual employees become personally responsible for payment of the contributions.

Further information and advice

Further information for locally engaged employees can be found on the HMRC website, or by contacting the HM Revenue and Customs Diplomatic Liaison Office.

Income tax

Liability to pay

Members of staff employed by a mission on a locally-engaged basis or locally-engaged servants employed by members of the mission, depending upon their nationality, are liable to pay United Kingdom tax on their official salary and other sources of income.

Responsibility for payment

Employees themselves are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their obligations to the tax authorities are properly met.

Annual return

To ensure that tax is paid, and to enable HM Revenue and Customs to check that all staff receive their full entitlement to allowances and reliefs, Protocol Directorate requests all missions to submit a list of the names and addresses of all locally engaged members of staff to:

HM Revenue & Customs
Manchester New Bailey
3rd Floor, Trinity Bridge House
2 Dearman’s Place
Salford, M3 5BG

If missions have any query concerning the liability of members of the mission to income or capital gains tax they should ring the Annual Returns Enquiries phone line (see right hand side of this page).

Driving Diplomatic Vehicles

Service staff and locally-engaged staff may drive a diplomatic or consular-plated vehicle while on official duty only; provided they hold a valid driving licence or permit.  Personal use of such a vehicle by such staff is not permitted.