Summer’s almost here, and soon most children will be on their long-awaited summer vacation. If you own or manage a business, have you thought of hiring your children, nieces, or nephews for a summer job?
If you do it right, it can be a win-win situation for everyone.
The kids will earn some money and gain valuable real-life experience in the workplace while your business will have some extra help during summer months when other staff may be on vacation. If it’s a family business, there might even be some tax advantages as well.
If your child is doing a valid job and the pay is reasonable for the work, your business can generally claim a normal tax expense for wages paid. Your child will probably pay no or very little income tax on the wages they earned. And if the child is under age 18 and your business is unincorporated, neither your child nor your business will have to pay Social Security or Medicare payroll taxes in most cases.
To make the arrangement work, follow the following guidelines:
- Ensure it’s a real job. It could be a simple job, such as office filing, packing orders, or simple production activities. But it needs to be an actual job.
- Treat your child like any other employee. Expect your child to work regular hours and exhibit appropriate behavior. Don’t show favoritism or you risk upsetting regular employees.
- Keep proper documentation. Keep records of hours worked just as you would for any employee. If possible, pay your child using your normal payroll system and procedures.
- Avoid family disputes. If the arrangement is not working, or is disrupting the business, help your child find a summer job at another business.
With endless movies, TV shows and video games available to us 24/7, it’s become too easy to spend all our free time on electronic devices. If you and your family are looking for ways to unplug this summer, consider these ideas:
- Turn off notifications. Hey! Guess what? Bill just posted a photo of his dinner! And look at this! Minneapolis just set the world record for the largest pillow fight! Let’s be honest, most alerts you get on your phone are meaningless, yet we allow them to steal our attention several times a day. Review your phone settings and turn off all non-essential notifications to keep you focused on the things that are important to you.
- Ration your screen time. Limiting time in front of a screen is important for both you and your kids. Setting daily screen limits is a good way to keep your media consumption under control and allow for guilt-free time when you just want to scroll through social media or watch a movie.
- Make a summer reading goal. Set a goal (with prizes at the end!) for yourself and your children to read a certain number of books before Labor Day. According to the Chicago Tribune, because reading is an active activity (not passive, like watching TV), “it reduces stress, promotes comprehension and imagination, alleviates depression, helps you sleep, and may contribute to preventing Alzheimer’s.”
- Schedule phone-free activities. Plan a get-together like a picnic or BBQ, but with a catch — phones need to be checked at the door. That way you and your guests can focus on each other without the constant distraction of a phone. If some of the guests don’t know each other, even better! They might leave the party with a few new friends.
- Start a new outdoor hobby. Getting outside is a great way to separate yourself from your electronics. By finding an outdoor hobby that interests you, like hiking, gardening or camping, you’ll have an activity that takes your attention away from your phone and provides added benefits, like exercise and vitamin D.
By getting your electronic habits to a manageable level, you’ll free up more time and energy to live this summer to the fullest.