Hi all,

I'm in the process of planning a business start-up based in Scotland. I know I'm going to need to employ staff but, certainly in the short term, the hours I need them will be quite erratic, probably only the odd day here and there.
I've been thinking of taking on staff on a self-employed basis so they are responsible for paying their own tax etc and I'm not tied into them working any set hours. This would only be for the first two or three months hopefully until I have generated enough business to be able to offer them regular hours and also afford to pay the tax and NI required.
My question is, can I do this? Do I need to have a contract between myself and the worker stating they are responsible for their own tax etc? How would I show my payments to them in my accounts?
I don't want to break the law and certainly don't want to fall foul of the Inland Revenue but I won't be able to afford the staff costs if I have to pay their tax from day one as I'm starting up with a VERY limited budget, only a few hundred quid.

Any help would be very gratefully recieved.