Jun 2022
29
Customer Update: July 2022
Welcome to BrightPay's July update. Our most important news this month include:
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The new wave of payslip distribution
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Streamline your business' annual leave management
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3 ways to boost job satisfaction in your workplace
Get the most out of BrightPay by automating payroll processes
Join our upcoming webinar on the 7th of July, where you will discover how to automate your payroll process. Must-have features include batch-processing payslips, an online client portal, and the ability to send payroll entry and approval requests to clients, before you finalise the payroll.
The importance of automation and why you need it
Join our upcoming webinar on the 5th of July where you will discover how integration has transformed the world of payroll. Having integrated software applications can be incredibly convenient for the end-user. That’s why BrightPay integrates with various applications to automate many day-to-day tasks.
Increased NIC thresholds from 6th July 2022
The NIC thresholds are increasing from 6th July 2022. BrightPay has been updated to reflect these changes, so please ensure that you are using the latest version of the software. These rates will then automatically apply to payments due to be made on 6th July or later.
The new wave of payslip distribution
Say goodbye to the hours spent regenerating payslips or searching through files when employees want copies of their past payslips. With the employee app, employees will be able to access a complete history of their payslips through their smartphones, tablet or any internet browser.
Save your practice over £20,000 per year
Discover in our new free guide, how you can save over £20,000 per year using BrightPay and BrightPay Connect. We’ll look at what’s most important to accountants when choosing payroll software, and exactly how much value it can bring to your practice.
Learn how practice management software could transform your business
Discover in our new free guide, how you can save over £20,000 per year using BrightPay and BrightPay Connect. We’ll look at what’s most important to accountants when choosing payroll software, and exactly how much value it can bring to your practice.
Tech is taking the pain out of payroll and payment processes
By integrating a reliable, real-time and efficient payments platform into your payroll system, your business can save a vast amount of time. Automate how you pay employees, subcontractors and HMRC, with Modulr. This will eliminate errors and improve data security.
Jun 2022
27
NI Threshold increases on 6th July: What to do
It can be difficult to keep on top of payroll updates and changes to compliance. Using a payroll software which takes care of these updates for you can save you a lot of time in the long run. Thankfully, BrightPay Payroll Software is updated to cater for all regulatory changes to ensure you stay compliant. This will save you time and eliminate the headache that comes with manually processing payroll.
The UK Government announced in March that the National Insurance thresholds will increase from 6th July, this means that employees and self-employed people will pay National Insurance contributions on less of their income or profits. HMRC has made clear that all payroll software providers must ensure that their software is updated to reflect these increased NI thresholds. If your payroll software is not up-to-date, HMRC requests that you do not run your payroll until your payroll software has taken account of the changes.
What changes were made to National Insurance Contribution rates?
National Insurance Contribution rates were increased for the 2022/23 tax year by 1.25%. Contributions are to go towards the NHS, health, and social care.
Who is affected by these changes?
Any person over 16 years old who is employed and earns above £190 a week or any person who is self-employed and makes a profit of £6,725 or more a year, will be affected.
If you are a married woman or widowed (with a valid certification of election) or if you’re deferring National Insurance because you have more than one job, you will pay less National Insurance Contributions.
If you earn between £123 and £190 per week, your contributions are treated as having been paid to protect your National Insurance record.
What are the National Insurance thresholds?
Below are the monthly thresholds for employers and employees who fall into the Class 1 category.
| £ per month | 6 July 2022 to 5 April 2023 | 6 April 2022 to 5 July 2022 |
| Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) Employees do not pay National Insurance but get the benefits of paying |
£533 | £533 |
| Primary Threshold (PT) Employees start paying National Insurance |
£1,048 | £823 |
| Secondary Threshold (ST) Employers start paying National Insurance |
£758 | £758 |
| Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) All employees pay a lower rate of National Insurance above this point |
£4,189 | £4,189 |
| Upper Secondary Threshold (UST) Employers of employees who are under 21 pay zero rate up to this point |
£4,189 | £4,189 |
| Apprentice Upper Secondary Threshold (AUST) Employers of certain apprentices who are under 25 pay zero rate up to this point |
£4,189 | £4,189 |
| Freeports Upper Secondary Threshold (FUST) Employers of qualifying employees working in a freeport site pay zero rate up to this point |
£2,083 | £4,189 |
| Veterans Upper Secondary Threshold (VUST) Employers of qualifying employees pay zero rate up to this point |
£4,189 | £2,083 |
If you fall into Class 2, 3 or 4, check out gov.uk, to learn more.
How to pay NIC’s
If you’re employed, your employer will deduct NIC from your wages before you get paid, your payslip will show your contributions made.
If you’re self-employed, you must pay Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance, depending on how much profit you make. Most people pay for this through Self-Assessment or through their payroll software. If you make less than £6,725 profit a year or have a specific job, you may be able to pay voluntary contributions to avoid gaps in your National Insurance record, as gaps can affect your State Pension.
If you’re employed and self-employed, your employer will deduct your Class 1 National Insurance from your wages, and you must pay Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance for your self-employed job. Depending on your combined wages, it will depend on how much National Insurance you will pay.
If you are using the most up-to-date version of BrightPay, these new thresholds have been implemented in the software. To learn more about how BrightPay can help your business stay compliant, book a free 15-minute demonstration today.
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Jun 2022
9
The new wave of payslip distribution
How many times have your employees had problems locating their payslips? Whether employees forget their passwords to access payslips, lose their payslips, or their payslips never got sent to them in the first place, following this up can take a lot of your precious time away as a business owner. If you’re sending paper-based payslips, problems that crop up can take even longer to rectify. Tracking down old payslips from weeks, months, or maybe even years ago can also take up a chunk of your day-to-day admin work.
Payroll should be a smooth and intuitive process, even after payslips have been finalised. Payslip distribution and locating employees’ payslips shouldn’t be a burden or cause unnecessary stress. It should be an automated process, allowing you more time to attend to other matters of your business. Here’s how our employee app can streamline payslip distribution for you.
Let employees access payslips from anywhere, any time
Once the payslips have been finalised, they’re automatically synced to the employee app, allowing your employees to easily access, download and print their payslips from anywhere, at any time. They will also receive a push notification on their phone when a new payslip has become available to view, eliminating the hassle of follow-up emails or re-printing payslips. This gives your staff complete control over when and where they can access their payslips, improving their employee satisfaction.
Stores a history of all previous payslips
Say goodbye to the eons spent searching in file cabinets and desktop files for employees’ old payslips. With the employee app, a complete history of all your employees’ payslips are stored securely on the platform, and are accessible at a moment’s notice. Whether an employee wants to double check an old payslip or is applying for a mortgage – their payslip history is readily available from one centraliszed location, at the tap of a button.
Cuts down on paper waste
Not only does the employee app save you time distributing payslips, improve employee satisfaction, and increases your business’ efficiency, but it’s also better for the environment. Payslips can stack up a large portion of paper weight each year and can be a costly expense for businesses.
It can be difficult to stray from systems that we’re more familiar with, but digitalising payroll processes can help your business stay in line with competition, by evolving to more modern and tech-savvy practices.
Interested in learning more about BrightPay Connect? Watch this short one-minute video on how it works. We offer free 15-minute demos for you to see in more detail how our cloud-extension works, and how it can take your business to the next level.
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- What to include on a hybrid working policy
- Digital trends that every employer should know
- BrightPay Connect: The GDPR Survival Toolkit
Jun 2022
1
Customer Update: June 2022
Welcome to BrightPay's June update. Our most important news this month include:
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New RTI Requirement from April 2022 - CIS Deductions Suffered
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3 ways to boost job satisfaction in your workplace
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New: File CS01s through AccountancyManager
Free webinar: The payroll opportunity in a digital world
It’s time to work smarter and faster when offering payroll services to your clients. Join our upcoming webinar on the 9th of June where BrightPay’s Marketing Manager, Rachel Quinn, will explore 6 current payroll trends, and how they can be used to transform your practice.
How API integration is shaping the future of payroll
During our upcoming webinar on the 16th of June, BrightPay will discuss the benefits of integrating your payroll and accounting software. Our experts will demonstrate how you can streamline the entire process from start to finish using API technology.
Increased NIC thresholds from 6th July 2022
The NIC thresholds are increasing from 6th July 2022. BrightPay has been updated to reflect these changes, so please ensure that you are using the latest version of the software. These rates will then automatically apply to payments due to be made on 6th July or later.
Your guide to save time and money when processing payroll
Processing payroll for your clients can and should be profitable. In this guide, find out how using BrightPay and BrightPay Connect together, can help your practice save time and money. By introducing cloud innovation and automation, you can run payroll more efficiently while making a profit.
Easily manage summer annual leave
BrightPay Connect takes the stress out of managing annual leave. With a company-wide calendar and employee portal, your clients can easily approve holiday requests, on the go. The leave will automatically be added to the employee calendar, and synchronised to the payroll software.
New feature: Nominal ledger mapping – custom items
As part of the BrightPay journal process, users can now add further adjustments to their payroll journal before posting into their accounting software. For example, to record HMRC Payment adjustments, such as employment allowance and recoverable statutory pay.
We want your feedback!
Last year, we introduced new prompts in BrightPay. Now, we want your feedback. Click here to complete a quick, 1-minute survey, so that we can evaluate these changes.
Jun 2022
1
To Pay or Not to Pay – The Jubilee Bank Holiday
On Friday 3 June 2022, there will be an extra Bank Holiday granted to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The usual May Bank Holiday has been moved forward to Thursday 2 June 2022 resulting in a four-day weekend for those able to take time off.
What are your employees’ rights when an additional Bank Holiday is announced?
The general rule is that employees do not have an automatic right to a day off work when this or any other Bank Holiday is announced. Employers will need to review their contract of employment to determine if an employee is entitled to a day off work and to be paid for it.
Some contracts of employment will state that the employee is entitled to a certain number of days of annual leave, “plus bank holidays”. In this case, they will be entitled to the additional Bank Holiday off work.
Other contracts of employment state that the employee is entitled to a set number of days of annual leave, but do not mention Bank Holidays. In this scenario, the employee will not be automatically entitled to the additional Bank Holiday off work.
Some employment contracts provide the employee with a set number of days of annual leave “plus eight Bank Holidays”. Again, this will mean that the employee is not automatically entitled to the additional Bank Holiday off work.
If the contract states “you are entitled to XX days holidays plus the usual bank holidays in England and Wales” again this would not give the worker an automatic right to the additional Bank Holiday because the addition Jubilee day is not a “usual” bank holiday
Employers will need to review their employees’ contracts of employment to see whether all of them, some of them, or none of them are entitled to take the Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday off of work.
Where employees do not have a contractual right to the additional Bank Holiday, employers will need to consider if they wish to grant the day’s leave as a gesture of goodwill, if they will require employees to attend work or if they will give employees a day off in lieu of the Bank Holiday due to staffing requirements.
Whilst it is important to comply with the letter of the contract of employment or work, the additional Bank Holiday can also be a morale booster for staff. You may consider granting employees an additional day’s holiday for the Jubilee as an act of goodwill, stressing of course the reason for it being allowed as a one-off gesture.
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Extra Bank Holiday for Queen's Jubilee
