Jul 2015
25
TPR publishes guidance on pension scheme selection
The Pensions Regulator has recently published guidance for employers and advisors on pension scheme selection for automatic enrolment.
Changes to the law on workplace pensions and the roll out of auto enrolment mean that every employer in the UK has to automatically enrol certain members of staff into a workplace pension scheme.
Small and micro employers have, since 1st June 2015, come into the auto enrolment net (i.e. staged) and the number of these employers "staging" will increase dramatically from January 2016.
The guidance from TPR is a welcome inclusion for those employers/advisors who may wish to research the various pension schemes available for enrolling their employees.
Many small/micro employers will automatically opt for NEST but it is advisable to be aware of the options available. Some employers may choose NEST for one segment of their employees while opting for a more tailored scheme for other employees.
The TPR guidance is available here.
Jul 2015
14
Fit for Work roll out
Fit for Work effectively replaces the old system where an employer could recover
statutory sick pay from HMRC. The new system is far more proactive and the belief
is that it will reduce overall sickness absence.
Fit for Work offers free, expert and impartial work-related health advice to help you
support both staff in work and those who are off sick and also to help you manage
the impact sickness absence can have on your business.
There are two elements to Fit for Work:
• Free, expert and impartial work-related health advice for you, your employees
and GPs via a website (www.fitforwork.org) and telephone line (0800 032 6235)
• Referral to an occupational health professional for employees who have been off
sick, or who are likely to be off sick, for four weeks or more.
The Fit for Work advice service went live at the end of 2014 and from early March
2015, GPs in Sheffield and North Wales began referring eligible patients to a Fit for
Work occupational health assessment. Fit for Work is being expanded across England
and Wales over a period of months with GPs being able to refer nationwide by
autumn 2015.
If you are an employer in an area where GPs can refer, you may start to receive
Return to Work Plans, which offer advice as to how you can work together with
your employees to help them back to work. The Return to Work Plans provide
recommendations and evidence of sickness, replacing the need for a fit note. You
can find out when GPs in your area will be offering the service by visiting
http://support.fitforwork.org/app/get_involved/type/gp.
You’ll be able to refer from autumn 2015, once GP roll-out has been completed.
The intention is that Fit for Work complements, not replaces, existing occupational
health provision. The Government has also introduced tax exemptions of up to £500
on medical treatments recommended by Fit for Work or an employer’s occupational
health service.
Jul 2015
8
UK Emergency Budget
Chancellor George Osborne has delivered his emergency budget, setting out the new Conservative government’s plans for the nation’s finances. So here are the key points for payroll.
- A compulsory national living wage for working people aged 25 or over will be introduced in April 2016, set at £7.20 an hour and rising to £9 by 2020.
- The National Insurance Employment Allowance for small firms will be increased by 50% to £3,000 from 2016.
- The tax-free personal allowance will be raised to £11,000 next year. After that, the personal allowance will always rise in line with the National Minimum Wage.
- The higher tax rate threshold will rise to £43,000 next year.
Student maintenance grants will be abolished from 2016, replaced with loans, which people will start to pay back when they earn over £21,000. The maximum value will be increased to £8,200.
Jul 2015
8
HMRC 0845 phone number decommissioned – All HMRC Helpline numbers now 03
Over the last few years, HMRC has been moving away from the use of 0845 numbers to 03 numbers. 03 numbers are non-geographic but are usually charged at the same rates as 01 and 02 numbers and are free with some telephone packages.
All HMRC helplines now have 03 numbers and the majority of calls are made using those numbers. Since December 2014 taxpayers using 0845 numbers to call HMRC helplines will have heard a message letting them know that the 0845 line will be closing. This was put in place to help create a smooth transition to the new 03 numbers.
From 30 June 2015, all 0845 helpline telephone numbers will be decommissioned and taxpayers dialling those numbers will hear a dead line tone. Callers will have to redial using the correct 03 number to contact the relevant department. A list of all 03 helpline telephone number is available on the GOV.UK HMRC contact us page. It is now Government and Ofcom policy to use 03 numbers.
Income Tax - 0300 200 3300
National Insurance enquiries - 0300 200 3300
Employer General enquiries - 0300 200 3200
Jun 2015
19
What to do if you are exempt from Auto Enrolment
Automatic enrolment duties don’t apply when a company or individual are not considered an employer. You won’t have any duties if you meet one of the following criteria:
- you’re a sole director company, with no other staff
- your company has a number of directors, none of whom has an employment contract
- your company has a number of directors, only one of whom has an employment contract
- your company has ceased trading
- your company has gone into liquidation
- your company has been dissolved
Before your staging date, you can let the Pensions Regulator know that you are exempt. This will avoid you having to register with a pension scheme and submit a declaration of compliance.
If circumstances change and you no longer meet the above criteria then you need to let the Pensions Regulator know.
More information, including the link for letting the Pensions Regulator know about your exempt status, can be found here.
Jun 2015
18
HMRC penalty notices to employers with fewer than 50 employees
HMRC has now issued the first in-year penalties notices to employers with fewer than 50 employees who missed the deadline for sending PAYE information to HMRC. Please see the News story on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pay-as-you-earn-paye-late-filing-penalties for further details.
May 2015
21
Automatic Enrolment: Employer Duties and Director Exemptions
Who is subject to the legislation?
Automatic enrolment legislation affects all individuals who are classified as workers. The legislation will affect all workers between the ages of 16 and 74 who work or ordinary work in the UK. A worker can be either under a contract of employment (an employee) or be a personal services worker who has a contract to perform work or services personally and are not providing the work or services as part of their own business.
Who is a personal service worker?
A personal services worker cannot send a substitute or sub-contract the work unless they have a legitimate reason to do so (e.g. Illness). A personal service worker will have a “contract of service” to perform services personally as opposed to a sub-contractor having a “contract for service”. Various indictors will determine whether a contract is a “contract of service” or a “contract for service” and an employer must take all relevant considerations into account and make a reasonable judgement.
Should a director be considered a worker?
A director will be classified as a worker if he or she both works under a contract of employment and there is at least one other person working for the company under a contract of employment.
Employer Duties with respect to Directors.
A sole director could not be considered a worker even if he has a contract of employment.
If an additional director was to join the company under a “contract of service” contract then the company does not need to consider whether or not they are doing this work on behalf of their own business. A director who is not an employee is always exempt. The initial director is still not classed as a worker because there is no one else working for the company under a contract of employment.
If an additional personal service worker is hired under a contract of service who is not a director, then an employer duty will arise in respect of this worker.
If a worker now joins the company under a contract of employment (as an employee), then an employer duty will arise in respect of this employee and also in respect of the director who has a contract of employment. This is because there is now another person working for the company under a contract of employment.
If your company has received a letter from the pensions regular informing you of your staging date and you believe automatic enrolment duties do not apply to you because a director exemption applies then can contact them by emailing [email protected] . Visit this page to find a pre-populated email www.tpr.gov.uk/employers/what-if-i-dont-have-any-staff.aspx. This pre-populated email will prompt you to inform them of what type of director exemption applies, what the letter code for the company is, the PAYE reference and the companies house number.
May 2015
15
BrightPay causes a stir at Accountex
BrightPay attended Accountex this week. Accountex is the UK's national accountancy exhibition and conference.
There was huge interest in our payroll software, mainly due to 2 key selling points:
- Its competitive price point (£199 plus VAT per annum which includes support) and
- Its ability to deal with all aspects of automatic enrolment seamlessly and elegantly.
The one question I kept getting asked was "how can you do it at that price?".
We have been in the payroll software business for 22 years and this has been our business model. We offer affordable payroll software that is intuitive and self explanatory, thereby cutting down on the support requirement. Where support is needed, this is available over the phone, by email or through the many instructional videos and online support channels that we employ. We currently have 12 dedicated support staff catering for 65,000 employers. We constantly review our staffing requirements and take on and train more staff, as and when required.
Try it out for yourself and you will understand. Payroll software does not have to cost an arm and a leg :)
May 2015
2
HMRC address change for employers
HMRC have changed their address for PAYE Penalties and Statutory Sick Pay (Form SP32 to manually calculate your employee’s Statutory Sick Payments).
If you are late reporting payroll information to HMRC and receive a penalty from 27th April 2015 all written appeals need to be sent to the address below. Similarly SP32 forms should be sent to the same address.
National Insurance Contributions & Employers Office,
HM Revenue and Customs,
BX9 1BX
Apr 2015
26
HMRC updates its Starter Checklist for new employees without a P45
On 8 April 2015, HMRC updated its Starter Checklist.
An employer can use this Starter Checklist to gather the information they need to operate PAYE for a new employee. The checklist will help an employer to complete the necessary information related to a starter that must be shown on the first Full Payment Submission submitted covering a starter’s first payment of wages.
Where a starter does not have a form P45 issued by a previous employer to give their new employer before their first payday, the starter’s information given in the Starter Checklist will inform the new employer what PAYE tax code they should use for the starter’s first payday. The Starter Checklist replaces form P46 (no longer in use) which a starter was obliged to complete in the absence of a P45 from a previous employer.
The starter checklist can be completed online and then the finished form can be downloaded, saved, and printed out. Alternatively, a black and white copy of the Starter Checklist can be printed from the online Checklist. This could then be given the starter to fill out.
Do not send a printed copy of the starter checklist to HMRC; it’s for the employer’s internal use only. Where a Starter Checklist is completed, employers are advised to keep the form for the current and previous three tax years.
Important note: Employers are supposed to verify the information provided on a P45 or Starter Checklist. A birth certificate, photo driving license, passport, and utility bills, can all be used as part of verifying an employee’s name, date of birth, current gender, address, NI number, etc.
