Additional annual leave for non smokers

A Japanese company is rewarding its non-smoking employees with an extra six days annual leave a year with pay.

This all came about when an employee from a marketing firm based in Tokyo, used the company's suggestion box to point out that his co-workers who smoked, worked much less than the non-smokers. The employee went on to outline how smokers took time away from their desks while the non-smokers had to hold down the fort.

In a clever twist, instead of punishing the smokers by deducting their pay or insisting that they make up the extra time, the company decided to reward the non-smokers by giving them an extra six days off a year with pay.

Chief Executive Officer Takao Asuka also feels that this might encourage some of the smokers to quit because of the incentive.

The Huffingting Post has reported that 30 of the 120 employees are eligible for the extra six days off, and four employees have already quit smoking since the policy was put in place.

Is this something that you would consider in your workplace?

Posted byNiamh ShortallinAnnual LeavePayroll

What do you mean…. “Do I have a backup?”

One of the most common calls I get on the support line is from a distressed customer who tells me they have lost their payroll information. Reasons for the loss of this information are varied and could be anything from a laptop being stolen, a virus attacking the computer, holding files to ransom or fire or water damage to the computers in the office.

The first question I’ll ask on a call of this type will be “do you have a backup?”. Honestly, I can’t tell you the number of people that say “No” to this. People are also mistakenly under the impression that we have a copy of their payroll data. Unfortunately this is never the case, we do not have access to the employer’s payroll information so this can add to the customer's stress levels as you can imagine!
We would always stress the importance of taking a backup of your payroll information.

You would have your computers and office equipment insured against anything happening so why would you not do the same for your data? Think of your backup as your information’s insurance policy, after all it is almost irreplaceable or at the very least a major inconvenience to try and rebuild your payroll.

In a lot of cases, the call to our customer support line comes too late for us to be of any real assistance and the only advice we have to give is to start over and process payroll from the beginning again.
We never think anything like this will happen to us, but take it from me, it does, so go ahead and take out that insurance policy and backup before it is too late!

The following links will guide you to taking a backup in your software or book a demo of BrightPay Connect our latest cloud add on that offers an automated online backup feature :

• BrightPay UK: https://www.brightpay.co.uk/docs/17-18/backing-up-restoring-your-payroll/
• BrightPay Ireland: https://www.brightpay.ie/docs/2017/backing-up-restoring-data-files/backing-up-your-payroll-data/
• Thesaurus Payroll Manager: https://www.thesaurus.ie/docs/2017/processing-payroll/backup-data-files/

Posted byDonna WalshinPayroll

How can BrightPay Connect benefit your payroll bureau?

BrightPay Connect our latest cloud add-on works alongside BrightPay Payroll. Payroll information is stored in the cloud and can be accessed online by you and your clients anywhere. BrightPay Connect offers additional innovative payroll and HR features that will enhance client relationships and increase revenue for your bureau.

Secure online Backup

Don't worry about manually backing up or losing your client payroll data again. Simply link an employer to BrightPay Connect, then the payroll data will be automatically synchronised to the cloud as you run your payroll or make any changes. Payroll files are automatically backed up every 15 minutes when open and again when closed down, offering cloud security against ransomware and cyber attacks. A chronological history of backups will be maintained which can be restored at any time.

Bureau Dashboard

Access your online multi-company dashboard which gives an overview of clients’ payroll information in one place. BrightPay Payroll and BrightPay Connect are automatically synced to capture annual leave and changes to employee details.

Client / Employer Access

Invite clients to their own company dashboard where they have online access to an overview of their employer details, employee requests, employee contact details, employee payslips and any outstanding amounts due to HMRC. Payroll reports that have been set up and saved in the payroll are automatically available on BrightPay Connect.

Employee Online Access

Employees can access their own personal self service portal from any computer, tablet or smartphone. They can view and retrieve their historic payslips and other payroll documents such as a P60, P45, or P11d which can be exported to PDF and printed. Employees can easily submit holiday requests, view leave taken and leave remaining as well as amend personal contact details.

Annual Leave Management

Your client can view a company leave calendar allowing them to effectively manage their staffing resources and plan ahead to ensure there is sufficient staff cover at all times. Once an employee requests leave, clients can authorise or reject the request which then flows back to the payroll. Clients will have full visibility of how much leave an employee has taken, the number of annual leave days remaining and how frequently an employee is on sick leave. 

HR Solution

BrightPay Connect has built-in features giving your clients a ready-to-go HR solution. HR documents can be uploaded including employee handbooks and contracts, disciplinary documents, company newsletters, training material and more. Clients can also manage all leave for their employees including sick leave, annual leave, maternity leave and paternity leave.

Benefits for Payroll Bureaus

BrightPay Connect introduces powerful new online features that offers a range of benefits for your bureau, your clients and your clients’ employees.

• Add your own bureau or firm logo to boost the visibility of your brand and enhance client relationships.
• Clients get 24/7 access to their employees’ payslips and other payroll reports which will improve transparency for your client and their employees.
• Never worry about losing your client’s payroll data again as your data is now securely stored in the cloud.
• Make significant savings when bulk purchasing multiple BrightPay Connect licences. With savings of up to 75%, the more clients you sign up to BrightPay Connect, the more profits you can make.
• Increase revenue by adding a new payroll service offering to clients.
• Save time and reduce admin by automating and streamlining many internal payroll and HR administrative processes.
• Eliminate the administrative work and time it takes to send payroll documents to clients and their employees each pay period.

The two things that our bureau customers really rave about are (1) you are up and running in seconds, as this is all the time it takes to sync all of your client data to the cloud and and (2) you, your clients and their employees can access their payroll information from anywhere, from any device.

Read: Benefits of BrightPay Connect for Bureaus

BrightPay - Payroll and Auto Enrolment Software
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks

Posted byKaren BennettinEmployee RecordsEmployee Self ServicePayrollSick Leave/Absence Management

Ditch the suit....

Firms are being urged to relax workplace dress codes to help staff cope with the heatwave, the TUC has urged firms to temporarily relax their dress codes and leave work all together if it gets too hot.

The advice will come as a particular relief for male office workers who are often expected to wear shirts, suits and ties to work.

Heatwaves are generally easier for female workers to dress for, as they are able to switch to smart short-sleeved dresses.

It comes as Sunday saw a high of 32C, the hottest day of the year so far and emergency services are on standby after the Government issued a level three amber heat alert as temperatures are set to increase further this week.

Temperatures are due to peak at 34C in certain parts of the UK – hotter than the Bahamas – before cooling down at least a few degrees by next weekend.

As well as allowing comfortable clothes, the TUC has suggested that any outside work is done in the morning or afternoon to avoid the searing heat of the mid-day sun.

The union organisation again called for a change in the law to let workers go home if the temperature reaches 30C or 27C for people carrying out physical work. At present there is no upper temperature limit at which workers have a right to leave work.

It also called for a change in the law to introduce a maximum indoor temperature, with employers obliged to adopt cooling measures when a workplace temperature reaches 24C.

Companies should supply workers with cool drinks and allow them to take regular breaks, advised the TUC.

BrightPay - Payroll and Auto Enrolment Software
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks

Posted byCaoimhe ByrneinPayroll

Switching to BrightPay - Made Easier for you

As we move into the new tax year, employers and payroll bureaus across the UK are reviewing their software packages to ensure their payroll processing is working at maximum efficiently. There are many things to compare between different packages, such as price, ease of use, automation and support.

BrightPay’s development team have been working hard this past year to add as many new features that benefit our customers into the 2017/18 version of BrightPay. The ease of switching to BrightPay was a key priority for us to simplify the transfer process from other software packages.

Importing from Moneysoft & HMRC Basic PAYE Tools

If you are switching from HMRC Basic PAYE Tools or Moneysoft, we now have a seamless import, bringing in both employer and employee information for multiple company files instantly. Watch this video to see how easily you can import from HMRC Basic PAYE Tools straight into BrightPay.

Importing from other software packages

When switching from other payroll software packages, the first step is to set up your employer information. For bureaus with multiple employers, you can access your database or csv file with a list of your clients along with their payroll information, then you can easily set up the employers using our new bulk employer import feature.

Once you have the ability to export the employer data from your payroll you can import a csv file or FPS file into BrightPay. This will allow you to instantly add all of your employee information into the payroll compared with manually typing in all of the information. If your current payroll software allows you to export your payroll information (such as Sage, IRIS, etc), the easiest way to import employees is via CSV file. This will import all employee information, including year-to-date figures if the transfer is mid-year.

If you cannot export such a file from your current payroll software, then you have the option to import using a Full Payment Submission (FPS) file. This will import all the information that is included on an FPS to HMRC, including NI letter, tax code and year to date figures. However, this method will not import information not included on the FPS, such as employee email addresses, bank details, annual leave entitlement, departmental allocation etc.

Along with an improved transfer process, we have also introduced a number of exciting new features this year, including the ability to batch send RTI submissions, export a payroll journal to accounting packages, automatically retrieve coding notices and much more.

BrightPay 2017/18 is Now Available

You can now purchase BrightPay 2017/18. The bureau licence is just £229 + VAT, per tax year including unlimited employers, unlimited employees, free auto enrolment and free phone and email support. The single employer licence is is £99 + VAT, per tax year and includes unlimited employees, free auto enrolment and free phone and email support.

Book a BrightPay demo and find out why our customers give us a 99% satisfaction rate. Alternatively, you can avail of our 60 day free trial and parallel run with your existing software.

Posted byRachel HynesinPayrollPayroll Software

Spring Budget 2017 - Employer Focus

The main points to be noted by employers from Spring Budget 2017 announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond are:

• The personal tax allowance will increase by £500 from £11,000 to £11,500 from 6th April 2017 as previously announced, this is in line with the government's goal to have the personal tax allowance at £12,500 by 2020.

• The Dividend Allowance will decrease by £3,000 from £5,000 to £2,000 from 6th April 2018. This means that there is no tax payable on dividend payments up to £2,000 from April 2018 onwards. Any dividends above this allowance will be taxed at 7.5% for basic-rate taxpayers, 32.5% for higher-rate taxpayers and 38.1% for additional-rate taxpayers.

• There were no changes regarding company car and van charges or fuel charges.

• In the Finance Bill 2017, legislation will be introduced by the government about dates where an employee can make a payment in return for a Benefit in Kind they receive, this can reduce the taxable value of the Benefit in Kind. The 6th of July after the end of that tax year has been decided by the government, so if employees make a payment for the BIK before that date, they can reduce the taxable value of the BIK or remove if payment in full is made. This will be for the 2017-18 tax year and following tax years.

• Termination payments over £30,000 which are subject to income tax currently from April 2018 will be subject to Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) The first £30,000 of a termination payment will remain exempt from Income Tax and NICs. In the Finance Bill 2017, the tax treatment of termination payments will be clarified and this will include all contractual and non-contractual payments in lieu of notice taxable as earnings and requiring employers to tax the equivalent of an employee’s basic pay if notice is not worked. The changes, including to Foreign Service Relief, will take effect from 6 April 2018.

• The Money Purchase Annual Allowance to £4,000 will be reduced from April 2017, down from £10,000. This restricts the amount of tax relieved contributions an individual can make in a year into a money purchase pension, if they have flexibly accessed their pension savings.

• The Government is carrying out the first statutory review of State Pension Age and the details will be published in their review by 7th May 2017.

• HMRC's compliance team are monitoring employers that are claiming the Employment Allowance, as it has been reported that some employers are using avoidance schemes to avoid paying National Insurance amounts due.

Posted byDebbie ClarkeinHMRCPayrollPayroll Software

Higher rate Scottish Taxpayers to pay more

The new tax year will see thousands of Scots having to pay more in income tax compared to their British counterparts earning the same salary.

This follows the announcement that the wage at which Scots will start to pay the 40p income tax rate will remain frozen at £43,000 in tax year 2017-18. For the rest of the UK, this threshold will increase to £45,000 when the new tax year commences in April.

As a result, it is estimated that approximately 370,000 higher rate taxpayers in Scotland will pay up to £400 more than people earning the same in the rest of the UK.

Under devolved powers, Scotland is able to vary the rates of Scottish income tax (SRIT) by up to 10% from those set by the government in Whitehall.

Posted byVictoria ClarkeinHMRCPAYEPayroll

Nannies & Carers - How does Auto Enrolment affect me?

Auto Enrolment means that all employers must put certain staff into a workplace pension and pay into it. Employing someone in your home (such as a carer, nanny, or gardener) means that you are an employer and therefore you will have auto enrolment duties to complete. Your staging date is the date the law comes into effect for you. The Pensions Regulator will write to you to notify you of your staging date and tell you what duties need to be completed.

At staging, you must assess the age and earnings of your staff to see if they are an eligible jobholder. Eligible jobholders are those who are aged between 22 and state pension age and earn over £10,000 per year. You must automatically enrol these employees into a workplace pension scheme.

Auto Enrolment Tasks

• Your first step as an employer is to set up a pension scheme and this can be done in advance of your staging date. When you reach your staging date, you must assess staff, and if eligible, enrol them into the pension scheme. Along with being enrolled into the pension scheme, you must also deduct contributions from employees pay and add these contributions to the employees pension pot. By law, the employer must also contribute to the scheme. These contributions must meet minimum regulations, which is currently 1% employer and 1% employee. By April 2019, these minimum rates will rise to 3% employer and 5% employee.

• If an enrolled employee does not wish to be part of the pension scheme, they can decide to opt out of the pension scheme within 1 month of being enrolled. Employees who opt out are entitled to a full refund of any pension contributions made to date. All employees who are not eligible to be automatically enrolled are known as either non-eligible jobholders or entitled workers. Non-eligible jobholders may choose to opt in to the pension scheme, and if so, they must be enrolled and treated exactly the same as an eligible jobholder, i.e. must meet minimum employer and employee contributions. On the other hand, entitled workers may choose the join a scheme and this scheme does not have to meet these requirements.

• Along with the above duties, you must also communicate with all employees. You must write a letter to eligible jobholders to let them know that they have been enrolled into a pension, the contribution rates and their option to opt out. A letter must also be sent to non-eligible and entitled workers to let them know of their right to opt in or join the scheme.

• Another important auto enrolment task is to complete your declaration of compliance. This must be completed within 5 months after your staging date and notifies the Pensions Regulator that you have fully complied with AE. This must be completed regardless of whether or not you have automatically enrolled employees. If you have no eligible jobholders, be aware that you still have a number of auto enrolment responsibilities, including communicating with non eligible and entitled workers and completing the declaration of compliance. There are many other auto enrolment tasks that employers are responsible for, including keeping records for a minimum of 6 years and re-enrolling employees into a pension scheme every 3 years.

Software Solutions

Although software is not a legal requirement for auto enrolment, the Pensions Regulator recommends that you have software in place to simplify the process. Most payroll software enables employers to automate and simplify the employers auto enrolment tasks. It is important that HMRC Basic PAYE Tools users are aware that the software does not and will not cater for auto enrolment. This means that all the auto enrolment tasks must be completed manually, increasing the workload and the risk of errors.

If you have someone who manages your payroll or finances for you, it may be worth contacting them to see how they can help you with your duties. If you manage your own payroll, BrightPay is the perfect tool that will allow you to seamlessly and effortlessly process auto enrolment tasks. BrightPay automates most of an employers auto enrolment tasks, including employee assessment, auto enrolment communications and opt outs & refunds. The software is currently compatible with 17 different pension providers, including direct integration with both NEST and Smart Pension.

BrightPay’s standard employer licence for 2017/18 costs £99 + VAT per tax year. The 17/18 bureau licence is £229 + VAT per tax year. This includes full auto enrolment functionality, free support, and the ability to process payroll for an unlimited number of employees. BrightPay also has a free licence for employers with 3 or less employees. Book a demo today to see how easy it can be to process auto enrolment with BrightPay. The online demo lasts approx 30 minutes and will also include how you can easily process payroll on a day to day basis for employees. In the meantime, why not download a 60 day free trial to find out how your business can benefit from BrightPay.

Posted byRachel HynesinAuto EnrolmentPayroll

Living and Minimum Wage Increases on 1st April 2017

On the 1st April 2017 the minimum and living wage will increase again. Going forward the rate will then change every April, starting in 2017. 

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the minimum pay per hour most employees are entitled to by law. An employee's age and if they are an apprentice will determine the rate they will receive. The National Living Wage is the national rate set for people aged 25 and over.

Posted byDebbie ClarkeinPayroll

New Proposed Statutory Payment Rates Announced for 2017-18

For the new tax year 2017-18, the Department for Work and Pensions have published the proposed statutory payment rates for benefits and pensions. The recovery amounts have not been published yet. Here is a link to the full list published - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proposed-benefit-and-pension-rates-2017-to-2018.

Please see some rates details below:

Posted byDebbie ClarkeinPayroll