HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has recently named 70 offenders who have failed to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW). Currently, the NMW adult rate (21 and over) is £6.50 per hour with an annual October update. There are three other rates, an apprentice rate, a 16-17 year old rate and an 18-20 year old … Continued
Businesses lack mental health policies
Three quarters of employers don’t have a workplace mental health policy, research by the Institute of Directors (IoD) and YouGov has found. The survey of 1,150 employees and 586 employers reveals that stress and anxiety affect the productivity of 32% of employees. The research found that: 77% of employers haven’t introduced a mental health policy … Continued
Auto-enrolment contribution increase could affect small firms
Small businesses could struggle to comply with an increase in auto-enrolment pension contributions, according to a report by the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). The ACA is concerned that small firms will struggle to deal with the short period of time between auto-enrolling their employees in 2015 and 2016 and the minimum contribution increases in … Continued
Apprenticeship funding under review
Employers could gain the power to control funding for apprenticeship training, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has announced. The plan is designed to help firms choose the training that suits the skills their business needs. The government outlined the plans in response to a consultation on the future of apprenticeships. The document … Continued
End of Year PAYE Return
Prior to the introduction of RTI, employers were required to complete an end-of-year checklist and declaration on form P35 and submit to HM Revenue and Customs. Under RTI this was replaced by the final full payment RTI submission which included a similar checklist and declaration. HM Revenue and Customs have recently announced that from 6 … Continued
Employees take advantage of flexible working
There is a high demand among employees for flexible working arrangements, research by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) and Citrix has found. The research, which surveyed almost 1,300 employees in the UK, showed that flexible working arrangements such as flexi-time or working remotely are popular with most employees: 96% of respondents who … Continued
Do you employ anyone under the age of 21?
From the 6 April, if any of your employees are under the age of 21 you may no longer need to pay employer Class 1 secondary National Insurance contributions (NICs) from them. The rate of employer Class 1 secondary NICs for employees under the age of 21 will be 0% up to the new ‘Upper … Continued
Payroll Update
There are a number of changes to payroll processing which occurred during the month of October, which we have highlighted below. If you have any queries arising from any of this information, our team of payroll advisors will be very happy to help. National minimum wage increase from the 1 October Over 21 – £6.50 … Continued
Holiday pay should include overtime, tribunal rules
Thousands of businesses are facing additional costs after a tribunal ruled that overtime should be included in holiday pay calculations. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that employers must factor in overtime when calculating holiday pay, instead of only taking basic pay into account. The tribunal also said that employees could make backdated claims if … Continued
Employment Allowance benefits businesses
More than 850,000 businesses have benefited from the Employment Allowance in the scheme’s first 6 months, official figures have revealed. The Employment Allowance reduces the national insurance contributions (NICs) bill for eligible employers, who can claim a class 1 secondary NICs reduction of up to £2,000 through their payroll software. The figures reveal: 856,000 businesses … Continued