It’s nearly Christmas, which means many people can look forward to a well-earned rest. But if you are an employer or payroll professional, Christmas and New Year brings a number of potential challenges that you need to be aware of and prepare for before you can start your Christmas break. Here are our top four tips to make sure you don’t run into any payroll problems at Christmas… 1. Changes to payment dates This year, both Christmas Day and New Year's is on a Saturday,…
Planning a virtual Christmas party this year? Wondering if you're exempt from paying tax and NI on associated expenses like food, drink or virtual pantomime tickets? Happily, the HMRC has confirmed that yes, this year the tax and NI exemptions normally applied to the annual Christmas ‘do’ will also apply to virtual Christmas parties, like the year before. Yippee! To confirm: the scope of section 264 ITEPA03 now also applies to providing food, entertainment and other expenses you might incur when hosting your virtual event.…
HMRC was successful in an appeal where it was confirmed that Class 1 National Insurance (NICs) were correctly applied on Car Allowance payments to employees. The employer, Laing O’Rourke Services, paid employees under a car allowance scheme between 2004/5 and 2017/18. Their employees could choose whether to receive a car allowance payment instead of a company car. If employees chose the car allowance payment, they needed to have a car available to use that met specified requirements. Access to the scheme was not determined on…
Gone are the days when a payroll provider simply hits ‘pay’ and your employees jump with glee. These are the top five additional extras you should be looking for from your payroll provider. Reports & insights They say the devil is in the detail - and don’t all good payroll providers know it! Being the hub of the business and holding huge volumes of data on the company and the people in it, it only makes sense that your payroll provider should be providing accurate…
According to research from YouGov 70% of organisation outsource part of their business to external suppliers. If you’re outsourcing payroll with a managed payroll solution, how are you measuring the true value? We’ve pulled together a few killer questions to ask yourself when thinking about outsourcing value. Does opting for a managed payroll solution help me reduce headcount? Outsourcing your payroll might mean you can reduce the headcount in your payroll team, or wherever this function sits within your business. This extra flexibility may allow…
What reports should I request from my managed payroll provider? Outsourced payroll may do all of the heavy lifting in the payroll department, but to maintain your payroll visibility there are some reports you’ll want from your supplier. While great payroll providers will grant you access to these reports as standard, some providers out there might need a little probing. It’s important to stay close to your businesses payroll data even if you outsource your provisions. Payroll calculations and reports Usually, an outsourced provider will…
How much could payroll inaccuracies be costing you? Payroll. Get it right and it’s happy days! But fail to cover the basics and you’re looking at fines, peeved off employees and a loss of reputation. This is what payroll inaccuracies are really costing you as a business. Payroll in accuracies come in many forms: employee overpayment, underpayment, failure to adhere to legislation and so much more. While the direct costs of these inaccuracies might be visible in your bottom line, the indirect costs might be…
We live in a world where everyone is a self-confessed expert, with millions of years of expertise and a degree in payroll compliance. While you should be able to trust your outsourced payroll provider, here are a few things you should be checking up on. Accreditations Yes, we’re talking those shiny badges. Lots of outsourced payroll providers will be accredited, but is their accreditation up to date? And what does it really mean? When trusting an outsourced payroll provider you’ll want to keep tabs on…
While you might trust that your supplier is keeping you complaint, as a business you should be paying attention to the finer details when it comes to payroll compliance with your outsourced supplier. Your supplier might talk the talk, but can they walk the walk too? Here are our top tips for getting greater compliance visibility from your supplier. Look for the badges From the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professional’s PAS, (Payroll Assurance Scheme) to relationships with the HMRC, accredited by the Bacs Approved Bureau…
Unfortunately, just because you outsource your payroll doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed accurate payroll processing. You and your employees could still end up on the back foot. Here’s a few tips for ensuring a timely and accurate outsourced payroll. The bottom line is even outsourced providers get it wrong sometimes, and that’s why it’s important as a business to keep tabs on payroll accuracy. So, what can you do to ensure payroll accuracy? Select an experienced supplier Let’s go back to the very beginning. When selecting…
