enquiries@devlinpayroll.co.uk
"From 6th April 2015, employers will not have to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for employees under 21 years of age. This is restricted to earnings up to the Upper Earnings Limit which is expected to be £813 per week for the 2015-16 tax year."
"From 1st October 2014 an employee who is the partner of a pregnant woman is entitled to take time off during working hours so they can accompany the woman when she attends an ante-natal care appointment which is made on advice of a medical practitioner, midwife or nurse. This is limited to no more than two appointments, with the maximum time off during working hours for each appointment being no more than 6.5 hours."
"HMRC have now eased the in-year penalty rules for late filing of real time information (RTI) returns. Previously, the automated penalties were to start from 1st October 2014, but now those employers with less than 50 employees will apply from 6th March 2015. HMRC have been sending electronic messages to all employers to let them know when the penalties will apply to them, based on the number of employees shown in the department’s records."
"The content of the HMRC website is now being moved to GOV.UK. Once complete, GOV.UK will be the single place for employers to access information on managing their payroll and any other interaction with HMRC or other Government bodies. In the past the Government had several websites for its various departments built to different specifications, but it has been decided to create a single source of Government information which should be clearly written, concise and without jargon. HMRC have also decided not to reproduce data that does not help or is better explained by other organisations. The overall aim is to write something once and link it to other relevant information."
"Where an employee’s salary includes regular sales commission, that commission must be included in holiday pay according to the latest ruling by the European Court of Justice. This concerns the four weeks statutory minimum holiday, not the 5.6 weeks granted in the UK. The court has held that workers must not be discouraged from taking annual leave therefore holiday calculations should include an allowance for commission to prevent workers from suffering any disadvantage. Employers should consider the implications of this outcome and undertake a review of their contracts and policies to ensure it is clear how holiday pay is calculated."
"The new provisions came into force on 30th June 2014. They extend the right to make request for flexible working to any employee who has been employed for 26 weeks, not just to certain parents and carers as is currently the case. More than a quarter of British workers are likely to make a flexible working request."
"HMRC now charges interest on any late PAYE and Construction Industry Scheme payments. For employers that pay monthly, the first payment of the 2014-15 tax year was due 19th May or 22nd May if paying electronically. From the date the payment is due to the date it is paid in full, HMRC will charge interest daily. To avoid an interest charge employers should pay by the due date the amounts reported on their Full Payment Submission (FPS) less any deductions reported on an Employer Payment Submission (EPS) if applicable."
"From 14th May, the Immigration Act 2014 states that where an employer is found to have employed workers who are subject to immigration control but do not have the right to work in the UK, the maximum penalty has now increased from £10,000 to £20,000 per illegally employed worker. Employers must make sure they are up to date with right-to-work checks and legal requirements or face serious consequences including criminal prosecution."
"HMRC have replaced the P46 starter forms on its internet site with starter checklists to help employers gather the information needed to submit a full payment submission."
"The new Employment Allowance is available from 6 April 2014. If you are eligible you can reduce your employer Class 1 NICs by up to £2000 each tax year. You can claim your allowance through your payroll software or HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools. Reduce your employer Class 1 NICs payment due by an equal amount of employment allowance, but no more than £2000 per year."
"The current percentage threshold scheme for recovering Statutory Sick Pay will be abolished from April 2014. As SSP is often claimed in arrears, you will not be able to report SSP recovered once the SSP field is removed form the EPS from 6th April 2014. However employers will still be able to make late claims for sickness periods up to 5th April 2014 via the clerical process for RTI years."
"Rogue employers who do not pay their workers the National Minimum Wage will face an increased penalty of up to £20,000 as part of government’s crackdown on employers who break the law. Currently the maximum penalty is £5,000."
"HMRC have ceased issuing age exception cards for employees reaching state pension age. From now on, employers must obtain sight of an employee’s birth certificate or passport as evidence of date of birth. Both can be photocopied or scanned and kept on file as proof that employee’s NICs are no longer payable. If an employee is reluctant to provide a birth certificate, they can contact HMRC to obtain a letter confirming they have reached state pension age."
"From October 2013, if HMRC have been contacted to set up a new PAYE scheme, but there has been no activity on the scheme, it will be automatically reviewed after 120 days to see if it can be cancelled. So if no RTI submissions have been made; no payments have been made to HMRC; there is no evidence of employees; there is no evidence that Class 1A NICs are due, then the PAYE scheme will be closed and a letter issued to the business address."
"HMRC have announced that they will extend the relaxation of the reporting requirement for RTI that payments to employees should be reported on or before each pay day. Extended until 5th April 2016, employers with fewer than 9 employees may send information to HMRC no later than the end of the tax month (5th)."