It was announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November 2023 that National Insurance rates were to be cut for millions of workers. The changes to National Insurance Rates from 6th January 2024 are as follows: Class 1 National Insurance contributions will be cut by 2%, reducing from 12% to 10%. There will be further […] Read more »
An update on Fit Notes
The government announced an update to the Fit Note or Med 3 form which was published on 6 October 2023. The fit note should allow the employer and employee to discuss the employee’s health condition and consider ways to help them stay in, or return to, work on a phased or permanent basis. Previous updates […] Read more »
Reversal of recent mini-budget changes
It’s in, it’s out…it’s on, it’s off! Trying to keep up with the latest government plans are making our heads spin at the moment. The newly appointed chancellor Jeremy Hunt has reversed almost all of the recent mini-budget commitments made by previous chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng last month, in a statement made at the Treasury today […] Read more »
Change in employee National Insurance threshold from July 2022
A surprise announcement in the Chancellor’s Spring statement means a change in employee National Insurance Thresholds from July 2022. There is an increase to both the primary threshold and lower profits limit which takes affect 6th July 2022. It is unusual to revise thresholds part way through a tax year, and may catch some employers […] Read more »
Further Changes to the Furlough Scheme
Don’t forget the further changes to Furlough scheme from 1 August 2021, when the level of grant will be reduced to 60% and you will be asked to contribute 20% towards the cost of your furloughed employees’ wages. To be eligible for the grant you must continue to pay your furloughed employees 80% of their […] Read more »
Changes to Furlough Pay from 1 July 2021
Don’t forget the changes to Furlough Pay from 1 July 2021, when the level of grant will be reduced and you will be asked to contribute towards the cost of your furloughed employees’ wages. To be eligible for the grant you must continue to pay your furloughed employees 80% of their wages, up to a […] Read more »
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Extended
In light of the increased restrictions needed to curb the coronavirus pandemic, the government have extended the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme (CJRS) that was originally due to end 31st October 2020. CJRS has been extended to 31 March for all parts of the UK. • From 1st November, the UK Government will pay 80% of […] Read more »
Employment Law Changes from April 2020
There are quite a few employment law changes from April 2020 that will affect your payroll. New pay rates from 6th April 2020: The National Living wage for over 25 year olds increases to £8.72 per hour from £8.21. The National Minimum Wage for 21 to 24 year olds increases to £8.20 per hour from […] Read more »
Voluntary overtime and holiday pay calculations
Employment law states that holiday pay should be equivalent to a normal week’s pay so as not to place employees at a financial detriment when taking a period of annual leave. For employees working fixed hours each week, this is a straightforward calculation. However, calculations are more complicated when employees work varying hours. In these […] Read more »
Universal credits affected by Pay Dates
When Universal Credits were introduced, replacing means-tested social security benefits and tax credits, we were told it would streamline the benefits system, tackle poverty amongst low income families, and reduce the scope for error and fraud. This benefit requires the use of employment earnings obtained from employers in real time via the RTI submissions sent […] Read more »
Calculating Holiday Pay
Summer season is here and especially during school holidays, many workers are looking to take time off work, so employers need to check their workers are getting the holiday they are owed. The definition of a worker according to the government is a person that has a contract or other arrangement to do work or […] Read more »
Employment Law Changes from April 2019
There are quite a few employment law changes from April 2019 that will affect your payroll. New legislation from 6th April requires all employers to provide a payslip to all workers, and to show hours on payslips where their pay varies by the amount of time worked. Many employers will need to review and potentially […] Read more »
Increases in minimum contributions for automatic enrolment pensions
Under automatic enrolment, minimum pension contributions are required to increase over time. With effect from 6th April 2018 the total contribution increases from the current minimum of a total contribution of 2% of qualifying earnings, to a total of 5%, and again on 6th April 2019, increasing to a total minimum of 8%. The employer […] Read more »
Auto-Enrolment Declaration of Compliance
Auto-enrolment saw it’s fourth anniversary in October, yet more than 900,000 employers have yet to stage and fulfill their employer duties. This means the challenge posed by the initial roll-out is not over. All employers with one or more staff have a legal requirement to complete a declaration of compliance. Even if that one member […] Read more »
Personal Tax Account
Have you registered with HMRC for your Personal Tax Account? It’s quick to register and you can view all of your tax information in the one place online. The Personal Tax Account (PTA) was launched in December 2015 and gives customers a one-stop shop for all of their tax information. It gives customers the flexibility to […] Read more »
National Minimum Wage
The largest ever legal claim against the care sector has been launched in what could turn out to be one of the worst breaches of pay rules ever seen. Seventeen care workers claim to have been paid less than half the minimum wage, the company says that is not correct and that it pays its […] Read more »
Childcare Vouchers during Maternity Leave
One issue that causes employers a lot of anxiety is where a woman is receiving childcare vouchers (CCVs) as part of a salary sacrifice scheme and then goes on maternity leave. The business must continue to provide the CCVs during maternity leave and cannot opt the employee out of the salary sacrifice scheme. However, the […] Read more »
Auto Enrolment Minimum Contributions: Phasing Date Changing
The date the Auto enrolment minimum contributions were due to increase has changed in order to align with the tax year. So now, instead of total minimum contributions increasing from 2% to 5% in October 2017, a delay of six months until April 2018 will be applied. Similarly, the planned increase in contributions in October […] Read more »
Christmas Gifts and Parties
It’s Christmas time again and some employers may be providing their staff with a Christmas bonus, a seasonal gift or a Christmas party. If a gift is given, you need to consider whether the item can be resold or exchanged for cash by the employee or if it is considered as trivial and therefore tax […] Read more »
Summer Budget Summary
The Chancellor’s summer budget means several changes that will affect employers from April 2016. 1. Introduction of a new compulsory National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above. Currently, the National Minimum Wage for employees that are 21 years old and over is £6.50 an hour, increasing to £6.70 in October 2015. For those […] Read more »