Archive for July, 2008

The Employment Bill, currently before Parliament, includes measures to repeal the statutory dispute resolution procedures and replace them with a new regime involving an Acas statutory code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Other related reforms, which would involve secondary legislation, are also being considered by the government and the Department for Business Enterprise [...]

Last week’s news item is repeated here as it contained a minor error and the official document has now been posted on the HM Courts Service website. With effect from 2 June 2008, the maximum daily rates of the financial loss allowances available to jurors have been increased by 2.2%, as follows: Further information: Allowances [...]

By Randy Miller, Director of Services, Journyx The first part of this series discussed how to introduce positive changes and new methods into your technical support department. The second part focused on staffing and management. This final part will offer advice on how to market your new support system to both your company and your [...]

In the latest issue of Notes for Payroll Software Developers, the developers have been asked to take appropriate measures to encourage their clients to comply with the following PAYE procedures. When new employees do not provide a form P45, a form P46 must be completed in every case, even if the employer has only partial [...]

Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, has announced that enforcement action is to be taken against HMRC and the MOD following recent serious data breaches. He stated that the reports published on 25 June show “deplorable failures at both HMRC and MOD. Information security and other aspects of data protection must be taken a great deal [...]

The decision on whether a PAYE scheme is to be treated as a small, medium-sized or large employer for electronic payments from April 2009, filing in-year forms online from April 2009, and submitting P35 and P14s for tax year 2009/10 online from April 2010 will be made on 19 October 2008, according the number of [...]

(The following news item, which we published in May 2008, has been updated to incorporate further information that HMRC has released recently.) On 13 May, the Chancellor announced to Parliament that, in order to reduce the impact of the removal of the 10% tax rate from April 2008, the personal allowance will be increased by [...]

HMRC approves professional bodies that meet the statutory criteria so that individuals can obtain tax relief on their annual subscriptions. Employers may also obtain a dispensation to avoid the need to report subscriptions they pay on behalf of employees. The full list of professional bodies that have HMRC approval is published in List 3. The [...]

With effect from 2 June 2008, the maximum daily rates of the financial loss allowances available to jurors have been increased by 2.2%, as follows: Period of Jury Service Maximum Financial Loss Allowance 4 hours or less on any day More than 4 hours on any day First 10 days £30.64 £61.28 From 11th day [...]

HMRC has advised that there is an error in the instructions given for P46 filing using the PAYE Online Return and Forms service. The first field employers must complete asks whether the employee is an existing employee who was previously paid “below the PAYE threshold” instead of “below the Lower Earnings Limit for NICs”. It [...]

During 2008, HMRC is merging all employee records onto a single database. This will provide HMRC staff with easier access to all employees’ pay, tax, NICs and pension information in one place. HMRC describes this as “the biggest change to PAYE for over 20 years”. There will be a preparatory period from 6 to 12 [...]