Archive for March, 2009

9th July 2009, London In brief: It has been almost 40 years since The Equal Pay Act came into force in the UK, but there is still significant inequality between men’s and women’s pay. Last year 58,513 equal pay claims were brought to employment tribunals (more than double the number brought in the previous year) [...]

8th- 9th June 2009, Prague In today’s tough financial climate, competition can be fierce in the world of corporate business. One essential way of maintaining and evolving a competitive edge is through the successful procurement and development of your human resources. CEE HR Solutions remains at the cutting edge in terms of providing real-time intelligence. [...]

There seemed to be an endless supply of news this week, in fact we have carried some items forward to next week! Three totally unexpected items are the relaxation in the P46(Car) reporting requirement, the rewrite of the student loan repayment Regulations – although nothing startling for payrollers to worry about – and the very [...]

On 10 March, the UK and Jersey jointly signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) that will, when it comes into force, allow the respective governments to enforce their domestic tax laws by exchanging, on request, information relevant to a tax matter covered by the agreement. This will be the fifth comprehensive TIEA signed by [...]

The draft Acas Code of Practice on discipline and grievance procedures has received formal approval by Parliament and comes into effect on 6 April 2009. It is supported by a non-statutory guide on resolving discipline and grievance issues in the workplace. Further information: Code of Practice 1 – Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures Discipline and grievances [...]

Interest is charged by HMRC when income tax and NICs are paid late, and credited when they are overpaid. New interest rates have been announced and take effect from 24 March 2009. This is the second change of rates to occur since Regulations were made in December allowing HMRC to amend rates more quickly following [...]

The Scottish Parliament has approved Regulations that introduce new calculation procedures for Scottish Earnings Arrestments and Current Maintenance Arrestments from 6 April 2009. Earnings Arrestments are currently calculated using a Table that defines the amount of the deduction that must be made for earnings between defined values. It is a complex Table with nearly 30 [...]

From the start of the 2009/10 tax year, the statutory Regulations that govern the operation of the repayment of student loans have been extensively rewritten, consolidating changes that have been made since 2000, when the previous Regulations were made, and incorporating changes that reflect tax legislation included in the 2007 and 2008 Finance Acts. At [...]

From the start of the 2009/10 tax year, the reporting requirement for form P46(Car) Car provided for the private use of an employee or a director is being relaxed so that it must only be completed quarterly by employers when a car is provided for the first time, or a second car is provided, or [...]

In November 2008, HMRC announced new “averaging” arrangements that may be used by employers in the motor industry when calculating the reportable value of cars that are changed very frequently. The procedure involves determining the average price and emission level ratings for cars available in each car group at each location. Following further discussions with [...]

HMRC has appointed Judy Clements as the Adjudicator. She takes over from Dame Barbara Mills who has performed that role for the past ten years. The Adjudicator provides an independent investigation service of complaints that HMRC is unable to resolve after HMRC’s own complaints procedure is exhausted. In 2007/08 the Adjudicator’s Office received 1971 complaints [...]

HMRC’s new compliance powers come into effect from 1 April 2009, including the new penalty regime for incorrect PAYE and NICs returns. HMRC has made available what are described as new “e-learning” packages to help HMRC staff, agents and taxpayers understand the new provisions. Although described as “e-learning” modules, they are in fact no more [...]

What must be considered when taking advantage of the exemption for cycles and cyclist’s safety equipment? Before considering the conditions that must be satisfied in order to take advantage of the tax exemption for the provision of cycles and cyclist’s safety equipment, it is useful to understand the basic principles that apply when assets are [...]

Between 12 January and 4 February, the Labour Court heard evidence in connection with two applications that would affect the operation of the Registered Employment Agreement (REA) for the Electrical Contracting Industry. Employers and workers in any sector or enterprise can agree minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment and can then have that [...]

The decision of the European Court of Justice in the case brought by Age Concern made the headlines this past week, even if it only confirmed the initial Opinion given last September by the Advocate General. Although the decision confirms that there is nothing wrong with the UK’s Age Equality Regulations, there is still a [...]

The UK’s Age Equality Regulations allow employers to dismiss employees on the grounds of retirement at age 65 and, if they have requested to continue working beyond 65, to refuse the request, after following specified procedures, without providing written reasons. There is no provision for appealing to an employment tribunal against the employer’s decision to [...]

The HMRC Business Customer Unit has issued the following guidance for employers experiencing problems in using their new Employer CD-ROM. We are aware that some employers are experiencing difficulties using the new Employer CD-ROM 2009. Some employers see a yellow @’Post it note’ when opening the CD-ROM explaining that there are technical difficulties. We have [...]

From April 2008, changes were made to the residence and domicile rules for non-residents and to the remittance basis of taxation. Until full guidance on these changes is published, HMRC has published a series of FAQs, including questions posed by members of the public and practitioners. A number of further questions were published during February [...]

HMRC’s online systems are closed down for a period over each tax year end in order for the validations for the new tax year to be installed. The following information has been released by HMRC. It is subject to change and further information will be provided as it becomes available. It is does not apply [...]

The transfer of taxpayer data to the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS) was originally planned for summer 2008 but, according the new Employer Bulletin 31, it will not take place until “later this year”. In preparation for the transfer, the NI numbers held on the current PAYE processing system are being checked against those held [...]