Archive for August, 2011

The First-tier Tax Tribunal continues to hear appeals against penalty notices for late filing of P35s – with mixed application of the “reasonable excuse” rule. In the case Barron v Revenue & Customs, Miss Barron appealed against a penalty of £54.07 for late payment of tax.  HMRC argued that “not having any money to pay [...]

Upper Tax Tribunal confirms that MAPS lump sums are only approved if they are made in respect of relevant motoring expenditure. In a decision dating back to August 2010 in the case Total People Ltd v Revenue & Customs, the First-tier Tax Tribunal allowed an appeal against an HMRC decision that the lump sum payments [...]

New minimum rates of pay take effect from 1 October 2011 for agricultural workers in England and Wales. New minimum wage rates for agricultural workers in England and Wales take effect from Saturday, 1 October 2011, at the same time as the 2011 National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates.  However, unlike the NMW rates which apply [...]

Each week we receive a number of payroll questions on our forum, and here are this week’s batch. Can you help with any answers? How do companies pay part miles for passenger payments? I would like to know how other organisations pay part miles through payroll as I want to update our procedures as it [...]

Other than the normal annual increases to the National Minimum Wage, there are relatively few payroll-related legislative changes from 1 October 2011.  One is the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations, bringing entitlement to equal terms and conditions after a 12-week qualifying period. In Northern Ireland, however, as covered in this week’s newsletter, the new [...]

HMRC provides a dedicated helpline for businesses and individuals affected by the recent civil disorder. A dedicated Civil Disorder helpline has been introduced by HMRC to provide advice and support for customers experiencing difficulties caused by the recent riots and looting.  HMRC will: agree payment schedules with those unable to meet payment deadlines due to [...]

Implementation in Northern Ireland will be almost identical to the rest of the United Kingdom. EU member states are required to implement the Agency Workers Directive by 5 December 2011.  In Great Britain (GB), the measures required by the Directive have been made by means of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 and come into force [...]

Each week we receive a number of payroll questions on our forum, and here are this week’s batch. Can you help with any answers? SSP and Benefits An employee was sent an SSP1 to claim benefits in September last year after running out of 28 weeks of SSP. Should the employee tell us if her [...]

This week’s newsletter describes HMRC’s plans, as set out in a new consultation document, to extend its online facilities even further.  We also look at a P11D-related question that HMRC has not seriously answered before – is there a reportable benefit when employees accumulate air miles or other rewards simply by booking their business travel [...]

HMRC is consulting on proposals to make online registration for income tax and corporation tax the norm for new businesses. The government’s developing policy of “digital by default” is intended to change the approach to the design of public services so that, other than in inappropriate situations, the normal method of accessing those services would [...]

When employees obtain air miles or other rewards when they pay for business travel and subsistence is there a benefit that must be reported for tax purposes by the employer? Prompted, no doubt, by extensive recent discussion on the Linkedin website, HMRC has clarified the tax status of air miles, petrol tokens, credit card points [...]

Each week we receive a number of payroll questions on our forum, and here are this week’s batch. Can you help with any answers? Car Allowance and Free Fuel We have an employee who has changed from a Company Car to a Car Allowance and they pay for all of their fuel using a Company [...]

Do you, might you, employ temporary staff to carry out clerical, telephone, driving, warehouse or other duties? If so, are you fully aware of the requirements of the Agency Workers Regulations that come into force in just a few weeks time? Do you know the penalty for failure to comply with this new law? It [...]

Do you have in your workforce someone who is always miserable, always complaining about the weather, England’s performance, his or her relations and so on? Most organisations do have someone like that, and usually they are tolerated by viewing them as figures of fun. But their negativity can be draining on everyone and thus have [...]

How long to retain warnings For how long should we retain written warnings? Reply How long is less important than telling everyone for how long you will retain written warnings, and sticking to that policy. Some organisations retain all warnings for one year, some for the same length as the warning itself, but there is [...]

You only have to mention the word “statistics” and out comes a string of groans followed by hackneyed comments such as “There are lies, damned lies and statistics” and “Statistics can be used to prove whatever you want them to prove”. They are just funnies. But there are also misleading comments such as “Statistics can’t [...]

Last month we said that an ancient Greek philosopher posed the question:  “What is broken if you speak its name?”. Our editor must have misheard because we actually got the riddle from a Christmas cracker. And the answer is – Silence. Hmm. Well, this month try this: An old farmer lay dying. He had twin [...]

Our newsletters do not usually feature articles about VAT but that is unavoidable this week, now that HMRC has announced its position on the VAT implications for benefits provided under salary sacrifice schemes – an issue raised by the European Courtdecision in the Astra Zeneca case. There are have a number of court and tribunal [...]

EAT considers whether a worker absent sick for the whole holiday year loses holiday entitlement for that year if the worker has not asked for it to be carried forward. In a decision given on 29 June 2011 in the case NHS Leeds v Larner, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that Mrs Larner did [...]

HMRC has updated its guidance and FAQs for employers and employees. From 6 April 2011, employees joining salary sacrifice schemes involving childcare vouchers or employer-contracted childcare for the first time are subject to new tax relief rules.  The level of relief differs according to the employee’s marginal rate of tax. HMRC has updated its two [...]