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Employers
HMRC helpline for employers affected by civil disorder
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011HMRC 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 [...]
Investigation – a critical stage in the disciplinary process
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011What is the first thing that you do if an employee does something that you feel warrants disciplinary action? The answer had better be “conduct an investigation” otherwise you need to go into the dunce’s corner. Investigation, you see, is so important and indeed is at the heart of the discipline process. Fail to do [...]
Reduction in the SMP small employer compensation rate
Friday, March 18th, 2011The necessary amendments have been made by new Regulations to reduce the SMP compensation rate for small employers from 4½% to 3% from 6 April 2011. The reduction applies to payments of SMP made on or after that date. Further information: The Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) Amendment Regulations 2011 Explanatory Memorandum to the [...]
Closure of the Worker Registration Scheme
Friday, March 18th, 2011The Worker Registration Scheme is a transitional scheme that was introduced in 2004 when the ‘A8′ countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) joined the European Union. Nationals of these countries must register under the scheme if they commence employment in the UK and 1.1 million did so between May 2004 [...]
HMRC comments on P9s, employer packs and Basic PAYE Tools
Friday, March 11th, 2011The following is an extract from the latest weekly informal updates (dated 4 March) from HMRC to employer representatives. 1. Annual coding message for employers I can confirm that we started processing P9 Coding Notices on 1 March. We expect the bulk of these P9s to reach employers via our e-channels by 10 March as [...]
Latest HR News
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011Some time ago we looked at the issue of changing employees’ contracts of employment. This is becoming increasingly common as employers have to persuade their staff to make changes to the way they work and are compensated in the face of serious operating difficulties. The article made clear the importance of gaining employees’ acceptance of [...]
Disciplinary Appeals
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011An important element of British law is the right of individuals who have been subjected to a sanction or other disadvantage by authority to appeal if they believe that they have been treated improperly. Indeed most people would consider this a critical requirement of natural justice. Whatever, it certainly forms an important part of the [...]
Downloading Pornography a Good Cause for Candidate Rejection?
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011A client rang the office recently in something of a panic. She had rejected a candidate for the vacancy of payroll clerk, quite properly as she saw it. But subsequently several of her colleagues had told her that she had left herself and the organisation vulnerable to legal action. She had, they suggested, breached laws [...]
HR Problems Page
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011Here we take our weekly look at answering some of the tricky HR questions we’ve been emailed. If you have a tricky HR question you needs answering email it to help@payroll-help.com and we’ll post the best here with an answer each week. A TUPE Problem We are shortly to have a change of ownership and our [...]
Varying terms and conditions of employment
Friday, February 25th, 2011In a decision given on 14 January 2011 in the case Morgan v Network Europe Group Ltd, the London Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that, where an employee has been issued with new terms and conditions but no attention is drawn to a significant change, the employee is not deemed to have accepted the variation. [...]
Review of sickness absence system
Friday, February 25th, 2011On 17 February, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced a review of sickness absence provisions to explore what can be done to help more people stay in work and examine whether the balance of costs are shared appropriately between individuals, employers and the State. The review will look at short-term sickness absence, where costs are [...]
Handling requests for “time to train”
Friday, February 25th, 2011The right of employees to make a formal request to their employer for time off to undertake study and training was introduced in April 2010 in organisations with 250 or more employees. The intention was to extend the right to all organisations from April 2011. However, following a consultation exercise in summer 2010, the Government [...]
HMRC changes to employer mailings and Orderline
Monday, February 14th, 2011The following is an extract from the latest weekly informal update (dated 4 February) from HMRC to employer representatives. As you know, HMRC is committed to moving more of its business online and to significantly reduce the cost of the services it currently provides. As part of this commitment, we will no longer issue paper [...]
Amendments to minimum wage Regulations
Monday, February 14th, 2011Under new minimum wage amendment Regulations, with effect from 1 April 2011, all payments made by employers to employees that represent amounts paid by customers by way of a service charge, tip, gratuity or cover charge do not count towards the minimum wage, whether or not they are paid through the payroll. the limit on [...]
Latest HR News
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011Last month we urged you to audit your discipline procedures. Well, while you are in the mood, do the same with your equal opportunities policies, procedures and practices since failure in this area again leads to many legal actions and some hefty awards of compensation against employers. And often this is not a result of [...]
Writing a Set of Rules
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011Rule books can so easily become out of date. The work environment changes, standards change, and perhaps nobody has ever really noticed that many of the rules are now redundant or inappropriate. There have been cases where employees have had disciplinary sanctions overturned because the rule book did not make clear that what they had [...]
Motivating Employees in a Recession
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011We at the Learn Centre are nothing if not positive. We are therefore quite concerned to hear the distress suffered by some of our clients who seem to believe that the, admittedly inevitable, recession will bring an end to their world. A common question that we are asked is “How can we motivate our employees [...]
HR Problems Page
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011Here we take our weekly look at answering some of the tricky HR questions we’ve been emailed. If you have a tricky HR question you needs answering email it to help@payroll-help.com and we’ll post the best here with an answer each week. Disciplining Different Types of Misconduct One of our employees has appealed to me against [...]
European Commission asks UK to end pay discrimination of non-UK seafarers
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011The Seafarers’ Earnings Deduction (section 40 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003) can provide 100% UK tax relief on earnings from carrying out duties as a seafarer wholly or partly outside the UK, during an eligible period. One of the qualifying conditions for the deduction is that the claimant must be ordinarily [...]
Employed students and the accommodation offset
Friday, January 21st, 2011The national minimum wage (NMW) rules allow employers who provide accommodation for workers to include it, up to a specified limit, as a benefit in kind towards payment of the NMW. The current limit is £4.61 per day, or £32.37 for a full week. On 18 January, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) [...]
