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Tuesday 22nd June 07  |
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Last Minute Special Offers Below are some reduced price courses only available to our newsletter readers:
*Prices exclude VAT. Telephone: 01295 225500 News Items – at 22nd June 2007 Maternity Leave and PayDTI guidance for employeesThe Department of Trade and Industry has published a new booklet entitled Pregnancy and work: what you need to know as an employee, describing maternity rights as they apply since April 2007. It describes the actions that a woman must take in relation to her employment and also confirms exactly what she should expect of her employer. Employers may wish to keep a supply of these booklets to give out to employees who become pregnant. Further information: Voluntary Workers DTI consultation on the current exclusion from the national minimum wageIn January 2007, the Government announced that it was carrying out a review of the provisions in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 that relate to voluntary workers. The Act defines voluntary workers as workers who work for organisations such as charities, voluntary organisations, associated fund-raising bodies and statutory bodies and who receive no monetary payment or benefit in kind, other than reimbursement for expenses incurred, reasonable subsistence and/or accommodation and any training necessary to carry out the work. They are excluded from the national minimum wage. The Department of Trade and Industry has now published a consultation document which explores whether or not the exclusion provisions are operating as intended. The Government’s view is that no specific changes are needed but it does intend to introduce a further exemption for people who participate in the national framework for youth volunteering. Organisations and individuals working in the voluntary sector should consider the proposal and are invited to provide comments. The deadline for responses is 4 September 2007. Further information: Pension Personal Accounts Government published response to consultation In December 2006, the Department for Work and Pensions published the consultation document Personal accounts: a new way to save, which explained how a new employment-based pension savings scheme would operate from 2012. Details of the scheme were provided in one of our news items last December. The Government has now published its response to the views received from the consultation. The decisions that have been made on the key questions posed by the consultation are:
These are only a few of the many issues discussed in the response document. Other subjects include the delivery method for Personal Accounts, charges and financing, compliance and transfers to and from existing employer pension schemes. Further information: Minimum Wages in the European Union Highest rate seven times more than the lowest In January 2007, the disparities in minimum wages between the Member States, when adjusted to take into account differences in purchasing power, range from one to seven, with Luxembourg the highest and Romania the lowest. In absolute terms, Luxembourg has the highest minimum rate (€1,570) and Bulgaria the lowest (€92) per month. The equivalent for the UK is €1,361 and for the US is €676. The proportion of each Member States workforce receiving minimum wages ranges from 0.8% in Spain to 17% in France. In the UK the proportion is 1.8% and, in the US, 1.3% receive the federal minimum wage. Further information: Magistrates’ Allowances No increase to financial loss allowance for 2007 A new schedule of allowances for magistrates (Justices of the Peace) took effect from 1 May 2007. The delay in announcing the new rates was caused, according to a letter published on the HM Courts Service website, by errors in the calculation methodology which caused the rates set for 2006/07 to be over-inflated. As a result, there is no change to the loss of earnings allowances for the year starting May 2007. The unchanged rates are £42.37 for a half-day sitting and up to £84.74 for a full day sitting. The rates payable to self-employed magistrates are £52.96 for a half-day and £105.92 for a full-day. The only rates to be increased are the daily subsistence allowances. Further information: About Magistrates / Justices' Allowances http://www.magistrates-association.org.uk/ Student Loan Deductions Changes to start and stop notices Under changes made to the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2000 by new Amendment Regulations, the instructions on the SL1 start notices and SL2 stop notices sent to employers by HMRC will change from 6 April 2008. The Regulations currently state that employers must start and stop making deductions on the dates specified in the notice, which are at least 14 days from the date of issue of the notice for employers with weekly payrolls and at least 42 days from that date in all other cases. The new Amendment Regulations remove the 14-day and the 42-day lead in times. From April 2008, employers are required to
The Amendment Regulations also make it possible for employers to be instructed to stop making deductions in the case of borrowers who have agreed to repay the loan in full via fixed instalments or a lump sum after a certain date. Further information: Underpayment Notices Guidance on querying inaccurate notices Please note the following item included in the latest issue of the IPP’s News On Line: Payroll deadlines during the next month June 22 For employers required to pay tax and NICs to the Accounts Office monthly, this is the deadline for electronic payments to be cleared into the HMRC bank account. Payments through BACS must be initiated by June 20 at the latest. July 5 – This is the final day of tax month 3. Tax and NICs etc for payments made in the tax month to July 5, or in the tax quarter to July 5, are due for payment to the Accounts Office by July 19, or by July 22 if paid electronically. July 6 – This is the deadline date for filing, in paper form or electronically,
July 19 – This is the deadline for payment of tax and NICs to the Accounts Office, for tax month 3 by employers who pay monthly, for tax months 1 to 3 by employers who pay quarterly, unless they make their payments electronically. July 19 – This is the deadline for payment of Class 1A NICs to the Accounts Office in respect of benefits in kind reported by employers on forms P11D for the 2006/07 tax year, unless they make their payments electronically. July 20 – (July 22 is a Sunday) – For employers who pay their tax and NICs to the Accounts Office electronically, this is the deadline for electronic payments, including payments of Class 1A NICs to be cleared into the HMRC bank account. Payments through BACS must be initiated by July 18 at the latest. Payroll FAQ'sEmployer FAQ – Parking PlacesAre parking places provided near the place of work a taxable benefit?Section 237 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 provides a comprehensive tax exemption applies for “workplace” parking. This covers parking places that are provided for cars, motor cycles and bicycles, “at or near” the employee’s workplace. The term “at or near” is not defined. HMRC accepts that a parking place is near the workplace if it is within a reasonable distance from the place of work having regard to the nature of the locality, even if there is a nearer car park. The exemption is all inclusive; it does not matter how the parking place is provided. There is nothing to report even if the employee’s costs are reimbursed, or the employer pays the employee’s parking bill direct to the provider, or if a voucher or token is provided to obtain the parking facilities. Note that the exemption does not apply to parking provided for members of the employee’s family or household. If parking places are provided at the employee’s place of work for family or household members, and they are not entitled to the exemption in their own right, the employee receives a taxable benefit. If the exemption does not apply If a parking place is provided near an employee’s home, the exemption does not apply. If the employee’s home is near the place of work and is used by the employee both while at work and at home, the exemption would also not apply. The benefit would be reported on form P11D, in Section M (on the Class 1A line) if the parking place is provided under a contract between the employer and the provider. The amount to be reported is what it costs the employer to provide the benefit for each employee. If the cost of the non-exempt parking is incurred by the employee rather than being contracted for and paid by the employer, the amount paid by the employer is reported in
No tax liability is incurred by any lower-paid employees who are provided with non-exempt parking places by the employer. NICs liabilities Where the exemption does not apply,
If you have any HR or payroll related questions that you think other people who receive this newsletter will be able to answer, please email us and we will add your question to our newsletter. An area dedicated to readers of the newsletter to enable you to:
contact: daniel.ruffle@hrdps.co.uk or reg@hrdps.co.uk |
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