Moore Thompson :: Payroll and HR Bulletin

If this email does not display or print correctly, please click here.

Welcome to the Moore Thompson Payroll and HR Bulletin

Welcome to Moore Thompson’s Payroll and HR Bulletin, our regular publication to keep you up to date with news and information on payroll and HR issues.

In this edition we take a look at the nuances of auto-enrolment legislation for staff with irregular hours and pay; confirmation of another rise to the National Living Wage (NLW), as announced at the Autumn Statement; as well as calls for small businesses to prepare for auto-enrolment in order to avoid hefty fines. We finish by looking at new changes to PAYE which will allow for ‘real-time’ coding in the near future.

If you have any feedback on our Payroll and HR Bulletin, please contact Katie Hewlett at katie@mooret.co.uk or on 01775 711333.

We operate a responsible email policy at Moore Thompson, so if you do not wish to receive further copies of this newswire, Click Here to unsubscribe.

Working out auto-enrolment contributions for staff with varying hours and pay

The Government’s auto-enrolment legislation is confusing enough as it stands – but how does it work for staff with irregular hours, or varying pay?

Put simply, in situations such as these, the pension contributions that both you and your staff make towards a qualifying pension scheme must rise and fall in relation to the amount that such employees are earning, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has said.

Chancellor confirms NLW will rise in April 2017

Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed, during his Autumn Statement, that the National Living Wage (NLW) for workers over the age of 21 will be increased from £7.20 an hour to £7.50 as of April 2017.

The news may come as a blow to many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – who could face hefty fines for non-compliance if they fail to update their payroll prior to the change taking effect.

SMEs advised to prepare for auto-enrolment or risk fines

All small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the UK must automatically enrol their employees into a company pension scheme by 2018 – or possibly much sooner – depending on their unique staging date.

A recent study carried out by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) found that some 200,000 UK employers have already completed their auto-enrolment duties – and that as many as 6.5 million employees have already been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme.

HMRC reveals plans for ‘real-time’ PAYE coding

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced it intends to roll out real-time Pay As You Earn (PAYE) coding in time for the 2017/18 tax year.

Coinciding with the launch of Making Tax Digital (MTD), HMRC’s new and improved online tax system, this change will allow taxpayers to react to tax codes instantly so that they can ensure that they are paying the correct amount of tax in real-time.