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Ending of Statutory Sick Pay percentage threshold scheme
From April 2014 HMRC have abolished the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) percentage threshold scheme (PTS). The PTS scheme compensated mainly smaller employers for higher than average sickness absence.
Prior to April 2014 an employer was entitled to recover some of the SSP paid to their employees if the total of SSP paid in tax month was greater than a set percentage of their gross Class 1 National Insurance Contributions -NIC (employer and employees) liability for that month.
Employers will have until 5 April 2016 to recover SSP (under PTS where available) paid for sickness absences occurring before 5 April 2014 (2013/14).
Where a payment for SSP is being made from 6 April 2014 for a period of incapacity before 5 April 2014 but has been notified late then the employer will need to make an application for recovery using form SP32 ‘late claim for recovery of statutory payments or NIC compensation’. The claims under PTS for up to six years can be made up to 5 April 2016 after which time no claims can be made. Claims using form SP32 will be repaid by way of payable order.
If SSP has already been paid but just not recovered, a claim under PTS at 5 April 2014 and then the normal process for making adjustments to a closed PAYE year will need to be followed - correcting payroll errors of a previous year.
Employers will still have to pay SSP (see sick pay entitlement) and will be obliged to produce records that confirm they have met their legal SSP obligations should HMRC require them. The record keeping requirements for SSP prior to 5 April 2014 have been abolished but employers must keep the following records for SSP for three years from the end of the tax year they relate to.
- All sickness periods lasting at least 4 days;
- Your SSP payments; and
- Any weeks you didn't pay and why.
Please contact us for further information
Revised advisory fuel rates 1 June 2014
H.M. Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have published the latest advisory fuel rates relating to mileage payments for business travel in company cars. These are as follows:
| Engine size | Petrol | LPG |
| 1400cc or less | 14p ↔ | 9p ↔ |
| 1401cc to 2000cc | 16p ↔ | 11p ↔ |
| Over 2000cc | 24p ↔ | 16p ↓ |
| Engine size | Diesel |
| 1600cc or less | 12p ↔ |
| 1601cc to 2000cc | 14p ↔ |
| Over 2000cc | 17p ↔ |
The changes this quarter are highlighted in red above.
The new rates will be effective from 1 June 2014. However for the first month employers may continue to use the previously published rates if they choose to.
These rates will be reviewed again in August 2014 and any changes made will be effective from 1 September 2014. The revised fuel rates will be published on the fuel rates page on the HMRC website when they are released.
Advisory fuel rates can be used to calculate the following:
- Reimbursement to employees of fuel used for business travel in a company car;
- Repayment by employees of fuel used for personal travel in a company car;
- Allowable input VAT claims on business mileage claims in personal cars made by employees.
A more detailed explanation of the use of these rates is on the HMRC website.
The rates applying for earlier periods are also on the HMRC website.
If you have any questions regarding the use of advisory fuel rates or mileage payments please contact us.
Auto enrolment – Check processes and software
Before the staging date, employers must ensure that their computer systems will support and carry out the tasks required for auto enrolment including.
- deducting and paying contributions to the scheme
- monitoring the ages and earnings of your staff
- handling requests to join the pension scheme from members of staff who haven't been automatically enrolled.
If your existing payroll software does not support all the necessary requirements, the pension provider may provide certain services. Employers should contact their software and pension providers in order to understand which requirements will be supported. Alternatively, employers may need to purchase a middleware software package to integrate into their current system.
The Pensions Regulator has produced a detailed guide on the questions employers should ask their software provider at www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/business-software.aspx
Once the systems are in place, employers should allow time to:
- test the systems and ensure they perform the required functions
- ensure all staff records are up to date so the information entered will produce an accurate report.
This is the fifth installment in a series of articles regarding auto enrolment as detailed on our Employer Action Plan. Previous installments detailed below:
2 -
3 –
4 –
For more information on pensions or for help making an initial plan please contact us.
Auto enrolment – Know your workforce
Your duties for each staff member will depend on their age and how much they earn. It is important to understand in plenty of time which staff you will need to auto enroll. The Pensions Regulator advises that you carry out an initial assessment of your workforce ahead of your staging date to understand your responsibilities before performing the formal assessment on your staging date
You will need to assess your staff into categories. Those employees aged between 22 and state pension age and earning over £10,000 per year should be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme and you will need to make contributions towards it. Employees of different ages and salaries have the right to opt in to your automatic enrolment pension scheme or to join a pension scheme after your staging date. The table below shows the rights of each staff category:
|
Age |
||||
|
16-21 |
22-state pension age |
State pension age -74 |
||
|
Annual earnings |
£5,772 or below |
Has a right to join a pension scheme |
||
|
Over £5,772 to £10,000 |
Has a right to opt in |
|||
|
Over £10,000 |
Has a right to opt in |
Automatically enrol |
Has a right to opt in |
|
The Pensions Regulator website contains more detailed guidance regarding changes in age and earnings, staff working outside the UK and contractors/agency staff at www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/know-your-workforce.aspx
Employees have the right to opt out of automatic enrollment, but you must not encourage staff to opt out – this is known as ‘inducement’ and there are safeguards in place to prevent employers from doing so.
This is the fourth installment in a series of articles regarding auto enrolment as detailed on our Employer Action Plan. Previous installments detailed below:
2 -
3 -
For more information on pensions or for help making an initial plan please contact us.
Dates and deadlines May 2014
Upcoming deadlines for businesses and individuals:
1 May: Corporation tax payment for a company not within the instalment regulations: year ending 31 July 2013.
2 May: Submission of form P46(car) for changes in quarter ended 5 April 2014
5 May: End of month 1 for PAYE (RTI). All FPS (Full Payment Submissions) due if taking advantage of concession where still available.
7 May: Online VAT return due to be filed and electronic payment of VAT due to be cleared into HMRC bank: quarter ended 31 March 2014.
12 May: Direct debit VAT payment will be taken: quarter ended 31 March 2014.
19 May: CIS monthly return deadline: month ended 5 May 2014.
19 May: Cheque payments for PAYE/NI, student loan, CIS to be cleared into HMRC bank: month ended 5 May 2014.
22 May: Electronic PAYE/NI etc payments to be cleared into HMRC bank: month ended 5 May 2014.
31 May: Provide all employees who were working for you at 5 April form P60 for 2013/14 by this date.
31 May : Company tax return CT600 due to HMRC: years ending 31 May 2013.
31 May: Company accounts (Private Limited Co) due to be filed: years ending 31 August 2013.
31 May: Company accounts (Public Companies) due to be filed: years ending 30 November 2013.
1 June : Corporation tax payment for company not within the instalment regulations: years ending 31 August 2013.
Auto Enrolment – Develop an initial plan
Once an employer knows their staging date, it is a good idea to develop an initial plan in order to understand the preparation tasks which must be carried out, when the tasks should be completed and who will implement them.
To save time and the ensure the registration deadline is not missed, employers can also log in to automatic enrolment registration online and start providing some of the information required as and when it is received. Such as the name and address of the employer, the PAYE reference number, pension scheme reference and the address.
In order to be fully prepared for auto enrolment, employers must complete a number of tasks, including:
- Assessing the workforce
- Reviewing internal processes and testing software to ensure it will support automatic enrolment
- Reviewing existing pension arrangements and setting up a scheme if necessary
- Communicating with staff on how they will be affected by auto enrolment.
The time required to complete each task will vary depending on the size of the workforce and the existing arrangements that are in place. Scheduling a target date for the completion of each task will ensure that employers allow sufficient time to be fully prepared for auto enrolment before their staging date.
Employers will need to involve key people in the planning process, such as the person who runs payroll, your HR administrator and your accountant as they will be carrying out some of the day-to-day activities once automatic enrolment is up and running.
The Pensions Regulator have produced a quick guide to preparing for automatic enrolment (PDF, 12 pages) leaflet summarising the preparations needed and to help develop initial plans.
This is the third installment in a series of articles regarding auto enrolment as detailed on our Employer Action Plan. Previous installments detailed below:
2 -
For more information on pensions or for help making an initial plan please contact us.
Auto Enrolment – Nominate a contact
In order to help employers manage their auto enrolment responsibilities, the Pensions Regulator will send regular emails to a nominated contact at key stages along the process.
Employers can nominate up to 2 contacts. The primary contact must be the most senior person in the organisation, for example the CEO or managing director. The secondary contact is optional and would typically be the person who will manage or implement the auto enrolment process, for example HR manager or payroll accountant.
The process of nomination is a simple form whch can be completed on the Pensions Regulator website including the name, job title and contact details for each nominee. You will also need either the employers PAYE reference number or the unique code included on the letter each employer should receive when their staging date is less than 12 months away.
Please note that nominating a contact does not mean that the employer is registered for auto enrolment. The full responsibility for complying with duties remains with the employing organisation – not the nominated contact.
To nominate a contact on the pensions regulator website click here.
This is the second instalment in a series of articles regarding auto enrolment as detailed on our Employer Action Plan.
First instalment – Know your staging date
For further advice on pensions and payroll please contact us
Dates and deadlines: April 2014
Dates and deadlines: April 2014
1 April: Corporation tax payment for a company not within the instalment regulations: year ending 30 June 2013.
Reduction in main rate of corporation tax to 21%.
5 April: End of month 12 for PAYE (RTI). All FPS (Full Payment Submissions) due if taking advantage of concession. This concession ends on this date for employers with less than 50 Employees.
2013/14 tax year end.
6 April: Start of new tax year 2014/15.
Start of new PAYE (RTI) reporting concession for existing employers with less than 10 employees.
7 April: Online VAT return due to be filed and electronic payment of VAT due to be cleared into HMRC bank: quarter ended 28 February 2014.
10 April: Direct debit VAT payment will be taken: quarter ended 28 February 2014.
14 April: Submission of forms CT61 together with payment of tax due: quarter ended 31 March 2014
19 April: CIS monthly return deadline: month ended 5 April 2014.
19 April: Cheque payments for PAYE/NI, student loan, CIS to be cleared into HMRC bank: month ended 5 April 2014.
Final EPS submission including Employer end of tax year 2013/14 declarations should be submitted to avoid late filing penalty.
22 April: Electronic PAYE/NI etc payments to be cleared into HMRC bank: month ended 5 April 2014.
30 April : Company tax return CT600 due to HMRC: years ending 30 April 2013.
30 April: Company accounts (Private Limited Co) due to be filed: years ending 31 July 2013.
30 April: Company accounts (Public Companies) due to be filed: years ending 31 October 2013.
1 May : Corporation tax payment for company not within the instalment regulations: years ending 31 July 2013.
