HMRC looks for more PAYE Real Time Information guinea pigs
HM Revenue & Customs is asking for more employers to join its PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) pilot scheme. The government agency has already recruited 300 volunteers to test drive the system before its initial launch in April and is inviting a further 1,300 to join in July next year, followed by an additional 250,000 volunteers from November […]
HMRC to change year-end PAYE system
In a move that should help to reduce year-end penalties for employers, HM Revenue & Customs is to change its Pay As You Earn system to handle tax and other deductions on a monthly rather than annual basis. HMRC’s new ‘Real Time Information‘ approach will mean that tax and deductions data is transmitted to it each […]
Too many firms employing Mr and Ms ‘Unknown’, warns HMRC
The taxman has expressed concern over how much incorrect payroll paperwork he receives, after more than 800 returns in fiscal year 2009/10 claimed to employ Mr or Ms ‘Unknown’. Errors in the details of employees’ tax and national insurance contributions, sent by employers each year to HM Revenue & Customs as part of their PAYE […]
Cloud HCM market set for a big shake-up next year
“Marriages don’t last that long!” So said Dave Duffield, joint founder of HR Software-as-a-Service provider Workday and former PeopleSoft chief executive, of the time he’s worked with his co-CEO Aneel Bhusri this week. Duffield’s comment came on the opening day of the supplier’s ‘Rising’ user event in Las Vegas, a gathering that took place […]
PAYE changes: everything you need to know
The Government has announced its intention to introduce a new PAYE scheme, which will go live in 2013. It is a major change to the present situation and will have an impact on all employers. The present scheme was introduced in 1944, following significant growth in the working population during the Second World War, and […]
Virgin Media provides customer service-style Employee Services
Virgin Media has taken a leaf out of customer services’ book by centralising its HR, payroll and benefits units into a single Employee Services division in a bid to provide staff with a more consistent experience. The telecoms supplier brought the three previously separate teams together so that they could pool resources and share expertise […]
Modern Workplaces consultation: the view from payroll
Back in May, the government launched a four part consultation on Modern Workplaces to explore the pros and cons of four key regulatory proposals. These proposals comprised: the introduction of a system of flexible parental leave a right for all employees to request flexible working changes to the Working Time Regulations affecting the interaction of […]
Chancellor Osborne – payroll’s hero, comp & ben’s villain?
The Chancellor of the Exchequer took the brave first steps to simplify Britain’s complicated tax and National Insurance (NI) payment systems in the recent Budget. Lengthy consultations follow, but with crystal ball in hand, Matt Duffy of Aon Hewitt considers the pros and the cons. From where we sit, we can see obstacles aplenty, but […]
Ask the expert: Best way to move monthly payment?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on how to change from advance pay to arrears pay. The question: Changing from advance to arrears pay Employees are currently paid one month in advance on the 1st of the month. Obviously this can cause all sorts of recoupment problems if […]
Coalition plans to simplify PAYE
The coalition government is proposing a revamp of the current pay-as-you-earn tax system in a bid to make it easier for both employers and HM Revenue & Customs to administer. HMRC has just launched a consultation document entitled ‘Improving the Operation of Pay As You Earn’ on whether to introduce a single computerised tax account […]
No break for SME bosses
Three out of five bosses in small-to-medium enterprises plan to remain in daily contact with staff during their summer break this year, a situation fuelled by concern over increasingly complex HR and payroll issues. According to a poll of 293 owners of small-to-medium businesses undertaken by internet service provider Eclipse Internet, while 73% plan to […]
Harmonising HR and payroll – how technology can help
A new partnership is blossoming in Britain’s public and private sector: HR and payroll departments that have traditionally operated in isolation are getting together. As a result, technology is evolving rapidly to streamline the growing partnership. Graham Whitehouse, MD of the software division at HR and payroll firm Selima, looks at how well bespoke or […]
HMRC computer glitch causes double the trouble for taxpayers
Millions of taxpayers could find themselves paying too much income tax and/or being taxed twice for company cars and private health insurance unless HM Revenues and Customs fixes its new computer system by April. A glitch in the government department's new pay-as-you-earn applications, which were meant to streamline the collection of PAYE and National Insurance […]
Getting your outsourcing contract back on track
While we know outsourcing can offer real business benefits, new research shows there is a feeling of discontent among many businesses when it comes to outsourcing payroll, says Roger Fullilove. We recently undertook some research which revealed the key drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction among UK companies that outsource their payroll. The results highlighted the five key issues […]
Online payslips: A step too far?
Online financial transactions are on the increase in all areas of the economy, yet electronically-delivered payslips still raise issues for employers and employees alike. Are they a natural evolution for organisations, or a technology too far, asks Tim Richards. Presenting pay electronically can open up a wealth of possibilities for a company to demonstrate […]
Patersons adds HR module for free, but at what cost?
Technology correspondent Jon Wilcox speaks to Patersons’ CEO about its new strategy, the increasing acceptance of ‘the cloud’, and news of an upcoming solution for SMEs. Global payroll provider Patersons has confirmed it’s giving away one free HR module with every purchase of its payroll solution. The announcement comes just weeks before the CIPD HR Software Show, […]
Outsourcing payroll: The benefits
Are you considering outsourcing your payroll but unsure how you should go about doing it? Ian Sparrow explains what issues you need to consider and how the process works. The role of HR is becoming ever-more strategic. Gone are the days when it was viewed as a back office function, responsible for hiring, firing […]
The HR Zone guide to human resources software (2007)
CONTENTSIntroductionThe Human capital management (HCM) movementOutsourcing options and software as a serviceEnterprise software incorporating HR & payrollIntegrated HR/payroll software developersSmall business HR software suppliersPayroll and benefits administrationTime & attendanceTalent managementE-recruitmentLearning management systems Introduction This is an updated version of a guide published regularly in HR Zone to help members identify and shortlist suitable software suppliers […]
Effective payroll management. By PA Consulting Group
Payroll is often viewed as unglamorous and unimportant, but tends to be one of the largest costs for any organisation. With increasingly complex and changing regulations to deal with, Bettina Pickering, Andy Edwards and John Harrison of PA Consulting Group consider the options for dealing with payroll as an end-to-end business process. Although payroll is […]
Employment status problems – this year’s big issue
Those dealing with businesses affected by the construction industry tax deduction scheme (CIS) are probably well aware by now that employment status is an increasingly important and difficult area for contractors engaging the labour of subcontractors; AccountingWEB writer Rebecca Benneyworth reports. However, recent developments mean that those engaging freelance workers in any business should be […]
