It is important to record the correct number of hours worked by your employees.

HMRC is urging payroll operators to be careful when reporting the RTI hours worked field so staff do not miss out on any benefits owed to them, especially crucial with the roll out of Universal Credits.

Of particular concern to HMRC is the tendency by some employers to mistakenly use the ‘other’ field rather than selected one of the banded-hours options.

An HMRC spokesman said: “It is important to record the correct number of hours your employees have worked to help ensure that they receive the right amount of benefits and tax credits they are entitled to".

For the RTI project to work successfully, HMRC stresses that use of the ‘other’ field is intended only for individuals with an irregular pattern of employment or where the payment relates to an occupational pension or annuity.

The Revenue is also reminding employers, where staff are paid on a quarterly basis, that it is now time to make their first RTI submission of the current tax year.

Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll & Auto Enrolment Software.

Posted byAnn TigheinPayroll SoftwareReal time informationRTI

First Quarterly PAYE Payment

Some Brightpay advise on your First Quarterly PAYE Payment which is due 19/22 July 2013

Paying by Cheque:The cheque must be received by last working day (excluding weekends and bank holidays) on or before 19^th July for 1^st PAYE Quarter.

Electronically: Payment must have cleared HMRC bank account by last working day (excluding weekend and bank holidays) on or before 22^nd July.

Amount Payable:

Amount payable is the total amount on an employer’s FPS and EPS for the quarter including any corrections or adjustments submitted on or before 19^th of July 2013.

Any amended or corrected FPS and EPS received after 19^th July (1^st Quarter) will be taken into account in calculating your payment for Quarter 2.

You should also use an EPS to tell HMRC if you have no FPS to send as, without it, HMRC will instead calculate what they believe is due and expect you to pay this in full.

Checking your 2013/14 PAYE position:

An employer can use the HMRC online PAYE Liabilities & Payments Viewer (also known as the Business Tax Dashboard) to confirm the real time submissions that HMRC have received and to see both what the employer owes and what they have paid.

Please be aware that the Viewer might not show the most up-to-date position for:

Amount employer owes to HMRC - the Viewer’s ‘Amount due in period’ figure is updated on the 6th and 20th of each month, based on all submissions received to those dates. Any submissions made between these dates will not be reflected until the next update.

What an employer has paid HMRC – there is a slight delay in the payment information reaching the Viewer. Any very recent payments an employer has made may not be shown.

Please note that, even if the employer is a quarterly payer, HMRC will still raise monthly charges. The charges will either be based on the reports the employer has submitted, or where HMRC have estimated what the employer owes. These charges will be reflected on the Viewer, and will be shown as outstanding even if they are not yet due for payment.

Check out your HMRC Payments Record in Brightpay.

Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll & Auto Enrolment Software.

Posted byAnn TigheinHMRCPAYEPayrollPayroll SoftwareReal time informationRTI

How can RTI returns affect Universal Credit?

 Universal Credit is designed to simplify the welfare system for both HMRC and DWP as well as reduce fraud and error.

With that said, Universal Credit payments differ to other benefits, like Child Tax Credits, for example. Based on the information submitted by the employer through RTI, Universal Credit payments can be adjusted on a regular basis each time the employee receives a payment. This information affects how much Universal Credit is paid. Claimants can clearly see they are better off when they work, or increase their take home pay, through the Universal Credit system. In time, most Universal Credit claimants who are employed will be covered by RTI.

Employers are required to submit information to HMRC each time a payment has been made to an employee. In the past, if there was a mistake on the payroll you could fix it by paying or not paying the extra amount, then adjusting the next payslip. If accurate information is not submitted at the right time then this could result in the employee not receiving their Universal Credit payment.

N.B Employees will be keeping a closer eye on their payslips to look for any errors and disputes about the accuracy of their payslip.

Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll & Auto Enrolment Software.

Posted byAnn TigheinPayroll SoftwareReal time informationRTI

Detailed guidance relating to expatriate employees

HMRC have published detailed guidance relating to employers operating PAYE in real time with expatriate employees working either in the UK or overseas.

Part of this guidance reads as follows: 

"HMRC will apply a common sense approach to deciding whether we agree that employers of expatriates have a reasonable excuse for not telling us on time about any tax and NICs due on payments and notional payments made in-year to expatriates by third parties and overseas employers; or for not paying this tax and NICs by its due date. In assessing whether we agree that employers have a reasonable excuse, HMRC is not expecting employers to materially change the operation of their current UK or overseas payrolls for making payments to employees where these payroll practices are reasonable and widely accepted."

The full guidance notes can be accessed here.

Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll & Auto Enrolment Software.

Posted byAnn TigheinPayroll SoftwareRTI

Paying Less Than the Minimum Wage is Totally Unacceptable

HMRC have published news of their compliance action in 2012-13 against employers who were investigated for alleged breaches of the minimum wage rules.

In 2012-13, HMRC investigated 1,693 complaints against employers for allegedly breaching minimum wage rules. This resulted in 708 employers receiving automatic penalty charges of up to £5,000, with 51 of those employers being penalised to the maximum of £5,000.

26,519 employees received an average of approximately £150 in back pay, topping up wages that had previously been below the legal minimum rate.

Employment Minister Jo Swinson said:

"Paying less than the minimum wage is totally unacceptable. Whenever we find examples of businesses breaking the law we will crack down on them.

"Supporting fairness in the workplace is one of our key priorities and the National Minimum Wage is one way of making sure this happens. It supports as many workers as possible without damaging their employment prospects, which is why effectively enforcing the minimum wage is critically important in making sure it stays a success.

"The figures from last year show that HMRC can really help people who have been underpaid to claim back the money they are owed.”

Cases where HMRC has taken action against employers in the past year:

•             A major fashion chain was ordered to pay its 90 unpaid interns almost £60,000.

•             A multi-outlet retailer, which required employees to purchase specific items of clothing from its range, was ordered to repay almost £170,000 for more than 6,000 workers.

•             A national retailer, which required its employees to attend work before and after opening hours without pay, was ordered to pay arrears of wages of more than £193,000 for nearly 3,500 workers.

•             A recruitment agency, requiring its workers to attend training at a client's business without pay, was ordered to pay £28,000 for 300 workers.

Michelle Wyer, Assistant Director of HMRC’s National Minimum Wage team, said:

“Paying the National Minimum Wage is not a choice – it’s the law. HMRC enforces the rules, protecting workers from rogue employers, ensuring they get at least the wage to which they are legally entitled.

“Where an employer ignores these rules, we will take steps to ensure arrears are paid out in full and the employer fined. In the most serious cases, criminal prosecution can follow.”

In 2012-13,17,775 people called the Pay and Work Rights Helpline, which provides advice in more than 100 languages, for information or to report an illegal wage which lead to HMRC opening 1,408 enquiries into employers.

Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks.

BrightPay – Payroll & Auto Enrolment Software.

HMRC clarifies RTI NI number issues

HMRC has been forced to issue a clarification about national insurance number verification requests after being contacted by worried employers trying to meet the Real Time Information (RTI) requirements.

The employers have been receiving rejections in response to their requests. This, says HMRC, is correct. They are being rejected because the employers are sending their requests in before they have made their first full payment submission (FPS).

“You cannot send a national insurance number verification request (NVR) until you have started to send PAYE information in real time,” HMRC advises. “Wait two weeks after sending your first FPS before sending an NVR.”

It points employers to its guidance, Making Sure You Use the Correct National Insurance Number

HMRC also says that it has been receiving phone calls from employees trying to find out what their NI number is after being told by their employer that they must have one for when the employer submits the RTI returns.

Although HMRC does want employers to provide correct NI numbers in their PAYE submissions, it stresses that there will be occasions when an NI number is not available. For example, the employee will not have been allocated one if they are under 16 years old.

Again, it points employers towards the NI guidance to make it clear that they should leave the NI number field blank and not be tempted to fill it in with a dummy or incorrect number.

Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll & Auto Enrolment Software.

Posted byAnn TigheinPAYEPayrollPayroll SoftwarePRSIReal time informationRTIWages

RTI: STARTER PROCESS AMENDED

HMRC has amended its guidance on the starter process to help increase accuracy for individuals with a P45 and more than one job. In such cases, instead of selecting statement C and operating code BR, the employer should select statement B and operate the tax code on the P45 – unless the tax code on the P45 is BR, 0T or D prefix – in which case statement C would still apply.

Individuals without a P45 or with an old P45 will continue to complete the starter declaration to confirm their employment situation. The full guidance on the starter process will be updated and available from 6 April 2013 here.

Please be aware the guidance linked above will not be updated to reflect this change until 6 April 2013. HMRC acknowledges that the starter process guidance has gone through several iterations and for 2013-14 says it will accept if an employer’s payroll does not follow this new process.

Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll & Auto Enrolment Software.

Read more at www.hmrc.gov.uk >

Posted byAnn TigheinHMRCPAYEPayrollPayroll SoftwarePRSIRTISMEWages