It’s not only graduates and training delegates that bear testimony to the importance of education. Consistent accuracy / quality of work and knowledge of payroll legislation will always be necessities for any payroll team member. Qualifications evidence the skills and knowledge of payroll professionals. 54% of respondents said they’ve seen an increase in job adverts that list a payroll qualification as a job requirement. A recent government consultation suggested that professional indemnity insurance (PII) could be used to raise standards of tax advice. 54% of respondents said education is a more viable alternative to PII for the purposes of raising standards within the industry. 55% said that payroll qualifications should become mandatory for those starting a career in payroll. 32% disagreed, and both opinions were backed by some interesting comments. Those in favour of mandatory qualifications stressed the importance of accuracy and the increasing complexity of the role. Those who disagreed thought this may increase the costs of running payroll and make recruitment more difficult. Since April 2017, employers with a pay bill exceeding £3 million must pay 0.5% of their pay bill as an apprenticeship levy. Funds are put aside and can be accessed to train staff through apprenticeship courses and end-point assessments with an approved training provider. The government introduced the scheme to upskill the workforce and encourage hiring. Although only a small percentage of employers are eligible to pay, the scheme has resulted in hundreds of thousands of apprentices being employed*. However, even with the introduction of the Level 3 Payroll Apprenticeships, only 9% of respondents have seen a recent increase in payroll apprentices. Could apprenticeships be the solution for employers who are struggling to fill payroll vacancies? Education plays an important role in the relationship between employers and employees. 30% of respondents had an employer with a specific training budget for the payroll team. Of those who have an allocated budget, 86% felt their employer was doing enough to facilitate their education. 29% of all respondents felt their employer wasn’t doing enough to facilitate their education. Feelings like this can lead to loss of talent and a lack of trust in the employee-employer relationship. Employers should focus on providing employees with as much support as possible for career development, so they know they’re valued.
*https://www.gov.uk/government/news/key-facts-you-should-know-about-the-apprenticeship-levy
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