COMPLIANCE
Beverley Gibbs, employment taxes consultant at PSTAX , considers whether tax rules have kept pace with the new ways of working we’re currently seeing B efore the Covid pandemic and the instruction from the government in March 2020 that we all needed office space and costs, but nothing like the revolution in working practices that have evolved since Covid. Changes to working practices
together in one place. People are more willing to attend meetings when they only have to click a button. Where attendance at the office is only required on rare occasions, the need to live near to the workplace has gone, with many employees living some distance away or even in another country. Itinerant staff, who would have gone to a depot or office to start their day before Covid are often travelling directly to work sites today. Undoubtedly, there are some benefits to the employer due to this change in working practices, including: l employees work longer hours because of less commuting l generally, less sickness absence for minor illnesses where employees don’t have to travel to work l more space available within office
to work from home, if possible, most office-based employees rarely worked in this fashion. There were moves towards hybrid working, as ‘hot desking’ in some offices became more prevalent in a bid to reduce Many people are now working in an agile or hybrid way, but have the tax rules kept pace?
As a result of this evolution, the pre-Covid working practices and employment contracts used by many are no longer suitable for typical post-Covid working. Many people are now working in an agile or hybrid way, but have the tax rules kept pace?
How have working practices changed?
People are working from home, full or part-time, with a move towards hybrid working as the favoured compromise for many organisations. The use of technology has replaced in-person business meetings in many cases, saving time and the cost of gathering people
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | December 2022 – January 2023 | Issue 86 16
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