MEMBER TAKEOVER
Keeping up to date with payroll legislation: challenges and resolutions
Jake Shergold MCIPPdip, payroll manager, Sovereign Housing Association, provides his tips on staying up to date with ever-changing payroll legislation
P ayroll and pensions professionals are often relied upon to understand technical details and answer any question on the spot. But how many of those asking the questions realise how many pieces of legislation affect these professions? It is, after all, just pressing a ‘big red button’. In fact, there are over 170 pieces of legislation in some form or another. As part of our roles, it’s our responsibility to ensure we keep up to date with this legislation, and in turn, keep our organisations compliant. Keeping up to date with this mountain of legislation can feel like, well, climbing a mountain. But there are many ways of doing this, and many people who make the process easier for us, by digesting the bulk of the information and reducing it down to bite-size pieces of key information about the changes. There are many channels where information can be obtained, and all have their benefits: l professional membership l publications l social media platforms
● conferences ● virtual and face-to-face training courses
● access to a host of additional resources and documents. These professional bodies may not specialise in payroll, but still cover the areas of legislation that impact on payroll processes. Many of these organisations work in partnership with each other, because of the value this creates for their members. The CIPP works with several other professional bodies, in line with its values in community and authoritative knowledge. In addition to the CIPP, there’s the Pension Management Institute, Global Payroll Association, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Association of Accounting Technicians to mention a few. For those working in payroll software, membership may include IT bodies, like The Chartered Institute for IT. Some employers reimburse professional membership costs when it’s specific to your role. Membership often requires evidence of continuing professional development and keeping up to date with legislation counts towards this.
● podcasts ● websites
● network and special interest groups. With so many ways of keeping up to date, from professional memberships to watching the 10 o’clock news, it shouldn’t be a case of not having the time. It could be that the best method to suit an individual’s need hasn’t been found. Hopefully if this is the case, some of the suggested channels below will resolve this. Professional memberships Professional memberships often come with a wealth of benefits, such as: ● professional publications, like the CIPP’s Professional magazine ● an advisory service ● newsletters sent directly to your email address with key updates ● webcasts, recorded during previous updates, which make great reference material when checking legislation, rather than having to trawl through copious amounts of documents
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | December 2022 – January 2023 | Issue 86 32
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker