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allowing us to compare payslip trends over the years. There’s a staple bank of questions we ask each year, but we also throw in more topical ones, so recently, for example, there have been questions regarding furlough and the changes to the method for calculating holiday pay. There’s also the Future of Payroll Survey , which is released once every two years. As we know, payroll is always changing, but this looks beyond the present and considers what payroll might look like in the future. Common themes include technology, artificial intelligence and education. This is a great piece of research, and we also run an annual think tank on the topic, within National Payroll Week. Finally, the Benchmarking Survey . This is currently run on an annual basis and allows payroll departments to compare their practices to those carried out by payroll professionals in other organisations. This can be a handy tool for improving processes, or for demonstrating to senior leaders why things need to change in the payroll department. If that wasn’t enough, we also run ad hoc surveys and quick polls. As an example of an ad hoc survey, HMRC asked what the barriers were to the method of payrolling benefits. This survey allowed us to pass your direct feedback to HMRC, so explaining that organisations didn’t payroll benefits, as not all benefits can be processed through payroll, and because you still have to submit a P11D(b). Our quick polls appear on the news pages of our website. They allow us to ask a quick response question to gain insight from the profession. As an example, following the growth plan announcements, we asked, ‘What announcement from the growth plan will have the biggest impact on your payroll team?’ Unsurprisingly, 56.5% of respondents stated the reversal to the 1.25 percentage point increase to National Insurance contributions would have the biggest impact on the profession. We also run a national minimum wage survey each year. We work in collaboration with the Low Pay Commission, which makes recommendations to government on the rates. We always get a good response rate to these surveys, as it’s a topic that impacts so many people and organisations. Think tanks Think tanks are offered to our Full and above members. They were historically held face-to-face but, since the pandemic,
a lot more are now hosted virtually. Often, think tanks will be based on a consultation or call for evidence (which we will explore next), and will allow payroll professionals to meet with representatives from government departments to share their views. It also allows members to mix with their peers and discuss the things impacting them. This is the opportunity to give direct feedback to government, and to discuss things that may not have been considered, as the government departments may not have detailed payroll knowledge. Our think tank sessions are hugely popular. Consultations and calls for evidence The team will often respond to consultations and calls for evidence, which are released by government departments. A consultation is designed to collect views and feedback on a proposed government policy, to thrash out the finer details. The government normally has an idea of what it wants to do and must ensure its direction is correct. A call for evidence, however, is more of a data gathering exercise on a certain topic. We will often use surveys, or think tanks, or both(!), or speak to members more generally, to inform the content of the consultation and call for evidence responses. They’re so important as they shape the future of payroll policy, and impact the work carried out in payroll departments. They’re so important as they shape the future of payroll policy, and impact the work carried out in payroll departments Get in touch I hope this article has helped to shed some light on the work the policy and research team carries out on behalf of CIPP members and the wider payroll industry. We’re always here to raise concerns to our contacts in government departments, and we welcome any thoughts, recommendations or ideas you have for us. If you’d like to get involved in the work we do, please get in touch with us, at policy@cipp.org.uk . n
The team speaks up (S) on behalf of CIPP members and the wider payroll profession: l we sit on 22 government forums and working groups, covering a vast array of subjects l in our roles, we aren’t in operational payroll, so we rely on you to inform us of what works well, and what works … not so well l do you have any feedback you want to give to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), but don’t know how to get it to the right people? If so, please speak up and let us know, so we can raise this on your behalf. The team’s strategic objectives place you at the heart of all the work we carry out. To explore this further, I want to discuss the main activities which make up our workload. BeKnowledgeable sessions The team delivers a selection of sessions exclusively for members over the course of the year. This series of webinars is entitled BeKnowledgeable. The concept of our BeKnowledgeable webinars is to provide insight into a specific area of payroll and to explain how legislation is put into practice within a payroll environment. It also presents an opportunity for CIPP members to ask the policy team any questions they have on the topic at hand. This year so far, we have delivered webinars on the following topics: l minimum wage l payroll policy making l holiday pay l expenses and benefits l pensions and automatic enrolment for payroll. This series is available exclusively to CIPP members. Head over to the events pages of the website to book your slot on our next series - http://ow.ly/ YsEM50LnFUj. Surveys and quick polls The team is regularly referred to as simply ‘the policy team’, but a big chunk of what we do also involves researching payroll trends, and what’s working well, along with what isn’t working so well. There are three ongoing surveys we put out to get feedback from the profession. They are: The Payslip Stats Survey , which is arguably our flagship piece of research, and has been running since 2008,
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 86 | December 2022 – January 2023
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