POLICY HUB
On your behalf
There has been a flurry of events in November for the CIPP’s policy and research team. Read on to find out what they’ve been doing to serve CIPP members and the wider payroll industry Policy team update
Graduation Ceremony 2022 The policy team attended the Graduation Ceremony at the prestigious Symphony Hall, in Birmingham, on 4 November 2022. This is always a lovely event, and it’s amazing to see those individuals who have worked so hard (often around jobs / parenting duties, etc.) celebrating achieving their qualification. The team got to chat to the graduates and to congratulate them on their successes. The Graduation supplement is available to view online.
l long-Covid l statutory sick pay l the Equality Act 2010. Events
l travelling expenses l temporary workplaces l employee expenses related to working from home l which expenses are tax-free and which ones need to be taxed. Net pay action group The policy team sits on 22 government forums and working groups, one of which is the net pay action group. This team of stakeholders discusses the anomaly that occurs when people are placed in a net pay arrangement pension scheme, but earn below the personal allowance for tax, so don’t receive the tax relief they’re entitled to. The government consulted on this issue, and in its response confirmed that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will pay a top-up to resolve this, in respect of tax year 2024/25 onwards. The net pay action group has sent a letter to the financial secretary to the Treasury to raise some concerns about the plans to make top-up payments. Although the group welcomes the action to remove this unfair anomaly, the issues below remain: l if the payments are treated as earnings, recipients of the top-up payments could be left in a better position than those paying into relief at source pensions, so the payments should instead be treated as tax refunds l potential impacts on universal credit l legislation states that HMRC has the responsibility for making the top-up payments, but individuals should also be able to claim where HMRC hasn’t proactively made the payment, and to appeal an HMRC decision not to make a top-up payment l given the current cost-of-living crisis, the implementation of top-up payments should be accelerated, and the payments backdated to before the 2024/25 tax year. n
Face-to-face events restarted following the shut down caused by Covid,
and they haven’t stopped ever since! November was no exception, and the team were up and down the country, imparting payroll knowledge wherever they went. First up was the Payroll Services Summit, held on 10 November 2022. Both Mathew and Samantha O’Sullivan, policy lead, travelled to London to attend this event. This was a unique opportunity for payroll services providers and those interested in the sector to network and watch topical presentations on things such as financial well-being, careers and payroll updates. It was a great event. Our busy bee, Sam, then attended the Zellis User Summit, held in Birmingham on 22 November 2022. Vickie Graham, our business development director, also joined, and delivered a presentation with Sam on ‘Payroll in 2023 and beyond’. This thought-provoking and insightful session explored the findings of the CIPP's most recent Future of Payroll Survey . This involved looking at how the role of payroll has changed post-pandemic and what the latest trends and employee engagement initiatives are, to highlight the strategic role payroll plays within organisations. Next up was the Accounting Web Expo, held in Coventry, on 30 November 2022. Guess who attended?! Yes, it was Sam again and this time, she was discussing the implications of working from home. The workshop was designed to assist attendees in navigating the complexities of expense claims for employees working from home. Topics of discussion included:
BeKnowledgeable series resumes We welcomed back the BeKnowledgeable series with a bang, following a brief hiatus due to National Payroll Week and our Annual Conference and Exhibition in September and October. Mathew Akrigg, policy and research officer, hosted a session on 8 November 2022, which focused on the very topical theme of financial well-being. The panel of experts consisted of employers who have all implemented financial well-being initiatives in their workplace, and included: l Natalie Jutla, DEFRA l Andrew Dunlop, Nestle l Matthew Day, John Lewis Partnership. The session was very well received and there was lively discussion between attendees within the chat. The next instalment of BeKnowledgeable takes place on 7 December 2022, and this time, representatives from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, or ACAS, will be discussing:
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 86 | December 2022 – January 2023
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