Professional December 2020 - January 2021

O N L I N E L E A R N I N G

Policy hub

FOUNDATION DEGREE ACCESS COURSE

...would have created a considerable administrative burden for those working within payroll departments and dealing with sickness.

This course is a bridge to year two of the CIPP Foundation Degrees in either payroll and

specifically, the full payment submission (FPS) – from the start of the following tax year (2022/23). From this point onwards, a real- time solution will be offered, meaning that the employer does not pay secondary class 1 NICs on the pay of qualifying veterans. Payroll professionals indicated that they did not favour this approach and asked why an existing NICs category (table letter) couldn’t be utilised, such as ‘M’ which is used for employees under the age of 21. This letter means that no employer NICs liability is attached to the employee’s earnings up to the upper earnings limit at which point the employer begins to pay secondary class 1 NICs at the rate of 13.8%. Another suggestion was that a new NICs category/letter be established for the relief to be added to the payroll records of eligible veterans. The concerns were that this seems unnecessarily complex and poses an administrative burden on payroll departments. In addition, the fact that employers would have to wait to benefit from the employer NICs savings may deter them from using the entitlement in the first place. The CIPP’s policy team submitted a formal response to the consultation, which can be located in the Policy Hub area on the CIPP website: https://bit.ly/38qOjNO. SSP1 form Towards the latter end of 2019, the SSP1 form available online was amended (http://ow.ly/TklE30riORA). This indicated that a SSP1 form would need to be completed every time an employee had a period of sickness that amounted to less than four consecutive days. This was a new requirement which would have created a considerable administrative burden for those working within payroll departments and dealing with sickness. The option provided was: “You have been off sick from work for less than 4 days”. Similarly, several scenarios in which a SSP1 form would ordinarily be issued had been removed. The CIPP and other stakeholders

approached both HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions on the matter, and raised this issue at the Statutory Payments consultation group on which the CIPP sits, to advise that this form could potentially create extensive administrative burden and confusion for both employers and employees. The feedback was acknowledged and taken on board: the amended form was removed and the original restored. At the time of writing, however, only the version that needs to be printed off and completed by hand has been changed (http://ow.ly/pczt30riOTO). The electronic version that is completed on screen and then printed has not been amended (http://ow.ly/YJ4Z30riOUW). This issue has been raised with the relevant departments, and it has been confirmed that both forms will be aligned, and that the on-screen version of the form will be changed in due course. Payroll professionals may use whichever form is appropriate to the scenario they are dealing with. They are reminded, however, that there is no requirement to complete a SSP1 form for periods of absence that are less than four consecutive days in duration. And, finally… Member feedback plays a significant part in ensuring that the policy and research team accurately reflect views of the payroll profession which includes both members and also, by virtue of the CIPP’s Chartered status, the wider profession. We gather views through surveys and through Think Tank roundtables, which normally would be held face-to-face but due to the exceptional circumstances this year have been held virtually, using Teams. This move has been successful, and we would just like to take the opportunity to say thank you to all members who have taken part. Your views count, and they go a long way in affecting the direction of travel of government policy. n

pensions, and specifically designed for those who have the experience, and would now like a formal qualification We have developed this online course to provide those who have completed one of our level three certifications, or who have two years experience and are confident with manual calculations.

If this sounds like you or a member of your team, enrol today.

CPD 18 points

For more information or to enrol: Visit: www.cipp.org.uk/study Email enquiries@cipp.org.uk

Call: 0121 712 1023 Live chat with us

Wishing you all, a very happy and healthy 2021.

cipp.org.uk @CIPP_UK

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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

Issue 66 | December 2020 - January 2021

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