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Policy team update
The CIPP’s policy and research teamprovide an update on developments
T he CIPP’s policy team has been kept busy by attending various forums, hosting informational webinars and presentations, and creating both news pieces and extended articles to keep members and the wider profession up to date.
In October 2019, when the reforms were due to be introduced from 6 April 2020, the team posted a Quick Poll on News Online , asking “What concerns do you have about your readiness in April 2020 for off-payroll working rules?”. This question was also posed in the webinar, hosted on 19 January 2021. The responses are shown in Table 1. ...‘payroll obligations’ has become more of a worry... Whereas most areas seem to be causing less concern (with the exception of communications with the supply chain), ‘payroll obligations’ has become more
of a worry, and continue to be the area, unsurprisingly, that payroll professionals are most conscious of. Another Quick Poll was hosted in July 2020, which asked “In light of the fact that it has now been confirmed that the off- payroll working reforms will definitely be introduced from 6 April 2021, how ready are you for the changes?”. This question was also posed in the webinar. The responses are shown in Table 2. Although the question was presented to two potentially different audiences, the results indicate that marginally more companies are either ready for or are starting to prepare for the reforms, which is a positive sign. There are, however, still companies that are optimistic that the reforms will be delayed again, but there has been no indication of this. So, the resounding advice from the CIPP is ‘start preparing now’.
Readiness for off-payroll working
It is widely accepted that from 6 April 2021 the off-payroll working reforms will be implemented in the private sector, impacting any businesses classified as being either ‘medium’ or ‘large’ in size. The policy team recently hosted the ‘BeKnowledgeable: Off-payroll working webinar’ and wanted to assess how ready businesses are for the changes, identify their main worries, and gauge changes over time.
Employer NICs holiday for veterans
The CIPP responded to the consultation, launched by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in conjunction with the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, which explored granting businesses that employ veterans an employer-only National Insurance contributions (NICs) holiday on their earnings (http://ow.ly/TYKt30rtI9M). The government has now published its response to the consultation explaining some of the key elements of the policy, ahead of detailed guidance being provided. The main area of interest to payroll professionals will relate to how the relief is provided in the first tax year of its introduction i.e. 2021/22. During the first year, as there is no real time information (RTI) solution, employers will be required to pay the associated employer NICs on the earnings of veterans and will be able to reclaim this from April 2022 onwards.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | March 2021 | Issue 68 8
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