FEATURE TOPIC
“Fiscal statements are the only crystal ball we have in payroll, although we know our customers – the people we pay – think we have one for every eventuality”
You will need a strategic mind to fully understand the business, where it sits or fits in the market space, who the competitors are, the strengths and possible areas of improvement and what you and your payroll team can do to support any changes. If there are social events, or business networking, volunteer – you need to be seen to be asked. Demonstrate leadership skills with personal ambition and speak up! Neil Tonks: Payroll is often seen as a transactional process and therefore not strategic. We all know that’s far from the truth, but we need to get the decision makers to come to the same conclusion. Data is the key to this. Payroll has a wealth of data which can feed into the strategy of the organisation. For example, payroll can evaluate the financial impact of upcoming legislative changes, be it an increase to the NMW or yet another change to the calculation of holiday pay. Taking another example, pay equality
A couple of ways we’ll obtain your thoughts on shaping and influencing change is through surveys and think tanks. Our marketing and events team will email you with any invites, so please ensure your email preferences allow for marketing and event updates by logging into your MyCIPP area of the website. The team represented our members and the wider industry in the House of Lords and the House of Commons last year, which was a huge achievement for such a newly formed policy and research team. This goes to show how much influence we do have on key policymakers at parliamentary level. And we really want to keep it up, so please do have your say if we invite you to complete a survey or join a think tank. Equally, if you feel something needs to change, please do reach out and share your thoughts at policy@cipp.org.uk . KT: This question is easy for me to answer; support the CIPP’s policy team. The team attends so many government forums and wades through copious amounts of consultation documents. It needs your help to get the feel of what’s going on in the real world from the ground roots. In addition, the profession often reacts to something via a survey or call for evidence comment, but why not look at what you do in your payroll environment? Look at the legislation you must deliver on and what you would like to change, remove or perhaps even add to, then let the policy team know about it. Wherever possible, provide statistics or evidence – without data breaching, of course – to support your request for the CIPP to take up the cause. Payroll professionals can also respond directly to consultation documents or calls for evidence if they choose. NT: The best way to be heard is to get involved with the CIPP. The policy and research team runs surveys and think tank events which provide payroll professionals the opportunity to help shape the Institute’s official response to consultations regarding changes to legislation. As a Chartered body, the CIPP’s views carry far
more weight with government than the views of individual citizens.
Which trends do you think could form the discussion points of the future? JR: There are currently trends in artificial intelligence (AI), payrolling of benefits, new software advances and changes in government policy, all of which could influence the way payroll is executed and managed in future. There are also a lot of worrying aspects of data security, with scammers and miscreants working on ways to hack, infiltrate and corrupt or steal data. Nothing ever stays still! SO: A number of things the policy and research team is working on now that are sure to form discussion points are: l setting the 2025 NMW rates l automatic enrolment being introduced to workers from the age of 18 l the lifetime provider model for workplace pensions (having a pot for life, with it transferring from one employer to another) l additional data being reported through real time information returns – for example, workplace postcodes for freeport and investment zone tax site employees, and data relating to workers’ hours l the mandation of payrolling benefits from April 2026. KT: Robotic process automation (RPA), definitely. I think there’s still a lot of uncertainty in this space, with worries over people and jobs being replaced. But, in reality, the volume of input and knowledge now required for a standard payroll can be immense. Why would you want to be keying things in or manually calculating when the system can do it, freeing up time to allow you to talk to your employees, your clients or allowing time to go and sit at that board table? AI is also a hot topic and I see that being used for things like employee helplines or client helplines, and so on. NT: There’s currently a trend in government towards making short notice changes or announcing changes in advance but not providing the details until
is becoming a hot topic, not just gender-based but also where other
protected characteristics are concerned. Organisations are increasingly wishing to monitor this to an extent that exceeds their legal obligations. Payroll has the data which can be used to analyse pay and benefits against criteria such as these. We need to be proactive in making others aware that we can do far more than produce payslips 12 times a year! How can payroll professionals get involved and help shape and influence changes in legislation? JR: Payroll professionals should liaise with their professional body’s policy team (hopefully, this is the CIPP) to communicate any thoughts on how legislation could be better configured. Or to point out any anomalies that the legislation throws up such as payroll processes, forms, real time information anomalies and items that work out to be incorrect if the legislation is followed. The CIPP’s policy team is always listening and will liaise with HM Revenue and Customs on these matters on your behalf. SO: The policy and research team is a benefit for members of the CIPP. One of the main roles we play is to respond to open consultations and calls for evidence exploring payroll-related government policies and legislation. Just take a read of our ‘On your behalf’ page each issue to keep an eye on what we’ve been up to on – you’ve guessed it – your behalf!
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 102 | July - August 2024
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