TECHNOLOGY
PAYROLL SOFTWARE: A CLOSER LOOK
Simon Parsons MSc FCIPPdip MBCS, honorary chair, BCS payroll specialist group and director of UK compliance strategies at SD Worx, shares insights into the work of payroll software suppliers and how they help employers prepare to meet ever-growing compliance requirements
T hese past few years have seen some turbulent change in compliance requirements for payroll software providers. How do they ensure employers are ready to pay the UK and get everything completed in time? The BCS Payroll Specialist Group (part of the BCS Chartered Institute for IT) represents the payroll software developer community under its Royal Charter. With 78 member organisations, it liaises on behalf of these developers with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department for Business and Trade
(DBT) and the Pensions Regulator (TPR), among others. Its representatives form part of the HMRC representative body steering group (RBSG) and the employer payroll group (EPG). HMRC also has a software developer support team (SDST) which the group interacts with to obtain sight of any payroll changes as early as possible. Heading towards better stability Many years ago, HMRC issued its ‘Note for software developers ’ with regular updates of amendments impacting the operation of pay as you earn (PAYE).
These were seen as the stable source for change. During these past years of political and pandemic turbulence, the regularity of information wasn’t so aligned or ready in such a timely fashion. Most information was drip fed and some very late for the timely development required for strict quality development processes. How developers obtain information on relevant changes Following some difficult years including Covid-19 and political disruption, the flow of information has progressed well. Thankfully, the SDST has issued fast-produced updates
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | July - August 2024 | Issue 102 52
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