CIPP Payroll: need to know 2019-20

The EAT commented that the £25,000 cap on contractual claims, unchanged since 1994, could be raised by a statutory instrument, and that the present cap can produce real injustice and was out of step with the wider powers of tribunals in other areas.

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Tribunal ruling serves important reminder to employees surrounding paperwork 18 October 2019 Cindy Riquier has lost the case in which she asserted that her employer was to blame for underpayment of her personal tax in relation to the tax year 2015-2016. In a complex dispute, Riquier explained how she had held two jobs in the month of December 2015 but that she joined one company, Towergate whilst serving her notice period with another business, Intelligent Positioning. On her P46, the now defunct document that has been superseded by the starter declaration form, she selected option B. Option B states that this is a person’s only job but that they have held another job since the start of the current tax year – based on 2015-2016, this would mean an employer would place their new member of staff on tax code 1060L W1/M1 as per HMRC legislation. She advised that she made this choice as, whilst on her notice period with Intelligent Positioning, she was not expected to physically attend work and so maintained that her new employment with Towergate would now be classed as her only employment. The real issue originates from the fact that, due to her selection, she received two tax free allowances in the month of December 2015, which led to an underpayment of £1,227.85 in tax to be repaid. Riquier upheld that this was her employer’s mistake for placing her on an inaccurate tax code but this was overruled as it was deemed as her own for responsibility completing paperwork incorrectly. Towergate had proceeded exactly how the law dictated, based on the information Riquier had provided. Her counterargument was that there was no option available that accommodated her situation. Notes held surrounding the case also reference the fact that Riquier had not disclosed foreign income she had received on her self-assessment, which she would also be required to pay tax liabilities on. The claimant didn’t appear to contend this matter and was primarily concerned with the underpayment of tax through PAYE. Although the P46 document is no longer in use, the starter declaration form offers the same options for new employees to select when they commence employment. This tribunal acts as a stark reminder that employees need to read and complete any payroll documentation accurately and completely or face the potential consequences of incorrect paperwork, which could prove to be rather costly!

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Court rules in favour of nurse in case surrounding unfair dismissal 28 October 2019

An employment tribunal has unanimously voted that Mr J. Horn, the claimant and a senior nurse, had been unfairly dismissed by Grampian Health, the respondent and his employer, on the grounds of disability.

Mr Horn, a senior member of the nursing team, had his contract terminated by his employer during a phased return to work after being absent for an extended period of sick leave. The initial cause of the claimant’s depressive illness was attributed to feeling stressed at work due to staff shortages and there were several developments in his department that culminated in Horn being signed off as long-term sick. In time, Horn went back to work on a phased return plan but then an anonymous claim was submitted that he had received payment for external work whilst signed off sick. A HR investigation maintained that Mr. Horn had not done anything wrong, but the accusation and investigation process only served to heighten his underlying condition. This resulted in a period of annual leave being taken and then a further period of absence in relation to sickness of 42 days.

The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals

Payroll: need to know

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