payroll profession are still very much relevant as we wait for the ‘imminent’ publication of said consultation. In summary:
• There was a range of numbers on the payroll from respondents, but the majority were between 250 and 9,999. • 89% offer both SSP and OSP schemes with differing options depending on their terms and conditions. • 87% offer an initial return to work on altered hours (phased return) after a period of sickness. 77% of which said that each case is looked at on an individual basis and that they have no set timescale for employees to be off before the phased return is offered. • With regards to how employers pay their staff on a return to work after a period of sickness on altered hours, 49% only pay for the hours worked, whereas it was almost evenly split where some employers pay full pay regardless of hours worked and the others pay for hours worked, topped up with OSP or SSP. • We asked what respondents thought they would need to do or to adapt their payroll systems and processes to accommodate employees returning to work on altered hours and paid a mixture of OSP & SSP. Responses were that software would need to be adapted/updated, if the change was to legislation then staff would need to be educated and more manual intervention would be required. • Some respondents did say that they felt little or no change would be required. • We asked how long it would take to implement these changes and the answers varied as it would depend on who and what it affects. If legislation was changed then this would a decent lead time for software developers, then there is the implementation, training, educating etc. • The cost of these changes is varied or not applicable. It may be that some of the respondents may not be involved in the ‘cost implications’ of the business so would be unable to answer and also what the changes will actually be is difficult to say at this stage. • We also asked what the overall cost of sickness management change would be if flexible returns were offered. The majority stated that they offer this service in some form already, others believe it will not affect the cost and only a minority felt it would be expensive. • From additional comments to the survey, it would seem that the way forward is a total rethink of the SSP system and that the waiting days should be abolished. We passed on the full results of our survey to the Department for Work and Pensions, who are leading on these reforms and we shall continue to work with them through to consultation and change, in whatever form that may be. We will most certainly be calling on you, the payroll professionals, again, for your expertise and opinions.
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Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay 10 June 2019
From April 2020 the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 introduces a statutory right to time off work for employed parents, with pay where eligibility requirements are met, following the loss of a child.
The Act will give all employed parents a day-one statutory right to 2 weeks of leave if they lose a child under the age of 18 or suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. Parents will be entitled to this leave irrespective of their length of service with their employer and the entitlement will apply in respect of each child. Pay will be subject to qualifying conditions as found with other similar periods of statutory pay aimed at the working parent. The Government published its response to the consultation in November 2018 which confirms key aspects of the policy to be set in regulations. As a result of the responses received, government has taken the following decisions: • the policy will use a broad definition of a ‘bereaved parent’ centred on the notion of ‘primary carer’, with the guiding principle being that the relationship should be parental in nature • parental bereavement leave and pay can be taken as a single block, or as 2 separate weeks • employed parents will have a window of 56 weeks to use the entitlement • notice requirements will be flexible and will distinguish between leave taken very soon and leave taken at a later period • evidence requirements will mirror existing requirements used for other family leave and pay rights, where it is practicable to do so.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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