Professional May 2017

Official publication of The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals

in Payroll, Pensions & Reward

Issue 30 May 2017

Budget 2017

Employment status and the digital tool Questions, answers

Dress sense Image, mentality

Paying your international workforce Issues, solutions

CIPP update | Policy hub | Professional development

FREE Employment Law advice

We’re offering CIPP members FREE* access to our experienced team of HR & Employment Law subject matter experts (*T&C’s apply). Call the CIPP/Moorepay Employment Law & Advice Helpline quoting CIPP001 on 0845 1844607.

*T&Cs: Telephone advice & guidance only. The service is available from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. A Fair Usage Policy applies (maximum of 3 calls on one ongoing HR case).

Payroll & HR Solutions

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision. Dalai Lama (1935–)

Editor’s comment

Although the 2017 Budget was somewhat light on content affecting payroll and pensions (which makes a welcome change), the 2017 Finance Bill (No. 2) is apparently claimed to be the largest

Budget a similar requirement for the private sector.) A problem for all sectors is making tax digital – see pages 20–21. Maybe it’s just me, but having successfully achieved PAYE in real time surely the payroll profession and industry can feel a sense of self-satisfaction viewing from a comfortable distance the troublesome implementation of another mega computerisation project? A further so-far successful implementation for the profession is automatic enrolment. See page 36 for a big opportunity for the profession that AE offers. Is this something which the payroll professional must step up to and deliver, too?

in UK history, running to more than 300,000 words spread over more than 760 pages. A review of the Budget content can be found on pages 16–17. Many, if not all, of the problems currently afflicting payroll and employers can be attributed to the previous incumbent of the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. One payroll-related issue exercising public sector employers, caused by the previous Chancellor, is the implementation of ‘off- payroll’ working changes. See pages 18–19 for a review of the new employment status tool that might help decide cases of uncertainty. (Fortunately, the current Chancellor didn’t announce in the spring

Mike Nicholas MCIPP AMBCS Editor

Chair’s message

I was delighted with the response from members regarding my request last month for more interest in applying to stand as a board member of the CIPP.

The other exciting development within the CIPP this month, that I eluded to in my Chair’s message last month, will be announced at the National Forum’s which run from May to July. If you haven’t booked your place yet, make sure you do, as we’ll be explaining what it means to be a ‘Chartered member of the CIPP’. The formal launch of this new membership status will be during National Payroll Week – remember to save the date 4–8 September #NPW17 #spotlightonpayroll. (See page 13 for further information.) I hope to see you all at one of the National Forums over the next few months.

Should you be interested in progressing your career in this direction and giving something back to the payroll industry, there is still time to contact us to find out more before the deadline for formal applications closes. Earlier this year I was honoured to accept the invitation to speak on UK payroll legislation at the American Payroll Association (APA) Congress taking place this month. When I started my career in payroll back in the early 1980s, I never thought it would give me such opportunities. I wish the APA a successful conference and I’m looking forward to meeting lots of new, passionate and enthusiastic payroll professionals.

Eira Hammond FCIPPdip Chair, CIPP

CEO’s message

Well, there’s another year end come and gone – or in our complex environment maybe there’s still some finishing work in progress. Hopefully, systems, plans and processes all came together to make this a success. And then here we are straight into a

states, “Maintaining an educational and ethical structure of the highest standards aiming to train and licence professionals to work in the payroll and pensions profession by requiring such standards of knowledge and experience, so that such professionals are of the highest quality”. So, here at the CIPP, through your membership and any facet of our portfolio you utilise, there is a group of hard-working, highly skilled professionals ensuring we meet the expectations of our Charter to your benefit.

new tax year. Easter has also come and gone and hopefully an ascent into some warmer weather. I was reminded that we have just completed six successful years as a Chartered Institute. Sometimes in the cut and thrust of our daily activities I think it’s good to take a few minutes aside and reflect on your membership of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals. To paraphrase a famous wood sealing paint, the CIPP ‘does what it says on the tin’, and the opening introduction to your Charter

Ken Pullar FCIPP Chief executive officer, CIPP

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

Issue 30 | May 2017

in Payroll, Pensions & Reward PROFESSI NAL

Also available online at payrollpensionsandreward.org.uk

Contents

May 2017

Global payroll challenges

Lisa Gillespie comments on changes ahead

Features

Employment status and the digital tool Peter Minchinton considers the questions and tool

Authorising payment claims Neil Tonks opines that change is required

Will MTD make tax easier? Samantha Mann brings us up to speed

Paying the price for payroll errors Simon Puryer outlines damage and solution

Shaping an AI-driven future Doug Sawers discusses the future of work

Dress sense Emma O’Leary addresses the issue

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2017 | Issue 30 2

Editor Mike Nicholas 01273 412 836 | editor@cipp.org.uk Advertising Jill Bonehill 0121 712 1033 | advertising@cipp.org.uk Design James Bartlett and Nicole Gumery design@cipp.org.uk Printing Warwick Printing Company Ltd

Zero-hours contracts and talent pipeline Ian MacRae discusses security and motivation

Working in the gig economy Stephen Morrall offers advice

Chief executive Ken Pullar FCIPP CIPP board of directors

Gordon Cresswell FCIPP Jason Davenport ACIPP Eira Hammond FCIPPdip Ros Hendren MSc FCIPP, Mgr, FCMIdip, FHEA Paul Rains MCIPP Karen Thomson MSc FCIPP, FHEA Cliff Vidgeon FCIPP Ian Walters Msc, FCIPP, FHEA Ian Whyteside MCIPP, FMAAT, ATT

How payroll professionals can become pension experts

Paying your international workforce Sam Bennett identifies barriers and provides advice

(without trying) Henry Tapper explains

Useful contacts Membership membership@cipp.org.uk 0121 712 1073 Education education@cipp.org.uk 0121 712 1023 Training admin@cipp.org.uk 0121 712 1013 Events events@cipp.org.uk 0121 712 1013 Marketing and sales marketing@cipp.org.uk 0121 712 1033 General enquiries

Regulars

01 Editor’s comment, and Chair’s and CEO’s message 04 Membership insight On your behalf, Advisory, Five minutes with, Board nominations, We’ve got mail 10 Professional development Diary of a student, CPD 12 CIPP update PAS accreditation, FoAE, factapp Events, news and developments

29 Reward news 30 Reward insight 38 Pensions insight

Employment law cases, age matters with NMW

The Pensions Regulator

40 Pensions news 41 Industry news 42 Feature articles 47 Confessions of a payroll manager Additional content in the online version: 22 Salary sacrifice: a brief history 42 Protecting business travellers 46 GOV.UK and GDS

info@cipp.org.uk 0121 712 1000

cipp.org.uk @cipp_uk

14 Payroll news 15 Payroll insight Budget 2017 26 Events Horizon 28 Charity news

Articles Please support this magazine so that it can continue to be a part of your membership package. Trademarks The CIPP logo, the initials ‘CIPP’ and the words ‘Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward’ and ‘CIPP Consult’ are trademarks of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals. Copyright: The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals 2017. The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, CIPP, Goldfinger House, 245 Cranmore Boulevard, Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, B90 4ZL. Switchboard 0121 712 1000 Fax 0121 712 1001 Copyright This magazine is published by The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals in whom the copyright is vested. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retreival system, or transmitted in any form or any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the CIPP or the editor. The information and comment contained in this publication are given in good faith, their accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed.

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

Issue 30 | May 2017

MEMBERSHIP INSIGHT

On your behalf

Policy team update

Diana Bruce MCIPPdip, CIPP senior policy liaison officer, divulges developments

G ender pay gap regulations for the private and voluntary sectors cover any employer with 250 or more ‘relevant’ employees in England, Wales and Scotland (but not Northern Ireland) on 5 April 2017. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 came into force on 31 March 2017 and whilst the initial aim was to make the reporting requirements consistent across the public and private sectors, as the public sector already has specific duties on equality, the regulations needed to reflect this. More specifically there are differences between the public sector equality duties in Wales and Scotland as compared to England. The impact of devolution continues to add to the burden of UK employers. To ascertain employers’ awareness and subsequent readiness, we ran a poll through February and part of March asking: “Have you tested your gender pay gap data in preparation for the mandatory reporting duty that comes into effect in April 2017?”. We received 825 responses, 30% of which stated they had fewer than 250 employees so the duty to report did not apply. Of the remaining 70%, 24% had already tested their data and 29% were planning to do so before April. Only 9% were not aware of the new duty; hopefully they began their research to see if the regulations would apply to them, as a result. At the time of writing although the regulations have come into force, ACAS

(the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) and the Government Equalities Office have yet to publish any guidance for public sector employers; however, draft guidance has been published for employers in the private and voluntary sectors. There are several complexities still to be ironed out and so it may be that these will have to be resolved through the first year of reporting – an all too common situation for employers now when faced with new policy initiatives from government. In fact, the issue of delayed information and guidance across government generally is one which is causing great concern amongst stakeholder groups. The problem was discussed at the recent Employment and Payroll Group, of which the CIPP’s Helen Hargreaves is co-chair; HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has undertaken to escalate the issue. All published information on the gender pay gap reporting regulations can be found in the CIPP’s Policy News Journal , a benefit reserved exclusively for members, located at: http://bit.ly/2oxTlh8. If you would like to take part in our latest poll it is situated to the right of all of our news items on the CIPP website. Collection of student loans (CSL) forum ● Employer prompts – You may be familiar with the work of the CSL forum and the roll out in 2016 of the employer prompt (otherwise known as a generic notification email) which aims to ‘nudge’

employers to begin making deductions for student loans where they appear not to have actioned a SL1 notice. You may know that this process involves a first notification – a call to action if you will – and then, if no change is noted in the next full payment submission (FPS), a second prompt is issued. If no action is then taken a follow up phone call is made to see why the employer is failing to action the SL1. The most common reasons given appear to be “I didn’t know I had to” and “I haven’t received an SL1”. This is a first step towards improving the collection of student loan repayments by utilising the real time information (RTI) that is submitted by employers. We know that if you are reading this article it is unlikely that you will have been impacted by this issue; however, HMRC have discovered, during their calls, that many employers simply did not know to where the electronic notifications – which includes tax code notices – were being sent. So, it is always worth double checking that your processes are picking up all electronic notifications that are issued by HMRC. ● Off-payroll working in the public sector – Off–payroll working in the public sector, which came into effect for payments made on or after 6 April 2017, requires engagers to consider whether an engagement made between a public sector or agency (‘public sector’ is defined using definitions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Acts) and intermediary is captured by the intermediaries legislation (‘IR35’). Where the engagement is captured then the fee payer becomes the ‘employer’ for the

...issue of delayed information and guidance across government generally is one which is causing great concern...

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2017 | Issue 30 4

Policy hub

Covering a comprehensive range of topics, the Foundation Degree in Payroll Management offers students a work-based learning experience to gain knowledge, understanding and confidence in their role, and provide a fundamental grounding in payroll administration. Foundation Degree in Payroll Management Join over 15,000 qualified payroll professionals in the UK

purpose of collecting income tax and Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) via the pay as you earn (PAYE) system i.e. payroll and RTI. Previously it would have fallen to the intermediary to make this assessment. So, why was the CSL forum considering off-payroll working in the public sector in their March meeting? Student loan deductions for intermediaries are accounted for through self-assessment (SA) and not PAYE. The deemed payment which is established as a result of IR35 is for tax and NICs purposes not for student loan repayments. However, whilst your software may be able to process a payment and not make a deduction for a student loan repayment, HMRC systems are unable to distinguish from the FPS whether the individual named is an employee or a worker with a ‘deemed payment’. As a result, HMRC will issue (where applicable) a form SL1 which in turn will initiate the ‘nudge’ activity that will begin with a first-employer-prompt, then a second and then a phone call – at which point the employer or increasingly frustrated agent can explain that no deduction is due. Early discussions considered a refund might be payable by HMRC, but clearly no processes or procedures are in place to enable this; and so, as it stands, where a deduction for a student loan repayment is made by the fee payer and paid over within the normal remittances it is likely to be accounted for in the usual process which the individual borrower can then include within their SA return. It is likely that, by the time you read this, guidance will have been published or cascaded that confirms the final stance being taken (hopefully as an interim measure) until HMRC systems can be amended to enable the employer to highlight in the FPS where an individual is caught by IR35, maybe by way of a flag, that will prevent unnecessary burden being added to an already overworked employer and their software developer. Certainly this is the call being made from stakeholders at CSL and through other relevant forums. BCS payroll group ● EDI decommissioning – Electronic data interchange (EDI) decommissioning will happen in April 2018 and the final

submission for EDI users will be on 19 April 2018. No prior year or earlier year updates will be possible for the 2017/18 tax year via EDI; they will have to be submitted via XML processes. ...question as to whether HMRC will continue to provide this tool going forward... HMRC’s software developers support team (SDST) are largely waiting until the new Government Gateway is live before entering the next stage of transfer from EDI to XML. If you use the Basic PAYE tool (BPT), a review of this provision is currently in the discovery phase (early research stage) and the question as to whether HMRC will continue to provide this tool going forward will come out of this discovery work. ● Closure of the Government Gateway – The SDST are sending updates about the closure of the Government Gateway (due to switch off in February 2018) to software developers who are registered to receive their emails. If you design your in-house software and aren’t getting these updates you need to stay up to date with their briefings by emailing sdsteam@hmrc. gsi.gov.uk. ● Optional remuneration arrangements (OpRA) – It was confirmed that with only sixteen days remaining before the start of the new tax year, no P46(car) update would be available for the 2017–18 tax year to enable employers captured by the new rules of OpRA to report a value other than the list price which is normally the starting point for calculating the cash equivalent of HMRC to ask whether guidance will be forthcoming that will help employers understand whether they can report a value other than list price (or its notional price, where it has no list price). Though HMRC’s booklets 480 and 490 should be updated by May that is little help for employers providing new company cars from 6 April who cannot claim transitional protection from the new rules. n the company car benefit in kind. The policy team have contacted

Delivered in conjunction with

Enrol now at cippqualifications.org.uk or email info@cipp.org.uk for more information

cipp.org.uk @CIPP_UK

Issue 30 | May 2017

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

MEMBERSHIP INSIGHT

two hours before going home sick. He is then sick Thursday all day and returns on the Friday to work two hours before going home sick yet again. He says he is sick Saturday and Sunday and returns to work on the following Monday for two hours before going home sick again. So, the days the employee is supposed to work are Monday to Friday inclusively; these are the qualifying days (QD). The employer will only count the QDs when it comes to waiting days or for paying SSP. In this example, a PIW has not been formed and the employee has not been sick for four calendar days (even when the weekend period is counted); there are only two days of continuous sickness. Therefore, you cannot pay any SSP to this employee, but you would have to pay the national minimum/living wage or the employee’s contractual rate of pay if it is higher for the hours worked. If the company wishes to pay contractual sick pay that would be determined by the company’s own sickness polices and potentially one rule will more than likely be that they have to produce a fit note. Q: Our company has an employee who has taken statutory adoption leave (SAL) but has now had to hand the child back to the adoption agency. Will this employee still be entitled to any statutory adoption pay (SAP)? A: In this situation if the child stops living with the adopter/employee and is returned to the adoption agency the adoption pay period and SAP will end eight weeks after the end of the week in which the child is returned to the adoption agency or the date SAL is due to end, whichever is earlier. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) provide guidance on GOV.UK website in regard to SAP which can be accessed at https://goo. gl/tX0Kcc. Q: My client has a group of connected companies. Can the apprenticeship levy allowance of £15,000 only be allocated to just one of the PAYE schemes of the connected companies or can it be shared across all the different PAYE schemes of those connected companies? A: The apprenticeship levy allowance is only one allowance of £15,000 for all companies that are classed as connected companies. The employer can choose to share the levy allowance of £15,000.00

Advisory Service is available 9a.m. to 5p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, and 9a.m.

to 4.30p.m. on Fridays. It is free to all CIPP members * , students and attendees of approved CIPP courses and conferences in the last six months. Call 0121 712 1099 , email advisory.service@cipp.org.uk or visit cipp.org.uk for frequently asked questions.

Advisory

*please see summary at cippmembership.org.uk for details.

Q: My employer has recently acquired a small company which will retain its own pay as you earn (PAYE) scheme until it is integrated with the main company which is envisaged will be two to three months from take-over date. Will this new company still be able to claim 103% of statutory maternity pay (SMP) under the small employer relief (SER) for the period during which it retains its own PAYE scheme prior to joining the main scheme? A: The legislation is contained in the Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994. Regulation 4 (see below) dictates the amount of SMP an employer is entitled to recover. You have stated that ownership commenced from the take-over date, and therefore the bigger company becomes the actual employer on that date. So, if the large company pays National Insurance contributions (NICs) (comprising employee and employer NICs) in excess of £45,000 it will only be entitled to recover 92% of SMP, and cannot apply the SER. “4 Right of employers to prescribed amount An employer who has made, or is liable to make, any payment of statutory maternity pay shall be entitled to recover: (a) an amount equal to 92 per cent of such payment; or (b) if he is a small employer — (i) an amount equal to such payment, and (ii) an additional amount under regulation 3, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.”

The meaning of ‘small employer’ is defined at Regulation 2(1): “Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, a small employer is an employer whose contributions payments for the qualifying tax year do not exceed £45,000.” Q: We have an employee who was on sickness leave from 28 November 2016 until 3 February 2017, and the doctor’s fit note expired on 3 February 2017. This employee is now attending work on an irregular basis; for example, coming into work for two hours (and actually working) then going home sick, returning on another day working two hours then going home sick again. This employee is failing to provide self-certification forms confirming this illness despite several repeated requests from his manager and human resources (HR). Should we only pay him for the hours he has worked? Or can we pay this employee statutory sick pay (SSP) alongside the hours he worked? A: If an employee comes in to work even for a short period of time and then goes home sick, then this day cannot be considered as ‘sickness’ for SSP purposes. For the employer to consider this employee for SSP, the employee would need to form a period of incapacity to work (PIW) which is four calendar days or more. For example, if the employee comes into work for two hours on Monday, states he is sick but then goes home, this day will not count towards the PIW. He is sick all day on Tuesday, but then comes into work on Wednesday working again for

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2017 | Issue 30 6

Policy hub

Payroll forensic audit Procurement Invitation to tender Supplier demos Project management Payroll software selection and implementation Providing you with independent and impartial support Consult

between all the connected companies, so across the PAYE schemes or can allocate the levy allowance against just one PAYE scheme. There is guidance provided on this subject on the GOV.UK website which can be found here: https://goo.gl/ttIjEy. Q: I am trying to establish whether an employee – the partner of the mother – is eligible to take shared parental leave (SPL) and shared parental pay (ShPP)? The situation is that the mother – who is not employed by us – has recently changed employers but will receive SMP from her previous employer and not from her current employer. A: From the information you have given, the partner will be entitled to ShPP if they have both given eight weeks’ notice to their employers. The mother will need to submit a written curtailment notice to her old employer who is liable to pay the SMP, to say that she wishes to curtail her SMP and then curtail her maternity leave in writing with her current employer. It would not be enough to just return to work as this would not technically end the maternity pay period (MPP). The partner will be entitled to ShPP as the MPP which applies to the mother is and continues to be reduced through curtailment of her maternity leave. Q: My client has a business where he is a locum doctor providing cover to both hospital trusts and general practice surgeries. He has become concerned that off-payroll working in the public sector may impact on him. If he cannot carry out work for the hospital trust he sends another locum and is responsible for paying the locum himself. Can you advise what he should do? A: As this is a complex area the client should use the recently provided check employment status for tax tool, which can be found on GOV.UK at https://goo.gl/ SJfIim, to determine his status and if the off-payroll-working rules apply to him. The recent changes mean that if the end user is in public sector, they will have to determine the employment status of the individual and decide if the IR35 ruling applies. The hospital trust may choose to use the tool and if they do HM Revenue & Customs will stand by the results; unless, that is, a compliance check finds the information provided is inaccurate.

Your client should answer the questions truthfully and accurately, thus allowing the online tool to assess their situation correctly. You can find more information on GOV. UK at https://goo.gl/DVSkcm. Q: My company pays a bonus twice a year. Should these bonus payments be included in the calculation for national minimum/living wage (NMW/NLW)? A: Most bonus payments will count towards the NMW/NLW, but their inclusion will depend on what the bonus payment is for. A Christmas bonus payment or discretionary bonus will count towards NMW/NLW, but an attendance bonus may be considered/classed as an allowance instead. However, you should carefully consider how this bonus is allocated toward the calculation of NMW/NLW in a pay reference period. If this is an annual bonus you would count one twelfth of it for the month it is paid towards that month’s calculation. Please refer to page 12 of the guidance on calculating NMW found at https://goo. gl/vSz3wC. Q: We have an employee who is due to take maternity leave very shortly who has another employment elsewhere and is also self-employed. She has failed the earnings test with us, so we are not able to pay SMP. Should we still provide a SMP1 form to her and can she claim maternity allowance (MA)? A: An individual can only receive SMP or MA and not both, so although she must be given a SMP1 form from her employment with your company, she may be able to receive SMP from the other employer she works for. If this is the case this would mean she would not be able to claim MA. The self-employment will not impact on the SMP at all. n

Call 0121 712 1000 to discuss your requirements or visit cipp.org.uk for more information.

cipp.org.uk @CIPP_UK

Issue 30 | May 2017

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

MEMBERSHIP INSIGHT

5 minutes with…

Helen Hargreaves MSc, FCIPPdip associate director of policy and membership, CIPP

content to the CIPP’s membership magazine.

What does the future hold for the future of payroll, pensions and reward? There are definitely interesting times ahead with the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) in the next two years and the possibility of a second Scottish independence referendum. If the Scots were to gain independence at some point in the future that could mean that UK companies with locations in all parts of the UK would be faced with the prospect of running an international payroll for their Scottish employees. And, of course, Brexit is full of uncertainties and likely complexities following the announcement that the government will introduce a great repeal bill bringing all EU laws onto the UK books. This means that when we trigger article 50 laws and regulations made over the past forty years while the UK was part of the EU will continue to apply. By carrying EU laws over into UK law this will then enable the government and Parliament time to review, amend or scrap these laws in future. What do you do in your available time to unwind? Living in the middle of the Pennines in the Yorkshire countryside I make sure that, no matter how busy I am, I always find time to walk my two dogs over the moors. I might arrive back home wet and cold from the wind and rain but it does truly refresh the mind and revive the spirits. n

Tell us about your career and background in payroll Like many working in payroll, I fell into the profession. After leaving school in 1983 I began working at HM Revenue & Custom’s (HMRC’s) accounts office in Shipley and my career path within the Revenue eventually brought me to the pay as you earn (PAYE) unit where my team was responsible for collecting PAYE and Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) and reimbursing statutory payments to small employers. From there I moved into human resources where for several years I ran the payroll for the accounts office staff’s childcare scheme. When did you first become involved with the CIPP? Another move within HMRC saw my transfer to the employer team in HMRC’s business customer unit, specialising in employer customer understanding. Working closely with HMRC’s stakeholders, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to increase my understanding of issues affecting employers through a twelve-month secondment to the CIPP’s policy team. After my year’s secondment I returned to

HMRC sharing what I had learned for the next two years until a vacancy arose in the CIPP and I took the plunge and applied. What does the policy team do for, and how can you benefit, CIPP members? The policy team was created in 1999 to influence payroll and pension legislation and, where appropriate, employment law legislation as well as to raise the profile of payroll and pensions professionals in the business arena. Through bringing together the views of thousands of payroll and pension professionals, the CIPP policy team provides a strong authoritative industry voice to influence change and assist the government in de-regulating unnecessary regulations for employers. In addition, we: ● operate the CIPP’s technical Advisory Service ● assist in the creation of CIPP event programmes, particularly the National Forums ● provide legislative updates at CIPP, and other industry events ● provide material updates for the CIPP’s education programmes ● supply payroll and pensions legislative

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2017 | Issue 30 8

Your Institute needs you CIPP board of directors - positions available

There are three Director vacancies available at this year’s AGM. One vacancy is specifically earmarked for a Director to represent Pensions interests within the CIPP. Nominees for the other two vacancies may have backgrounds in either payroll and/or pensions.

Board directors should possess the following: l Knowledge and understanding of the objectives and range of activities of the CIPP l Ability to think at a strategic level, understanding both the process of development and implementation of policy and the implications of strategic and policy decisions on the CIPP’s resources l Ability to understand budgets and the financial wellbeing of the CIPP l Analytical understanding and a logical approach to problem solving l Ability to see the external environment objectively l Ability to promote the CIPP internally and externally in a positive and constructive way l Leadership ability, influencing others and taking decisions as necessary l Understanding of a team member role, so as to listen/work constructively with others l Specific skills to enhance professionalism including presentation (technical and practical), oral communication (including summarising) and interpersonal skills

The role involves a commitment to four quarterly board meetings, plus occasional ad-hoc meetings (some of which will be by telephone or video conference), as well as representation at a number of Institute events and conferences. During a year the total commitment is expected to be around 8–12 days. All applicants will be required to submit a candidate statement of no more than 400 words which will be submitted to the appointments committee for review in accordance with the role specification. Candidates who meet the criteria outlined in the role specification will be voted for by the CIPP members at the Annual General Meeting. For details on what should be included within the candidate statement visit cipp.org.uk/agm . Being a member of the board of directors is a serious commitment; please only apply if you have the time to dedicate to the CIPP and payroll, pensions and reward professions. Office is held for a minimum of three years and a director may stand for re-election.

Board directors must be either a current associate, full or fellow member of the CIPP.

Apply online at cipp.org.uk or email info@cipp.org.uk for more information . The closing date for applications is 31 July 2017 and the appointments committee is meeting in August.

cipp.org.uk

Issue 30 | May 2017

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSIGHT

Diary of a student…

Christine Gregory BA (Hons)

How important is this degree in relation to your future career? It allows me to apply for jobs in the future with confidence, and hopefully it will give me an edge over the competition. When I come to apply for payroll roles I have the technical knowledge from the CIPP Foundation Degree and the wider business knowledge from the BA (Hons). I can see where payroll fits in within a business and how important it is, for staff and management, that the department is as accurate and efficient as possible. How do you cope with the work life balance and include your study? It wasn’t easy to study around my three children; usually at night time or on weekends. I didn’t have a job at the time so regarded studying as my work, and allocated time for this. It wasn’t all smooth sailing – I have pulled the odd all-nighter. I had to just keep my goals in mind and carry on, knowing that it will greatly benefit me and my children in the future. For someone who is thinking about studying for a CIPP qualification what would your advice be to them? Don’t be put off by the time it takes to complete the course. Once you start and take small steps, one module at a time, it flies by; and you study around commitments. I really enjoyed the qualification and each module is different and interesting. It opened my eyes towards the workplace: how different leadership styles can affect performance and staff attitude, how important effective communication is; and budgeting and project management. Both qualifications give you technical knowledge and a rounded view of how the sector plays a part in business; and pride in being able to put them on your CV. n

Can you give us a brief background into your life? I left high school in 2002 and didn’t really know what I wanted to do for a career. The payroll/finance sector was never mentioned in career guidance at school; instead, it was focused around vocational roles such as tourism or beauty therapy or gearing pupils up to study A Levels and then onto university. Towards the end of college studying leisure and tourism, I got a part-time office job and it’s there that my love for figures and processes grew. I left college, went on to study accounting and secured a job as a sales ledger clerk. The company I worked for was small, with no room for progression; so I applied for a job as an assistant payroll officer in the National Health Service (NHS) with further prospects and training. I was surrounded by knowledgeable colleagues and with their guidance, patience and training I was promoted to payroll officer in eighteen months. I love how payroll has a start and beginning every month and a deadline to work towards with a few technical adjustments to boot. I enjoyed every minute of my four years but unfortunately the NHS made big budget cuts and I was made redundant whilst on maternity leave. I knew payroll was my calling so I frantically searched for another job in the sector. I managed to get one at The Co- Operative bank headquarters as a pension payroll advisor when my first child was five months old. As time went on he became poorly and it was discovered that he had really bad allergies and eczema so when

he was ten months old I gave up work to look after him. During my time at the bank I saw a difference between the public and private sectors. The private sector expects all their employees to have higher qualifications to back up their knowledge: many of my colleagues were studying towards the CIPP Foundation Degree in Payroll Management. On my last working day in the Co-Op I enrolled on the CIPP Foundation Degree. I knew that I would be giving up work for a few years to look after my little boy, so needed somehow to keep up with the competition and have something for when I returned to the workplace. Why did you choose to study the BA (Hons) in Applied Business and Management? very well structured and professional with great tutors. The final year unit ‘personal effectiveness and professional development’, which made me think about my career, required producing a five-year career/life plan and describing ways in which we would keep our continuous development current. I realised that not being in the workplace for a few years – by now I had two children under two years old – meant I needed to carry on studying to keep up to date. So I enrolled on the BA (Hons) in Applied Business and Management straight after the Foundation Degree. I thoroughly enjoyed The CIPP Foundation Degree in Payroll Management course, which was

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2017 | Issue 30 10

Professional development insight

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

The CIPP specialist interest groups offer the opportunity to network, learn and share experiences, queries and concerns with like-minded professionals.

What can I log as CPD? Any form of learning or development that benefits you in your professional environment. If you have learned something new, then this is CPD. Examples include: ● using the CIPP’s Advisory Service ● taking part in on-the-job learning ● reading News On Line, Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward or another publication ● networking with new or existing contacts ● attending training courses and/or events. How do I log CPD? 1. Log into the members’ area of cipp. org.uk ‘My CIPP’ 2. Find ‘My CPD’ on the drop down options 3. Click on the blue box ‘add a new record’ 4. Complete the form, record your activity and click ‘submit’ Contact us If you require any help with your CPD please email membership@cipp.org.uk or call 0121 712 1073. If you would like to discuss your CPD further, the CIPP also offer face to face appointments at all of our events. n

In accordance with the CIPP code of conduct all associate, full and fellow members need to evidence CPD to be able to renew their membership. The CIPP continuously spot check CPD activity, so make sure you take the time to log any form of learning or development on your record to ensure your membership level is maintained. W hatever level of membership, you have access to the continuing professional development (CPD) area of cipp.org.uk . Why is CPD important? CPD is a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help you manage your own learning and development. It is about where you want to be and how you plan to get there, an investment that you make in yourself. CPD can help you keep your skills up to date and prepare you for greater responsibilities. It can boost your confidence, strengthen your professional credibility and help you become more creative in tackling new challenges. CPD makes your working life more interesting and can significantly increase your job satisfaction. It can accelerate your career development and is an important part of CIPP membership.

Join the specialist interest groups at cipp.org.uk or email info@cipp.org.uk for more information

cipp.org.uk @CIPP_UK

Issue 30 | May 2017

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

CIPP update

CIPP factapp now live THE CIPP factapp, which is now available on both iPhone and Android, provides information on key facts and figures that come in handy when processing a payroll, including: ● tax rates and allowances ● student loan recovery ● mileage rates ● national Insurance thresholds and rates

FoAE is changing THE CIPP has been discussing the future of friends of automatic enrolment (FoAE) and what it looks like going forward. Given the position of automatic

The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals Friends of automatic enrolment

enrolment within the industry, we will be changing the format of FoAE, making it a specialist interest group (SIG) within the CIPP’s portfolio of membership benefits. This means it will become a self-serving networking group with a dedicated online forum for discussions to take place. Following discussions, both internally and with the co-chairs/steering committee members, a contributing factor to this is that those yet to stage are more likely to gain their information from online sources than face to face events. The Institute feels that the online SIG format will receive better engagement than the traditional face to face events. The SIG is only available to paying CIPP members. This LinkedIn group will still be used so individuals who are not members of the CIPP can continue to gain support and advice from likeminded people free of charge. The CIPP is still fully involved with making automatic enrolment a success for all and is still actively involved in the policy side of things as well as providing training for automatic enrolment and re-enrolment.

● statutory payments ● automatic enrolment thresholds.

To download the app for iPhone and Android, please follow this link http://onelink.to/cbjvjs. Please note if you have previously downloaded the factapp, you will be required to delete and re-download the app.