My CIPP
future, and the policy team is at the centre of this ambition.
of all shapes and sizes – which helps us ensure we can deliver our updates in a way that makes them relevant and clear to our members. The team also need to be able to research and digest information, understand the impact on our industry, and accurately summarise that information in articles or news updates. Presentation skills are really important too, as we deliver a lot of our updates on webinars, webcasts and at events. Being a bit of a payroll geek is helpful as well. What’s themost interesting fact you have ever heard about payroll? The reason the tax year starts on 6 April is linked back to Britain being stubborn in the sixteenth century. Europe moved from the Julian calendar to the current Gregorian calendar in 1582, but Britain didn’t make the change for almost another 200 years. This created a problem because the Julian calendar wasn’t accurate, so over the years
the calendars had fallen out of sync by eleven days meaning Britain lost those days in the transition. In the space of one day, the calendar moved from 2 to 14 September. With an eagle eye on revenue, the treasury was keen that the tax year remain 365 days so moved the end of the tax year from 25 March to 5 April. Where do you receive your knowledge and updates from? In my previous role, I have always looked to the CIPP for updates on the ever-changing world of payroll. It’s so tough to find the time to do the research when you’re delivering against payroll deadlines, so I used whatever tools I could to make it easy for myself. As a part of the policy team, I subscribe to updates
What techniques do you use to provide detailed accurate content? Accuracy is part of the payroll mantra, so check and double check is often the technique I adopt. A second pair of eyes is often important, too. Sometimes when you’ve looked at something for too long, it’s difficult to see the wood for the trees. Finally, and hopefully it goes without saying, I always make sure I’m using a reputable source. There is so much content out there on the internet now, it’s vital that we only rely on sources that we know are accurate and trustworthy. What type of skills does a policy teammember need? The policy team are payrollers at heart, so it is important to us that we understand and have experience of how payroll operates practically – both in businesses and bureaus
from a wide selection of sources. Gov.uk is also a great source of knowledge, and a good reference for
established policy and legislation. I also look to my payroll network through LinkedIn and beyond to stay up to date with the challenges of operational payroll. n
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 71 | June 2021
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