PAYROLL NEWS
Payroll news
New real living wage rates announced
Businesses with fewer than 500 employers now classed as SMEs IN A press release, it was announced that any businesses with fewer than 500 employees will now be classed as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for certain business regulation exemptions. The European Union (EU) defines businesses up to 249 employees as SMEs; however, the government has taken the step to increase this to 499. The new threshold was appliable from 3 October 2022 and applies to all new regulations that are under development and review, including retained EU law. The press release did stipulate, however, these are not blanket exemptions and may be overridden in some cases. The government intends to consult and expand the threshold up to businesses with 1,000 employees once the impacts of this initial expansion are understood. Read the press release in full here: http://ow.ly/5Sli50L9SA3.
THE LIVING Wage Foundation has announced the new hourly rates for the real living wage. This will sit at £10.90 (marking a £1.00 rise) across the UK, and at £11.95 in London (which is an uplift of 90 pence). This increase is the largest in the Foundation’s history (at 10.1%) and places the hourly rate at £1.40 higher than the
national living wage of £9.50 for those who are 23 and above. Ordinarily, the announcement of these rates is made in November, but due to the current cost-of-living crisis, this was brought forward to September. The Foundation calculates the rate based on the real cost-of-living factors facing workers across the UK. More than 11,000 employers currently pay at the real living wage rate, so the changes should impact more than 300,000 living wage workers. Katherine Chapman, Living Wage Foundation director, said, “With living costs rising so rapidly, millions are facing an awful ‘heat or eat’ choice this winter – that’s why a real living wage is more vital than ever. Today’s new rates will provide hundreds of thousands of workers and their families with greater security and stability during these incredibly difficult times.” The announcement can be accessed here: http://ow.ly/MHgE50L9Tiv.
The PLSA recommends five steps for better pensions THE PENSIONS and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has recommended five reforms to government to help millions of savers better prepare for their retirement. Despite the success of automatic enrolment (AE), research highlights that more than 50% of savers won’t meet retirement income goals. There’s additional concern for under-pensioned groups, including those who take time out to care for others, the self-employed and gig economy workers. The PLSA has released a report which makes the following recommendations for reform: l national objectives l state pension reform l reform of AE to include more savers and prompt higher savings l supporting under-pensioned groups l industry initiatives to achieve better pensions. The PLSA’s calculations predict that, with the reforms, a median earner could increase their
retirement earnings from £15,000 to £19,000 per year (approximately 25%). The report, Five steps to better pensions: time for a new consensus , can be found here: http://ow.ly/OCrN50L9TSE.
Diary dates
5 November 6 November
Last day of tax month 7 First day of tax month 8
Last day for submitting a real time information employer payment summary to apply to tax month 7 Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs etc to HMRC’s Accounts Office by non-electronic method Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs under a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) by non-electronic method Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs etc to HMRC’s Accounts Office by electronic method Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs under a PSA by electronic method
19 November (this is a weekend date)
22 November
5 December
Last day of tax month 8
6 December
First day of tax month 9
7
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 85 | November 2022
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