POLICY HUB
days in April and 5 days at the beginning of May) then pay two-sevenths in one month and five-sevenths at the beginning of the next month.” Covering travel and hotel costs for a Board member through a pay as you earn settlement agreement (PSA) Q: We pay Board members a monthly salary. One of them travels a long way to meetings so we pay their travel and hotel costs outside of payroll. We acknowledge this to be substantially ordinary commuting. Our governance team wants this to be at zero cost to the Board member and is therefore asking us to cover the tax and NI. Could this be covered by a PSA? A: Unfortunately, HM Revenue and Customs wouldn’t grant a PSA for this as it’s classed as having a personal element to it and of giving an advantage to the employee. The whole amount would be subject to tax and NI. Expenses or benefits included in a PSA must be minor, irregular or impracticable. Minor is with regards to the sums paid or
What’s your duvet flip? “There are some universal experiences within the team that keep us motivated and allow us to help our members to the best of our ability. These are the pursuit of learning and the satisfaction of helping others. Whether it’s finding a regulation that clearly defines the rules for a situation in the member’s workplace, or helping with some backup information for a payroll professional to approach their business leaders with a potential compliance issue, the feeling of helping someone get their payroll right gives great satisfaction. “Our role is a unique one – we take some incredibly complex topics and convert the information into digestible pieces for our members to apply in the workplace. The first step is generally to work out what the person is trying to ask – it may sound silly, but with such complexity in the queries coming to us, the member may not even be asking the right line of questions. We may not always know the answer straightaway, but our drive to help our members and do the best we can means we’ll leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of assisting each and every member that contacts us.”
the type of benefit provided. The employer must use their judgment when deciding whether this is minor. Please see: https://ow.ly/t5zA50VH2yk. The current scenario doesn’t meet this test. Irregular considers the nature of the item, the frequency of the payment to the workforce and how often it’s paid or given to employees. Please see: https:// ow.ly/835n50VH2Bg. This scenario doesn’t meet the test as the payments are made
every time the Board member travels. Impracticable is where the employer doesn’t want to set up a new pay as you earn scheme or it’s hard to identify the individual value of the shared benefit when provided to a group of employees. Please see: https://ow.ly/IIP850VH2GC. This scenario fails this test. You could instead pay a grossed-up figure through the payroll, so the Board member sees no impact to their net pay.
LEVEL 5
NEW First intake October 2025
elevate your career towards leadership PAYROLL MANAGEMENT DIPLOMA
Master critical thinking, problem-solving and project management skills, whilst gaining essential insight into technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA), enabling you to confidently lead the future of payroll.
Developed, assessed and awarded by IPP Education
SCAN TO BOOK
For more information, please visit ippe.org.uk/study or scan the QR code
A subsidiary of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
PROFESSI NAL in Payroll, Pensions and Reward
13
June 2025 | Issue 111
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker