FEATURE INSIGHT
Planning for the future UHB has gained both PAS and PQP
The PAS concentrates on payroll processes, while the Payroll Quality Partnership (PQP) focusses on the learning and development of payroll personnel. It is a structured assessment covering about twenty separate areas of payroll and associated people processes. “It checks whether the payroll team have the most appropriate processes and arrangements in place to ensure compliance; and whether the staff are trained and developed and managed in a way that maximises the ability of the team to work collaboratively together towards appropriate business objectives, most obviously the objectives of paying staff and the authorities accurately and on time,” explains Macarthur. The twenty areas and associated criteria that are reviewed have passed the test of time, having been improved and enhanced over the past five years by taking on board the input and suggestions of all the many payroll experts who have served as assessors. CIPP assessors review documents and discuss the processes in place with the payroll manager (or equivalent) and usually several other staff chosen at random. The employer or bureau then receives a detailed structured report setting out examples of good practice and recommendations or suggestions for improvement for each of the twenty areas. “The recommendations or suggestions for improvement can range from serious risks of compliance failure all the way to examples of good practice seen elsewhere which might be worth considering,” says Macarthur. “Receiving the accreditation can provide a real boost for the payroll team and others. And when we withhold accreditation we offer very precise advice and support about how to improve and meet the accreditation mark, which almost always happens within a few months.”
who need further help and support to get to the excellent standard it requires. “The constant process of learning ensures a payroll professional is the best they can be. It also means they are on top of the latest changes making sure their employees are paid properly,” she explains. compliance and regulations, and TPR also looking at non-compliance in terms of automatic enrolment duties, it is easy to see why many industry professionals believe the issue is one that is only going to grow in importance. Macarthur identifies the following key considerations for employers when it comes to compliance: ● Constant readiness to learn and assimilate new or changed payroll obligations – these are likely to come thicker and faster in future. ● Always having access to other payroll experts, whether through the internet or user groups or individually, to share ideas and hints and tips and learning opportunities. ● The need to monitor advances in payroll and accounting software, to be ready to take advantage of new opportunities to automate and simplify. ● Strong leadership, ensuring that employees are equipped and focussed as well as possible on team working efficiently to achieve key business objectives. Of course, with the imminent introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018 and the threat of potential penalties amounting to 4% of an employer’s annual worldwide turnover or € 20 million, the matter of compliance is clearly here to stay. Add to that the potential for considerable changes to laws, regulations and other obligations which impact on payroll from Brexit, and the need to stay on top of a rapidly changing compliance landscape becomes a priority for any organisation. “Treat payroll compliance as an ongoing project,” advises Thomson. “It will never end but always starts, reviews, evaluates and implements and then it all starts over again.” n To find out more about the CIPP’s Payroll Assurance Scheme, visit www. payrollcompliance.org.uk. Growing in importance With HMRC constantly reviewing
accreditation, which it has maintained for a number of years. Fitzgerald believes that it highlights the organisation’s commitment to ensuring its staff are developed and trained, and that process are robust and compliant. “It demonstrates that we are doing it right and we can evidence that. It’s given us kudos within our own organisation and our achievements were featured within our magazine and on the intranet. We’ve gained recognition both within the Trust and outside it,” he says. “It also ticks the right boxes in helping us to win new business.” ...the need to stay on top of a rapidly changing compliance landscape becomes a priority... Armstrong Watson also achieved PQP accreditation, but it wasn’t so much the end-result of the accreditation as the process of getting it that helped the most with compliance, according to Thomson. “What PQP did was help us to shape our payroll learning and development programme. In addition to everyone undertaking the CIPP Foundation Degree, we wanted to ensure a full progression route was available,” she explains. The organisation introduced pay scales to enable people to go through the competency framework, gathering evidence to support their request to progress. As with any performance routes, the framework also allows the business to monitor progress and help employees
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | November 2017 | Issue 35 42
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