Professional Magazine September 2016

Check out the September 2016 issue of Professional in Payroll, Pension and Reward Magazine.

Issue 23 September 2016 in Payroll, Pensions & Reward PROFESSI NAL Official publication of The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals

Improvements to your membership services

Brexit and UK pension schemes Impact of the referendum result AExit? Radical reforms erased? The more things change Diminishing payroll software development

CIPP update | Policy hub | Professional development

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HUMAN RESOURCES TALENT MANAGEMENT PEOPLE ANALYTICS PAYROLL Your organisation wants innovation and they are looking to you, the one with the potential to be a true visionary. Our British engineers are constantly evolving our software solutions to give you the answers and insight you need. Come and talk to us, we don’t just set the pace - we bring it.

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Editor’s comment

and/or causes federal union instead, the ongoing devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will anyway increase complexity in our industry. See page 12 for a CIPP Think Tank report on this topic. A couple of other notable things: on page 32 there’s the first in a series of articles on payroll in Africa; and, on page 20, Bryan Monkman says farewell after a remarkable career in payroll and pensions spanning six decades. (I’ll not forget Burton’s made to measure suits, too.) Very best wishes, Bryan.

I’ll not forget the United Kingdom referendum on membership of the European Union, as the date coincided

with my 65th birthday. The astounding result has brought political turmoil and uncertainty.

Inevitably Brexit will affect payroll, pensions and reward procedures and strategies – see page 39 for discussion of what it means for pensions. As regards payroll I imagine that Brexit may well bring changes to maternity leave and pay and to working time rules (such as holiday pay). Perhaps some might think these changes cannot come fast enough? A part of business that will surely persist and perhaps flourish with Brexit is the ‘war for talent’. Pages 48–53 feature several revealing and insightful articles on performance and talent management. Irrespective of whether Brexit precipitates breakup of the UK

Mike Nicholas MCIPP AMBCS Editor

This month’s contributors

Sarah Bradford BA (Hons), ACA, CTA (Fellow) sarah.bradford@writetax.co.uk

Diana Bruce MCIPPdip policy@cipp.org.uk

Danny Done portfoliopayroll.co.uk

Stuart Earle eversheds.com

Stephen Frost frostincluded.com

Lisa Gillespie moorepay.co.uk

John Harling pstax.co.uk

Jeanette Hibbert jeanettehibbert@googlemail.com

Samantha Mann MCIPPdip policy@cipp.org.uk

Nicola Mullineux peninsula-uk.com

Adam Reynolds webexpenses.com

Henry Tapper MSFA MA Cantab firstactuarial.co.uk

Neil Tonks MCIPPdip midlandhr.com

Burke Turner weareatmosphere.com

Sharon Tayfield MCIPP praxima.com

Claire Warner MSc, FCIPP claire.warner@bt.com

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Issue 23 | September 2016

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

in Payroll, Pensions & Reward PROFESSI NAL

Also available online at payrollpensionsandreward.org.uk

Contents

September 2016

48

How to lead inclusively

Stephen Frost reveals key traits and requirements of leadership

Features

22

28

32

Benefits in kind and the fair bargain rule Sarah Bradford sets out effects of a clause in the 2016 Finance Bill

Presentation skills to engage your peers Claire Warner provides useful tips and advice

Remuneration options for businesses expanding into South Africa Sharon Tayfield outlines the options

34

35

37

Office holders in the public sector John Harling discusses HMRC’s recent challenging activity

New hire reporting in the USA Billy Meyerkorth explains what is required

What business advisers need to know about postponement The Pensions Regulator provides guidance

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | September 2016 | Issue 23 2

38

42

Chief executive Lindsay Melvin BSc (Hons), MCIPPdip, ACA, CIOT CIPP board of directors Gordon Cresswell FCIPP Michelle Crook MSc FCIPPdip Jason Davenport ACIPP Eira Hammond FCIPPdip Ros Hendren MSc FCIPP, Mgr, FCMIdip, FHEA Editor Mike Nicholas 01273 412 836 | editor@cipp.org.uk Advertising Jill Bonehill and Jack Grinnell 0121 712 1033 | advertising@cipp.org.uk Design James Bartlett and Nicole Gumery design@cipp.org.uk Printing Warwick Printing Company Ltd

AExit? Henry Tapper expresses despair and concern

The changing role of HR Burke Turner explores the changes amidst digital transformation

53

50

Performance and talent management Jeanette Hibbert discusses this complex but vital part of an organisation’s strategy

Performance and talent management strategies Lisa Gillespie discusses what it means for organisations

Paul Rains MCIPP Cliff Vidgeon FCIPP Ian Walters Msc, FCIPP, FHEA Ian Whyteside MCIPP, FMAAT, ATT

54

Useful contacts

Membership membership@cipp.org.uk 0121 712 1073 Qualifications qualifications@cipp.org.uk 0121 712 1023 Training training@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

Why it’s time to move to a digital mindset Adam Reynolds explains that digital offers a smarter/simpler way

Regulars

05 Chair’s and CEO’s message Events, news and developments 06 Membership insight On your behalf, Advisory, Five minutes with, National forum, Devolution think tank, CRM update, Hanging on the telephone 17 CIPP update 18 Professional development Tutor training event, End of an era, Diary of a student

37 Pensions insight 40 Pension news 41 Reward insight

The Pensions Regulator, Pensions bulletin: Brexit and UK pension schemes

0121 712 1000 info@cipp.org.uk

The business case for payroll giving, Employment law cases, Training agreements and NMW

cipp.org.uk

48 Feature insight 54 Technology insight 55 Confessions of a payroll manager

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 2016. 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.

24 Event horizon 26 Payroll news 27 Payroll insight

Industry monitor: The more things change

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Issue 23 | September 2016

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

FREE Employment Law advice

We’re offering CIPP members FREE* access to our experienced team of HR & Employment Law subject matter experts during 2016 (*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 until 30th November 2016. A Fair Usage Policy applies (maximum of 3 calls on one ongoing HR case).

Payroll & HR Solutions

The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth. John F Kennedy (1917–1963)

Chair’s message

CEO message Throughout July and August, the CIPP has been running our annual benchmarking survey amongst our full and fellow members. This survey looks at the four key strands of providing a payroll service: ● accuracy, timeliness, completeness and the evaluation of the effectiveness of your end to end human resources/payroll process ● compliance with statutory filing/payment deadlines ● data security/confidentiality, and ● average cost per payslip. The exercise closes on 9 September and results will be analysed for discussion at the Annual Conference and Exhibition on 6 and 7 October. In addition, all members who have completed this survey will have a personalised report, looking at how their payroll service compares with others in their geographical location and/or industry. The analysis provided within the report provides an excellent basis to support decision making, measure performance and identify trends which will provide a baseline for future development. During the conference, the session will explore how the results from the benchmarking exercise could be used to identify improvement opportunities and set performance expectations for payroll within your organisation. As we enter September we celebrate National Payroll Week (NPW). Taking place 5–9 September NPW recognises the contribution which payroll makes to the UK economy through the collection of £282bn in income tax and national insurance and the positive impact that payroll has on your organisation. Too often payroll is taken for granted as something that just happens ‘at the push of a button’; through our ‘it pays to learn: educating the nation’ theme we aim to educate our colleagues outside of the payroll department about their payslips, deductions from pay and ways that they can save money through payroll initiatives such as salary sacrifice. In addition, we highlight to those in senior positions the importance of payroll strategically in raising morale and employee motivation, which ultimately leads to business growth and a positive impact on the bottom line. During National Payroll Week the CIPP is holding a networking event for our fellow members at the House of Commons which will address the results of our latest research, as well as hosting the only payroll conference in Scotland on Thursday 8 September which sees many of our Scottish members coming together to

Also at the Conference in October, we shall be hosting our Annual Excellence Awards. The shortlist for the Awards will be announced following the judging on 26 August; and, although the judging is yet to take place, at the time of writing I have been extremely pleased to see such a high standard of nomination for 2016. Each year the award nominations increase in their calibre and make me extremely proud to be a payroll professional. When I read about the initiatives and improvements that you have taken on during the last twelve months, I think about the overall impact that this will have on business operations. Payroll is no longer the back-office function that it was perceived as being years ago; it plays an important strategic role in the growth of UK businesses. Your payroll strategy will impact upon your recruitment and retention of employees, another topic at this year’s Annual Conference. It can attract or detract talent within your organisation; talent which then requires development and management, something that is covered throughout this month’s magazine. So, finally, enjoy this issue and the insightful pieces on performance and talent management, and I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Conference and Exhibition where you can discuss these themes in greater detail. hear about legislative developments which are specific to them, and how recent events may lead to increased devolution and change in Scotland. I would like to thank our headline National Payroll Week sponsor Portfolio Payroll, as well as the other sponsors, AHC and The People’s Pension. The October issue of this magazine will include a follow-up of our National Payroll Week activities, as well as the activities of members who have participated. So don’t forget to send details and photos of what you have been doing to npw@cipp.org.uk and take part in the conversation on Twitter using #NPW16. As an organisation we have recently, in the first week of August, had the auditors in and have released the financial accounts for approval at our annual general meeting (AGM) on 6 October; these are available to members on the AGM page of our website. One of our recent investments has been in developing and implementing a new CRM system and website to improve your membership experience, details of which can be found on pages 14 and 15.

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Issue 23 | September 2016

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

MEMBERSHIP INSIGHT

On your behalf

Policy team update

Diana Bruce MCIPPdip, CIPP senior policy liaison officer , provides an update on developments TPR/DWP re-enrolment workshop questions that cover a broad range of situations. Samantha Mann attended this

As a reminder the employer prompts are ‘nudge’ techniques that are being used by HMRC this year to prompt an employer to action with a first ‘gentle reminder’ followed by a second in the event that no student loan deduction is made, followed by a telephone call in the event that the two written prompts have no effect. It is at the phone call stage that the employer will have the opportunity to explain why they haven’t actioned the SL1 notice – and at this stage we can only guess at the reasons. Threshold validation will be carried out by HMRC before issuing the employer prompts thus reducing the risk of them being issued in error; however, as has been highlighted many times in recent months, an attachment of earnings could impact on the amount of pay available for making a student loan deduction and the phone call gives an opportunity for the employer to explain if that is the case. Until the phone call there is no process as such for the employer to bring a halt to the employer prompts. Fixes to prevent pensioner payrolls from being issued with unnecessary employer prompts are to be initiated by HMRC. Work is ongoing with the development of post graduate loans (PGL) policy. At the time of writing the loans application programme had just recently, and successfully, gone live – applications were being received within 24 hours – and discussion was ongoing as to the benefits or otherwise of a switch v stop process for dealing with PGL and student loans plans 1 and 2 when PGL come in to repayment in April 2019. Stakeholders favoured a separate process that takes account of differing thresholds and % deductions for student and post graduate loans including separate start and stop notices. From a software development perspective this was seen as the most straightforward to implement, which would provide greater

A workshop was held in early summer, hosted by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), to discuss the challenges of re-enrolment for advisors and professionals. Many issues were discussed and clarified; one being that during the communication stage and prior to re-enrolment, the employer will need to notify TPR again of the contact person to write to – even if this was done at staging. This was queried from an administrative burden perspective on the day, but to no avail; however, there will be an increased drive to highlight that employers should make contact with TPR to ensure that contact details are updated particularly where an adviser or agent is used. TPR has also decided, based on feedback from large employers, that they will move to a two-letter journey at minus six months and minus three months rather than the four letters as originally used. TPR will be developing a key set of articles aimed at human resources (HR) and ideally to be delivered through trade press to strengthen the message about clarifying who will complete the declaration of compliance. Will it be the agent or client? This needs to be clearly established at the outset. The impact of errors, particularly where the employer may have changed payroll providers and/or pension providers, was discussed. It was confirmed that the consequences of non-compliance are the same as at staging. It was suggested that if may be helpful if the issue of errors and correcting mistakes is addressed more widely in guidance and in frequently asked

workshop on behalf of the CIPP along with members of the Professional Bodies Forum. If you have any experiences that you feel other members would benefit from hearing about, please contact Samantha by email at policy@cipp.org.uk. If you would like any issues raised at the TPR/Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Software Developers Forum or the Professional Bodies Forum who meet regularly throughout the year, the same contact details can be used. Student loans The Collection of Student Loans Consultation Forum met at the end of June, unusually at Bush House in London, and saw the coming together, both in the room and across the phone lines, of the Collection of Student Loans Forum, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. This was the first meeting since plan 2 student loans came into repayment and the go-live of employer prompts (generic notifications), which for the first time sees the student loan team maximising the opportunities presented by real time information data to ensure employer compliance in making not only the correct deductions for repayments but also making them on time. At the time of meeting it was too early to establish what the most common reasons were for employers not making timely deductions.

...there is no process as such for the employer to bring a halt to the employer prompts

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | September 2016 | Issue 23 6

Policy hub

clarity for the employer and the borrower. But discussions continue. ...49% said that it would affect them either slightly and directly... The Statutory Payments Consultation Group met in July and one of the areas discussed was the importance of highlighting any problems members are encountering with the guidance with the online calculators, with employees using the online calculators and with the complexity of explaining the shared parental pay and leave rules to employees. This was also raised at a couple of the CIPP’s national forums and we would be interested to know how widespread these issues are. If you would like to comment or share your thoughts, please email policy@cipp.org.uk with ‘SPCG’ as the subject header. Extending shared parental leave and pay to working grandparents was discussed briefly. A consultation was due to be published in May 2016 on how to implement this extension and to look at options for streamlining the system; however, this publication has been delayed due to ‘purdah’ restrictions. Given the recent changes at Whitehall there may well be a review of consultations in the pipeline, but at the time of writing we are still waiting for updates. Employment and Payroll Group The June Employment and Payroll Group (EPG) meeting was Elaine Gibson’s last as CIPP co-chair. Helen Hargreaves, associate director of policy and research, was introduced to the Group and will take over as co-chair from September 2016. The EPG is the principal forum for HMRC, and other government departments, to engage with the employment and payroll community. It focuses on high-level operational policy and process issues. It provides a forum through which members can raise and discuss issues or problems in Statutory Payments Consultation Group

administering payroll obligations or in relation to employment tax issues more generally. The EPG meet on a bi-monthly basis. If you have any agenda items or any issues you would like the CIPP to raise, please email policy@cipp.org.uk with the details using ‘EPG’ as the subject header. Off-payroll working in the public sector From April 2017, responsibility for deciding whether intermediaries legislation will apply, will move from personal service parties. We ran a CIPP poll earlier in the year to find out how this change would impact you. Almost half of those who responded (49 in total) said the change would affect them in some way. 51% said that the change would not impact them at all, and the remaining 49% said that it would affect them either slightly and directly (16%), significantly (16%) or slightly and indirectly (16%). At the end of July and into early August we ran a short survey to collect more detailed comments about how the proposals included within HMRC’s Off-payroll working in the public sector - reform of the intermediaries legislation, would impact those affected. Thank you to those who were able to respond as your feedback supports our written response (available on the consultation area of our website). Payslip statistics survey We ran our annual payslip statistics survey – which is now in its ninth year – throughout July. The information you provide helps us to understand the latest trends in respect of pay frequencies, payment methods and payslip distribution. This year the survey also included questions on payroll giving, salary sacrifice and automatic enrolment. Thank you to those of you who took the time to complete our survey. Keep an eye on our news pages to read our summary report and full comparison report to previous years. n companies (PSCs) to public sector employers and their agencies/third Please take a moment to complete the latest CIPP poll at cipp.org.uk .

BA (Hons) in Applied Business and Management (CIPP) Enrolments now open Aimed at both payroll and pensions professionals who wish to further enhance their work based skills and knowledge in relation to generic business and management, this qualification was developed to demonstrate the link between payroll/pensions and business strategy.

For more information, please visit cippqualifications.org.uk or email ba@cipp.org.uk .

cipp.org.uk

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Issue 23 | September 2016

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

MEMBERSHIP INSIGHT

letter to X, as the payment will not be subject to Class 1 NICs; neither primary nor secondary. As the employee left on 31 May 2016 you should have already sent off the P45 so you must now apply tax code 0T on a non-cumulative basis. However, if the employee had died in service you would not issue a P45, and would use the tax code which was already in place and the date of death as the leave date in the full payment submission. You must ensure that you are paying the correct person, i.e. the recipient of the employee’s estate. Q: When calculating the car benefit to report in a P11D return for tax year 2015/16 for an employee who was provided with a company car from 1 September 2015, do I use 366 days instead of 365? A: Yes, as 2016 is a leap year due to inclusion of 29 February. Using the actual number of days in a tax year is relevant if, amongst other things, the car is unavailable on any day before the first day on which it is available to the employee. Section 121 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 sets out the various steps for calculating the car benefit for the tax year. Steps 1 to 6 give the total amount for the year, with step 7 (which is prescribed in section 143) giving the following formula for calculating a deduction from that amount for periods of unavailability: where: U is the number of days in the year on which the car is unavailable, Y is the number of days in that year, and A is the amount carried forward from step 6 (see https://goo.gl/YmJQjA.) Q: The company is planning to pay off an employee’s student loan (either in full or part) and also where an individual is still at university but expected to join the company following graduation. Can you tell me what the tax and NICs implications would be? A: If the employer pays off the student loan, the employer is paying the employee’s personal bill which is classed as a meeting pecuniary liability. U Y X A

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: One of our employees has been given a Rolex watch worth £3,000 as a prize for a competition we recently ran in-house. How do we treat this? A: Because the competition is not open to the general public, and the prize would be classed as a readily converted asset, the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 sets out the treatment. As a readily convertible asset, the value of the benefit falls within the scope of being a notional payment and is therefore added to the employee’s pay at the point they receive the watch so that pay as you earn (PAYE) and Class 1 national insurance contributions (NICs) are operated. The value of the notional payment added to the employee’s pay is the cost of the provision of the Rolex, which you say is £3,000.00. There are specific rules concerning notional payments. The following links are to HMRC’s guidance: ● https://goo.gl/CHUhHR – showing that prizes given to an employee must reported in accordance with the nature of the prize ● https://goo.gl/GiUi37 – understanding when a readily converted asset is being provided to an employee ● https://goo.gl/uYXFy8 – confirming tax and NICs are applied to a readily converted asset through the payroll (i.e. apply PAYE and Class 1 NICs to the payment). Q: I recently read that HMRC will not accept a list of benefits for Class 1A NICs from 2016/17. Does this mean that we cannot use a list for the tax year 2015/16, or does it mean that we cannot report in list format from the beginning of the 2016/17 tax year?

A: You are able to report in list format for the 2015/16 tax year; see the links below that explain that you can still report in a list format for tax year 2015/16. However, you do need HMRC’s permission to do this. ● https://goo.gl/j9uM4n – this links to the relevant Employer Bulletin: please refer to item 3. ● https://goo.gl/wwbvSj – this links to the 480 booklet; please refer to paragraph 25.6 to view guidance on provision of year end information. You will not be able to report the benefits for tax year 2016/17 in list format. Q: We did not pay an employee who commenced employment on 1 April 2016 until 30 April 2016, and we have not issued a P60 certificate. Is this correct? A: The legislation regulating the P60 provision is the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003. Though regulation 67 prescribes that an employer should provide an employee with a P60 certificate if they were employed on the last day of the tax year, paragraph (1b) of this defines another condition. The employee has to have had earnings which were subject to PAYE in the old tax year so if they were not due to be paid until 30 April then the employee cannot be issued with a P60. Q: A member of staff left our employment on 31 May, but sadly died on 4 June. We have a further payment to make; how should we process this? A: When an employee dies and the employer has a final payment to make to the employee’s estate you would need to change the national insurance table

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | September 2016 | Issue 23 8

Policy hub

It depends on the how the employer pays the personal bill as to how the employer has to treat it. If the employer pays the Student Loan Company directly, the amount would be reported in a P11D return at box B for tax, but if the employer reimburses the employee it is subjected to PAYE. In each case, the amount is liable to Class 1 NICs through the payroll. To a prospective employee it could be classed as a ‘golden hello’ which would be both subject to tax and Class 1 NICs. You also have the issue of whether you are restricting their employment by making them stay with the company for a period of time as a condition of the payment; or making a request for payment if the contract is terminated by the employee within a timeframe; or, lastly, the employer could make the payment without putting any conditions in place. Although it doesn’t relate directly to student loan repayment, this useful link https://goo.gl/UvgYTo relates to the employer paying the employee’s personal bill. Q: A temp, who my company has just taken on for four weeks, has provided me with her Canadian social security number and said that a UK national insurance number (NINo) is not needed as we have a bilateral agreement with Canada. Can you advise on whether she is correct? I can’t record her Canadian social security number as it’s not in the same format as a UK one, so presumably I leave that field blank? A: It is correct that a Canadian who has been given right to work in UK can be exempt from NICs, as long as they have been given a certificate of coverage by the Canadian Revenue Agency. It is issued by the Social Security Unit after the employer has applied for the certificate.

Unless the employee has provided you with this certificate you must apply UK NICs. This link to the Canada Revenue Agency takes you to an explanation of who can apply for the certificate http://goo. gl/81LOJZ. If the employee does not have a certificate she will need to get a UK NINo from Jobcentreplus. This link – https:// goo.gl/aGbq9l – explains exactly what the employee needs to do to obtain a NINo. The employer should still pay the employee even though you may not immediately have the NINo, but you will need details of the name, address, date of birth and gender. Q: We have a client who has resigned as a director but is remaining employed by the company although he/she is resuming the position they had before becoming a director. How do we treat his/her NICs calculation; would it continue under the NICs annual earnings period, or do we change him/ her to the normal earnings period i.e. weekly or monthly? A: If the directorship finished in this tax year, 2016/17, and the person then reverts to their original job, all earnings are processed using the annual earnings period for this tax year. You would add the earnings of the employment after the directorship ends to the earnings under the directorship, as the Class 1 NICs must be calculated on an annual earnings period. Booklet CA4, National Insurance for Company Directors , which covers how to process director’s NICs can be downloaded from https://goo.gl/TLluMM. Please refer to point 34 as this relates directly to your scenario. Q: An employee reached state pension age in March, but they did not provide the employer with the relevant proof in time for the March pay run. Is it possible to refund the primary NICs for March? A: This occurred in a closed tax year so the employer has to amend the payroll and complete an earlier year update and indicate that the employee has not been refunded the NICs. Direct the employee to this webpage – https://goo.gl/pllUBM – as this explains how an employee can obtain a refund of NICs. n

Aimed at payroll, pensions and reward professionals who wish to further enhance their skills and knowledge in work-based business and management; the MSc in Business and Reward Management was developed to provide a strategic understanding of advanced industry issues in the workplace to demonstrate the link between industry and business strategy. The qualification cover focuses on work- based topics such as project management, managing relations, improving financial performance, research skills, strategic planning and much more. For more information or to enrol, please visit cippqualifications.org.uk or email msc@cipp.org.uk . MSc in Business and Reward Management Enrolments now open

cipp.org.uk cipp.org.uk

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Issue 23 | September 2016

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

MEMBERSHIP INSIGHT

Hanging on the telephone

Samantha Mann, senior policy and research officer for the CIPP, provides the findings of a recent survey about your experience with HMRC contact centres

I n September 2015, the CIPP’s policy team published a survey that aimed to provide the team with a benchmark of where our members (and other payroll practitioners) sat with regards to their experiences when using HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) contact centres. The survey results are available on page 8 of Issue 18 (March 2016) of Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward and page 32 of the CIPP Policy News Journal for 2015–16 which can found be at http:// goo.gl/UVPEqJ. ...the need to ensure that GOV. UK continues to expand its range as well as its search facilities... We planned to re-run the survey six months later to see whether there would be any noticeable difference to response times and service following the additional investment by HMRC to expand the numbers of staff being made available to serve the contact centres. The follow-up survey The follow-up survey ran from 10 March to 31 March; of the 41 respondents six were non-CIPP members. As with the previous

survey we received responses from a range of payroll professionals and as ever we are extremely grateful to those of you who took the time out of your very busy schedules in order to complete this survey. ● Is HMRC your first port of call? – It would appear that for survey respondents, confidence in turning to HMRC as a first port of call is largely in the same vein as that in September with ‘Yes’ still firmly behind ‘No’ and ‘Sometimes’. Once again comments also provided a similar picture, with reasons given for responses ranging from: takes too long to answer; no confidence in the response; inconsistent responses; last resort only if unable to resource an answer elsewhere; and lack of subject specialist knowledge. Alternative sources of information are being found: online; from colleagues or online peer forums; other helplines; and paid specialists. Comments were largely consistent with the previous survey finding confirming that if the information was available and easy to find on GOV.UK then many of the calls would never be attempted. This, yet again, speaks strongly of the need to ensure that GOV.UK continues to expand its range as well as its search facilities to help in

See charts for comparison. ● Improvement since October 2015? – When prompted about any changes since the previous survey we received a range of comments that highlighted how much the employer helpline has been in demand and has resulted in a significant number of hours spent ‘hanging on the telephone’ by payroll professionals. The following mixed comments illustrate that the picture wasn’t bleak in all instances: ❍ “Prior to January 2016, my average call time to either the employee helpline or the employer helpline was 43 minutes. Since then it has reduced dramatically – in February it reduced to less than 15 minutes.” ❍ “I have rung the employer helpline twice during this period; my first call I was holding for 24 minutes, and my second call just two minutes.” ❍ “The most recent occasion was yesterday when I had to wait 20 minutes. Previously occasions were around the 30–40-minute mark.” ❍ “Have to wait for about an hour.” ❍ “On average 40 minutes to get through.” ❍ “Employer helpline has taken anywhere between 15 minutes and 50 minutes to get through.” A useful tip from a member highlights the importance of not being put off by a little bit of huffing and puffing if it is your aim to get a successful outcome from your call: “… the Debt Management (DM)

delivering good customer services. ● Satisfaction levels – We asked

respondents to rate their overall levels of satisfaction on the service received since October 2015, and registered a very slight increase on those returned for September.

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | September 2016 | Issue 23 10

Policy hub

September 2015

...no call would have been needed had the information been made available online had been made and was told that they could only confirm three payments and then I would have to call the employer helpline. I asked why didn’t they have all the payments in front of them. Then the advisor huffed and reluctantly confirmed all the payments for the current tax year. This solved the query.” And when asked “Do you stay on the line until you are able to speak to someone, or do you disconnect the call after a period time?”, it would appear that the same pattern of patience and tenacity is being demonstrated in March 2016 as it was in September 2015 with almost 65% of respondents staying on the line until the call is answered. All comments were consistent with previous survey returns; however, we had to applaud one member whose star tip is “I used to hang up, but as it is so difficult to get through to them, I now stay on hold until I do. On one call, I was reading Professional in Payroll, Pensions & Reward whilst waiting and by the time the call was answered I had forgotten what I was calling about!” ● Alternative solutions – Survey respondents called upon a wide range of solutions when they failed to achieve success with their first call attempts including: ringing HMRC again; ringing another helpline; turning to an online forum; writing to HMRC; employing the services of specialist; and self-resolving, with further research. The fifty-million-dollar question We asked “If you completed our previous survey in September 2015 please indicate how your recent experiences compare”. The small number of comments in response to this might suggest – just might – that there may be a very small line are quicker at answering, generally around 15 minutes. However, they are not always helpful. A client had received a letter saying they owed some money so I called the DM line to query what payments

March 2016

chink of light at the end of the very long tunnel for some: 11% returned the view that they had experienced some level of improvement and no-one reported further deterioration since they last completed the survey in September. However, with almost 42% of respondents returning an “is the same” response, we take this to be an indication that as at March 2016 there was still work to be done – a finding that we know is recognised by HMRC and has since been confirmed by the National Audit Office. On a final note… It would be wrong to suggest that with 41 responses the March survey outcome is reflective of the experiences being encountered by the entire payroll profession but with few exceptions the findings are consistent with the September survey findings. So, when put together with previous quick poll findings and anecdotal evidence they provide a reasonable benchmark against which we can measure and monitor improvements to future service delivery being experienced by the

payroll professional when using HMRC contact centres. We welcome the 2016 Budget announcement that Government: ● recognises that more needs to be done now to improve customer service delivery, and ● will invest £71 million to improve the service it provides to taxpayers to deliver an improved telephone services and reduce call waiting times by recruiting over 800 new staff into HMRC call centres. This we applaud, but what has been made very clear throughout both surveys is that for many members – and in the majority of cases – no call would have been needed had the information been made available online. So we continue to urge Government Digital Services to expand its coverage on GOV.UK to include more in-depth guidance written accurately and with the payroll and employment taxes specialist in mind. To support this request and as a demonstration of user need, we have shared the responses to the service specific questions with HMRC. n

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Issue 23 | September 2016

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

MEMBERSHIP INSIGHT

The impact of devolution on the payroll function

This CIPP Think Tank roundtable, which was kindly hosted by Cintra HR & Payroll Services, discussed the effect of widening devolution

T here are three vital elements to a successful roundtable Think Tank: a generous and considerate host; CIPP members attending with the attitude to share their experiences openly; and a subject that is worthy of our time, delivered with policy experts on hand to provide essential technical detail, along with some of the essential context under which we are meeting to discuss and debate. For this CIPP Think Tank, all these elements were satisfied, with the first well-met by Cintra HR & Payroll Services’ chief executive officer Carsten Staehr and personal assistant Alexandra Watts. This Think Tank roundtable, which was held on 24 February at Newcastle University Business School, comprised: ● Graham Bell, payroll service delivery lead at Balfour Beatty ● Linda Shotton, payroll manager at Homes & Communities Agency ● Julie Maddison, payroll manager ● Ian Holloway, head of legislation and compliance, Cintra ● Kevin McEvoy, head of development, Cintra ● Simon Moulden of HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) Scottish Rate of Income Tax Policy ● Alan Clark, Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP’s) Fraud, Error and Debt Strategy and Policy – in attendance for the discussion on higher rate direct earnings attachments (DEAs) ● Samantha Mann MCIPPdip, CIPP Variations have been observed for many years in the way a small number of policies and functions impact payroll processes between United Kingdom nations. Accordingly, attendees recognised that Scottish devolution, along with greater autonomy for Wales, will add to existing complexity. With income tax, HMRC looks to

work with increasingly divergent policy instructions i.e. for Scotland and the rest of the UK. Though Scotland is maintaining income tax rates for 2016–17, in future Scotland’s Parliament could set whatever rates and thresholds it wishes. However, as so much hangs on the basic rate of income tax, Scotland must designate this rate. Further consultation is expected as there is much detail to absorb along with the impact and wider implications that will occur as a result of any changes. ‘Resigned acceptance’ would be a good way of describing attendees’ mood about how these changes might impact those working in payroll. What was clear though is that for these changes to be delivered successfully we need: ● clear and detailed payroll software specifications delivered in time to allow for development and testing of payroll software ● clear guidance for employers, payroll providers and advisers, and ● clear guidance aimed at employees who could increasingly see a difference in net pay simply by virtue of where they live. Attendees viewed the impact that this will have on employer/employee relations as an area of concern. Looking ahead we know that a referendum will not be needed to implement Welsh rates of income tax. (At the time of writing, the Wales Bill had received its second reading in the House of Commons.) The meeting moved on to discussing higher rate DEAs. As policy and operational scope for these is only Great Britain (GB) attendees wanted to understand why Northern Ireland (NI) is thereby excluded. Though differences in social security between GB and NI have existed for many years, there is largely agreement that NI will have parity with GB albeit there are timing differences when changes are introduced Though, by and large, the introduction

of DEAs for payroll practitioners and employers has been relatively smooth it has not been trouble-free, and members were critical of start notices being lost enroute and stop notices also not arriving in a timely manner. This impacts the work of payroll professionals who will receive an increase in communications and workload as a result. Looking ahead to the roll-out of universal credit, it is predicted that the number of DEAs being issued will reduce as income data flows to the DWP from HMRC in real time. Again, there was a roundtable call for the need for an updated and centralised resource that informs payroll professionals on the complete range of ‘pay attachments’. [The CIPP continues to lobby HM Courts & Tribunals Service for an updated handbook.] Following the Think Tank Cintra’s Ian Holloway summed up the challenge, “The big message that I hope got through to the employers is that there will be no such thing as a United Kingdom in years to come. The UK is becoming increasingly federalised and we have to embrace this. Things are different in Wales compared to England and different again in Scotland and Northern Ireland.” n The subject of devolution and the differences in payroll legislation affecting all four UK nations is included in the programme for the CIPP’s Scottish National Conference and Exhibition 2016 which is being held at the Stirling Highland Hotel on 8 September 2016. The CIPP policy team intend to hold three further Think Tanks on the impact of devolution on payroll, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – if you would like to attend or would be interested in hosting one of the events please contact Samantha Mann at policy@cipp.org.uk.

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | September 2016 | Issue 23 12

Membership insight

Consult

5

At CIPP Consult, our experienced and qualified consultants specialise in reviewing payroll operations with a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ to recommend innovative improvements to processes and ways of working; leaving you to focus on ensuring that your employees are paid ‘on time and accurately’. For more information on the range of services we can offer, please visit cipp.org.uk or email consult@cipp.org.uk . Delivering tailored solutions for the payroll profession

Tim Kelsey CIPP’s international payroll trainer minutes with…

What is your role at the CIPP? I am the international payroll trainer and teach basic payroll rules for 25 countries, as well as specialist courses covering expatriate employees and global mobility. Can you give us an insight into your background? I worked for twenty years as a payroll manager for a publicly funded international organisation with employees across the globe. It was expected that I would understand and interpret payroll legislation in all of the countries in which we operated, and in an era before the internet existed this was a challenge. As well as a large expatriate population I also managed the UK payroll covering 7,500 employees and pensioners. So, whilst the UK provided me with that essential payroll background, over the years I have had the opportunity to see how payroll is practised in many countries. How does your role impact the CIPP’s overall strategy? I hope that my work plays a small part in raising the Institute’s profile on a global stage. For example, I recently spent time training a company’s in-house payroll team in Krakow, Poland. What does the future hold for the payroll, pensions and reward departments? Only one thing will be constant, and that will be change. Given my interest in international matters, I have to say that increased exposure to international issues

is likely to be a feature of our professional lives. Brexit will only make this more likely – this country will have to earn its living globally, and if we have decided to loosen ties with Europe we will have to expand in other regions. Where would you like to see the CIPP in five years from now? I would like to see the grassroots membership play a more active role in determining what the Institute delivers for members. I would also like to see us become more vocal in advocating policy changes that make employers’ lives easier. What has been your biggest career highlight? I expect most payroll managers have three of four things they are really proud. of, but for me it has to be setting up and then finally closing down an entity for my former employer in France. It is such a complex country to do business in, so the satisfaction of having seen the whole job through from start to finish some ten years later with no compliance issues is probably the thing I’ll most remember about my career to date. What do you do in your free time to unwind? Well, I like travelling which is just as well in a job that sees me spend about 100 nights a year in a hotel! I occasionally breed pigs and also specialise in Cypriot barbecue at village events serving up to 200 people a time. Quite different from payroll. n

cipp.org.uk

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Issue 23 | September 2016

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

MEMBERSHIP INSIGHT

Improvement to your membership service

T he CIPP has recently invested in a new customer relationship management (CRM) database and website to enhance your membership experience and benefits. This article covers some of the main improvements and changes. Policy hub One of the top rated membership benefits is the CIPP policy and research team who bring together the views and concerns of thousands of payroll, pension and professionals to influence policy and legislative change. (See Image 1.) Our new policy hub brings together all of the information that members will need regarding the consultations which we are attending on your behalf, the consultation documents relating to proposed changes and the surveys which will collect your views to formulate our response. This is also home to the Policy News Journal , making it easier to find the latest version without having to trawl through previous news items. We will still notify you of changes via News On Line . Resource library The resource library is home to a wide variety of publications and tools which will assist members day to day; including: ● The online version of Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward magazine which can be viewed as an interactive magazine or downloaded as a PDF to save and read later

● News items which are added to the site daily to keep you up to date on the latest industry developments ● The CIPP payroll factcard; you’ll be able to download the latest version as a PDF, or follow the link to get the free app on Apple and Android devices ● Policy research papers; this is where we will provide papers and commentary on benchmark surveys which we run such as the payslip survey, the results of which will be published here during National Payroll Week ● Our useful contacts directory which will come in handy when you are looking for a new supplier. The online directory has been improved so that it is easier to find the organisations that you are looking for ● The automatic enrolment directory; enabling you to find suppliers and advisers to support you through automatic enrolment. There is also a separate search function for the resource library which will make searching for content easier. You can search using keywords or use our new ‘browse by topic’ search functionality to bring up all of the resources which have been categorised by that particular topic. (See Image 2.) My CIPP We have improved the My CIPP section and introduced some new features, including the ability to let us know what you are interested in. (See Image 3.) This links to our new CRM database,

which means that every time you log in, the content you see will be related to your areas of interest. You can also save items to your favourites so that they are easily accessible the next time that you login; handy if you are interested in an event but not able to book at the time you are viewing.

The My CIPP area also enables you to update your contact details, view events and training courses which you are booked on, log your CPD, change the frequency of News On Line to weekly or daily and upgrade your membership online. You are also able to pay your membership fees online, when you are due for renewal via a secure SagePay connection. My CIPP links straight back to the CRM database meaning that your changes are made in real time. We’ve also made it easier to view the different benefits available at each level of CIPP membership through our new join online page; making it easier for you to see the value that you receive and ensure that you can maximise your membership by taking advantage of the benefits available to you. (See Image 4.) We have also moved our specialist interest groups (SIGs) to the CIPP website and improved the communications which are sent if you are a member of any of the groups. You can now join and leave SIGs directly through the CIPP website, which means you don’t have to wait to be added to the basecamp site for SIG membership. Your contact details and login details are all managed within one site and database, ensuring that if you change your email address, other contact details and login information; it is all within the CIPP website and does not need changing on another site to maintain your SIG membership and access. The discussion forums work in a similar way to LinkedIn and other social networking sites so that if you post a discussion item the other group members will receive notification of this. This will go some way to improve the

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