Professional February 2023

PAYROLL NEWS

Payroll news

New consultation: holiday entitlement calculations

New legislation aimed at tax repayment agents to be created HM REVENUE and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed, in a press release, that new legislation will be created to make legally binding ‘assignments’ invalid. This follows the consultation it held: Raising standards in tax advice: protecting customers claiming tax repayments . An ‘assignment’ is an agreement in which a taxpayer gives a repayment agent permission to receive a tax refund directly from HMRC. Currently, this may only be cancelled if both parties agree to do so. This creates issues when an individual is unhappy with the service they receive and when they want to resume management of their account. The alternative arrangement is for the taxpayer to make a ‘nomination’. This can be cancelled at any point by the individual, which will ultimately give them greater control. ‘Assignments’ made prior to the date the legislation takes effect will still be legally binding, but any made after that date will be invalid. In addition to this, HMRC also announced the following changes: l an update to the Standards for agents, which are applicable to all tax agents. They will now include greater transparency requirements l a new HMRC registration process for repayment agents, to make the agent sector more transparent, so customers are more informed regarding what they’re signing up to. The press release can be accessed here: http://ow.ly/mHgR50MrLva, and the consultation document here: http://ow.ly/NenW50MrLAE.

THE DEPARTMENT for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has opened a consultation on the topic of the

calculation of the holiday entitlement received by part-year and irregular hours workers. This follows on from the recent Supreme Court judgment in Harpur Trust v Brazel. BEIS proposes to introduce a holiday entitlement reference period for part-year and irregular hours workers. This will ensure their holiday pay and entitlement is directly proportionate to the time they spend working. As part of this, BEIS also seeks clarification on how holiday entitlement is calculated for agency workers at present. There’s also consideration of how the consultation proposal may be implemented. Please note that this doesn’t impact the current requirements for calculating part time or irregular hour workers’ annual leave entitlement, so employers must ensure workers receive 5.6 weeks’ worth of annual leave entitlement.

Scottish budget delivered THE SCOTTISH budget was presented to the Scottish Government, back in December 2022. Here are the announcements for payroll professionals to be aware of:

l higher rate of tax increased from 41p to 42p l top rate of tax increased from 46p to 47p l top rate threshold reduced to £125,140. Other announcements included: l an increase to the second homes element of land and buildings tax, from 4% to 6% l increased funding for local governments l child payment to remain at £25 l benefits under Scottish control to be uprated by 10.1%.

Diary dates

6 – 12 February

National Apprenticeship Week

5 February

Last day of tax month 10

6 February

First day of tax month 11

19 February (this is a weekend date)

Last day for submitting a real time information employer payment summary to apply to tax month 10 Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs etc to HMRC’s Accounts Office by non-electronic method

22 February

Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs etc to HMRC’s Accounts Office by electronic method

5 March 6 March

Last day of tax month 11 First day of tax month 12

| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | November 2022 | Issue 85 6

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