FUTURE OF PAYROLL SURVEY REPORT 2020
As we look to the future of working, it also becomes apparent that, in order to attract and retain staff, businesses are needing to offer a more robust benefits package, in addition to base salary. This is particularly apparent within competitive sectors and for the most complex roles. Whilst offering flexible working patterns will have an effect to a degree, there are a range of other perks that companies can provide to draw in staff of the highest calibre. The survey wanted to enquire what benefits companies currently offer, and there was a huge variety of responses. In ranking order, the results are displayed below:
80% 74% 66% 56% 54% 46% 41% 39%
Childcare vouchers
Tea and coffee in the workplace
Cycle to work scheme
Salary sacrifice
Free car parking
Paid private healthcare
Ability to take sabbatical (paid or unpaid)
Flexible benefits platform, providing individuals with discounts on high
street brands, including gym memberships, shopping etc.
39% 37% 37% 36% 30% 28% 22% 12%
Voluntary paid benefits, e.g. health cash plans, sick pay schemes to enhance statutory payments
Car allowance
Ability to buy and sell annual leave
Flu jabs
Canteen
Company car
Uniforms
Other
It is clear that many businesses still offer more traditional benefits, such as tea and coffee in the workplace and free car parking, however more innovative rewards such as flexible benefits platforms and salary sacrifice schemes are also in operation. It is refreshing to see such a varied mix of elements to pay, and it seems as if the number of different aspects of pay and reward will continue to develop in the future. Each different benefit will attract its own set of rules, particularly in terms of tax and National Insurance (NI), so as the number of them increases, so will the complexity of the payrolls to which they are applied. Payroll professionals will need to be particularly alert to the complexities when processing and administering the benefits through payroll to ensure compliance with tax legislation and ensure that employees are paid correctly, and the employer remains compliant with reporting duties. As more benefits become available, it remains vital for HMRC to maintain up to date guidance that the payroll community can have faith in, and that it is readily available, clear and concise. In recognition of this, the Future of Payroll report asked, ‘how would you prefer to have payroll legislative guidance communicated to you in the future?’ Currently there are a range of communication mediums through which HMRC publishes updates and changes but there is still a general consensus that guidance needs to be simplified and streamlined. Again, this was highlighted as a result of the pandemic as there have been so many iterations of guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) that those working within payroll have found it nearly impossible to keep pace. The majority of responses held that online content and guidance is a helpful way of communicating information ( 87% ), followed by a preference for webinars ( 82% ) and then factsheets ( 79% ). HMRC does
...MORE INNOVATIVE REWARDS SUCH AS FLEXIBLE BENEFITS PLATFORMS AND SALARY SACRIFICE SCHEMES ARE ALSO INOPERATION
already utilise a combination of these methods, but it is felt that information could be more targeted and easier to locate. The interim Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME), Matthew Taylor continues to explore ways in which new protections for millions of vulnerable workers can be implemented. The Government’s Good Work Plan which builds on earlier recommendations in the Review of Modern Working, will also have significant implications for the future of working.
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