FUTURE OF PAYROLL SURVEY REPORT 2020
3% who revealed that they do offer ‘pay-on-demand’. Delving deeper, when asked the question, ‘do you see ‘pay-on- demand’ being an attractive benefit to your workforce?’, the responses were less clear cut, but only 12% stated that they did definitively see it as being an attractive benefit, whilst 36% said they did not feel it was, and 52% have yet to be convinced either way and responded ‘maybe’. The huge number of responses for ‘maybe’ could simply be attributed to the fact that it is not a subject that has yet received widespread attention or media focus and many individuals may simply not be aware of it, and what it involves. Is it just a glorified loan scheme? For companies that introduce it, will there be the requirement for more frequent Real Time
Information (RTI) submissions? Will there be a limit to how many times employees can access it each pay period?
Planning to implement Pay On Demand in the future
The same was true of payroll cards, which seemed to flourish in America but simply were not welcomed in the same fashion in the United Kingdom. The payroll card offers employers the opportunity to load employee wages onto a prepaid card, which staff members can then use to perform a variety of payments, reducing the costs associated with printing cheques for businesses, and allowing them to offer cards to employees who may not have access to a standard bank account. ‘Do you plan on introducing ‘pay-on-demand’ in the future’? completed the trilogy of questions on the topic. The responses were in complete alignment with those from the previous questions. An overwhelming 65% confirmed that they had no intention of introducing ‘pay- on-demand’ in the future, with 31% providing a ‘maybe’ response and 4% confirming that they were planning on
No plans to introduce Pay On Demand in the future
4%
65%
31%
Possibly introduce Pay On Demand in the future
implementing ‘pay-on-demand’ in the future. In terms of pay strategies of the future, it appears that pay-on-demand is not one that is yet dominating the payroll sphere, and that something as forward-thinking and revolutionary as ‘set your own salary’ may outpace this concept. Whilst there appears to be high levels of negativity surrounding ‘pay-on-demand’, as previously stated, the strategy does appear to have its place, in, for example, sectors such as hospitality. Employers may still wish to offer employees this structure of pay but they must be mindful that a responsible employer will, alongside it, provide financial health and financial awareness training, to ensure that their staff don’t fall into a perpetual cycle of debt. The CIPP hosted an online roundtable on the topic of ‘pay-on- demand’ which was attended by subject experts, and those working within the payroll sphere. Similar themes emerged during discussion, where people confirmed that, where they were operating a ‘pay-on-demand’ scheme, they advised that they had performed a lot of research and study into financial wellbeing and how funds drawn down prior to contractual pay day were being used, and if the use of the scheme actually left individuals in financial dire straits. The outbreak of coronavirus has bought with it an unexpected and unplanned new pay strategy, in that of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The way in which the scheme has been operated is unprecedented, with employers paying staff they have placed on furlough, whilst protecting their jobs from redundancy. Employers can then claim the appropriate amounts back through an online service, provided by HMRC, with the funds appearing in their designated bank accounts within six working days. Never before has a scheme of this magnitude and scale been witnessed within UK society. This, along with the Self- Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), could raise questions about how the UK is paid in the coming months and years, and how payments to and from HMRC could potentially be administered in the future. ...QUESTIONS ABOUT HOWTHE UK IS PAID IN THE COMINGMONTHS AND YEARS, AND HOWPAYMENTS TOAND FROMHMRC COULD POTENTIALLY BE ADMINISTERED IN THE FUTURE.
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