COMPLIANCE
What changes have we seen?
● the introduction of two new NICs holidays for veterans and freeport workers. And of course, change doesn’t remain in the past. There are many topics that continue to change even today: NICs changes and the health and social care levy, devolution and the impact this has on tax, and employment law, employment status and the single enforcement body for worker rights, to name just a few. Phew! Adapting to change with style Ultimately, change is a part of all our lives we must deal with. When we’re constantly presented with new information and changes, we would find life very difficult if we couldn't adapt and absorb them, not to mention the added risks of non-compliance in payroll. It’s possible, however, to make life easier for ourselves. In the past, my CIPP membership has been a lifeline, ensuring that, even if I might find myself a little adrift in the current, I can always bring myself back up to speed. This could be via News Online emails from the policy team, logging on to BeKnowledgable webinars and Annual Forums or by signing up to training courses, like the Payroll Update. I’m personally thankful for both the challenge and satisfaction that I get from being part of the CIPP and witnessing all the work that goes into keeping the payroll industry up to date. I won’t speak my wish aloud for a few quieter years (for fear of jinxing it) but I hope that anyone reading this article, who has managed to pay employees accurately and on time
This table highlights the huge amount of changes to the Payroll Update course over the last few tax years
Tax year
materials. Covid-19 guidance and the CJRS were the most significant update topics on 13 out of 99 versions of the Payroll Update course. It’s interesting to note, that the focus on guidance changes that year meant there were fewer consultations published and far fewer ‘other changes’ announced by government bodies. Some other main topics of change through the period were: ● off payroll working (the delay to tax year 2021/22 meant this topic saw several updates) ● the UK’s exit from the EU ● changing case law for holiday pay (don’t mention Harpur Trust or 12.07%), employment status and national minimum wage ● new statutory parental payments for bereavement and neonatal care (with the delay to the Employment Bill, neonatal care is still coming)
In the last three (and a bit) years and through 99 different released versions, the Payroll Update course has seen over 350 areas of change or update. Updates ranged from straightforward threshold changes for the new tax year, through National Insurance contributions (NICs) holidays for veterans and freeport workers, all the way to the ever-changing coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS). On average, the payroll, pensions and reward industry saw just over ten changes per month through the period April 2019 to June 2022, which is a lot to keep up with. Most of the changes can be categorised as: ● changes to thresholds or rates ● revisions to legislation ● case law updates ● amendments to government guidance ● consultations launched. There were several other types of changes included, such as government announcements regarding future plans, or initiatives, like the pensions dashboard. Unsurprisingly, the largest contributor of changes was during the 2020/21 tax year. This was right at the start of the pandemic when there were many changes to government guidance. Sometimes, it felt like things were changing by the hour! Over 74 pieces of guidance were changed that year, to support changes to legislation and clarify how Covid-19 would impact many different areas of our lives. There were so many updates that the CIPP materials team had to produce a separate Covid-19 supplement for the course. This was to ensure there was sufficient time to ensure thorough fact-checking prior to publication without affecting the release of the full course
This wordcloud highlights the other topics of change for the last three years. Which one is your favourite?
● the introduction of real-time class 1 NICs for termination payments and sporting testimonials
during this turbulent period is very proud of themselves. You’re all heroes in my book! n
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 83 | September 2022
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