Policy hub
unlikely due to Brexit to see regulatory change in the near future, this does not mean that the guidance cannot be improved now. Both the BEIS and ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) representatives agreed that it should be possible to extend the level of detail in the guidance. Delegates were especially pleased when the offer was made to include volunteer attendees in the review of draft guidance before publication, when possible. So, ACAS has now begun the difficult task of drafting the new guidance. We will of course keep the industry informed of its progress through our news pages. The CIPP runs a practical half-day course which includes an overview of the legal framework that governs holiday pay and entitlement, as well as worked exercises to explore the calculations thoroughly. This course will always include the most up to date information to account for ongoing case law. Visit the training area of our website (http://bit.ly/2ryrHFs) for full details. Employer-provided pensions and legal advice A number of clauses were removed from the Finance Bill including the new income tax exemption to cover the first £500 worth of relevant pensions advice provided to an employee. For general information and for those employers who may have already included the exemption in their benefits packages, we received an update from HMRC: “The changes for employer provided pensions advice and legal advice (clauses 12 and 13 in the Finance Bill 2017 published on 20 March) were due to be legislated in the Finance (No.2) Bill 2016– 17. Due to the general election, the financial secretary to the Treasury announced that, as is usual at this stage before an election, the Finance Bill would proceed on the basis of consensus and the government would not be proceeding with a number of clauses in the Bill, including these changes. “The Financial Secretary also said there has been no policy change and the government would legislate for the provisions at the earliest opportunity in the next Parliament. It will be for the incoming government to decide what to recommend to Parliament. In the interim please continue to apply the guidance published
...it would be beneficial to make your employees aware ... ideal, the fact HMRC says to continue to apply the guidance at EIM21802 and EIM30509 suggests employers are safe to make this assumption. Do you remember to log your CPD? One of our quick polls through May asked if you always remember to log your continuing professional development (CPD)? Or is it just sometimes, or never at all, or maybe it just isn’t required within your role? We received 428 results in total, with: ● 9% always logging their CPD ● 9% saying they don’t need to for their role ● 53% sometimes log their CPD, and ● 29% saying that they never do. As with any of our poll results, we must bear in mind that it is only a snapshot in time, from a certain number of people, from unknown industries as the poll is in an unrestricted area of our website. However, the results are certainly an indication that recording CPD is not a routine discipline for most. CPD is any form of learning or development that benefits you in your professional environment. You can read more about the importance of logging your CPD on the CIPP website at http://bit. ly/2qHI3s3 (and on page 12). at HMRC guidance - EIM21802 [http:// bit.ly/2n7azWE] and HMRC guidance - EIM30509 [http://bit.ly/2o5Avra].” The policy team was asked for more clarity on this situation which we have sought from HMRC; however, purdah is preventing them from providing any extra detail. Given that HMRC’s original statement says that there has been no policy change and they expect the required legislation to go through at the earliest opportunity, it would not be unreasonable to assume that HMRC would not look askance at a situation where the employer had worked on the assumption that the legislation would be passed early in the next Parliament and therefore the new guidance applied. Though this situation is far from
All published information on our polls and surveys can be found in the CIPP’s Policy News Journal (http://bit. ly/2oxTlh8), a benefit reserved exclusively for CIPP members. Our latest quick poll asks how confident you are about your calculations, processes and record keeping to ensure your compliance in paying the minimum wage. Please do take a moment to participate. Gender pay gap viewing service Under the new gender pay gap regulations thousands of employers are now required to publish their gender pay gap figures for the first time. The new facility where employers must upload their gender pay gap information is now available for public observation can be found here: https:// goo.gl/YMYM6R. So far (as at 2 June), only ten companies have published their data but employers do have until March/April 2018 – depending on whether they are public, private or voluntary sector – to do this, so the number will continue to grow. There is some interesting reading in the written statements on the viewing service already; it’s worth a read if you are curious about how other companies are explaining their figures in the required written statements. The latest webcast from the Policy team highlights considerations for employers in the first year of gender pay gap reporting. You can find it here: http:// bit.ly/2rsky7u. Childcare Choices The introduction of the government’s tax-free childcare scheme began on 28 April this year for parents of the youngest children and is being gradually rolled out over 2017. Another online service – Childcare Choice (https://goo.gl/ Y8oRO2) – has been launched where millions of parents can pre-register for the new childcare offers -. The website includes a Childcare Calculator for parents to compare all the government’s childcare offers and check what works best for their families. Parents can also pre-register for email alerts that will notify them when they can apply, as well as providing details of existing government childcare offers. n
If you haven’t already, it would be beneficial to make your employees aware of the website.
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 32 | July/August 2017
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