The position regarding holiday pay entitlement for workers with varying work patterns was considered by the Court of Appeal in the 2019 case of Harpur Trust vs. Brazel Case Study Ms Brazel, a clarinet and saxophone teacher worked at schools providing individual lessons to its pupils. She worked on average between 10 and 15 hours per week. She was paid by the hour and did not work during the school holidays. Ms Brazel was required to take her holiday entitlement.The school did what … [Read more...]
Scam Advice
A number of people across the UK have fallen victim of HMRC scams such as bogus phone calls, WhatsApp messages, Tax refunds and most recently coronavirus scams.If someone texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC and asks for credit card or bank details it is likely to be a scam. The scams mimic HMRC messages in an effort to look genuine.The most recent scam is via text for a ‘goodwill payment‘ telling customers they can claim a goodwill payment due to the coronavirus. One example … [Read more...]
What you need to know about staff returning to work post Covid-19
Following The Prime Ministers announcement regarding the further easing of lockdown, measures will need to be in place to start planning for staff to return to work.The initial response to the pandemic was to enforce lockdown and for employees to work from home where possible. Meaning a large portion of the UK working from home. Steps had to be put in place to accommodate the changes to many businesses and ensure staff received support during lockdown to protect their wellbeing.Many HR … [Read more...]
Is PAYE the way forward post Covid-19?
With over 8 million employees in the UK receiving furlough through the CJRS recruitment agencies are seeking alternative options to umbrella but is PAYE the way forward?PAYE V’s UmbrellaMany contractors and agencies get confused by umbrella, umbrella is a form of PAYE where the payroll provider deducts the standard PAYE deductions from the contractors earnings and submits these to the government. The agency provides the contractor with an ‘agency rate’ which is an uplifted rate of pay to … [Read more...]
Has your provider protected your contractors from the CJRS clawbacks?
Following the Chancellors first announcement around the economic support packages, the cost is now at an estimate of £132.5bn.The CJRS was set up as a new wage support measure in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to protect jobs in wake of the impact to the economy caused by the virus and to support employers who had difficulties continuing to pay wages to prevent redundancies being made.So what is the clawback?The government are now looking to recover funds claimed in error or … [Read more...]
Tax helpline to support businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19)
HMRC has a set up a phone helpline to support businesses and self-employed people concerned about not being able to pay their tax due to coronavirus (COVID-19).The helpline allows any business or self-employed individual who is concerned about paying their tax due to coronavirus to get practical help and advice. Up to 2,000 experienced call handlers are available to support businesses and individuals when needed.For those who are unable to pay due to coronavirus, HMRC will discuss your … [Read more...]
HMRC Tackling Construction Industry Scheme Abuse
HMRC have launched a consultation concerning ways to tackle abuse of the construction industry scheme.The consultation seeks views on changes to the rules to prevent tax loss from the CIS. HMRC will have the power to correct the CIS deduction amounts claimed by sub-contractors on their Real Time Information (RTI) Employer Payment Summary (EPS) returns and seeks views on the implementation process.The 10 week consultation started on the 19th March and will conclude on the 28th May … [Read more...]
COVID-19: Changes to standard and enhanced ID checking guidelines
Due to current measures that have been put in place as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, we’re aware that organisations are having difficulty following the DBS ID checking guidance.Currently, when validating ID documents, it is best practice to carry the examination out face-to-face with a live video link as an alternative method. Under the current guidance, the ID checker must be in physical possession of the original documents so they can be checked for indicators of fraud.As the … [Read more...]
Budget 2020
With Coronavirus (COVID-19) taking up almost all media activity recently, it would have been very easy to have missed the Chancellors first Budget to parliament yesterday.In his first Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a £12bn package to help the country through the coronavirus outbreak.£5bn emergency response fund to support the NHS and other public services in England All those advised to self-isolate will be entitled to statutory sick pay, even if they have not presented … [Read more...]
Why recruitment agencies are outsourcing their payroll?
It has never been a better time to be a freelance contract worker within the UK, growing numbers of agencies are becoming more and more reactive to the countries growing demand for a more flexible workforce.We have seen over a 40% growth in our business each year for the past 2 years, which is a clear sign of a change in which hirers are addressing their recruitment needs. With growth, comes further burdens to continue to grow unless processes are in place to support these … [Read more...]