Payroll and HR teams need to keep on top of new regulations and changes to policy and if your payroll is an element of your business that you keep in-house then it’s necessary that you do so. The UK’s new financial year is 6th April 2020 and there are several likely legislative aspects that are going to come into effect.
Here at APS Global, our experienced professionals are well-versed in legislation and policy, constantly keeping up-to-date with developments. Our team can take the difficulty out of payroll and provide you with accurate solutions.
Some of the changes expected this year are as follows:
Changes to Holiday Pay
If you have employees that work irregular hours within your company then the pay reference period is going to change from 12 weeks to 52 weeks. This is notable because instead of the current situation where holiday pay is calculated by working out the average amount of hours worked over 12 weeks, it’ll now be over the 52-week period.
Agency Worker Rights
Again, if you enlist the services of agency workers in your business then you should be aware of 3 changes to agency worker rights that should come into effect in 2020.
- After 12 weeks, if you have agency workers doing the same role as permanent staff then they must be paid the same as those members of staff after a 12-week period.
- A further protection will be that agency workers will be protected from unfair dismissal if the reason is a consequence of The Agency Worker Regulations.
- There must be more clear, stringent employment documents for agency workers, giving them detail about the terms and conditions they are working under and their relationship to the business.
Student Loan Deductions
When making student loan deductions during a payroll, 2020 sees some changes that need to be implemented. Repayment thresholds are going to increase for pre and post 2012 loans. Pre-2012 loans (Plan 1) need to be repaid when someone earns £19,390 and post-2012 (Plan 2) loans after £26,575.
Parental Bereavement Leave & Pay Act
The Parental Bereavement Leave & Pay Act was passed in 2018 so it is likely to come into practice this year. Parents will have a right to 2 weeks of paid or unpaid leave after a child (under 18) dies, or there is a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. If staff have worked at a business for 26 weeks then they qualify for pad leave and statutory bereavement pay.
National Living Wage
Minimum wage rates have been published by HMRC :
https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
Although they haven’t been officially made law until the budget speech is held on the 11th March, they will be the rates that are used as they have had to be built into payroll software ready for the start of the new tax year.
Keep tabs on the new budget from incoming Chancellor Rishi Sunak on March 11th.
Brexit
With lots of areas up in the air and the outcome of Brexit still far away, as business owners and payroll professionals, it’s worth staying informed and trying to keep up with all of the upcoming changes to see how it will affect your budgeting.
For more advice and info about payroll solutions, please contact our team today.