Payroll

Step back in time five years and you would struggle to move for articles and white papers on big data and analytics. These were the hottest topics in technology and the excitement surrounding them was at its peak. Last year, analyst Gartner dropped its hype cycle for Big Data, confirming in an article, entitled: The Demise of Big Data, Its Lessons and the State of Things to Come” that “we did it to move the big data discussion past hype and into practice”. Certainly when it comes to the HR arena, big data and the analytics tools that can be built on top of it are now in a maturing phase.

In August 2016, HMRC launched a ‘Consultation on salary sacrifice for the provision of benefits in kind’. The indication is to bring in law changes from April 2017.

Often once the deal is done you can’t see the lawyers for dust, so if you receive notice from a supplier or customer that they have been acquired, or if you have been acquired yourself, what do you need to do to keep your current contracts in order?

For the world of business and more specifically HR, the Brexit vote has brought on a time of uncertainty. The momentous decision taken by the public on June 23 has left employers across the UK having to wrestle with a vast range of workforce-related issues.

The 6th April 2017 sees the introduction of a new employment tax on United Kingdom employers. The way the government funds apprenticeships in England is changing, and Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland, each having their share of the levy, will have to decide how apprenticeship spending will take place.

So the UK (as a union) has voted to leave the European Union with some Scottish politicians hinting of a further independence referendum, and some in Northern Ireland wanting a joint Irish nation! At the same time, Job Centre Plus has run out of National Insurance numbers (NINOs) and decided in June 2016 to start issuing NINOs with prefix ‘KC’.

With the result of the UK referendum to leave the European Union and indication by Scotland’s first minister to run a further Devolution referendum, in this blog I consider the potential implications for the next few years for Scotland and Payroll services.

So the nation has chosen to progress leaving the EU with a popular vote of 52%. Whether that was a result that was expected or not, the voice of the people has been cast with change into the future inevitable for both the UK, the European Union and the rest of the world – a wake up call for many. Globalisation may need to reconsider its relevance in reality to people – something’s are appropriate and other things not. There’s Global, Glocal and Local (and ever that were true it is evidenced in international Payroll).

On 23rd June 2016, UK voters decided in favour of leaving the European Union (EU) in a landmark referendum. Since then it’s fair to say that UK politics has seen a fair amount of turmoil:

The National Living Wage (NLW) became compulsory for employees aged 25 and above, at a new minimum rate of £7.20. Not to be confused with the voluntary Living Wage (LW) set by the Living Wage Foundation with a £9.40 London Rate and £8.25 elsewhere which has attracted over 2,000 accredited employers since 2011. ‘Almost two million workers are expected to have their pay topped up… for those currently on the minimum wage, it will mean a pay rise of over 10 per cent’.

With the upcoming referendum later this month, which will decide whether Britain should leave or remain in the European Union, UK businesses – employing EU workers – will need to contemplate how “Bexit” might potentially influence their future hiring, talent management and overall workforce management best practices. Currently, millions of highly skilled EU immigrants work in the UK.

April 2016 saw some of the most significant legal changes to impact payroll operations and software. I would venture that this year’s new changes have been some of the most impactful yet, more so than the introduction of Real Time Information(RTI). New requirements for Scotland including the Scottish Rate of Income Tax and changes to Earnings and Maintenance Arrestments. A revolution in national insurance with the removal of Contracting out and Under 25 Apprentice NICs being introduced. The list can go on.