Holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hour workers can be at times very complicated to calculate, and some could say unnecessarily so! The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) started a consultation to look at the calculation of holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hour workers. The consultation which is due to close on 9^th March 2023 appears to be in response to the Harper Trust v Brazel judgment passed by the Supreme Court.

The Government is proposing that the calculation for holiday entitlement be based on the 52-week reference period currently used to calculate holiday pay. The full proposal can be read here.

Please check back here for further updates!

HMRC has released the student and postgraduate loan thresholds and rates for the 2023/24 tax year which will be here before we know it!

The Plan 1 and Plan 4 thresholds have increased, while the Plan 2 and postgraduate thresholds remain the same as 2022/23. The rates of repayment remain the same for all plan types.

Plan	Threshold (annual)	Repayment rate
Plan 1	£22,015	9%
Plan 2	£27,295	9%
Plan 4	£27,660	9%
Postgraduate	£21,000	6%

According to a HMRC report published on the 6^th October 22 there are 5.5 million private sector businesses, of which 5.47 million businesses are classed as a small business (0-49 employees). Out of the 5.5 million private businesses 2.7 million are registered for VAT or PAYE.

At Alderley Payroll Services we’ve been providing payroll services to small businesses from the moment we opened our doors back in 2006. Not only does this mean we are vastly experienced in providing payroll and pension services to small businesses but being a small business ourselves we understand the demands. Owners of small businesses must wear many hats, but payroll and pension legislation changes at such a pace that it can prove very tricky to stay on top of the changes. This is where we come in at Alderley Payroll Services! Not only can we save you time by handling your payroll requirements, we’re also significantly cheaper than employing an inhouse payroll expert!

On top of working with small businesses directly, we also work with accountants to provide payroll services to their clients. We can provide an elegant smooth solution for accountants with small businesses on their books. We can just as easily work with the end clients directly or be “white labelled”, whatever works best!

If you would like to discuss what Alderley Payroll Services can do for your small business please get in touch!

On 21^st December 22 The Pensions Regulator (TPR) announced that Nausicaa Delfas has been appointment its new Chief Executive, replacing Charles Counsell. Nausicaa previously was the interim Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman of the Financial Ombudsman Service and leaves her current role as Executive Director at the FCA.

On the appointment Nausicaa Delfas said,

“I am delighted to be joining TPR as CEO at a time of significant change and challenge. Saving effectively for the future is essential for everyone. TPR plays a key role in protecting work-based pensions and the post-retirement income of over 30 million people.  I look forward to leading this organisation in its critical work.”

At Alderley Payroll Services we can take you through the full auto enrolment process helping your business stay compliant!

You can now make automatic PAYE payments to HMRC.

To do this you will first need to set up the Direct Debit through your HMRC online account. You can set this DD up for single payments, or to make use of the new way of paying, set up for automatic payments.

Once this is in place, HMRC will take the payment either:

• Shortly after the 22^nd
• 4 working days after the return is filed (if filed after the 19^th)

At least 3 working days before the payment is taken, HMRC will tell you the amount due and date of collection. Payments will show as “HMRC SDDS” on your bank statement.

The Welsh Rates of Income Tax draft budget 2023-24 has been released. Rebecca Evans MS has said in her written statement,

“In line with its commitment not to take more in Welsh Rates of Income Tax from Welsh families for at least as long as the economic impact of COVID 19 lasts, the Welsh Government proposes to set Welsh Rates of Income Tax for 2023-24 at 10p for the three income tax rates (basic, higher and additional).”

The way income tax works in Wales is by the UK government reducing the three income tax rates for Welsh taxpayers by 10p. This then allows the Welsh Government to decide whether they set the rates at 10p. As the Welsh Government has decided to set the rates at 10p for 2023/24 this retains parity between English and Welsh taxpayers.

The Deputy First Minister for Scotland, John Swinney has announced everyone earnings more than £43,662 in Scotland will pay more income tax from the 2023/24 tax year.

The Top Rate increases from 46% to 47% with the threshold being lowered to £125,140. The Higher Rate is increasing from 41% to 42%, but the threshold will remain fixed at £43,663.

Auto enrolment was first introduced 10 years ago! We can still remember the hours spent reading and re-reading the guidance to not only understand what we need to do as an employer but what we can do to help all our clients. We’ve helped hundreds of clients since auto enrolment was rolled out and continue to offer support to help clients meet their responsibilities.

To mark the 10 year anniversary The Pension Regulator has launched a new campaign to warn employers not to ignore their workplace pension duties. It’s imperative that all employers understand what their duties are and make sure they are compliant. Here at Alderley Payroll Services, we do everything from producing the pension letters for new starts, assessing employees each pay period, setting up workplace pension schemes, enrolling eligible employees and those who have opted in, to filing the declaration and re-declarations of compliance.

For further information on the pension services provided please go to auto enrolment.

HMRC have introduced card readers for when they carry out face to face visits regarding debt. Previously the HMRC customer would need to call the HMRC helpline to make a payment. HMRC are hoping this move will help reduce the calls through to the helpline, giving more capacity for HMRC customer queries.

HMRC customers will of course need to be very careful that the person visiting their premises is a HMRC staff member. The HMRC website provides information on how you can verify whether the person is a HMRC employee. There is also a number you can call HMRC on to check, 0300 200 3862.

Alderley Payroll Services will be closed 26^th & 27^th December as well as 2^nd January. Apart from this we will be trading as usual at our normal opening hours.

From everyone here at APS we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!