Other News
Finders keepers
*Finding the right people for your organisation, and retaining the best talent, is vital to the health and well-being of your company and will undoubtedly affect the bottom line. The effective use of workforce management tools can help.*: Incentive schemes and recognition are an important part of the reward mix in any company. In fact, a company that uses them will undoubtedly
Fri, 14 Oct 2011 • Read more
Low staff morale among HMRC’s biggest challenges
HM Revenue & Customs must face an inquiry, a senior MP has said, following the publication of a report by the Commons Treasury Select Committee, which raised serious concerns over low employee morale at HMRC.: Ian Liddell-Grainger, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Taxation, said: ‘I urge the Select Committee chair [Andrew Tyrie MP] to give this six months and then carry out a short inquiry… and then continue with rolling short bursts of “where have we got to updates”.’
Thu, 1 Sep 2011 • Read more
It’s better to give…
A payroll giving scheme – Pennies for Promise – has been launched by global payroll provider activpayroll.: The scheme is available to all employers, not just activpayroll customers, and works by rounding down employees’ net pay to the nearest pound. The remainder is donated to a charity of the employer’s choice.
Mon, 1 Aug 2011 • Read more
CIPD backs guidelines for top-quality internships
A government Common Best Practice Code for high-quality internships was launched jointly last month by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in:
Mon, 1 Aug 2011 • Read more
West Midlands councils propose staff rehiring plan
Two West Midlands local authorities have come under fire from a trade union for telling their workforce they would be dismissed and would only be rehired if they agreed to a pay cut.: Staff at Birmingham City Council and Shropshire County Council are currently in negotiations with their employers after they were asked to sign new contracts. Richard Tudor, Unison’s regional officer, who is representing staff at both councils, said: ‘Employees at Birmingham City Council have been told that if they do not agree to the new terms and conditions, they will be dismissed and will be offered re-engagement, but under the new terms.’
Mon, 1 Aug 2011 • Read more
Cheque out
Plans to phase out cheques have been quashed by the UK Payments Council, which had been working for two years on plans to replace the method of payment.: The move follows concerns that there was not an effective paperbased alternative to replace the system of cheques.
Mon, 1 Aug 2011 • Read more
Companies flout visa laws at their peril
Global payroll professionals that fail to meet strict visa legislation risk penalties that can cause irreparable business damage, an immigration solicitor has warned.: The caution comes after US authorities announced they are investigating Indian software giant Infosys for allegedly breaching immigration laws by buying cheaper, short-term visas than those required for its staff.
Fri, 1 Jul 2011 • Read more
Impact awards recognise IT project wins
Impressive project work and strategic use of HR/payroll IT featured among last month’s winners of the annual HR Technology Impact Awards, sponsored by MidlandHR.: The team at facilities management firm Fountains implemented a system in just 62 days. It sought to reassure staff and meet the payrun requirements as a viable business was salvaged from the former Connaught, which went into administration in autumn 2010. Judges said the HR/payroll team had ‘helped save a business, demonstrating the fundamental importance and strategic necessity of maintaining a payrun during time of uncertainty’.
Fri, 1 Jul 2011 • Read more
Employers fail to promote benefits of payroll giving
Employers are not doing enough to promote payroll giving schemes, according to MPs, business leaders and payroll giving experts.: The issue was raised during a Public Administration Select Committee meeting last month by MP Nick de Bois, who sought to address why such schemes are not more successful, saying that payroll is an easy way to donate.
Wed, 1 Jun 2011 • Read more
Banks should run HMRC, MP claims
HM Revenue & Customs should outsource tax collection and back-office administration to private companies to avoid errors, an MP has claimed.: Ian Liddell-Grainer, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Taxation, said banks are better at managing people’s money.
Wed, 1 Jun 2011 • Read more
HMRC’s debt reclaim practices under fire
Small business owners have revealed growing concern over HM Revenue & Customs’ debt reclaim tactics, following the emergence of a letter questioning its policies towards late payers.: In the letter, published in the Mail on Sunday last month, HMRC threatened to seize the addressee’s possessions and auction them off, while warning of the impact on public services if taxes were unpaid.
Sun, 1 May 2011 • Read more
Universities save millions with HR and payroll
UK universities and higher education institutions could save at least £140m by implementing integrated payroll and HR systems, according to research.: Absoft, an SAP consultancy, analysed data from more than 4,000 SAP benchmarking participants to reach the figure, which represents an average £1m saving per institution.
Sun, 1 May 2011 • Read more
Unpaid internships foster inequality
Informal internships in the civil service will come to an end by 2012, under proposals announced by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.: Clegg said the practice of unpaid work experience must stop in the civil service and insisted the coalition would take action on the ‘tacit conspiracy’, where professionals in a privileged position place their own children with their contacts, giving them an advantage.
Sun, 1 May 2011 • Read more
In-house HR experts in decline
Only one seventh of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) have an HR expert inhouse, according to research.: Sage surveyed more than 1,500 SME customers who said that constant changes to employment legislation are leaving them ill-informed. Less than a quarter thought the Government provided enough advice for those starting a business, with only 14% saying Government information was reliable. Two fifths preferred to trust online information.
Fri, 1 Apr 2011 • Read more
Revenue IT partner fails to give evidence
The chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Taxation has accused HM Revenue & Custom’s IT partner of being ‘scurrilous’ and a ‘disgrace’, after it refused to appear before the All Party Parliamentary Group on Taxation.: Ian Liddell-Grainger MP said in an interview with Payroll World (see page 20) that the IT giant, Capgemini, had declined an invitation to meet with the group unless it first obtained permission from the chancellor, George Osborne. ‘It is a disgrace that a major IT firm is prepared to go behind the skirts of the chancellor to protect its contract. It makes me wonder what is wrong with the contract,’ he said.
Fri, 1 Apr 2011 • Read more
Still time to meet iXBRL deadline
Payroll professionals must prepare for electronic corporation tax filing, which comes into force next month.: From 1 April, companies must submit taxes to HMRC using iXBRL for the period ending 31 March 2010 and filed after 1 April 2011. John Turner, CEO of CoreFiling which developed the format, said the new system would be quicker.
Tue, 1 Mar 2011 • Read more
Fastpath NINOs scaled back
The Fastpath National Insurance Numbers (NINOs) registration scheme has been closed to new companies, stoking fears the system will be phased out.: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) declined to explain why the scheme, which allows employers to arrange NINOs for certain employees entering from outside the UK without attending an identity interview, was being scaled back.
Tue, 1 Mar 2011 • Read more
Lords seek new payroll and HR provider
The House of Lords has a budget of £100,000 to £200,000 for a new system to manage pay for around 500 monthly and 30 weekly casual staff, as well as managing the House of Lords pension scheme.: A spokeswoman in the House of Lords procurement department said: ‘Our existing contract is coming to
Tue, 1 Mar 2011 • Read more
Payroll giving awards at risk
The Payroll Giving Excellence Awards and the Quality Mark may not last beyond October 2012 unless funding from the Cabinet Office is renewed, the Institute of Fundraising has warned.: Some 8,500 employers are currently signed up to payroll giving schemes, but managers warn that take-up of the initiative will fall if employers’ efforts go unrecognised.
Tue, 1 Mar 2011 • Read more
KPMG pays tuition fees of students enrolled in its training scheme
Consultancy giant KPMG has announced plans to pay the tuition fees of university students who participate in its accountancy training scheme.: The scheme, which will launch this autumn, is a six year programme at Durham University that culminates in a BSc in accounting and full accountancy qualification for 75 students who complete the course successfully. When not studying at Durham University, the students will work for KPMG.
Wed, 2 Feb 2011 • Read more
