IT & Systems
Police forces see benefit of integrated workforce tool
Workforce management software will be used by police forces across the country in future, an industry expert has predicted.: Following Cheshire Police Authority’s implementation of a tailor-made workforce management, HR and payroll solution in January this year, David Hughes, head of marketing at employee management systems provider Crown Computing, said he had seen significant interest from other forces.
Mon, 1 Aug 2011 • Read more
Yell offers payroll support to SMEs
Telephone directories company Yell Group has announced it will provide payroll support services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the future, among other backoffice functions.: Last month the company announced a four-year plan intended to reverse its falling profits, which included expanding beyond advertising to become the leading provider of SME digital services.
Mon, 1 Aug 2011 • Read more
PAYE data sparks criticism among experts
The exclusive use of BACS and VocaLink solutions to transmit PAYE information following the implementation of Real-Time Information (RTI) has been criticised by industry experts.: Research for PAYE campaigner Matt Boyle questioned HM Revenue & Custom’s rationale for withdrawing the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) channel, which is currently used but will be replaced by BACS in 2014. He was told in a letter of response from Margaret Hodge MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, that she had asked the National Audit Office to ‘look into the points raised in your email, in particular the department’s rationale for withdrawing EDI.’
Mon, 1 Aug 2011 • Read more
ADP system suffers cyber attack
ADP, one of the world’s biggest payroll providers, suffered a cyber attack on its US system in June. The company said the intrusion affected a client at Workscape, a benefits administration provider it acquired last year, on a non-payroll platform it no longer offers. The incident is being investigated by ADP and US authorities.: In a statement, ADP said: ‘Since learning of this intrusion, and based on the preliminary intelligence and information gathered to date, ADP believes that the impact of the incident is limited to a single client.’
Fri, 1 Jul 2011 • Read more
Universal credit could delay RTI
The implementation of Real Time Information (RTI) could be delayed if the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) fails to find a suitable IT infrastructure to support its new system of universal credit.: The DWP’s system, when established, will tie in with HM Revenue & Custom’s PAYE system, but details from a leaked report, commissioned by the DWP, revealed serious concerns among suppliers over whether the deadlines for the new systems can be met.
Fri, 1 Jul 2011 • Read more
Exclusive: Ceridian to be Olympics payroll provider
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has confirmed Ceridian as its payroll provider for the London 2012 Games.: A LOCOG spokesperson said: ‘As part of the LOCOG policy we went through a procurement process and found Ceridian to be competitive, covering both quality of service and value for money.’
Fri, 1 Jul 2011 • Read more
Concern over rush to real-time reform
HM Revenue & Customs is rushing to Real-Time Information (RTI) reform with an approach that could lead to an increase in bureaucracy for employers and the Revenue itself, warn industry payroll experts.: Simon Parsons, committee chair of IReeN, the user group for electronic exchange between employers and HMRC, and Karen Thomson, head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, have both raised concerns.
Wed, 1 Jun 2011 • Read more
CIPP worry over RTI data for HMRC
Proposals to include deductions from net pay in Real-Time Information (RTI) data sent to HM Revenue & Customs raise concerns over data protection, the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) has said.: Karen Thomson, head of policy at CIPP, drew attention to the requirement, which was included in the technical specifications for software developers on RTI, published last month.
Wed, 1 Jun 2011 • Read more
RTI rollout sees one-year delay
The implementation of Real Time Information (RTI), due to go live in April 2012, has been delayed until April 2013 to ensure software developers undertake the necessary testing.: The one-year delay has come as a relief to those who had voiced concerns about the rapidity of the implementation and the lack of testing. Business consultant Yvette Lamidey, of Paris and Parks Consultancy, said: ‘I welcome the delay because it gives software providers the opportunity to test every package thoroughly.
Fri, 1 Apr 2011 • Read more
HMRC software flaws
HMRC’s National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS) has been described as ‘flawed’ in a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report published at the end of January 2010. The department was criticised for causing ‘unacceptable inconvenience to the taxpayer’ after £1.4bn of tax was underpaid to HMRC and £3bn of overpaid tax needed to be refunded.: The NPS’ software problems caused 2008/9 PAYE returns to be processed a year late. Incorrect tax codes were issued for 2010/11, and the department failed to process a backlog of 18 million PAYE cases from 2007/08 and earlier.
Tue, 1 Mar 2011 • Read more
Met under fire for costly HR overhaul
A major overhaul of the Met Police’s HR system, which has taken some four years to complete, has come under fire for being £10m over budget. The system, developed by French IT firm Steria, was to create a self-service computer programme and call centre that would deal with holidays, sick leave, most wages and other personnel issues for the Met’s 52,000 officers and staff.: The original go-live date has been delayed by almost six months because the technology has yet to be developed fully. A Met spokesperson said: ‘It was not possible to be specific on the date, but it will be the second half of this year.’
Thu, 3 Jun 2010 • Read more
HMRC electronic P60 campaign a success
HMRC has amended PAYE regulations to allow employers the right to issue electronic P60s from 6 April.: The Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) has lobbied on the issue for several years and published a survey last year showing that 90% of its members were in favour of digital P60s.
Tue, 1 Sep 2009 • Read more
Poor working practices increase risk of ID fraud
A recent, independent survey by eCopy, a provider of printer document imaging software, has found that most organisations are still photocopying documents containing sensitive data, thereby increasing the risk of data loss and identity fraud.: The study, Effective data protection – reality and risks, was carried out online and surveyed more than 100 senior executives and operational and administrative staff from the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 • Read more
HMRC’s PAYE Service goes live
The practical upshot of the HM Revenue & Custom’s major new upgrades to its PAYE service as of July will be that individuals can call one tax office and their details will be available altogether. The move is good news, particularly for contract workers or those who don’t have straightforward tax arrangements. One company executive commented wryly, ‘It will be good news for most but some liked the confusion of multiple tax centres for details; it helped avoid tax.’: The following is an edited letter which HMRC sent to its users about the upgrades to its PAYE service. ‘We wrote to you on 8 June to tell you about the significant improvements we are making to our PAYE Service in July 2009 as part of ongoing improvements to customer service and our internal processes.
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 • Read more
