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Men apply for 'female roles'Men and women are competing for the same jobs, which is having an increasingly negative impact on women’s impact on the job market, a study has revealed.
Roles traditionally considered to be women’s work are no longer the female preserve. The demise of former industrial areas has seen men apply for roles that they might otherwise not apply for, and they are gradually pushing women out of the market, according to the research conducted by Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Dundee.
The report, Women on Incapacity Benefits, studied one million women of working age who claim incapacity benefit. The researchers found a different explanation for the high number of claimants rather than one that was based on incidence of poor health.
The report’s author, Steve Fothergill, said: ‘Miners and steelworkers who were made redundant in the 1980s and ‘90s were often reluctant to take what they considered to be ”women’s jobs”. But their sons have rarely had the option of working in the old industries or of staying on benefit. They have competed for many of the same jobs as women.’
01/02/10Huge regional variations in jobless ratesUnemployment fell unexpectedly last month, while a report indicated huge regional variations across the country. Cities which had already been ravaged by long term industrial decline, even before the recession had taken place, and which were still suffering from the legacy of industrial restructuring not to mention previous recessions were the worst hit, according to the study by the think tank Centre for Cities.
Using the number of people who had registered for job seekers allowance as a measurement, the disparity between the weakest ten cities had increased by 70% since the recession hit, according to the figures of those registering for job seekers allowance. The city of Hull was hardest hit where unemployment rose by 3.7%.
Other cities which experienced significantly high levels of unemployment were Grimsby, Swindon, Birmingham and Doncaster.
Yet despite the problems faced by the financial service sector London recorded a below average rise in unemployment. During the same period, Cambridge was the least affected with a net job loss of just 705 (0.8%).
The research also found that cities more heavily reliant on public sector jobs were especially vulnerable.
Dermot Finch, the chief executive of Centre for Cities said: ‘The key issue is private sector jobs growth, made even more important by the pulling back of public spending that’s on the way.’
Last month unemployment fell by 7,000, a fall of 2%, yet forecasters have warned of a distinct possibility that the figure could rise again this year.
01/02/10Jobs rise at fastest rate in two yearsA third consecutive month of growth in both permanent and temporary placements has been reported during the month of October. The figures, published by the REC and KPMG, support the number of job vacancies available in October, and demand for permanent staff grew for the first time in 17 years. In addition, the availability of staff to fill job vacancies rose in the month of October.
The report indicated that there had been only a marginal fall in salaries and that the month of October was at the slowest pace in the current 13 month period of decline; likewise temporary staff registered a similar drop with the latest fall the smallest in the year.
This is the fastest rate in permanent placements for two years and analysts claim that it indicates that the job market is well on the road to recovery. This is especially evident in the nursing and medical profession who are the most in demand.
Kevin Green, REC’s chief executive, said: ‘Confidence is on the rise...based on the latest findings, we anticipate that unemployment will not reach three million in 2010 as some predicted.
‘This again highlights the benefits of the UK’s flexible labour market and a balanced attitude towards employment legislation in terms of keeping people in work.’
Bernard Brown, KPMG partner, said: ‘We may well have reached the tipping point into growth.’
30/11/2009Finance companies target students for pay-day loansThere is uproar within the pay-day lender industry after some lending companies launched a product and targeted a campaign at students who have been affected by the student loans debacle.
An estimated 70,000 students are yet to receive their loans and seek finance from other sources. Lender companies such as Tooth Fairy offer loans, but at rates that have attracted fierce criticism.
The company has been forced to re-design its website because its payment scheme wasn’t clear, following a complaint by Credit Action. The charity is also concerned about the way in which the company is targeting students who typically would not have means with which to pay back the loan immediately or with ease. The finance company allows them to borrow up to £300 paying back interest of £27 per week which they can apply for via an SMS on their phone.
The companies are legal, but do not market themselves as pay-day lenders. Other suppliers in the pay-day lending community are, according to Chris Tapp, director of the organisation Credit Action, ‘appalled and unhappy’ about the situation.
Mr Tapp told Payroll World: ‘Pay-day lenders tell me they do not want to be associated with this product’, adding: ‘the product is indefensible’. Instead of applying for such loans, he said students should consider approaching their university finance offices for bursaries, their banks for overdrafts ‘and getting in touch with Credit Action itself who can offer advice and support in the difficult times’.
He was speaking to Payroll World the day after he appeared on BBC Breakfast News alongside Tooth Fairy’s Oliver Holt. Following the broadcast, presenter Bill Turnbull asked Mr Holt: ‘How long do people borrow for on average?’ He responded: ‘People intend to borrow for two-four weeks but the average customer takes six weeks to pay the loan back.’
Payroll World contacted Tooth Fairy but it declined to comment formally. Mr Holt said: ‘We are not pay-day lenders; payroll information is not used as security.’
30/11/2009Beaverbrooks is jewel as Payroll Giving takes offRetail jewellery chain Beaverbrooks claimed the top prize in the annual National Payroll Giving Excellence Awards, presented at The Treasury last month. Despite a difficult year for the economy, the company achieved an impressive 25% take-up of Payroll Giving – overshooting its target of 10% – as part of an imaginative campaign that impressed the judges.
Beaverbrooks also claimed the prize of Best Launch of a New Scheme at the presentation, hosted by Stephen Timms MP, Financial Secretary to The Treasury, and the Minister for the Third Sector, Angela Smith MP.
There was a surprising increase in the number of applications to the prestigious awards – up one-third on 2008 – and in total donations via tax-free payroll deductions – up 5%. This was achieved against the backdrop of the deepest recession in 60 years.
A range of employers, sector and media representatives, and Government officials attended the event, which was compered by Lindsay Boswell, Institute of Fundraising chief executive. The judging panel also included Philip Whiteley, editor in chief of Payroll World.
Other winners included leisure giant Whitbread Group, insurance group Aviva and the Think Money Group. Winners in the new categories of smaller enterprises and the third sector were Haygarth and the British Heart Foundation, respectively. Mr Timms praised the ‘civic patriotism’ of participating employers. ‘People want to give something back into the community. Almost 750,000 people have contributed through Payroll Giving and last year over £100m was donated, plus £13m in matching donations,’ he said.
He asked for individuals and employers to give feedback to The Treasury, Institute of Fundraising or other relevant bodies on ways to make Payroll Giving more attractive and straightforward.
03/11/09Applicants stay high for payroll givingThe third annual Payroll Giving Awards has seen a healthy 37 applications this year. Many employers have recorded growth in participants and donations, despite the downturn.
The subject of payroll giving was included in the Payroll World survey on the recession. Although more employers recorded a decrease than an increase in donations – 13% compared with 4% – 45% reported unchanged levels of giving.
The Revenue backed scheme, which was established in 1988, enables individuals to donate out of pre-tax income.
‘Payroll giving is not complicated to set up, and it increases the value of contributions for some brilliant causes,’ said Payroll World editor in chief Philip Whiteley, who is on the judging panel for the awards.
‘It’s heartening to see so much effort and ingenuity in this year’s entries.’
The winners will be announced on 5 October.
01/09/09Firms tighten belts as recession takes holdNearly half of UK employers that responded to an online Payroll World survey during July have introduced pay freezes as they struggle to contain costs in the recession.
The survey of 330 employers showed cost-cutting is widespread. From the list of suggested alternatives to redundancy: reduced working hours, pay cuts, paid and unpaid sabbaticals, and pay freezes, several replied ‘All of the above’. One reply read: ‘A 20% pay cut, pay freeze, no bonus, unpaid sabbaticals, redundancies, reduced travel, no staff replacements.’
Measures taken that were not on the list include pensions contribution holidays, no bonuses, no maternity leave or sickness cover, no agency staff, reduced expenses and recruitment freezes.
Only a tiny number of respondents gave positive responses. One said: ‘None [of these measures] were needed; business is doing very well.’
Another stated its response to the downturn was to seek new business: ‘We have increased sales activity and incentivised clients to refer new business.’
In other findings, only one fifth of respondents had not made redundancies in the past year.
Given the variety of responses, there is clear evidence that unemployment would have risen far more than it has if companies had not been flexible in exploring other options and holding on to skills where possible.
There is a heartening finding for payroll staff: some 80% of companies had not made payroll staff redundant and a further 8% only lost one member of the payroll team.
01/09/09Firms respond to sharp rise in unemploymentUK unemployment rose a record 281,000 to 2.38 million in the three months to May, the Office for National Statistics said. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose by 23,800 to 1.56 million.
As unemployment pushes swiftly to an estimated three million by the year end, the Confederation of British Industry asked the Government to consider its ‘alternative to redundancy’.
With the backing of its 220,000 company members it hopes 10 Downing Street will adopt the scheme in the autumn.
The CBI’s recommendation appears in a report copublished with Siemens called Jobs for the Future.
The ‘alternative to redundancy’ idea is unique, CBI policy adviser Ben Digby told Payroll World. It involves employees not working for up to six months and being paid a weekly allowance of double the jobseeker’s allowance (£64.30 for the over 24s).
Workers would try to find work while off, but the company might be in a position to take them back when the six months ended or earlier. Eventually staff might be made redundant, but despite fears from the unions that redundancy payments might suffer, all participators would see redundancy rights remain intact said Mr Digby. He added: ‘Staff would not miss out on redundancy and that would include the scheme’s six months’.
The unions have criticised the CBI’s plan. Unite has been campaigning for the UK to have a scheme of short-time working subsidies similar to those in France and Germany.
Daimler, VW, Opel and Ford have all taken advantage of the short-time wage subsidy from the German state. In France, Renault, Peugeot and car parts supplier Faurecia, have accessed the scheme.
The Federation of Small Businesses has teamed up with the TUC to lobby for short-time working subsidies from the Government. But, said a TUC spokesperson, the Government had not shown enthusiasm for the idea so far.
During the recession, many employers have introduced flexible working, hiring freezes, short time working, long holidays on no or reduced pay.
For example, 7,000 out of 40,000 of British Airways staff have responded to a request to take unpaid leave. BT has offered staff up to a year of annual leave on 75% pay. At consultancy KPMG, staff have been offered a four day week or a sabbatical of up to 12 weeks at 30% of salary. Manufacturer WL Gore has had to make no more than a handful of redundancies, and staff have volunteered to forego profit share to help.
30/07/09
1 in 5 firms breach data protectionAlmost one in five businesses has unwittingly breached the Data Protection Act (DPA) at least once, according to a survey of over 500 small and medium-sized businesses conducted by business services organisation, BSI.
Of these, nearly half said they had breached the Act on several occasions and an additional 18% said they were not sure whether they had or not. A ‘breach’ could refer to the illegal transfer of information to a third party, failure to hold information securely, or neglect of other legal obligations.
The survey was done to mark the publication of a new British Standard – BS 10012 – on data protection which will help companies and institutions maintain and improve compliance with data protection legislation. It is the first standard for the management of personal information.
The survey provided a snapshot of how UK businesses manage the personal information they hold on staff and customers, including sensitive data such as racial or ethnic origin, trade union membership and criminal proceedings.
30/06/09Low morale is costly but it's not inevitableEmployee engagement makes a huge difference to business performance, and there is increasing research on how it can make a difference, Christine Tebbutt of Catalyst HR, told a workshop at the Payroll World Annual Update Conference.
Even where there are redundancies, morale can be maintained. There is research evidence showing that, once the shock of a negative impact has been experienced, people can move either towards acceptance and moving forward, or towards hostility and denial.
Making tough decisions on redundancies, for example, does not mean it is inevitable that morale will collapse.
There are significant measures that managers can take. ‘The issue of engagement is often ignored because it is difficult to measure,’ said Ms Tebbutt. ‘But ignoring disengagement is a bad strategy during a recession.’
Engagement can be defined as engendering a commitment to the organisation among the employees. ‘It is not about driving employees to work harder,’ she said. Straightforward common sense on communication can do much to bolster employee engagement, she said.
Managers needed to ensure that communication channels are capable of delivering both good and bad news; that face to face methods should be used where possible, and that, for example, bad news should never be given via email.
01/05/09Beware the trusted payroll managerTrevor Wiles, a KPMG director, spoke to a fascinated group of delegates who heard about his work catching payroll fraudsters. One of the most depressing pieces of information he gave was that he reckoned half the frauds were done by a longserving payroll manager whom everyone knew and trusted, often stealing thousands of pounds from the company by simply changing a few bank account numbers.
‘It is just because they are long standing staff who know the system backwards that they just can’t resist stealing,’ commented Mr Wiles. ‘Often stealing is triggered by an urgent need for cash like gambling debts. One case I know is a sad one: the father wanted to get medical help for his sick son in the States and decided to finance it via payroll,’ he said. In other cases, however, sheer greed was the driving factor.
Apart from checking the long serving payroll manager, also be aware of the manager who won’t go on holiday because someone might notice his discrepancies, also check pay rises and bonuses on the payroll, mismatches, roundsum amounts, overtime claims.
You should also make checks on someone who never logs into the building or maybe rarely logs onto the PC, and above all be thorough at the very beginning by checking closely the CV gaps and references of prospective payroll managers.
01/05/09Register will 'name and shame' bad firmsA new Register of Judgements became operative last month. It is a Government body that will ‘name and shame’ employers that do not pay fines awarded against them at employment tribunals.
Companies that fail to honour unfair dismissal or discrimination awards will be listed, Minister of Justice Bridget Prentice announced. The Register is open to public scrutiny.
The first defaulters are due to be on the Register by the beginning of May, searchable at a cost of £8 at www.trustonline.org.uk. More details about the Register are due soon, a spokesperson said.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber commented: ‘This register will help put bad employers in the spotlight. The TUC added: ‘Non payment by firms is a problem, especially hard for low paid workers.
Pursuing payment via the courts is expensive and complicated.’
01/05/09Opposition to outsourcing persistsNearly one third of HR decision makers are opposed to the outsourcing of HR, according to research from HR and payroll firm Ceridian.
A similar proportion considered that the key decisions made about HR outsourcing were down to senior management, including the finance director, and that only 20% of HR professionals considered the HR director as key in making big decisions to do with HR outsourcing.
The findings come from HRO and the Credit Crunch, a report examining the impact of the financial crisis on HR outsourcing in the next two years.
The survey of 250 HR decision makers revealed that while a minority did not see outsourcing as an issue or priority, nearly a third liked outsourcing HR - if it clearly delivered better value for money than providing the same services in-house.
01/05/09Online filing blips emerge weeks before compulsionProblems have emerged with the Revenue’s online filing system, just weeks before it becomes compulsory. A correspondent to Payroll World reported problems with the e-filing system for P45s and P46s, due to become compulsory via the internet next financial year. She says her experience has made her feel ‘like banging my head against the wall’.
There is no facility for importing new employees’ personal details onto the HMRC site, so they have to be entered manually, she said.
‘Because the system is so slow I submit the P45s and P46s in batches of 10-15 documents. The last submission I made has been pending for almost a month. Until the submission is accepted or rejected, I am unable to submit any further forms, so the backlog is building up.’
She also said the Help Desk did not sort out the problem.
HMRC’s press office said they would deal with this payroll manager’s problems, and encouraged anyone with difficulties to get through to the hotline.
Some payroll managers recommended avoiding bottlenecks such as the 31 January self-assessment deadline. Jeanette Hibbert, payroll manager for food firm Kelly Group, said: ‘I’ve always found congestion at the yearend. You’ve got to plan, otherwise you get stuck in the queue. The thing about not having your submission accepted by HMRC is that it becomes open to error and you can lose the information.’
Julia Harris, payroll manager at BDO Stoy Hayward, said: ‘With the volume of online filing that will take place, I don’t know whether HMRC are going to have the same problems they had over self-assessment. They do have some speed issues with their online filing, so they’ll need to ensure they can cope with the forms as they come in.’
Kate Upcraft, independent payroll trainer and commentator, reported that many people attending her lectures have not been able to file online and were told to send in paper forms. The Revenue’s own software, for employers whose IT systems do not include the online filing facility, was not functioning (see Conference Preview, page 14).
05/03/09Party blues boost false expensesDisgruntled employees disappointed by cancellation of an office party may get revenge by making false expense claims to fund celebrations. That is the warning from David Vine, managing director of Global Expense. ’Employees may believe that they deserve a company party after a year of hard work, and try to fund a celebration by submitting false claims,‘ said Mr Vine. He advises all payroll and expenses staff to closely examine all expense claims, and particularly those for entertaining submitted in December and January.
Research for Global Expense has disclosed that a fifth of employees admit to having exaggerated their expenses. The average amount that they have added to the bill is £13.81. According to the survey, exaggerating expense claims is seen as acceptable by 30% of adults, particularly when employees believe that car and fuel costs do not cover the actual cost. Another reason for exaggerating claims is where the employer is slow at paying expenses or they believe that they are not paid a fair salary.
The number of false claims may worsen as a result of the economic down-turn. The survey shows that 13% of employees are either likely or very likely to exaggerate their expenses if they find themselves in financial difficulties. The further the country falls into recession, the more employees are being tempted to fiddle their expenses.
Mr Vine also points out that making false claims are not only from junior, low paid staff but also by senior managers and directors.
02/01/09Payroll in the front line as fraud cases mountCorporate and financial fraud costs the UK at least £20bn or more each year, and is likely to grow in the economic down-turn, a major new report by KPMG has revealed.
‘Fraud and the methods adopted by perpetrators are evolving at an astonishing rate. They are becoming more complex, cross-border and sophisticated,’ said David Luijerink, director at KPMG Forensic and author of the report. ‘It is an underlying risk in every aspect of business life and management should see combating fraud as one of their key objectives.’
Payroll staff are in the front line of fraud detection, the report shows. In addition to handling what is by far the largest single regular cash transaction in a business, the pay-run, they handle expenses, an area that creates ‘endless opportunities for fraudsters’, the report found.
It identifies three key risk areas:
Autocratic management style: The ‘tell-tale signs’ include frequent overruling of senior management by a chairman or CEO, and absence of meaningful debate at board level,
Bonus culture: In the case of performance-linked compensation, senior management may be reluctant to ask probing questions about the basis and quality of profits when staff appear to be making short-term profits,
Cronyism: This is likely to encourage fraud in the areas of expenses, entertainment, gifts, commissions and conflicts of interest.
The report was published as details began to emerge last month of the Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities scandal, in which some of the world’s leading banks were revealed to be exposed to a scheme that amounted to pyramid selling, in which new investment was used to pay off established investors, which became unsustainable as losses mounted.
The banks affected include the Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, which owns Abbey National, and BNP Paribas.
02/01/09Demand for payroll staff is holding upDemand for payroll staff is holding up well, despite the economic downturn, although candidates may have to relocate to secure a job.
There are currently 3,000 payroll vacancies on various websites, according to leading payroll recruiter Mel Pizzey.
‘More people are being made redundant, but there are jobs to put them into,’ she said. ‘When I first started [in the early 1990s], I met people who had been out of work for a long period of time.’
But she warned: ‘You have to be flexible – on salary and on location. You cannot wait for the ideal role.’
Retail employers are looking for temporary staff, and demand is also being kept up by the huge Electronic Staff Record (ESR) programme of modernisation for payroll and HR throughout the NHS, which employs more than one million people across the UK, she reported. ‘Even on the permanent side, there are still positions available. It is still a buoyant market.’
The news came as Chase Moulande, the nationwide payroll recruitment consultancy, announced that it had acquired payrecruit, set up and run by Ms Pizzey. She will now take on the role of recruitment sales director of Chase Moulande.
Ms Pizzey said: ‘I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. Over the past couple of years, payrecruit did particularly well in servicing the payroll temporary market, and with Chase Moulande’s foothold within the permanent payroll market, this move makes perfect sense.’
Chris Fitzgerald, managing director of Chase Moulande, added: ‘The payroll recruitment sector is an important and complex one. Bringing the two businesses together enables us to offer a greater and more flexible service than ever.’
03/11/08Payroll giving comes of age as judges meetThe second national Payroll Giving awards will be announced this month following a keenly competitive round of applications from large and small employers across the UK.
New for this year is a ‘Best in Show’ category, to be awarded to the employer from all the categories judged to have shown the most commitment and imagination in encouraging staff to donate through the payroll.
The panel of judges – which includes Payroll World editor Philip Whiteley – has now met to finalise the winners, which will be announced at a ceremony on 8 October, to be attended by Jane Kennedy MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
It was an extremely close contest this year, with a round of scoring and a long discussion held before the winners and highly commended were determined. Judges were looking to recognise organisations that captured the imagination of employees, encouraged high take-up, and involved close cooperation with external agencies.
Meanwhile, the campaigning group Geared for Giving has renewed its push for more employers to adopt payroll giving. Geared for Giving has been boosted by the active campaigning of businessman and TV presenter Duncan Bannatyne, star of the show Dragon’s Den.
A statement published last month contrasted the UK’s take-up with much higher participation in the USA. ‘The story over the pond is very different from here; over 30% of employees give to charity through their pay in the US,’ a statement by the group said. ‘In the UK that figure is only 2.6%. Charity giving in the US as a whole is a booming business with over $300bn (£170bn) raised for charity last year alone – a figure roughly equivalent to the GDP of Poland.’
Britain has similar tax benefits to the US for workplace giving. Every donation is worth more to the recipient charity as it is made from pre-tax pay, under an arrangement permitted by the Treasury since 1987.
01/10/08IPP chief's sudden exit still shrouded in secrecy
The Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) has declined to state a reason for the sudden departure of its chief executive, Maurice Cheng, who left on 6 August.
Lindsay Melvin, former operations director, has been appointed the new chief executive. The appointment was with immediate effect, without advertisement or a round of interviews. The roles of CEO and operations director are being combined, indicating that financial pressures may have been a factor in Mr Cheng’s departure from the institute.
The IPP issued a statement that hinted at a clash over strategy: ‘We were in need of strategic direction, and the re-invigoration of the IPP brand needed to be driven through a robust marketing phase, with the building of strategic alliances in our own and related markets.’
Mr Melvin declined to comment further on the reasons for the parting of ways and said that the announcement was made on the day he returned from holiday. ‘It came as a shock to me,’ he said.
Mr Melvin, who joined in September 2006, added: ‘My role as operations director has expanded. I have covered most of the areas of the business, so this move is a natural progression.’
He said that the new role would be under review. ‘Obviously, we need to look at how the new structure works in the future.’
Mr Cheng was ambitious for the payroll profession from his appointment in 2005, kick-starting the move towards chartered status, and highlighting the role of payroll in providing human capital data and assisting in business development (see News, December 2006). He oversaw the introduction of the Payroll Quality Partnership.
Mr Melvin reiterated the commitment to achieving chartered status. He was unable to confirm that the institute was on course for the target date of 2010, set two years ago. He added: ‘I would prefer to look at that over the next few months. I don’t think the date is the most important thing.’
Mr Cheng was not available for comment.
Forum discussion, see www.payrollworld.com/forum
Lindsay Melvin profile, p 30 - September 2008 issue.Unions and Labour map out agendaMinisters have reached the outlines of a deal with union figures and Labour Party activists at a National Policy Forum in Warwick.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis has made a statement welcoming agreements reached on key issues. ‘We have moved forward on a wide range of areas the British electorate want to see addressed. These include health and the public services, equal pay and equalities, tackling poverty, improving skills training and fairness at work.’
Documents released after the talks include details of pledges to extend the right to parental leave, making employees eligible for redundancy payouts sooner, and dropping the qualifying age for the National Minimum Wage from 22 to 21.
The National Minimum Wage is currently £5.73 for those aged 22 or older, and £4.77 for those between 18 and 21. Evidence suggests the closed-door meetings led to a pledge by the ruling party to reduce the age threshold to 21.
Other key issues discussed include equality in the workplace, which is a ‘big issue’ for Unison, which currently has more than one million female members. ‘We have had equal pay on the statute books for at least 30 years, and we’re still not there yet,’ says Unison spokeswomen Mary Maguire.
‘A couple of procedural issues were discussed, which we want to see implemented, that will make it easier for women to make equal pay claims,’ she added.
Despite all the pledges it is still unclear what solid agreements were made at the meetings. They were held at the University of Warwick, the venue where the Warwick Deal was agreed with trade unions back in 2004.
This came to form the backbone of Labour’s 2005 general election manifesto, but it appears after this year’s meeting that there is still more work to be done towards the 2010 agenda.
‘There will be another forum, probably in January, when there will be more discussions to try to get together a manifesto that will be relevant for the age,’ says Ms Maguire.
03/09/08'Sheer workload' has caused delay at HMRCThe workload created by the emergency Budget, a review of data security and other pressures on HM Revenue & Customs staff has contributed to the delay to its modernisation programme, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable has told Payroll World.
‘It is clear that HMRC is being overwhelmed by the complexity of Government tax legislation and consistent change, including new IT systems, combined with cuts in manpower,’ Mr Cable said.
The modernisation and centralisation of the UK’s Pay-As-You-Earn computer records system has been delayed indefinitely. Due for October this year, it may not be completed in 2009. The programme is also referred to as MPPC (Modernising PAYE Processes for Customers).
‘The mini-Budget, by changing tax allowances, has helped to alleviate the problem caused by the abolition of the 10p tax rate,’ said Mr Cable, ‘but it has created a need to re-code all taxpayers, with all the time and Revenue officers’ time involved. It is not surprising that the system cannot cope.’
The mini-Budget, announced in May, is due to come into force this month.
Only those paying tax on a cumulative basis can receive the promised back-dating through a simple coding change (News, June 08). A spokesperson for HM Revenue & Customs, however, said that the delay is simply due to the increase in transaction volumes that have been identified.
There has not been a significant increase in P14 returns this year – year end 2007 saw 56.4 million returns as opposed to 60.2 million in 2008 - but according to HMRC ‘transactions’ doesn’t refer solely to external inputs. It covers the increased automation of clerical activity, more electronic inputs from customers and the introduction of a ‘Work Management’ system for exception work.
Revised Tax Fact cards are distributed with this issue of Payroll World, and at the conference on 30 October.
Contact Clementina Lawrence on 0844 477 4801.MPPC, the story so far...According to the HM Revenue & Customs a number of major achievements are already in place, despite the deferral of MPPC 3:
A new IT upgrade already in place brings together pay and tax details for all of an individual’s employments into a single total. This means that, at the end of the tax year, more cases will have a full year’s pay and tax details that will enable them to be reconciled automatically, reducing the number of cases that need to be worked by HMRC staff.
The automatic processing of forms P11D, introduced in May 2007, means that customers are put on the right tax codes more quickly. It also reduces the number of underpayments and overpayments of tax at the end of each tax year.
A new version of the IT application ‘PAYE Browser’ is now available to HMRC staff that gives ‘view only’ access to personal data, including the pay and tax, pension details and benefits claimed during each complete tax year.
And some more are on the way, an HMRC spokesperson said. A new A4 version of form P45 that can be printed on to plain paper is to be introduced in October 2008.
This will include two extra fields for ‘date of birth’ and ‘gender’, which employers must complete from 6 April 2009.
Two new forms - P46(Expat) for registering foreign workers who are seconded to work in the UK by overseas employers, and P46(Pen) for registering new pensioners - will be introduced in April 2009.
From 6 April 2009 employers with 50 or more employees must send all their forms P45, P46 and similar pension information online.
03/09/08HBOS goes for rapid IPP diploma in-houseSix payroll managers at leading bank HBOS have achieved the Institute of Payroll Professionals Diploma in just six months, following an intensive in-house course organised by the employer.
The individuals also completed the Foundation course, which was run simultaneously.
‘The things for me that make it outstanding are that we have done it all in-house, and in a shorter timescale than the normal 18 months – just six months,’ said Jayne Edwards, head of payroll and HR transactions at the bank.
‘It’s in my nature; I had always challenged something that took so long.’ Participants spent one study day a week out of the office during the six-month period, but much of the training was delivered in-house by a visiting IPP tutor.
‘It was also to show support to our people – to show that we are committed to their development.’
Having a more qualified team ‘provides greater confidence to customers’, said Ms Edwards. ‘It helps them to get a bigger picture of legislation and payroll issues.’
One outcome of the exercise has been to prompt an analysis of the cost of producing a payslip, with a view to attaining productivity improvements.
Ms Edwards runs a team of about 80 people in human resources operations as well as payroll, serving an employee population of around 70,000, all of whom are paid monthly.
Around 35 members of Ms Edwards’ team are specialists in payroll operations.
HBOS was formed by the merger of the former Halifax Building Society with the Bank of Scotland in 2001. The HR and payroll team is based in Halifax.
01/08/2008Case for human capital grows despite scepticismThere continues to be resistance to assessing the impact of payroll and other people-related expenditure – even though it is the largest single item on the balance sheet, a human capital expert has claimed.
Dr Max Blumberg of the University of London told last month’s meeting of the Human Capital Forum: ‘Every other expenditure is linked to its impact on the bottom line.’
Lack of attention to the importance of human capital investment is especially common in the way in which call centres are set up, Dr Blumberg said. Employers will often spend millions on product development, market analysis, pricing strategies and IT, yet comparatively little on customer service, potentially wasting the entire investment.
‘Businesses work out the return on other assets, so why not people?’
While call centres are often set up with little investment in people and no attempt to measure the impact, large investments are sometimes made with a similar lack of measurement.
Dr Blumberg said that one executive had told him: ‘We are committed to investing in people, and we don’t need to measure it to prove the benefits.’ The problem with this act of faith is that it does not enable the employer to decide which is the best way to invest, he said; for example, whether an across-the-board pay rise, better workplace design or training is most effective in keeping the best staff or producing the best performance.
Dr Blumberg described how statistical modelling can be used to indicate links between different people-related expenditure and the impact on the bottom line.
Human capital is a new science. ‘If you can measure something, you are ahead of those who don’t,’ Dr Blumberg announced as he introduced the subject.
‘If we can explain 15% of the impact of the money you spend on people in the organisation, we are doing well. We might get to a point where we can explain 40%.’
The Human Capital Forum was set up by Payroll World. For more information, go to www.humancapitalforum.com
01/08/2008Payroll deserves seat at the top, says IPPThe stakes involved in payroll and the complexity of systems are now so high that the profession should be represented at the most senior level in organisations, Elaine Gibson, senior policy and research officer at the Institute of Payroll Professionals, told a senior HR audience last month.
The complexity of the PAYE system, and the high costs of failing to comply with the Revenue, mean that payroll expertise is needed to help design compensation & benefits strategy, not just be involved in implementation.
‘On the question of compliance with the Government, if you are incorrect the organisation ends up with an unexpected expense,’ she told the Flexible Benefits Forum 2008, run by Symposium Events and held last month in London. ‘For example, one area where organisations tend to fall down is salary sacrifice. If implemented incorrectly then liabilities for the taxation falls on the employer.’
For larger companies, this can be a huge bill. She added that when she worked as a senior payroll manager she was sometimes the only person who could advise on taxation and legislation. ‘Payroll can provide assistance in making financial decisions: on the conception of benefits schemes, annual reviews, and on new benefits,’ she said.
A successful flexible benefits programme requires attention to administrative slickness and employee communication, Fedra Nicholls, UK reward manager at Vodafone, told the Symposium Events conference. ‘We spent a lot of time testing systems – making sure payroll was correct,’ she said.
01/06/08PW wins accolade from publishing bodyPayroll World reached the finals of this year’s Business Magazine of the Year awards, run by the Independent Publisher Awards, part of the Periodical Publishers Association.
It was a significant milestone for the magazine, which saw off tough competition to reach the shortlist. In total, there were around 200 applications for the ten categories with fierce competition for the prestigious Business Magazine of the Year accolade, won by Dentistry, published by FMC.
Last year’s redesign, the successful launch of the Payroll World Human Capital Forum and ground-breaking investigative journalism – such as the exposé of interns not receiving the minimum wage (September 2007) – were all cited in the nomination.
Chris Fitzgerald, who founded Payroll World seven years ago, said: ‘This is a tremendous achievement for a title that is still young. It reflects the strength of the redesign and the editorial content and our continual reinvestment.
Also, we’ve always tried to stay close to the readers and to innovate, introducing website forums, the conference, e-bulletins and podcasts.’
Web traffic has doubled since 2007, and the vacancies section on Payroll World has benefited. ‘This win is also good for payrollers; showing that we are recognised externally as a mature profession,’ she added.
01/06/08Italian earnings on the webItaly has been hit by an identity fraud nightmare, after the out-going Government published the earnings and tax contributions of every Italian on the tax authority’s website.
The details were available to be viewed on the website for around 24 hours before the privacy watchdog made a formal complaint. However in the time that it was available it was inundated with visitors who were curious to know about the earnings of celebrities, sports stars and their friends.
The information was reportedly put on the site with no warning by the outgoing centre-left Government, with the finance ministry describing the move as ‘a bid to improve transparency.’
Speaking to Italy’s Corriere della Seranewspaper, deputy economics minister Vincenzo Visco, said: ‘I can’t understand what the problem is. This already exists all around the world, you just have to watch any American soap to see that.’ He added: ‘We had the system ready by January but we delayed publication to avoid arguments during the election campaign.’
But critics hit back at the former administration for causing a major invasion of privacy.
In the UK, personal information on earnings becoming public have been limited to one or two highprofile individuals, notably footballers.
01/06/08Bogus expenses top £1bn markUK workers are swindling firms out of more than £1bn a year in false expenses claims, according to a report commissioned by Travelodge, to pay for anything from hair extensions to a new bathroom.
A pet hamster, a garden shed and ballroom dancing lessons are just some of the other things employees have paid for with fraudulent expenses claims, according to OnePoll, which conducted the research of 3,000 British workers in March.
Some claimants admitted to buying furniture, home entertainment, a gym in one case, or wallpaper and paint to spruce up their homes.
Typically, each worker pockets £17 each month, or £204 each year, from ‘dodgy’ expense claims, suggested the report.
Guy Parsons, chief operating officer at Travelodge, said: ‘In today’s climate, companies cannot splurge on ridiculous non work-related expenses claims, which is costing them more than £1bn a year.’
‘Even tweaks on everyday claims such as taxis, mileage and the odd bottle of wine can really rack up a business bill over the year. With the new financial year just beginning, this is the ideal time for employers to adopt a low-cost culture, starting by reviewing their expenses policy first.’
The top-three expenses scams listed include submitting unused taxi receipts, adding extra mileage for a petrol claim and dining out at a cheaper restaurant with clients but submitting receipts for expensive restaurants used privately.
An astonishing 84% of UK workers said they felt justified making fraudulent claims and 43% of workers felt false claims were a legitimate way to make extra cash.
28/04/08Discs loss was fault of senior HMRC managerThe data loss at HMRC was the responsibility of a highly paid member of HMRC staff and not a junior official as had been reported, according to a member of the House of Lords.
When the Chancellor Alistair Darling admitted to the House of Commons last November that two discs containing personal details of 25 million Child Benefit claimants had gone missing in HMRC’s internal mail, a junior official was blamed. Reference to a ‘junior official’ was repeated in an official report to the Commons on 20 November.
Now it has been revealed that the ‘junior official’ was in fact a manager in the top 4% of staff. The revelation came in the House of Lords debate on the Poynter Review, set up as an inquiry into the disc loss.
Conservative peer Baroness Noakes told the House of Lords: ‘That statement [last November], dreadful as it was, was not the whole truth. We now know that the junior official was a manager among the top 4% of staff in grade terms in HMRC. Furthermore, an even more senior person, the Child Benefit process owner, was well aware that unencrypted personal data was being supplied, in industrial quantities, to the National Audit Office.’
She told Payroll World: ‘The interim Poynter Review was a complete waste of time. And the use of the term “junior official” is very misleading.’
The National Audit Office did not need or ask for the amount of data that was sent by HMRC. The organisation appealed to HMRC for less information, requesting a smaller amount of nonconfidential data, but an HMRC official at the time stated: ‘I must stress that we must make use of the data we hold and not over burden the business by asking them to run additional scans/filters that may incur a cost to the department.’
Baroness Noakes said the cost to the department could have been just £5,000 if only the information requested had been sent.
31/01/08HMRC blunder as post goes astrayHMRC has been caught up in another blunder. Tax officials have sent post intended for Buckinghamshire County Council payroll department to a domestic address in Oxfordshire.
The letters included details of individual’s child benefit and National Insurance numbers, and one of the letters contained a cheque for £2,000.
Tim Kelsey, payroll manager at Buckinghamshire County Council, told Payroll World: ‘The council was very surprised to learn that its address details could simply be over-written on HMRC’s system without proper instructions on our headed paper.
‘Even more worrying has been the delay in confirming what correspondence was sent out in error. If it can happen to a large public sector employer like ourselves, presumably it could happen to any other employer as well,’ he added.
Mr Kelsey, who estimates that the letters were sent in 2007 between July and September, explained that the debacle occurred after an employee sent a mandate to HMRC asking them to appoint his father-in-law as his agent. But in addition to updating the individual’s details, an official at HMRC updated the council’s address, replacing it with Mr Ron Leaver’s.
Asked why the council’s payroll department had failed to notice that some of its mail was missing, Mr Kelsey responded: ‘Most traffic comes to Bucks electronically. The only information sent by post is student loan start-ups and P43s.
‘If it had continued for another couple of months it would have flagged up as something strange. But since things like in-year filing are all done electronically it wasn’t so noticeable.’ He said that he is still waiting for a full explanation from HMRC.
The development came at the end of a dreadful year for the Revenue, featuring controversies over lost data.
HMRC declined to comment.
04/01/2008Staff cry stress to avoid disciplinariesThree out of five employees claim they are suffering from stress or depression to avoid facing disciplinary action at work, a leading law firm has claimed. Commercial law firm EMW says this delays the disciplinary process while action is put on hold indefinitely. The firm reports rapid growth in this practice compares to just five years ago when it was relatively uncommon.
Head of employment at EMW, Jon Taylor, said: ‘It has become the norm for employees to get themselves signed off sick and claim that they are suffering from stress or depression as soon as an employer tries to tackle a disciplinary or performance issue with a member of staff.’
The common pattern is that the absence is often followed by a grievance from the employee accusing the manager of bullying, which forces the employer to commit more management resources to investigating the grievance.
‘However, they [the employer] should be aware that it is not impossible to dismiss an employee because they are off sick, as long as there is just cause and the proper procedures have been followed, having taken medical and legal advice.’
04/01/2008National Payroll Week sees higher profile for professionOver 500 companies participated in last month’s National Payroll Week, which aimed to promote the important function of the payroll office to employees.
Businesses across the country hosted payroll stands, invited staff to meet their payroll departments and held question and answer sessions.
Payroll staff at Bonmarché, the retailer, used the week to create a party atmosphere, decorating the payroll office with balloons and banners, and held a lunchtime party where colleagues were invited to discuss any payroll related concerns.
And the Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) commissioned a survey to highlight the week further. The results found that 23% of people have fished for a pay rise by intimating they might leave the company if they did not receive one; of those, 77% were successful.
But those surveyed were not so happy discussing salaries. Just 7% were prepared to reveal their salary with colleagues and 68% would rather admit to fancying someone at work than reveal how much they earn.
Maurice Cheng, CEO of the Institute of Payroll Professionals, said: ‘Payroll is often seen as the poor relation of HR and finance but the week has helped to raise its profile and crucial role in keeping Britain paid.’
01/10/07City of London Police investigate fake P60sCity of London Police officers are investigating mortgage fraud rackets after lenders alerted them to an unusually high number of defaults on commercial and residential property loans. Fake P60 forms are being used to illustrate earnings by what are believed to be criminal gangs working with corrupt solicitors and valuers.
The investigation is also expected to look at mortgage fraud in the buy-to-let sector where there is concern about the use of fake self certification documents used to inflate earnings.
And it is not exclusive to London; the City of London Fraud Squad has joined forces with the Serious Fraud Office, which is already investigating commercial property fraud in the West Midlands, as well as the Serious Organised Crime Agency. In July 2007, Payroll World reported that fake payslips, used to illustrate earnings, were widely available online.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders confirmed that lenders face serious risks from fake documentation rackets.
Chief executive of the Institute of Payroll Professionals, Maurice Cheng called for a Government backed initiative which would enable lenders to check information with employers easily and accurately. ‘This new case underpins the seriousness of the situation,’ he told Payroll World.
‘In reality it is simple to reduce risk if lenders checked their information. The emphasis must be on encouraging lenders to check.’
And a spokesman for the Council of Mortgage Lenders said: ‘Lenders are tightening their lending criteria to deal with fake forms. They don’t want to be exposed. When you think of the sums of money at stake, lenders have to be vigilant about mortgage fraud, and they are.’
01/10/07CBI warns on agency lawThe CBI has called for the Government to ‘stand firm’ against renewed pressure to sign the draft Agency Workers Directive.
The CBI claims that a quarter of a million temporary workers could lose their jobs if the directive becomes law, following a survey published by the confederation and recruitment specialist Pertemps.
The CBI’s Deputy-Director General, John Cridland said: ‘This important section of the workforce has an uncertain future if the Government caves in to pressure for a new law.’
Currently the draft directive recommends that temporary workers have the same rights as permanent employees after six weeks with one employer.
Unions support the directive and argue that workers face exploitation and are losing employment rights that temporary contracts do not offer. But Tim Watts, Chairman of Pertemps, said: ‘We should not confuse people who choose to work flexibly with people who are vulnerable.’ The CBI/Pertemps survey revealed that 58% of employers said that such a law would lead to a ‘significant’ cut in the use of such temporary workers.
And the CBI believes that more businesses will ask existing staff to do more overtime to cope with peaks of work demand instead.
Mr Cridland said: ‘Use of temporary agency staff is vital for employers seeking to manage surges in demand.’ He added: ‘At the same time, these jobs offer quality work to people who actively choose a form of employment that allows them to balance responsibilities or pursue other interests.’
01/10/07Temps 'could be biggest fraud risk'Financial institutions may be exposing themselves to fraud when they hire temporary workers, a report has revealed.
The research showed that 89% of undisclosed criminal records were found on the CVs of temporary employees. Pre employment screening company Powerchex analysed nearly 3,000 financial service job applications and examined embellishments and false information. This information included: professional qualifications, criminal records, university degrees, job responsibilities, employment histories and dates.
Managing director of Powerchex Alexandra Kelly warned that while it is becoming an increasingly popular option for financial institutions to employ temporary workers, ‘An army of unchecked workers are potentially inside the nation’s banks and financial institutions.’
However, she added: ‘Most financial firms have become good at screening their top employees.’
The Financial Services Authority believes that crime groups deliberately target firms to place staff to commit financial crime, particularly identity theft. It has advised firms to vet staff carefully before confirming their appointment. The Office of National Statistics estimated that up to 176,000 work in financial services.
30/08/2007 PM changes Paymaster General roleGordon Brown, the new Prime Minister, has revised the historic role of Paymaster General, and moved it from the Treasury, as part of a Government reshuffle.
Tessa Jowell now holds the post. Although Paymaster General is not a Cabinet position, Ms Jowell will nevertheless sit in the Cabinet as Minister for the Olympics and London.
The Paymaster General remit has been spread out across two departments and will be carried out by three ministers. Jane Kennedy is the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and has direct responsibility for HMRC.
She will also have strategic oversight of the UK tax system, including business and personal taxation. In addition, Ms Kennedy will have responsibility for the voluntary sector, charities, including corporate social responsibility, and will have overall responsibility for the Finance Bill.
The role of Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury will be carried out by Angela Eagle MP. She will have responsibility for enterprise and productivity and support the Chancellor on economic reform. She will oversee competition and better regulation.
She will take on responsibility for the Office of Government Commerce and procurement policy.
The Cabinet Office was unable to confirm Tessa Jowell’s duties as Paymaster General.
30/07/07Outsourcing takes offDemand for outsourcing business services in Europe increased dramatically in the first half of 2007 compared with the same period last year, according to the latest Quarterly Index from TPI. The total value of new outsourcing contracts in the £40m-plus bracket is up 78%.
30/07/07New computers at HMRCHMRC will replace 12 geographical databases which will give staff access to a single customer view of all pay, tax, National Insurance and pension data. The department was hit by computer problems, highlighted in a National Audit Office (NAO) report published last month.
30/07/07Human capital creeps up corporate agendaHuman capital is top of corporate agendas but not measured, according to a survey by the FT Research Centre on behalf of Ceridian.
Two thirds of correspondents felt that human capital issues were at the top of the agenda for their company, but only around half reckoned that their finance director had sufficient information on key performance indicators.
Many companies did not measure productivity or returns on their human capital investment.
Penny de Valk, strategy director at Ceridian in the UK, commented: ‘Half of chief executives are kept awake at night worrying about how they are going to find and keep good people.
‘However, while human capital is critical to competitive advantage, companies still struggle to link people and their contribution to business performance. ‘Companies need to understand the contribution of their human capital to their business success so they can measure and manage it more effectively.’
30/07/07Payroll officer admits theftA payroll officer who stole more than £3,000 from her workplace has been found guilty of falsifying payroll records and clearing house automated payment service (CHAPS) payments.
Joanne Lockwood, who was working for Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Trust, was responsible for processing data on the trust’s payroll system.
In November 2005 she changed the bank details for an employee who was leaving the company to an account which she could access and transferred money into it. Once the payment was made she reversed the changes.
Ms Lockwood asked for ten similar offences to be taken into account. The full amount taken was £3,222.54. She was suspended in March 2006 when she told a supervisor what she had done, but because she resigned no disciplinary action was taken.
Speaking on behalf of Ms Lockwood her legal representative, Bob Carr, said: ‘She had worked for the trust for 18 years and was an industrious and hard-working woman. She committed the offences in desperation.’
He explained that Ms Lockwood had been suffering from an eating disorder, and had been going through a difficult time. She was having marriage problems, experienced a breast cancer scare and was caring for her sick parents.
Sentencing was adjourned and Ms Lockwood was released on conditional bail.
03/07/07Staff scam costs £110,000A cashier stole £110,000 from the Caledonian Hotel Edinburgh by creating 10 bogus employees. An auditor became suspicious in October 2004 when she noticed the wages were being paid into only two accounts – both of which belonged to Janet Davis.
01/05/07Outsourcing bluesPoor contract management is partly responsible for dissatisfaction with outsourcing, claims a report from global outsourcing advisory firm TPI.
It found that 61% of those interviewed concentrated their efforts on establishing a contract, rather than maintaining it. The report found that outsourcing contracts typically deliver 28% less value than originally anticipated, with many companies restructuring their agreements within just 18 months. In line with buyers recognising the impact of their own failings on outsourcing success, few choose to sever the relationships with their existing providers when they encounter problems. While 42% said they considered soliciting bids from other service providers as part of the renegotiation process, only 18% actually did so.
Similarly, 41% said they considered bringing some of their outsourced work back in-house, but only 13% followed through. Many companies blame themselves at least as much as the service providers for their dissatisfaction with outsourcing.
‘Problems encountered with outsourcing contracts often stem from a lack of clarity about the scope of the services to be provided – not the quality of services,’ said Stuart Harris, partner at TPI.
01/05/07Payroll giving goes greenTechnology firm Vebnet has partnered with the charity PURE to allow employees from 170 UK companies to offset their carbon emissions through payroll giving.
The scheme enables employees to calculate their carbon footprint using the PURE website, and then choose to offset all or part of it in tax-efficient monthly payments, ‘giving as they earn’ through the flexible benefits programme provided by their employer.
Centrica, owner of British Gas, is one of the first organisations to support the initiative. Liz Dixon, one of Centrica’s Reward Managers, commented: ‘Centrica’s customers, employees and wider stakeholders expect us to demonstrate leadership on environmental issues.
‘As we are moving to Vebnet for our flexible benefits scheme for 10,000 employees, we can now add this service as a give-as-you-earn benefit. Many of our employees are very passionate about environmental issues.
Carbon offsetting through flexible benefits just makes sense.’ Donations are used to buy Kyoto carbon credits and ensures each selected project has genuinely reduced carbon emissions.
01/05/07The heavy cost of employee fraudUK employers are frittering away around £1.3bn on employee expenses due to lax managers and fraud, according to a report by GlobalExpense, an employee expenses services provider.
Around £5.2bn was paid to employees as expense claims but 15% of these claims were for payments approved for items disallowed by their employers’ expenses policies, according to the Employee Expenses Benchmark Report 2007.
Some of the more unusual employee expense claims included a receipt for £1,000 from lap-dance club Spearmint Rhino for ‘client entertaining’ and a claim for ‘Durex Play’, both approved by the employer.
The findings show that each year four million employees claim expenses from their employer. Of those, a quarter of them believe it’s acceptable to exaggerate their expense claims.
‘The findings are surprising as managing staff expenses is not rocket science,’ commented Ben Willmott, an employee relations adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
‘If expense claims under a certain amount are not vigorously managed, then it becomes known that you can get away with a certain amount of inappropriate claims,’ he said.
The research was based on payments of more than £156m between 2004 and 2006, based on expense claims by more than 60,000 employees.
02/04/07Nursery refuses to hand over referencesThe biggest childcare recruitment agency in the UK is preparing for a court battle with the Information Commissioner after it refused to hand over confidential job references for nursery workers on its books.
Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, has told Tinies, which has 25 branches across the country, to hand over the references it holds on a nursery nurse who has been turned down for several jobs.
The agency has refused. It says it’s prepared to go to court to avoid revealing the contents of the references, and has argued that the entire childcare industry relied on parents and nursery managers being able to give candid assessments of their former employees.
From a legal standpoint, a nanny can ask to see the references held on them by an agency or employer under the Data Protection Act 1998. ‘An individual has the right, at reasonable intervals, to be given a description of all their personal data held by another and the personal data itself’ said Andrew Knorpel, partner in employment law for ASB Law.
The dispute with Tinies arose after a nursery nurse who had failed to secure a new job made an application to find out what the references held by Tinies said.
28/02/2007Strikes cause payroll headachesPayroll departments bear the administrative brunt of industrial action, the Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) has warned in the wake of recent announcements of strikes including confirmation of industrial action at the HMRC and staff at British Airways.
Last month members of the Public & Commercial Services union at the HMRC and other Government offices voted 62% in favour of a one-day strike on 31 January - the tax deadline. The action is in protest at 25,000 job cuts.
The IPP highlighted issues for payroll staff when employees go on strike. Workers who take part in industrial action do not get paid for the day or days on which the strike takes place. However, this can cause complications for staff who are away from work on those days because they are genuinely ill.
Claire Warner, IPP head of qualifications, said: ‘When a company goes on strike, it may be very difficult to see if an individual who does not turn up for work was on strike or off sick. If they were off sick, then they may be due Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). ‘This can cause issues with the recalculation of pay and the adjustments to pay that may need to be made after the event if the payrun has already been sent – a lot of extra work can be involved.’
Ms Warner added: ‘Pension contributions may also be affected, again adding to the administrative burden of the payroller.’
Recent announcements of strikes also include the three day action by Transport & General Workers union members at British Airways, due to have taken place at the end of January in a dispute over sickness, pay and staffing levels.
01/02/2007Cut sickness, save moneyGlasgow City Council has saved £4.5m by cutting absence among its 38,000 employees. The council won the Zurich Municipal Scheme Safety Award for its ‘Maximising Attendance’ programme, which uses a Wellness team to identify employees’ long-term absence problems, such as stress, at an early stage.
01/02/2007Black tape emerges in the HMRCCivil servants have had their desks marked to show them where to keep office equipment, in a Government efficiency drive that has been slammed by union representatives.
Staff at the National Insurance offices in Tyneside were given black tape by consultants to mark where to put their pens, pencils and computers, in a bid to keep workstations uncluttered. The initiative is part of HM Revenue & Custom’s ‘Lean’ programme formulated by consultancy Unipart.
A spokesperson for the Commercial Services (PCS) union told Payroll World that union members are ‘very angry’ about the project, and that ‘morale in the HMRC is plummeting’. An HMRC representative said: ‘This was just a pilot scheme in one office. It’s not the Revenue’s policy to have tape on the desks. They don’t have to keep their equipment on those exact spots… It’s been blown out of proportion.’
01/02/2007Smoke-free company carsEmployers could face prosecution and high fines if workers are allowed to smoke in company cars, according to legal consultancy EEF South.
Under health legislation prohibiting smoking in ‘substantially enclosed’ areas, set to be implemented this July, vehicles shared by colleagues will be required to become smoke-free zones.
01/02/2007Fat cats want fit catsOverweight employees are thought to lack self-discipline by 70% of business bosses, according to a survey by the Aziz Corporation. Some 79% of respondents believe gaining weight inhibits career progression, and slimmer colleagues are thought to deal better with senior roles.
01/02/2007Fibbing on CVs rampantSurveys on both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed the extent of lying on CVs.
Website management-issues.com reported that more than half of US hiring managers say they have caught out someone lying on their resume, while a British survey by employee screening specialists The Risk Advisory Group found that one in five individuals applying for jobs had lied on their CV.
The US survey, by recruitment site CareerBuilder.com, found that although just 5% of workers admitted to fibbing on their resumes, almost six out of 10 hiring managers had spotted a lie on a candidate’s application. The survey of more than 2,200 workers and 1,000 hiring managers found the most common resume lie was stretched dates to cover up employment gaps.
The UK survey uncovered examples of false qualifications, disguising difficulties with previous jobs and overlooking the fact they have a criminal record.
05/12/06LogicaCMG launches investigationPayroll and IT giant LogicaCMG and its client the Metropolitan Police are carrying out an investigation after admitting data containing payroll details of police staff had been stolen.
The loss came about through the theft of laptop computers from LogicaCMG offices. A spokeswoman for LogicaCMG said: ‘LogicaCMG can confirm that on Thursday, November 16, 2006, it was the victim of an opportunist break-in at one of its premises. We have taken immediate action to mitigate any further risk arising from this incident and are cooperating fully with the Metropolitan Police investigation. The risk of the data on the laptops being used for either fraud or identity theft is minimal ande very measure is being taken to protect those affected. We will provide further information as this becomes available.’
One man has been arrested in connection with the theft. He has been bailed to return at a later date.
05/12/06Census may ask about earningsThe next census in 2010 could ask for details about earnings for the first time.
A prototype 24-page form has been drawn up for the 2010 exercise with 40 questions. It is to be trialled in more than 100,000 homes in six areas. Previous attempts to ask about income and its sources have foundered because people have objected, fearing information will be passed on to HMRC.
Parliament blocked the idea as it thought such a question would discourage completion of the forms. A spokesman for the Office for National Statistics, which oversees the census, said: ‘If it affects the response rate we will have to make a judgment on whether it is appropriate to ask.’
The trial will take place in Liverpool, the London borough of Camden, Stoke-on-Trent, Bath, north-east Somerset and Carmarthenshire.
05/12/06And finally…. A novel way of collecting debtsTax authorities in one Indian state are attempting to persuade debtors to pay their bills – by serenading them with a delegation of singing eunuchs.
Eunuchs are feared in many parts of India, where some believe they have supernatural powers. Often unable to gain regular work, the eunuchs have become successful at persuading people to part with their cash. They get a commission of 4% of any taxes collected. In Bihar’s capital, Patna, officials felt deploying the eunuchs was the only way to prompt people to pay up. Accompanied by police officers, the eunuchs approached shopkeepers and large defaulters on their first foray into tax collection. ‘Pay the tax, pay the Patna Municipal Corporation tax,’ the eunuchs sang as they approached RamSagar Singh, who owed 100,000 rupees(£1,180), the AFP news agency reported. Mortified by the commotion, Mr Singh reportedly agreed to pay within a week.
The eunuchs collected about 400,000 rupees on their first day of work, authorities said, sharing 16,000 rupees(£188) among themselves.
05/12/06‘Sickies’ not toleratedMany workers have a low tolerance of fellow employees taking ‘sickies’, according to a survey by HR and payroll services provider Ceridian. Two-thirds of employees either strongly disapproved of those taking ‘sickies’ when they were not really ill, or did not think it fair.
‘There is a low tolerance of ‘sickies’, especially among men and older or more senior employees,’ said Doug Sawers, managing director of Ceridian in the UK. ‘Disapproval was also more likely among employees working in smaller companies or smaller teams.’
The survey of 1,050 employees also revealed that employees took an average of 8.5 days off in the past year due to illness or other reasons.
Ceridian has produced a white paper on employer relationships. Baby boomers (aged 41-59) tend to be good team players and many are workaholics, while Generation X (28-40) value flexibility, work-life balance and autonomy, according to ‘Maximising Human Capital Assets Through Generational Competence’.
31/10/06Outsourcing spend to soarOutsourcing in payroll and other business services is set to continue its rapid growth, a report from Forrester Research has shown. Expenditure across Europe on business process outsourcing is projected to increase from £7.5bn in 2006 to £12.8bn by 2011.
Human resources will attract the most expenditure, researchers found. Financial services invest heavily in outsourcing. ‘Governments and public services agencies, especially in the UK, also spend big on business process outsourcing,’ said Sonoko Takahashi, researcher at Forrester.
31/10/06Unrestricted web use widespreadNearly half of individuals in a web survey work for companies that allow staff unrestricted access to personal web-based email accounts at work. The survey was commissioned by internet security firm Marshal, which said that the practice left employers at heightened risk of computer virus infection from use of hotmail, Gmail and similar accounts.
David Ferris from Ferris Research, which carried out the survey, said: ‘These findings are worrying, given the potential risk to a business from both a virus and data leakage perspective.’ Only 33% said that their employers both ban use of webmail and enforce this with technology, with 8% of respondents reporting that their employer has formally prohibited the use of webmail, but not put technological blocks in place.
31/10/06Protest over unpaid wagesSome 700 school bus drivers in Palm Beach, Florida USA have protested against incorrect payslips, reporting unpaid overtime and calculation errors. A new PeopleSoft system was installed in July by Palm Beach District, but payslip errors have been common. At one point 60 drivers walked out.
Last month district superindendent Art Johnson said the drivers ‘had every right’ to feel mad, and promised that the problem would be fixed. But he said that the district did not at that stage know how many drivers had been underpaid or when the problems would be remedied.
31/10/06Football boss in wages scamA football manager has admitted plotting with other club officials to cheat the Revenue of £323,000 in a wages-related tax fraud.
Steve Evans of Lincolnshire-based Boston United, and former club chairman Pat Malkinson disguised players’ wages and bonuses as expenses in a four-year scam, Southwark Crown Court heard last month.
The court was told how the scam helped the club’s survival, but gave it an unfair advantage over its rivals. The club rose from the lowly UniBond League to reach the Coca-Cola League Two, with regular attendances of 4,000 and more, the court heard.
Prosecutor Martin Hicks QC, told jurors: ‘The scam was very simple. Wages, which attract tax, were disguised as out-of-pocket expenses, which do not attract tax.’
31/10/06And finally … RIP the office cardIs the round-robin signing of a workplace birthday card going to become a ritual of the past? One company has banned them in case they breach new age discrimination laws. Managers at insurer Alan & Thomas fear that messages written in the cards referring to bus passes or being ‘over the hill’ could fall foul of the new laws.
Since 1 October, staff are protected against discrimination on the grounds of age. Alan & Thomas’ managing director Julian Boughton said: ‘The new rules are a potential minefield. Messages can so easily be misinterpreted and we don’t want to offend.’
What do you think? Should office birthday cards be banned? Visit the forum to see what everyone else thinks and post your views!
31/10/06Higher pay for experience validEmployer groups have welcomed a European Court of Justice ruling which allows companies to continue to reward workers for long service. The court rejected an appeal by health and safety inspector Bernadette Cadman that it was wrong to pay more to male staff who had been in the post longer.
Mrs Cadman argued that because women were more likely to have breaks from work, this amounted to sex discrimination. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) welcomed the ECJ ruling, calling it a ‘common sense’ approach. ‘This recognizes that employers need to be able to reward the knowledge and skills that can grow with experience. The judgement will not bring radical changes to workplace practices,’ said Susan Anderson, director, HR policy for the CBI.
Karen Thomson, policy and research manager at the Institute of Payroll Professionals, commented that the ruling could have implications for the payroll department. ‘Previously an employer has maybe changed the pay award practices to ensure that there are no grounds for an equal pay claim due to women having less service than male colleagues. This ruling changes them to being service based. This could impact the payroll department should the company change their pay structure.’
But she warned that employers shouldn’t ‘jump the gun’ with this ruling, as the case is due to return to the Court of
Appeal to decide whether Mrs Cadman’s case could amount to ‘serious doubts’ in the Health and Safety Executive using service when setting pay levels.
Sam Mercer, director of the Employers Forum on Age, commented that the ECJ ruling provided some clarity for employers on the relationship between pay and experience. But she added: ‘Employers are desperate for clarification on what they can and can’t do under the new age regulations. The Cadman case provides a steer which suggests that pay based on time served (potentially indirect age discrimination) is acceptable in most cases.’
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warned that the ECJ ruling still left employers who pay men and women at different rates for similar jobs open to legal challenge. Dianah Worman, diversity adviser at the CIPD, said: ’While the court has concluded that long service can be a valid reason to pay oneworker more than another, they have left the door wide open for challenges to employers from individual employees. Unions were seeking a knock-out blow to unequal pay from the ECJ. They haven’t got that, but they landed a punch, and could still win many cases on points.’ • See In the Courts, page 27, November issue.
31/10/06New venue for Delta PhiHaving outgrown previous venues, the autumn conference of the Delta Phi Association – the Midland HR & Payroll Solutions User Group –will be at a new venue, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the centre of Nottingham. This will take place on Thursday 9 November, but as usual networking will start the previous evening with entertainment, drinks and dinner.
Members should by now have received their invitations and booking forms. For further information contact the Secretary, Colin Harris on colin_c_harris@hotmail.com
19/10/06NHS overhaul 'inadequate'Further concerns have been raised over the level of preparedness of NHS staff for the biggest modernisation programme in payroll history.
A payroll officer, who has been implementing the new Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system for England and Wales NHS trusts at a pilot site, said that patchy IT training meant that not all payroll teams were equipped to use it.
The web-based system is radically different from many of the legacy systems that it replaces. The helpfulness of the implementation consultants varied considerably, he added: ‘I have dealt with over half a dozen, and while two have been superb and very helpful, there have been others who have very little knowledge of the system or payroll processes within the NHS,’ said Stuart Westley, an independent training consultant who was a payroll officer on a pilot site for the ESR.
He also told the Payroll World website forum: ‘It has been my experience … that payroll staff in the NHS do not have adequate IT training in the first place.’ (See Forum).
A comprehensive survey of more than 100 NHS trusts, carried out by Payroll World, found widely varying levels of efficiency and preparedness for the change (Payroll World, September 06).
The ESR programme is probably the largest payroll system change in history; putting 1.2 million employees onto a single record. It will be self-entry, and holds the potential for considerable reduction in bureaucracy. For example, of the 250,000 new joiners in the NHS annually, 200,000 come from elsewhere in the NHS. Previously a new record would have to be created when joining a new trust but this is unnecessary with the ESR.
19/10/06Spending on online recruitment risesMore than 40% of organisations intend to increase the amount they spend on commercial recruitment websites over the next six months, according to findings from the Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI), produced by Cranfield School of Management.
The survey of 1,078 organisations shows that while 44% of them intend to increase spending on online recruitment over the next six months, the proportion of respondents using commercial job sites for recruitment remains stable at around 25%. The use of online recruitment is having an impact on the use of other recruitment methods. Around one third of responding organisations (32%) said that they had spent less money on other recruitment methods in the last year because they used the Internet, and 35% of respondents expect to spend less on other methods over the coming year.
06/10/06Growth of HR outsourcingOutsourcing of human resources processes is set to grow by 4.7% worldwide by the end of 2006, according to analyst firm Gartner.
The company is predicting that the market for human resources business process outsourcing (HR BPO) will reach $24.6bn (£13bn) this year, an increase of 4.7% on 2005. Overall, Gartner says it expects the whole of the BPO market to reach $134.7bn (£70bn) this year, an increase of 8.3% on the previous 12 months. HR has long been identified as a key area for outsourcing, usually in the areas of payroll and benefits administration services, says Robert Brown, research director for Gartner. ‘Payroll outsourcing is also a key area for consideration among small and mid-size businesses that are often under-served by larger, more strategic forms of BPO.’
06/10/06Job titles highly prizedSenior managers are much more focused on job titles as a long-term bargaining chip for career advancement compared with average workers who focus on salaries, according to joint research by Imprint Search & Selection and YouGov.
The research of 470 mid to senior managers shows that nearly a third of senior managers would surrender part of a pay rise if it came with a promotion to a more prestigious job title. More than one in 10 senior managers would be willing to give up as much as 25% of a pay rise if they were also guaranteed an improved job title. In addition, more than half of senior managers surveyed said their job title is important to them while just a third of non-managers believe the same. ‘Employers need to be aware that while some people value flat structures within organisations and feel job titles are less important, this study confirms that for most the reality is different,’commented Norman Burden, operations director for Imprint Search & Selection.
06/10/06Change to student loans on cardsHMRC is considering the removal of the 42-day requirement when operating a student loan notice in a bid to make it easier for employers to collect the loans.
The recommendation by the Student Loan Consultation Group, which includes the Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) among its members, if implemented by the HMRC, would mean that employers would operate the deduction notice from the next available pay day, rather than having to wait until the start date on the notice. Karen Thomson, policy and research manager at IPP, told Payroll World that its members voted overwhelmingly for the removal of the 42-day notice period. ‘The current practice causes more problems for our members, as quite often the process involves diarising the notices,’ she said. ‘This feedback has been given to HMRC and we are waiting for its decision, hopefully before the end of this year.’
06/10/06And finally … All the world’s a stageTo thine own self be true – if that’s all right with the rest of you. The traditionally unsung heroes of payroll are to receive a tutorial on communication and assertiveness in the workplace next month.
Barbara Thorn, a business coach and trained actress who appears on television in BBC’s Judge John Deed as the title character’s best buddy Rita Cooper, is delivering a presentation at the Payroll World conference on 9 November on ‘Making the most of your personal impact’. ‘One of the things I said when I came out of drama school was that everyone could benefit from the kind of training that actors get,’ she said. ‘Actors spend years learning how you get an audience to watch you and listen to you. ‘Whether you work in the works canteen or you are the managing director, there are times when we all want to feel confident that we can get our message across,’ she added.
Many people have no idea of how quietly they talk. ‘It’s not a case of shouting; it’s learning about the intention, and knowing the effect that you want to have on someone.’ Business use of actors and voice coaches is now widespread; indicating that if payroll managers do not deploy this training, many of the people they deal with will have.
So, speak up. Yes, you at the back there! To attend the one-day conference, which also includes legislative updates from Phil Nilson of HMRC and briefings on age discrimination and the Construction Industry Scheme, contact Irene Wong or Stephanie Street on 020 7940 4801. More introverted people can email: irenewong@payrollworld.com
06/10/06Hidden traps emerge on age lawsNew age laws could lead to genuine problems for many employers. From October, it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of age. But one grey area is whether it is lawful not to appoint someone close to retirement, who is known to be in a well provisioned pension scheme, because the company wants the return on its training investment to last several years.
David Hodgson, a 61-year-old payroll manager in a final salary scheme, has been turned down ten times in job applications. ‘From the employer’s point of view, I must admit that I would be reluctant to employ me. I would only see myself as being employed for around three years,’ he told Payroll World.
Lucy McLynn, employment lawyer at Bates Wells Braithwaite, said that if an employer asked how long the employee was going to stay, it would be well advised to ask that to all employees, not just older ones.
But she said that the rules are not as strict as those covering sex discrimination. There are occasions where direct age discrimination can be justified; this does not exist with gender.
Concerns over the justification for differing rates of pensions contributions according to age have led to a delay in that section of the new law (see News, October 06).
21/09/2006Brits ‘easiest to get on with’British people are the easiest people to get on with at work, according to a new survey by Robert Walters, the international recruitment company. The research was carried out across the world and showed that compared to their global counterparts, Brits are least likely to leave work because they don’t get on with their colleagues – just 11%of people leave their jobs because of personality clashes. This compares to nearly 40% of people in Belgium and 26% in the Netherlands who don’t get on with the boss. Robert Walters questioned 3,170 candidates around the world to find the most common reasons for leaving a job and more than 50% of respondents said it was due to career advancement opportunities – by far the most popular choice for moving on. Employees in the US and South Africa are shown to value salary as the highest motivator for moving to a new job, while Europeans are far less likely to move on due to the pay packet size.
01/09/06Sleeping can be workAn employee should be regarded as working even when they are asleep, if the place where they are sleeping is the employer’s premises and the employer requires the employee to be there, a recent case has determined. In Anderson v Jarvis Hotels plc, the employee, a hotel manager, was required to sleep overnight at the hotel, primarily to cover for the possibility of emergencies, such as fire and flood. However, the time when he was actually required to work was relatively insignificant – during a nine-month period he had only been required to work once to deal with rowdy guests. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that it does constitute working time. It pointed to earlier cases, and to the fact that the manager had been disciplined for leaving the hotel for a short period during a shift. This meant it was clearly a requirement of the employer that he should be on their premises and at their disposal during these periods.
01/09/06And finally … the minimum excuse‘I only took him on as a favour’ … ‘They can’t speak English’ … ‘He’s over 65’ – all these expressions are genuine attempts by employers to excuse not paying the minimum wage. The findings emerged in a survey by HMRC, which found that underpayments of the minimum wage added up to around £3.3m. Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo said publication of the list was to remind both employers and workers of statutory rights to the minimum wage of £5.05 an hour.
‘By far the majority of employers are honest and scrupulous, so instances of non-payment are very much in the minority,’ she said. On 1 October, the minimum wage for over-22s will rise to £5.35 an hour. Pay for 18 to 21 year olds will increase from £4.25 to £4.45, and for 16- to 17-year-olds from £3.00 to £3.30 an hour. Top ten excuses were: 1.He’s a waste of space, 2.She only wanted £3 an hour, 3.I didn’t think the worker was worth it, 4.I didn’t think it applied to small firms, 5.He’s disabled, 6.They can’t cope on their own and it’s more than they’d get in their home country, 7.She’s on benefits: those and her pay add up to the minimum wage, 8.They’re over 65, 9.They can’t speak English, 10.I only took him on as a favour.
01/09/06Not so flexibleOnly 48% of UK organisations offer flexitime to their employees compared to 90% in Germany, 94% in Sweden and 92% in Finland, and just 20% offer tele-working compared to 44% in Germany and Sweden, 40% in Norway and 39% in Denmark.
The proportion of UK organisations using other flexible working arrangements is more comparable to the rest of Europe including part-time working (97%), job-share (55%) and home-working (32%).
The statistics are revealed in the latest Cranet (Cranfield Network) survey of comparative human resource management (HRM), carried out by a worldwide network of 40 business schools, coordinated by Cranfield School of Management in the UK.
The latest survey contains data from 8,000 organisations across 32 countries between 2003 and 2005.
04/08/2006Therapy offered to ill joblessThe Government is offering therapy treatment to people who have quit work because of stress and depression in its Welfare Reform Bill, which aims to cut the number of people claiming incapacity benefit.
Department for Work and Pensions figures reveal that 41% of Incapacity Benefit (IB) claimants are women, and 39.5% claim it because of stress and mental health problems.
Work and Pensions Minister, John Hutton said: ‘We are putting in place more tailored help and support for individuals to help them get back into work. In exchange for this additional help we will be asking for people to engage with us and take the necessary steps to get back into the workplace.’
Under the Welfare Reform Bill, the following measures are being introduced:
• Employment and Support Allowance to replace IB by 2008,
• New claimants – except the most severely disabled or those in the poorest health – will have to have ‘work-focused interviews’, produce action plans and engage in ‘workrelated activity’.
04/08/2006Human capital momentum buildsMoves towards establishing human capital measures have gathered pace in recent weeks with the launch of a national board set up to establish standards, and a new measurement initiative from a payroll/HR software provider.
Investors in People met for the first time in July to begin work on defining a set of employee-related measures for inclusion in company reports as part of a new national board to establish standards.
These are likely to be based heavily on payroll and HR data, such as pay, bonuses, absence and staff turnover (see feature, June 06, page 28).
Meanwhile Northgate, a payroll software provider, announced a strategic partnership with independent consultancy The Newbury Index to develop a human capital measurement tool.
Newbury is headed by Paul Kearns, who has specialised in this area for several years. The approach will follow the model developed by ratings agencies, such as Standard & Poor’s, to describe a company’s credit worthiness – with ratings on a scale from AAA to D.
04/08/2006
• Payroll World editor Philip Whiteley will address a London conference on 2 November on human capital. He will provide a critique of ‘the accounting convention that people don’t exist’, arguing that payroll and HR data are often more accurate and relevant than traditional management measures. For more information, go to www.symposium-events.co.ukEngaged employees boost profitsCompanies with employees who actively contribute to their firm’s success outperform organisations with people who are less committed over a 12-month period, according to employee research and consultancy firm ISR.
The research examined the impact of employee engagement on operating income, net income and earnings per share (EPS) and looked at the financial results of 50 of the world’s leading organisations gathered from surveys of more than 664,000 employees.
Overall, the study shows that committed employees can make a significant difference to an organisation’s bottom line. Organisations with highly engaged employees saw operating income grow by 19.2% over 12 months. By comparison, companies with employees who are less committed to their organisation’s success saw operating income fall 32.7%.
‘Our research consistently shows a link between financial results and employee engagement, but the findings in this study are the most dramatic yet. These results demonstrate the remarkable ability of a company’s workforce to make a difference to the bottom line,’ said Stephen Young, deputy regional director, Europe for ISR.
04/08/2006Outsourcing demand strengthensOffshoring is continuing to grow, according to two major recently published surveys.
Of 100 outsourcing professionals surveyed by the National Outsourcing Association, 88% of respondents cited multishoring as a long-term trend. Many Indian, Chinese and eastern European providers are set to establish onshore operations here in the UK.
Only 3% of respondents perceived multishoring as a negative trend.
A record number of outsourcing deals currently under negotiation involve offshoring, according to the latest quarterly index from sourcing advisory firm TPI.
An analysis of deals on which TPI is advising reveals that 47% involve ‘offshoring’ or ‘global service delivery’.
This compares with 28% last year and represents a record high.
The research also revealed that UK companies have signed outsourcing contracts totalling over ¤5.2bn (£3.6bn) so far this year, up 9% from ¤4.8bn (£3.3bn) this time last year.
By contrast, the total value of contracts signed in Continental Europe so far this year, ¤4.8bn (£3.3bn), is some 30% lower than the equivalent figure at the same time last year.
04/08/2006And finally … O typos! O mores!The following excerpt from a payroll recruitment job site has come to my attention. Package details promise ‘excelent (sic) benefits’, while other details read as follows: ‘A very corpartae large entertainment company located in Chiswick is looking to recruit a Payroll supervisor/team leader - Outgoing firm but not bossy - Focussed and dedicated’ - Mmm … not at all ‘bossy’ – certainly not with their sub-editors.
It also advertises that it has an ‘all-woman’ team (is that appropriate? Is it lawful?)....
04/08/2006Women narrow gapWomen are securing considerably more financial services jobs than five years ago but still fewer than men, according to the latest figures from recruitment and HR services firm the Blomfield Group.
The research shows that although significantly more men than women apply to financial services jobs, women are better at securing interviews.
However, they are less successful in converting the interviews into actual jobs.
In this research, the Blomfield Group took a snapshot of current market trends in the financial services recruitment market, comparing them with five years ago. Other findings reveal that fewer women apply for or secure senior roles, meaning that women’s average salaries remain lower but the gap with men is closing.
10/07/2006Failure to promote perks Employers are losing job candidates to rival firms because they fail to communicate the value of their benefits package, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
The average value of non-cash benefits to employees is 15% of their salary, while senior executives can expect perks worth the equivalent of 30% of their salary.
The survey of 535 organisations found that 85% of them predicted no change or an expansion in their current benefit scheme over the next 12 months.
‘Many candidates are reluctant to ask about benefits in detail at the interview stage, so it’s up to employers to discuss this along with the salary. In many cases, the extras on offer can be a dealmaker and can help secure the best person for the job,’ said Adrian Hitchenor, chief executive of Hitchenor Wakeford Search & Selection.
10/07/2006Big Brother is alive and wellMore than a third of UK companies employ staff to monitor outbound employee e-mail, but only a fifth of them adequately communicate their e-mail policy to staff, according to a survey by Proofpoint, a messaging security firm.
Many UK organisations are in danger of breaching the Human Rights Act and the Data Protection Act if they don’t make their employees aware of e-mail checks, warned Mark Hughes, managing director, Europe Middle East and Africa for Proofpoint. ‘We advocate that organisations should have effective email policies in place and that they make sure their employees understand what their policies are and why they need to be adhered to.’
The survey of 112 e-mail decisionmakers at large UK companies found that more than half of the companies perform regular audits of outbound email content, with more than one in three companies sacking an employee for violating e-mail policies.
10/07/2006Under-used tempsUK employers are failing to make the most of their temporary workers, according to a survey of 100 clients and 100 temporary workers by recruitment consultancy, Angela Mortimer. Some 88% of temporary workers claim their skills are not being fully used by employers, with 34% feeling they are not at all stretched in their work.
The survey unveiled that than half of the temporary workers see temping as a stepping stone to a permanent role, followed by gaining new skills and work experience to aid career progression. Ashley Williams, director of Partnership Products at Angela Mortimer, said: ‘In today’s competitive market, the majority of temps are looking for a step up on the career ladder. They are highly motivated individuals, hungry to improve their skills and progress, and willing to go the extra mile to prove themselves to prospective employers.’
10/07/2006GOWI consolidates in HR and payroll Following three years of acquisitions, GOWI Group (an acronym for Get On With It) is now positioning itself as a specialist provider of HR and payroll software. GOWI brings together Intellect HR and payroll solutions, Infosupport and, since April of this year, Rutherford Webb. The group also includes web content management and recruitment specialists Abacus e-Media.
GOWI director Matt Carter said the company intends to capitalise on the profile and quality of its acquisitions while facilitating an off-shore research and development team near the city of Belgrade, Serbia.
The acquisitions have seen GOWI expand by around 300-400%, now employing around 140 UK-based staff and 30 at their off-shore resource. ‘Research and Development is an expensive hobby for every software company,’ said Mr Carter, ‘We’ve had the resource from the very start and it’s useful both for our clients and for our own development and testing purposes.’
10/07/2006And finally...Employee given lifeline
Workers who held a whip-round to pay for a colleague’s vital brain scan saved his life, according to doctors. Delivery driver Gary Harris had been suffering severe headaches and vomiting for months, but was told he would have to wait 11 weeks for an NHS scan.
Instead, his workmates at Bristol’s Park Furnishers clubbed together to find the £700 needed for a private check-up. The scan revealed a large brain tumour, which doctors say would have been fatal had Mr Harris waited for the NHS scan.
‘If my workmates hadn’t paid for that scan I would be dead now,’ the 38-year old father-of-two said. ‘After the scan, surgeons told me that if I didn’t have the operation there and then I would be dead in two weeks.’
Deryn Cotter, director of Park Furnishers, said all of his 60 staff had donated money for Mr Harris’ scan.
10/07/2006And finally....the price of 2pFor those of you who don’t read the pink papers, you may be interested to learn that commodity prices have headed north faster than a fully fit Rooney in pursuit of the ball.
A litre of oil costs about as much as a litre of Champagne; platinum is only available to billionaires and gold is worth its weight in gold, apparently. An unwelcome development for the Royal Mint is that the copper in your 2p coin is now worth about 3p.
For unscrupulous employers and others who handle large amounts of small change, a word of warning: If you’ve thought about it, don’t. As Larry Elliott, The Guardian’s economics editor, points out, melting down a tonne of 2p coins is illegal. Moreover by the time you’ve completed the task, the price of copper is likely to have come down again (Stop press; it just did – Ed).And finally....will payrolls go public?As well as knowing what footballers earn, the British public now revels in learning details of BBC presenters’ pay packages, learning that Jonathan Ross, or ‘Wossie’, notches up the highest hourly rate (higher still if allowance is made for incorrectly pronounced consonants).
There is now a semi-serious campaign by the TUC, The Guardian newspaper and others, for everyone’s pay to be public knowledge, as it is in Norway.
The penalties of a payroll calculation error would in the future extend to include public humiliation, it would seem.
Thankfully, readers of PW don’t make any, of course....HMRC reports 'smoother process' this yearDon Macarthur, employer programme director at HMRC, has hit back at critics over electronic filing processes, and reported a smoother operation this year than last.
Questions have been raised over why HMRC has taken nearly a year to contact some 70,000 employers over apparent errors in year-end documents filed electronically at the end of 2004/05.
One source asked: ‘Does it take HMRC almost 12 months to check through the end-of-year submissions? Was there some serious problem which did not allow the checking of these submissions to take place?’
But Mr Macarthur told Payroll World: ‘The implementing process seems to be going very well. Everything seems to be going significantly better than last year.’
He acknowledged there had been delays sending individual letters on errors. The problem was caused by last year’s delay in establishing the External Routing Interface Component (ERIC) (Payroll World, May 2005, pages 8-9).
This year, employers receive a warning at the point of submission where the Quality Standard has not been met; last year they did not.
Mr Macarthur added: ‘The initial reports are that ERIC is working satisfactorily [this year],’ he said. While there were delays in individual letters being sent out, in the interim the HMRC publicised lists of common errors on its website. This list was updated on 12 April of this year.
He praised employers for taking on board the advice to file early, well ahead of the 19 May deadline. ‘We don’t want people getting messages too close to 19 May,’ he said.
From this tax year-end, all companies with 50 employees or more are required to file electronically, following last year’s introduction of compulsory e-filing for organisations with more than 250 staff.
By mid April, some 165,000 submissions had been made online. This does not quite equate with the number of P35s, as it includes part-returns, and re-sent submissions following a rejection at the Gateway, and may include test submissions.
But it is roughly twice the level at the same stage in 2004/05, Mr Macarthur said.
Common errors
• Trying to make Construction Industry Scheme payments on a package without this feature,
• Trying to send part-returns where the software only allows complete returns,
• Incorrect authentication details.
Top tips
• Try to avoid peak times (11.00-14.00),
• Check if your payroll software allows overnight submission,
• Maintain dialogue with supplier as well as HMRC,
• File well before 19 May.
Payroll World
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