Employer Compliance & Best Practice

Small Employers Relief – Boost

The compensation rate for Small Employers Relief (SER) for statutory parental payments is set to increase from 8.5% to 9%, from 6 April 2026. Employers can typically reclaim 92% of employees’ parental payments, Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Statutory Shared Parental Pay. The […]

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Employer Compliance & Best Practice

Government Launches £725 Million Apprenticeship Boost

The government has announced a sweeping £725 million investment to overhaul the apprenticeship system delivering 50,000 new apprenticeship places over the next three years. This major reform is designed to tackle persistent youth unemployment, equip young people with meaningful skills, and offer a credible alternative to university. What’s Changing The Bigger Picture The initiative forms […]

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Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship Levy and Employment Allowance

In the latest Agents Bulletin 125, published on 21 November 2024, HMRC announced new Guidelines for Compliance when determining whether the ‘connected’ entity rules apply to the Apprenticeship Levy or when claiming the Employment Allowance. The measures are part of Governments’ earlier commitment announced in November 2021, to provide Guidelines for Compliance that offer HMRC’s […]

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Apprenticeship

Changes to Apprenticeship Levy

The government is to boost opportunities for young people through ambitious apprenticeship reforms in England. Under new proposals the Prime Minister announced plans for a new ‘growth and skills levy’ which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy and include new foundation apprenticeships. The new levy will also allow funding for shorter apprenticeships, giving learners and employers greater flexibility over their training […]

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Employer Compliance & Best Practice

Reporting payroll information on time

The guidance on how much you pay if you do not report payroll information on time has been updated. Information for employers about late or non-filing PAYE penalties, specified charges, inaccurate reports and how to avoid penalties in future has been updated with the latest figures on how much you pay if you do not report on […]

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Employer Compliance & Best Practice

Large businesses should reveal how many disabled staff they employ

Large organisations should reveal the numbers of disabled people they employ to help build a more inclusive society, argued the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Sarah Newton. With around one-fifth of the working age population living with a disability or health condition, the government has launched a new framework to encourage businesses to report how […]

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Employer Compliance & Best Practice

Employers urged to comply with Swedish rules

More than 190 workers brought claims against two employer agencies and two hirers for failing to comply with the requirements for the Swedish Derogation. In Twenty-Four Seven Recruitment Services Ltd and others v Afonso and 190 others [2018] UKEAT/0311/17 the claimants argued that the lack of compliance meant they were entitled to be paid at the same […]

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Employer Compliance & Best Practice

Disability discrimination and disciplinary warnings

An employer’s decision to issue an employee with a disciplinary warning, after she had 60 days off sick in 12 months, amounted to discrimination arising from disability. The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) found in favour of an employee (O) who received a disciplinary after she reached six times the trigger point of the employer’s sickness […]

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Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship fees halved for small businesses

The amount that smaller businesses will need to contribute through co-investment of Apprenticeship funding will half from 10 per cent to five per cent, the Chancellor has announced. It’s important to note, however, that this has no effect on larger businesses who pay a levy amount through their payroll returns each month. In the 2018 […]

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Employer Compliance & Best Practice

Treatment of part-time workers’ pay

The Court of Appeal has found that British Airways treated a part-time worker less favourably by paying 50 per cent of full pay for being on duty 53.5 per cent of full-time hours. In British Airways v Pinaud, it was found that Mrs Pinaud worked a part-time contract of 14 days on and 14 days off. […]

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Employer Compliance & Best Practice

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