Employers Class 1 NIC for Apprentices under 25 to be abolished

Posted on November 23, 2015 by admin

With effect from 6 April 2016, you may be interested to learn that you may no longer have to pay employer Class 1 NICs for apprentices under the age of 25.

Currently employer Class 1 NICs are due for all employees aged 21 or over.

For the tax year 2016-17 it is proposed that the new NI category H will be used for apprentices who in addition to being under 25 are:

• working towards a Government recognised apprenticeship in the UK which follows a government approved framework/standard

and

• have a written agreement (between employer, apprentice and training provider), giving the government recognised apprentice framework or standard, with a start and expected completion date.

Employers NIC will be at a rate of 0% up to the new Apprentice Upper Secondary Threshold, which will be aligned with the Upper Secondary Threshold for the tax year beginning 6 April 2016. Earnings above the Apprentice Upper Secondary Threshold (for 2015-16 £3,532 per month) will be at the full rate of 13.8%.

This does not affect the calculation of primary Class 1 NICs deducted from apprentices.

For more information see the HMRC website

AFH Payroll Proudly supports the Chalvington Group’s Fourth Annual Grand Charity Dinner

Posted on November 23, 2015 by admin

We are pleased to be involved with the Chalvington Group’s fundraising efforts which this year go to local charity Furniture Now!

AFH Payroll is a sponsor of the event which has sold out for this year, and takes place on 28th November at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne.

To find out more about the Chalvington Groups charitable fundraising this year see: http://www.chalvingtongroup.com/charity/

To find out more about Furniture Now! see: furniturenow.org.uk

AFH Payroll supports Eastbourne Youth Radio 2015

Posted on November 20, 2015 by admin

Eastbourne Youth Radio

Eastbourne Youth Radio is a project involving many of the schools in Eastbourne each year organised by the Eastbourne Education Business Partnership.

We have been a sponsor for a number of years and this year we are very pleased that we were able to support Stafford Junior School.

It is always a pleasure to support a school that involves many pupils to produce a varied and interesting program.

To find out more about Eastbourne Youth Radio or to listen online go to: http://eyr.org.uk where the recordings of the 2015 project should be available from early December 2015.

Spotlight on WPA Healthcare

Posted on September 28, 2015 by admin

Most employers know that they have a duty of care to their staff and are aware that if employees are using computers then they need to pay for eye tests.

We are always looking for ways to make sure that everyone who works at AFH are healthy, motivated and engaged. When we discovered WPA Healthcare a few years ago, we were really pleased by the benefits that they offered to our team at a lower cost than we expected.

In addition to optical and dental cover, all of our employees have access to a confidential 24 hour line that can offers help with matters such as stress, legal, bereavement and medical issues.

In the last year one of the AFH team has received a payment for overnight stays in hospital, hospital car parking, eye tests and dental check ups. In addition, the cover provided by the WPA NHS top up policy automatically gives cover to members children under the age of 18 for no additional cost.

Importantly, it is very straightforward to make a claim and everyone at AFH has been impressed at the speed that the claim is settled usually in about a week.

If you haven’t thought about providing a small healthcare scheme to employees, we recommend that you have a chat with John Strudwick who is a WPA Healthcare Partner

Website: www.wpa.org.uk/johnstrudwick

Telephone: 07971 864 089

Guest Blog: Children’s Respite Trust

Posted on June 9, 2015 by admin

The Children’s Respite Trust provides respite for disabled children and support for their families throughout East Sussex and beyond. Its team of volunteer caseworkers work with the families to fight their cases and make sure that they are getting all of the statutory support that they are entitled to before then fundraising to provide a break privately.

Throughout 2015 the Trust is fundraising to recruit a team of community carers who can provide respite for families at home while making sure that the children have a fantastic time in the process.

None of this work would be possible without the support of the local community and the numerous fundraising events that are organised throughout the year by the local community and the trust itself.

Coming up is the Charity Family Fun day on 27 June – Tennis in the Park at Gildredge Park – a popular event which last year attracted over 1,000 visitors and provides local businesses with sponsorship & brand awareness opportunities.

There is also a unique opportunity for the brave to take part in a sponsored skydive for our charity. The scheduled date for this is 30 August.

To find out about sponsoring the Charity Family Fun day Click here

To find out about getting involved in the skydive Click here

For general information about the work of the Childrens’ Respite Trust & to find out about volunteering see the Children’s Respite Trust website

Considering making a member of staff redundant?

Posted on June 4, 2015 by admin

Some advice for employers

Employers, particularly SMEs can be prone to making costly mistakes when it comes to making staff redundant. This is largely due to a lack of awareness of the legal implications that govern redundancy.

This blogpost will hopefully provide employers with some key information to help their decision making process.

Redundancy is a process

There are many reasons why an employer may consider redundancy. This may be due to financial reasons, a reduction in work, the need to change structure. It is good practice for a business to consider their options prior to making a decision to make staff redundant.

Your next step is then to consider making a plan. The following steps ideally need to be in place:

Brief your managers and outline any training or support needs that may be required
Consult your staff. This is a legal requirement.
Choose the posts that need to be made redundant. The key word is posts, not individual people. Your approach needs to be fair and consistent with a clear decision making process.
A clear selection criteria for selecting the individuals that will be made redundant.
Giving notice of redundancy and pay.
Be mindful of rights during the notice period. This is enable staff to look for alternative work. If other vacancies come up within your organisation you may save on costs if there is an option for a member of staff facing redundancy to take up a new opportunity.
Allowing staff to appeal against the decision of redundancy.
Communicating the future business model to your staff. If you have had to make people redundant, a plan to share with staff about the future of the business should help underline the rationale behind the redundancies and help show the future of the business in a positive light.

It is very important for employers to remember when they are considering redundancies that it is the actual position and not the person that is being made redundant. Failing to get this principle right could lead to employment tribunal claims.

It is often a good idea to seek professional help from an Employment lawyer or HR consultant to ensure that the correct process is followed when considering redundancy within an organisation.

Useful information on the redundancy process can be found on the ACAS website.

Updated advice on penalties for not reporting payroll information on time

Posted on May 20, 2015 by admin

What you need to know

The HMRC has introduced penalties for employers who report their payroll information late. These apply from:

▪ 6th October 2014 for employers with more than 50 employees

▪ 6th March for employers with less than 50 employees

A penalty can be charged if:

▪ Your Full Payment Submission (FPS) was late

▪ You did not sent the expected number of Full Payment Submissions

▪ You did not send an Employer Payment Summary when you did not pay employees in a tax month

HMRC will not charge a penalty if

Your FPS is late but all reported payments on the FPS are within 3 days of your employees’ payday (applies from 6 March 2015 – 5 April 2016)
you are a new employer and you have sent your first FPS within 30 days of paying an employee or if it’s the first failure within the tax year to submit your report on time.
It’s your first failure in the tax year to send the report on time (not applicable to employers who are registered with the HMRC on the annual scheme).

For more information about how to avoid penalties for late submission see the HMRC website

Guest Blog by Mandy Brook of Recruitment South East

Posted on April 1, 2015 by admin

74% of employees are searching for their next role at any one time! FACT

Are you putting your company out there as an employer of choice? It’s a candidates market, with 49 talent shortages UK wide, employers are struggling to find the right people for the right job more than ever..

We can help you improve your offering to your staff and potential new employees with up to the minute advice, benchmarking salaries, benefits, leadership skills, engagement skills. If you want to attract the best candidates, engage with them and keep them engaged then give us a call?

Recruitment South East is part of the RSE Group www.rsegroup.agency

We are a specialist recruiter based in East Sussex but covering the world through our group titles and delivering recruitment excellence across the South East & beyond. Our niche markets are engineering, manufacturing, construction, Leisure & tourism, security & insurance markets.

Our consultants are REC (Recruitment Employment Confederation trained), we understand the market from every angle having been employer, job hunter and recruiter. Looking for a job is an emotive process for the candidate and can be a frustrating, time consuming and costly process for the employer.

Talk to us – we have a solution whatever the need. You’d be surprised just how normal we are; you’ll get no hard sales here – just honesty, flexibility , someone that is proactive on your behalf and works hard to achieve the results you want, in the timescales you give us. Tel 01424 830000 email mandy@recruitmentsoutheast.co.uk

Changes to Thresholds and Tax Codes for 2015/16 – are you ready?

Posted on March 26, 2015 by admin

From 6^th April 2015, the new tax year begins. This years’ changes are listed below in a quick reference guide:

Headlines

The Personal Allowance has risen to £10,600, and the Basic Rate has reduced to £31,785.

Rate % Bandwith

Basic Rate 20% £1 to £31,785

Higher Rate 40% £31,786 TO £150,000

Additional Rate 45% £150,0001 and above

Changes to Income Tax Allowances

Personal Allowance 2014/15 2015/16 Change

Those born after 5 April 1948 £10,000 £10,600 £600

Born between 6 April 1938 – 5 April 1948 £10,500 £10,600 £100

Those born before 6 April 1938 £10,660 £10,660 –

National Insurance Contribution thresholds

2014-15 2015/16

£ per week £ per week

Weekly Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) 111 112

Weekly Primary Threshold (PT) 153 155

Weekly Secondary Threshold (ST) 153 156

Upper Earnings (UEL) 805 815

Upper Profits Limit (UPL) 41,865 pa 42,385 pa

Upper Secondary Threshold for U21s (*3) N/A 815

Employment Allowance (per employer) 2,000 pa 2,000 pa

*3 Upper Secondary Threshold (UST) introduced from April 2015 for employees under the age of 21. The rate of secondary NICs for employees under the age of 21 on earnings between ST and UST will be 0%.

Class 1 National Insurance Contribution rates 2015-16

Employees (primary) Employer (Secondary)

Earnings NIC rate Earnings NIC rate

£ per week per cent £ per week per cent

Below £112 0 Below £156 0

£112-155 0 Above £156 13.8

£155-815 12

Above £815 2

Statutory Adoption Pay

2014-15 2015-16