Tag Archives: Blogpost

Changes to HMRC requirements for employment Intermediaries take effect on 6 April 2015

Posted on by
Reply

The HMRC are responding to increased false self employment on the part of employment intermediaries acting on behalf of self employed workers who should legally be regarded as employed, and therefore attract the same rates of Tax and National Insurance as an employed person would do.

From 6 April 2015, Employment Intermediates must send details of workers they place with clients who are not:

  • Direct employees or,
  • Being treated as employees.

The HMRC has published Draft Reporting Regulations for which the consultation period has just ended (25 November 2014).

For more information about this change and the possible impact it might have to your business see the HMRC website

New penalties for late submission of payroll information

Posted on by
Reply

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:

HMRC will not charge a penalty if you are a new employee 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.  This also will not apply to employers with fewer than 50 employees for the Tax year 2014-15.

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

Thinking of hiring an Apprentice? Here’s some advice to get you started

Posted on by
Reply

If you are a business the buzz around apprenticeships won’t have escaped you.  There are a lot of good news stories in circulation which show how apprenticeships are benefitting businesses, particularly SME’s, and providing young people with the opportunity to learn new skills.  Providing young people with a real route to a career through the Apprenticeship scheme is good news for everyone.

What may be less clear is how to get started if you are interested in taking on an Apprentice.

Funding

Businesses may be able claim up to 5 different grants to cover the initial costs of hiring an Apprentice, which includes £1,500 in the form of an Apprenticeship Grant for Employers of 16-24 year olds.

The funding criteria is due to change in January 2015, so you may wish to look at advice on funding via the Apprenticeships.org.uk website

General Information

An Apprenticeship normally lasts for a minimum of 13 months and can last up to four years.  This is an investment for a business but gives business owners a real opportunity to shape and develop their workforce.

It is worth noting that an Apprentice does become your employee and has full employment rights as would any other employee.

Apprenticeship schemes are facilitated through local colleges and independent training providers, and they can offer more advice and support to get you started. The Apprenticeships Website includes a search facility to help employers locate training providers depending upon the type of apprenticeship being offered.

Watch out for Phishing Scams

Posted on by
Reply

What is Phishing?

Phishing is the attempt to obtain sensitive personal information such as usernames, passwords, bank or credit card details by masquerading as a reputable organisation through electronic communication.

Definition based on Wikipedia

What types of phishing scams are currently in circulation?

There are loads of different scams in circulation in any one time.  Whether these are purporting to be from “your” bank or more worryingly, there is an increase in deceivingly well presented email scams which purport to be from the HMRC.

HMRC scams have been around for a while, but new versions of scams are frequently being refreshed and re-circulated.  It is becoming increasingly hard for business owners to identify whether an email communication is genuine or not.

Thankfully, help in verifying genuine communication is out there, as is good advice to prevent you from becoming a victim of a scam.

The HMRC have a good online resource to show you current and previous versions of scams as well as advice on the type of unofficial communication you will never receive from them.  Click here for their advice page on scams.

Another good resource for advice against phishing scams and other forms of cyber crime is GetSafeOnline .  GetSafeOnline also provide advice on protecting your computer and data whilst working outside of the office, and compliance with Data Protection.

To report any fraudulent e-communication, contact Action Fraud

Focus on Furniture Now!

Posted on by
Reply

AFH Payroll are proud to support this great East Sussex Charity who combine community minded recycling of furniture and clothes to in turn support homeless and unemployed people to get settled and back into employment.

Furniture Now! Was established in 2007 and CEO Petrina Mayson is at the forefront of driving forward the aims and objectives of the organisation.

With premises in Lewes, Eastbourne and Hailsham, the Charity has been rightly applauded for their amazing work locally.

At the recent Women in Business Awards earlier this month, Petrina Mayson was Highly Commended as Overall Business of the Year 2014, and also won Mentor of the Year 2014.

AFH Payroll are sponsoring the Crowborough Chamber of Commerce membership for Furniture Now.

AFH Payroll are a recycling point for Furniture Now! So local businesses can bring their toner cartridges, and mobile phones to us for recycling.

For more information on this excellent charity, please visit and like their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Furniture.Now.charity?ref=br_tf

You can also follow them on Twitter: @Furniture_Now