Accountancy & Tax / Employer Services

Employer Services

For most of us, hiring and paying staff is an essential part of our business, but also a time-consuming one.

Our team are on hand to assist you not only with payroll and tax, but also to advise on employment matters, such as the ways you should be paying your employees and any statutory payments.  We will always stay on top of the latest legislation and keep you advised of best practice, leaving you to get on with running your business.

For peace of mind for all your payroll and employment law requirements contact a member of our team.

Statutory Payments

From time to time your employees may have absences from work due to sickness, maternity, paternity or adoption leave.  As an employer you must first determine if your employees qualify for the appropriate statutory payment to cover their absence, and then make the appropriate payment to them.

David Allen can help you to negotiate Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Shared Parental Leave (SPL) or Shared Parental Pay (ShPP).

We can also help you to reclaim some of these statutory payments from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), or to secure advance funding for them, if applicable.

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

The National Minimum and Living Wage rates increase with effect from April each year and is a legal right which covers all workers.  Failure to pay the National Minimum/Living Wage means you could be served with a notice requiring you to pay the arrears as well as a financial penalty.

The National Living Wage came into effect in 2016 and is compulsory for all employees who are 25 and over.

Workplace Pension

Workplace pension law changed in October 2012 and, as of 2018, all employers have a legal duty to help their employees save for retirement.  Automatic enrolment is a key part of the Workplace Pension Reform.

This means that certain employees must be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme, and the employer will need to make a contribution towards this.

Holiday Entitlements

Employers are legally obliged to pay holiday pay to all their employees over the age of compulsory education including casual employees.

However, the specifics can be difficult to negotiate – and an employee’s holiday entitlement should be clearly stated in a written statement of employment particulars or a contract of employment.  We can help to calculate individuals’ entitlements and draw up any contracts if required.

Benefits in Kind

All benefits in kind, non-cash benefits and employee expenses, must be reported to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) each year.

Examples of benefits in kind include employers providing company cars and vans to employees that are also available for personal use, personal healthcare cover and beneficial loans to employees of over £10,000.

There are penalties for late filing: for more information or assistance with your benefit in kind forms please get in touch.

Written Statements

As an employer you have many legal obligations, one of which is issuing your employees with a written statement of employment particulars within two months of starting to work for you.

The written statement of employment particulars is designed to alleviate disputes as it contains the main terms of employment including hours of work, holiday and sickness entitlements.  It is both a legal requirement and very useful for both the employer and the employee as it spells out expectations.

However, a written statement of employment particulars may not be sufficient for more detailed employment conditions e.g. for senior staff and a tailored contract of employment may be required.

We are able to assist you in completing a written statement of employment particulars for your employees.

Redundancy

If a business needs to make redundancies, it needs to be aware of its legal obligations and procedures you need to follow.  If you don’t follow these procedures, you open yourself up to the risk of legal action being taken against you.

The process needs to be kept fair and legal: we can help you follow a fair redundancy procedure and keep the difficulties to a minimum.

Construction Industry Scheme

Contractors and sub-contractors working in the construction industry are taxed under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

The CIS scheme covers all work classified as construction work, including activities ranging from demolition and site preparation to decorating and repairs. There are different rules for contractors and sub-contractors and both must be registered with HMRC before any work commences.

Whether you are a contractor or a sub-contractor, our team of experts will support you to continue running your business while taking away the burden of the CIS requirements.

If you are already registered as a contractor for CIS, contact us to arrange a free compliance health check.