UK Payroll can often be a daunting task.
Here are some of our useful Payroll tips to get you started
- You may choose to pay your employees monthly, 4-weekly, fortnightly, or weekly. Payroll in any business is a priority – staff must be paid on time, every time, and be paid correctly. It is the responsibility of every employer to ensure that they are. By outsourcing your payroll to Payroll Heaven you can rest assured that your payroll processing requirements are in safe hands.
- Before businesses start paying staff, they need to ensure that their staff is legally allowed to be working. Many people are unaware that it is the legal responsibility of every employer to ensure that all of the company’s employees are legally allowed to work for the business. Businesses who take on new staff need to be sure that any potential employees are legally allowed to be in the UK and legally allowed to work whilst they are in the country, as some visitors may be here illegally or may not have suitable work visas/permits. For more information on ensuring that employees are eligible to work in the UK, the Business Link website has guides and an interactive service www.businesslink.gov.uk
- New employees will usually bring with them a P45 form from their previous employer, which includes information such as their National Insurance number and tax code, and the new employer will need to complete the form and return it to HM Revenue and Customs. If a P45 is not available, form P46 should be completed in its place and sent to HM Revenue and Customs.
- Employers must also comply with their legal responsibilities to their employees, who are entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage and to receive regular payslips detailing their earnings and any deductions.
- Employers have a legal obligation to ensure that every employee whose wages are over the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit of £90 per week has the correct amount deducted from their pay, including any expenses, overtime, or statutory sick pay, etc, through PAYE. However, benefits such as company cars and medical insurance are not covered by PAYE and will be discussed later.
- The responsibility for paying the NICs on expenses and benefits usually falls with the employer, although tax payments are usually deducted from the employee’s wages once the value has been declared by the employer. For most benefits, the employer will simply need to fill in the P11D form from HM Revenue and Customs at the end of the year, and the tax will be deducted from the employee’s wages. However, there are some benefits, such as company cars, which are valued on a quarterly basis, for which employers use the P46 form.
