There are several new National Insurance categories to be introduced from this April, most are related to the new freeports but there is also one for qualifying veterans. All of the new categories carry relief for employer’s National Insurance contributions.

General Updates on the challenges of Payroll during the Pandemic.

Furlough was extended to 31st March 2021.

The furlough scheme is to be extended for a further month from the 1st November 2020.

You cannot claim Employment Allowance against furloughed workers, and this is for the whole of the tax year.

Furlough claims are changing from August as you can no longer claim for employer’s National Insurance Contributions or pension payments, so the amount that can be claimed is reducing.

There are changes proposed with the way employer’s National Insurance is calculated for the period of July. The proposal is more in line with the original guidance issued up to the 20th April.

There have been several changes announced for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme coming in from 1st July.

As part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme from 1st July 2020 workers can return to work on reduced hours whilst remaining furloughed.

Where an employee is in an auto-enrolment pension scheme there is a maximum amount that can be claimed for employers pension contributions, which is the contribution made or 3% of qualifying earnings, whichever is lower.

Now the dust has settled there is a little more clarity. If an employee is furloughed for the entire period claimed, then the employers NIC that can be claimed can be calculated as originally indicated:

We are getting a number of enquiries about this at the moment, and there are a lot of details we just don’t know. There also seems to be some conflict between some of the announcements and Government’s official guidance. Here are some key points:

Last week the Government raised the UK risk status to high and moved from the containment phase to delay.

Payroll Options has a coronavirus policy in the workplace focused on hygiene and disease prevention.

The Employment Allowance is £3000 that can be offset against an employer’s NICs (National Insurance Contributions).

Business continuity is critical, never more so than in payroll.

Although the majority of employers will now be in the swing of auto-enrolment pensions, in certain circumstances they are not required.

Benefits in Kind have to be reported via a P11D, as these are benefits an employee receives outside of the payroll but usually needs to pay tax for, such as a company car.

The Apprenticeship Levy came into force this April, and will effect companies or groups with a wage bill of £3 million or higher.

HMRC have requested that employers, and their payroll teams, promote Personal Tax Accounts (PTAs) to their employees. Employees can update their address and personal details in this way.