September 2021

The world of HR and payroll continually changes, leaving many business owners with a multitude of questions.

Luckily, as experts in all things payroll, we’ve answered some of our most commonly asked questions, hopefully shining a light on any issues you may be facing yourself with your own managed payroll.

1. What form do I need to complete if we stop SSP, but the employee is still off sick?

If you stop SSP when an employee is still off sick, you should complete an SSP1 form and send it to the employee. This will help them claim employment and support allowance.

2. What is classed as a linked period of sickness?

A linked period of sickness is when an employee has regular periods of sickness that last four or more days each, separated by less than eight weeks, which have lasted for longer than three years. In this case, SSP will stop.

3. When can I stop paying SSP? 

The maximum amount of SSP is 28 weeks. Additionally, If an employee has had continuous series of linked sickness that has gone on for more than three years, you no longer have to pay them SSP.

4. What should I do when an employee’s tax code is wrong?

Usually, for new employees, if they haven’t completed a new starter checklist, their tax code will be wrong.  The new starter checklist is a HMRC form which all employees should complete on their first day of employment.

5. My employee insists they have paid too much in deductions – what do I do?

Many employees don’t fully understand the payroll legislation for both Tax and NI and when this becomes payable. It is your responsibility to explain the process to them and clearly show them that they have in fact paid the correct amount in deductions.

We provide our clients’ employees with a dedicated customer service team to help explain all pay documents and any deductions over live chat, email or phone.

6. Why has an employee not been enrolled into the pension automatically? 

Auto-enrolment is based on age and earnings. All employees are automatically enrolled after the 3-month postponement period if they meet the qualifying criteria (age 22 and earn over £10000).

7. How do I opt an employee out of the pension scheme?  

Under The Pensions Regulator rules, it is up to the employee to complete an opt-out form which they must get directly from the pension provider. You cannot opt an employee out on their behalf.

Please note, rules around SSP and payroll are different for some workers, so you should always refer to the latest advice on GOV.UK.

Transferring your payroll 

8. Does a transfer of payroll providers need to take place at the start of a tax year?

No, you can transfer payroll providers at any time without any disruption to payroll.  However, depending on who you choose to outsource payroll to, it may cost you more if you choose not to transfer at the start of the tax year. This is because some payroll providers will be required to recreate your whole payroll since the start of the tax year. This will take time and therefore increase your costs.

You can outsource your payroll to Growth Partners at any time of year without disruption to payroll and without any set up costs.

9. What is a Real Time Information Pay ID?

The RTI Pay ID captures your company’s employee reference. You enter this when you set up a new employee on your payroll. The Full Payment Submission (FPS) must be sent on or before payday and an Employers Payment Summary (EPS) must be submitted by the 19th of the following month to avoid fines from HMRC.

10. What’s involved in transferring payroll providers?

If you transfer payroll providers at the start of the tax year, employers need to send the new payroll provider a list of all current employee data along with salary details. If you transfer providers at any other time, your payroll provider will require a lot more data from you regarding previous salary payments.

However, you can transfer payroll to Growth Partners as part of SMART Employment model at any time with minimal data.

11. What’s involved in transferring payroll providers to a PEO model? 

When you are transferring payroll providers and the HMRC liabilities as part of the PEO model, you need to send the new payroll provider a complete list of all current employee data, along with salary details. You also need to ensure employees are set to ‘leavers’ in the old payroll and produce a P45 for each of them. The P45s are not sent out to employees – they are sent to the new payroll provider only.

12. How long does it take to transfer payroll providers?  

Depending on the size of the business and the complexity of the payroll, it can take between one to two weeks for small to medium businesses, and up to four to six weeks for larger businesses.  Some payroll providers may require longer than this – particularly if you wish to transfer your payroll midway through a tax year.

13. Do I need to contact HMRC if I change payroll providers?

You do not usually need to contact HMRC if you change payroll providers. However, if you wish to outsource your payroll to specialists like Growth Partners who take on the HMRC responsibilities for you, then you will need to complete a year-end submission.

The year-end submission will confirm to HMRC that you have closed your old PAYE. This is usually done via an EPS submission once you have processed your final payroll. You will also need to confirm the cessation date on the submission.

Payroll business solutions

When you’re investing time into running your successful business, it can become difficult to keep on top of everything. By outsourcing your payroll, you can reduce your costs and save essential business time, allowing you to focus on areas that are important to contributing towards your continued growth.

Contact the team at Growth Partners today to find out more about our all-in-one solution for payroll, pensions, and employee engagement services.