Big changes are happening to payslips in 2019 – are you ready for them?
It’s time to look ahead at what 2019 has in store for us. Personally, I’m excited for new episodes of Homes Under The Hammer, the Royal Baby and maybe a weekend away in Scarborough. But amid all this excitement there is another huge event looming on the horizon that is going to change the face of payroll for ever. *cue dramatic music*
Yes folks, from April 2019 if you have paid employees then your world is about to be flipped upside down, never to be the same again. OK that was a bit dramatic (I think it was the music) – but this is a big deal. Basically under the new system employers will have to deliver itemised payslips to every worker on their payroll, not just those classified as “employees”. This means all workers, including zero hour and casual workers, must be issued with written, printed or electronic payslips. YUP! You heard right, AND the employer must either:
- itemise the figures for different types of work worked and for different rates of pay
or
- show the combined number of hours worked for which payment is being made.
I can imagine half of you are white as a sheet at this point. Jeepers, it feels like this year couldn’t get any wooooorse! (*turns off music* – sorry, last time). At first glance, yes, this payroll change can seem daunting. It could be a huge undertaking for a large proportion of businesses if you use HMRC’s Basic PAYE tools or if your payroll does not offer a payslip facility. But if you act ASAP you can ensure that you’re ready by the deadline. No, put your pyjamas back on Greg, I didn’t mean like, right now. It’s more about ensuring that there is a smooth transition. How do you do this? Well you’ve come to the right place!
First of all, make sure you have a meeting with your HR team (even if this just consists of Laura who brings her pet Yorkie to work and gives really good hugs). As long as your employees have the right information regarding these changes and that whoever is responsible for the payroll process knows how to implement them then you’re halfway there. But most importantly, your payroll processes should be revised so that this new information will appear as it should on the payslip itself. This includes:
- earnings before and after any deductions
- the amount of any deductions that might change per pay period such as NI contributions
- an explanation of any fixed amount deductions
- and finally – everyone’s favourite part – the net wages to be paid.
I can imagine the half of you that didn’t turn white as a sheet earlier have now caught up. But don’t worry your pretty little heads – as long as you’re using a dedicated payroll software you can rest easy. Payroll software such as BrightPay will have already prepared for these changes and have built in functionality to process these amendments according to each individual payslip.
Guys, I know it seems like a huge pain but at the end of the day this is a huge victory for employees who will be able to understand their pay better and also dispute missed payments with greater ease.
Liberté, égalité, employeé.
