Employment Rights
Statutory Limits
The limit on the amount of compensatory award for unfair dismissal increased on 1 February 2011. The limit increased from a maximum of £65,300 to £68,400 due to inflation.
The maximum amount of a weeks pay for the purpose of calculating the basic or additional award of compensation for unfair dismissal or redundancy payments have increased from £380 to £400.
Default Retirement Age
The Government has confirmed that the Default Retirement Age (DRA) of 65 for both men and women is to be abolished. Employers need to be aware of this change and the impact it will have on working practices.
For more detailed information ACAS have produced a guide on working without the DRA which is available by clicking here
PAYE
Electronic PAYE Payment Dates
HMRC are reminding employers to be careful that PAYE payments made electronically have been cleared into HMRC’s bank account by the due date. Many employers have taken advantage of the electronic payment option which generally gives a later payment date of 22nd of the month. However, HMRC are stressing that where the 22nd falls on a non banking day (weekend or bank holiday) that the payment may need to be made earlier to ensure that HMRC has cleared funds by the due date. HMRC need to have received cleared funds by the last bank working day before the 22nd. The next time the 22nd falls on a non banking day is May 2011. Cleared funds must reach HMRC’s bank account by Friday 20th May 2011.
Be warned – HMRC may issue penalties to any employer who makes late payments of PAYE more than once for 2010/2011.
PAYE Tax Codes
HMRC are issuing new coding notices between January and March 2011 for PAYE tax codes for 2011/12. These new coding notices need to be checked carefully as they will be used against employees pay from April 2011 onwards. For further information click here.
New HMRC Scams
Email Scam
HMRC have updated their guidance to taxpayers regarding new scam emails. Example inlude:
- Bogus emails being sent informing taxpayers that they are due a tax rebate
- People receiving emails from news@hmrc.gov.uk asking them to validate their online bank accounts by entering bank details onto a linked website
- Others have received emails requesting personal information
These email requests are not from HMRC who state they would never inform a taxpayer of a rebate or request personal or bank details via email.
SMS Text Messages
HMRC are also warning against a SMS text message scam. They advise any SMS text message claiming to be from HMRC asking you to contact any number other than 0845 300 3900 is bogus. Their advice is not to respond to the number but instead report the matter to your HMRC Contact Centre. This guidance does not apply to any messages left in person by HMRC Officers asking you to ring them back at your local office.
