Internal corporate policies govern employees’ behaviour in the workplace. Setting behavioural and performance standards for the workplace and providing employees with an overall framework for being productive at your organisation is always supported by defining employees’ privileges and responsibilities inside your company. It also describes what staff might expect from their superiors. Company policies also effectively protect your company and make your workplace a safer and more pleasant place to work for everyone. The organisational culture, the regulatory environment, and the industry all play their role in determining which rules are necessary for a company.
A small business’s policies and procedures are essential to its long-term success. Policies typically contain rules and standards that key operational groups or divisions must follow. Companies with policies in place are more equipped to cope with any professional challenges that may emerge; policies give shape and support smooth operations in organisations. It’s critical to document company policies and processes whenever a firm starts to grow, particularly when it adds more employees.
You may be required by law to follow certain business policies, but you may also choose to develop your own. Guidelines and best practices are provided below to help you decide which policies must be included in your employee manual:
Health and safety policies stress the workplace’s safety protocols and all employees’ roles to maintain a safe workplace. Occupational health and safety provisions are obligatory to anyone who owns or operates a business. It’s vital that your staff work in a healthy and secure environment. Any company with at least five employees is required by law to have this policy written down as a document and distribute it to all employees.
A written policy indicates that you are concerned about the situation. Any processes and directions for work that include special hazards and conduct in times of emergency should be included in the policy. A health and safety policy should spell out exactly what employees should do in the event of an emergency, such as if someone is hurt or if there is a fire, where the nearby first aid boxes are kept, and who the qualified first aid persons are. A workplace safety policy can assist you in thinking more rationally.
Many countries have laws requiring you to be an equal opportunity employer. Under an equal opportunities policy, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees or potential employees based on protected characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, faith, sex, marital status, maternity, gender reassignment, or disabilities. The EOP is the most important policy for any anti-harassment, workplace bullying, non-discrimination, or diversity policy your organisation may think to develop.
This policy ensures that employees are treated fairly. Every employee should have an equal opportunity to apply for and be hired for jobs, be trained and promoted, have adequate provisions given for a physical impairment, and have their service terminated fairly and reasonably. Adopting a suitable policy demonstrates the company’s commitment and creates awareness among all employees. Putting it in writing sends a clear message to everyone in your organisation that equal opportunity is a fact.
Problems will happen at work from time to time, and handling them will be a lot easier if you have a well-defined disciplinary policy in place. Employees must understand how they will be penalised and under what conditions they will be penalised.
Businesses are required by law to present their employees and workers with a written statement of the job description when they begin work and a more comprehensive written statement within two months that contains information regarding disciplinary and grievance actions.
Even if you don’t formally reveal the whole procedure, a structured phase process will help you assure fair and equal handling. It will also demonstrate that you are a company that does not accept severe offences but encourages corrective actions in minor cases.
Because disciplinary policies have likely to occur in employees being dismissed, they must be fully documented and strictly followed. Moreover, they must comply with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Code of Practice; otherwise, the company may face penalties from an employment tribunal. Therefore, before including the detail in your employee manual, get it reviewed by a lawyer or legal advisor to ensure that all disciplinary actions are lawful.
If you have a clear and unambiguous code of conduct, employees can better understand your expectations regarding performance and behaviour. Organisational values, the protection of company resources, coping with misconduct and disputes, as well as employees’ social and work accountability are all essential elements of this document.
Specific regulations like drug and alcohol abuse, sexual harassment, gifts, dress code, privacy, and even the usage of tech gadgets, including smartphones during work hours, could be included in this policy. The rules must be simple and easy to understand. When employees are confused about what defines appropriate behaviour, they can ask about them. It also ensures that there will be a written account in place if somebody’s job must be suspended. In addition, a code of conduct must clarify specifically how employees should respond when they see a violation of the relevant rules, as well as the repercussions of behaviour.
Data protection has been the most important subject across every company since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect. The regulatory rule applies to both employee and consumer’s personal data.
A data protection policy outlines the rules and legal requirements businesses must meet while collecting, managing, processing, transmitting, or keeping personal data during business operations and transactions, including client, vendor, and staff data. Under the GDPR, it is required to publish information about what data we collect, why we need to store it, and your rights under the GDPR legislation.
Employees may need to be unavailable sometimes for a variety of reasons, spanning from health concerns to holiday plans. Even if it is not obliged by law, it’s really beneficial to educate your employees about the perks you provide. Companies would be wise to explain any ambiguity about working hours, absences, and holidays to avoid potential conflicts. This policy should, for example, specify the minimum and maximum weekly working hours, the criteria for having a break, how work time could be scheduled, and what must be reported.
Sick leave, paid time off (PTO), maternity leave, family leave, and other types of leave are all different things that may require specific handling. The only way to effectively notify employees is to have all of this in a document, along with any necessary regulations to manage leave utilisation. Overtime and vacation benefits should also be governed by the applicable labour law.
This policy must define what constitutes unethical use of corporate assets, such as computers, laptops, and work mobile phones, as well as the penalties that an employee may face if they violate the policy. This policy should define what information employees may and may not put on the internet, as well as what standards apply to the exploitation of the company’s own IT infrastructure.
The purpose of the policy should be to establish a balance between the employee’s privacy and the company’s objectives. Although it can be challenging to insist that employees use their personal social media accounts in a specific capacity, any job-related profiles should be controlled under the guidelines.
Businesses must consistently create and implement policies based on a risk analysis particular to their business. They must examine how their staff and management handle workplace problems and determine which areas should be addressed. Write down critical challenges that need to be handled inside the policy. Examine all parts of the policy, including what you want your employees to do and what they should avoid. It’s also crucial to review and discuss company policies with current and prospective employees so that everyone is on the same page.
In addition, when changes develop in the organisational or legal structure, businesses must evaluate if a new policy is required. Bloom financials’ expert business analysts and its secretarial team can help your existing or startup company analyse and create the most efficient business strategies and policies to be implemented. To get more details Contact Us by providing your details below.
VAT, or value-added tax, is a tax that must be paid when goods or services are purchased. When a customer sees a price for a product in a store, VAT has already been factored in it. In the United Kingdom, the standard rate of VAT is 20%, and nearly half of all things purchased by consumers are subject to this rate. However, during the pandemic, a 5% reduction in the rate applies to specific items such as children’s car seats, home energy and sanitary items.
Temporary VATE Rate Cut
On January 4, 2011, the usual rate of VAT raised from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent. After some time, the government reduced the VAT rate to 15% for a limited time in 2008. The goal of the cut was to increase consumer spending by encouraging retailers to pass the savings on to their customers.
COVID-19 Temporary VAT Rate Cut
On July 8, 2020, the government stated that certain supplies related to hospitality, hotel & vacation lodging, and admission to specified attractions would be subject to a temporary 5% reduced VAT rate. The lower rate was initially intended to be temporary, lasting from July 15, 2020, to January 12, 2021.
However, the deadline was then extended to March 31, 2021. In addition, the government declared in Budget 2021 that the temporarily reduced rate of 5% would be extended for another six months until September 30, 2021.
The objective of the Projected COVID-19 VAT Policy
With the release of the COVID-19 lockdown, the government has temporarily applied a reduced VAT rate (5%) to specific supplies in the tourism and hospitality industries to boost businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs. The goal was to support the re-opening of the economy, which had been shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The government announced the temporary VAT rate cut to cope with the pandemic situation globally. However, the temporary 5% reduced rate will end on September 30, 2021, and will be replaced with a 12.5% reduced rate.
The Background of Policy Implementation
The emergency relief or cut was introduced as a quick response to the coronavirus outbreak. Also, the main goal was to assist businesses that had been significantly impacted by the coronavirus epidemic and social distancing measures.
Before the current lower rate, all supplies of restaurant services, hot takeaway meals, holiday accommodation, and entrance to many attractions were subject to the usual rate of VAT (20%). Consequently, the measure is applied to provide continued support to the most severely impacted businesses during the pandemic.
Temporary VAT Rate Cut Proposal Details
Operative Date and Laws
The initial reduced rate of 5% applied on July 15 2020, and the subsequent 12.5% standard reduced rate will again implement from October 1 2021. Previously, most goods and services provided by the tourism and hospitality industries were subject to the regular rate of VAT. However, as soon as the temporarily reduced rate came into force, the three sectors were targeted to obtain the reduced rate of 5%, including hospitality, accommodation, and attractions.
On the premises, supplies are catering, including hot & cold food materials and consumed drink ingredients. On the other hand, off the premises, supplies cover hot takeaway food and drink materials.
The facility of a hotel, holiday accommodation, pitch fees for caravan parks, rented tents, and related facilities are included in this sector.
Attractions cover the cultural exemption, such as the range of supplies of food sold in the UK and various cold takeaway food. It also applies a zero rate to a limited number of drinks but expressly excludes alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, attractions also cover admission charges of museums, galleries, art exhibitions, zoos, theatrical, musical, choreographic performances of a cultural nature when supplied by a public body or an eligible body.
Influences of the Temporary VAT Rate Cut
The temporary VAT rate cut will help hotel, hospitality, and tourism firms improve cash flow and viability. As a result, COVID-19 encourages firms to spend more in these areas and thrive economically. However, in a pandemic, the reduced or slashed rate may have a modest negative impact on inflation.
Individuals who go out to eat, buy hot takeaway food, stay in hotels or other sorts of holiday accommodation, or visit different types of attractions are expected to benefit from the temporary VAT rate reduction.
The temporary lower rate of 5% will be extended for another six months until September 30, 2021. To avoid a cliff edge at the end of the 5% period, it introduces a temporarily reduced rate of 12.5 per cent until March 31, 2022.
The temporary lower rate of 12.5 per cent was extended and adopted to help businesses maintain their cash flow and viability following numerous periods of closure during the coronavirus outbreak. Because of the positive nature of this metric, the customer experience is predicted to increase. On the other hand, this measure is unlikely to influence the family formation, stability, or breakdown.
The anticipated temporary VAT reduced rate will not have equal influence on all groups with common characteristics. Corporations, SMEs, and individuals, everyone will acquire different benefits.
By significantly lowering the VAT, the rate reductions are likely to have a favourable and considerable impact on more than 100,000 firms. The temporary 12.5 per cent reduced rate is expected to impact system providers, as they will incur a one-time expense to familiarise themselves with the required modification and implement software adjustments that allow firms to account for VAT at the new rate.
On the other hand, HMRC is contacting industry stakeholders to acquire further evidence on implementation costs, and the government will update its estimates as soon as possible. Hence, because of this initiative’s helpful and cheerful nature, the customer experience for impacted businesses is projected to improve. The civil society organisations, on the other hand, will be unaffected.
HMRC’s operational costs for the implication of temporary VAT are estimated to be negligible. The reduced rate will be monitored using tax returns and revenues data and communication with affected taxpayer groups.
Reason to Introduced Temporary VAT Rate Cut
Lockdown conditions forcefully slowed down the global and national business growth during the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, this meant severe disruption for firms that rely on social contacts, such as the property and hospitality industries. The government has implemented a range of initiatives as part of the COVID-19 economic recovery plan to assist their rehabilitation. A temporary VAT rate cut is one of the government initiatives to support both businesses and individuals.
Impacts on VAT Flat Rate Scheme
The government’s planned temporary VAT rate reduction will impact the VAT Flat Rate Scheme (FRS). Some FRS rates will change because of the quick changes, allowing VAT FRS users to benefit from the temporary drop in the standard VAT rate.
Conclusion
The VAT cut affects VAT registered businesses in certain sectors and their customers. Organisations that make supplies of hospitality, hotel, holiday accommodation, admission to certain attractions, and their advisers can enjoy the benefits of the temporary VAT reduced rate in the COVID-19 situation. A temporary VAT cut has the advantage of being a “shovel-ready” measure that can be implemented fast. It can give the economy a short-term boost by providing individuals more money to spend and encouraging consumers to move purchases forward to take advantage of cheaper pricing for a limited time.
VAT Consultancy for Complex Taxes
Businesses must comply with all legal and formal requirements, such as invoicing, paperwork requirements, and declaration duties, to prevent any risk in the area of Value Added Tax. On the other hand, possibilities and optimisations must be realised early to execute all business activities and instances better.
VAT consulting services assist firms in complying with a variety of complex taxes. Consultants with an in-depth understanding of complicated taxes use a proactive strategy based on proven experience to lower VAT and customs charge costs.
Bloom Financials provides long-term, cross-industry, and practical VAT guidance with a pragmatic approach, focusing on specific industrial sectors. Staffed by VAT specialists, It serves businesses and entrepreneurs from all industries and sizes.
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SATR encompasses all details regarding each year’s income, capital gains, claimed & applicable allowances and reliefs. Certain taxpayers under Self-Assessment Tax Return (SATR) must file a tax return via form SA100. A tax return is a legal document, and all sources of income, no matter how minor they are, must be mentioned or specified by the individual in the form.
The majority of employees in the United Kingdom pay all taxes through the PAYE system and do not need to file a tax return. However, individuals with foreign incomes must file a tax return; therefore, tax affairs can be complicated.
A Self-Assessment Tax Return may seem intimidating. However, it appears much easier if the individuals are pre-arranged, systemised, and organised for what they will be asked and required. Therefore, one has to understand the processes very acutely to file them correctly and avoid penalties.
The question is raised in everyone’s mind when it comes to pay the tax returns and fill the forms, do I need to fill in a SATR? Thus, it is essential to find out who is required to pay and who is not.
Self-Assessment Tax Return has defined criteria by HMRC for individuals, fall under the tax return, are given below:
However, an employee who pays tax through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system cannot pay SATR. Individuals with more than one income source or foreign income have to undergo the Self-Assessment Tax Return Process.
Predominantly, any individual who interacts with SATR needs to register for Self-Assessment. Self-employed, non-self-employed, partners, trustees, and shareholders all have to go through different ways of the registration process.
SATR follows the tax year for submitting tax returns, not the calendar year, i.e., for the 2020/21 tax year, a person will pay between April 6, 2020, to April 5, 2021. After registering for Self-Assessment, you have two choices: filing a paper tax return or filing online.
It must be sent to HMRC within three months from the date of issue of the return. Thus, if you register on December 5, 2021, and file a paper or online tax return, you must submit your return by midnight on February 28, 2022. If the dates are not reached, however, HMRC will impose strict restrictions, and you may be charged a penalty cost as well as interest on late payments.
Filing for SATR or understanding the process is relatively simple if you have all the essential information. Make sure you have the following information before you begin:
As there are two sections to a SATR where the required information is put in. The first main section is the SA100 and the second main section is the supplementary page.
SA100 section entails detailed information such as Taxed & Untaxed Incomes, Dividends & Interests, Pension Contributions, Charitable Donations, State Pension, Child Benefit and Blind Person’s Allowance.
On the contrary, the supplementary page is filled by a company director, a foreign resident, self-employed from abroad, property sellers.
All income, profits on tax returns, savings income, employment income, overseas income, and capital gains are self-employment. On the other hand, Self-Assessment requires a self-employed person to fill out all of the business’s income and costs.
Details of the business income and various business expenses must be added into tax return self-employment forms.
Self-employed must fill out self-employment forms such as SA103 and SA100. Individuals earning less than £85,000 per year, on the other hand, will complete the short pages of SA103S rather than the full pages of SA103F.
Taxable profits from self-employment aid determine how much income tax and Class 4 National Insurance payments must be paid. However, if the tax return is entirely online, the online system will calculate the income tax liability.
Foreign migrants working in the UK have to complete a formal tax return each year, even if their employment taxes are dealt with under PAYE. Also, foreign residents with foreign income have to complete a tax return in the UK.
Foreigners must retain records of their taxes paid while in residence, their domicile status, and information about their foreign earnings and gains. Furthermore, various comprehensive data linked to tax remittance, such as bank statements, must be kept safe to file SATR forms.
You will have to keep them safe for at least 22 months from the end of the taxation year. For example, you must keep records until at least January 31 2023, for the tax year 2020/21 (from April 5 2021).
There is no specific duration for paying Self-Assessment Tax Return to HMRC, as it varies from situation to situation. Three scenarios have been described below according to deal with the different conditions.
First Scenario: A foreign person who will no longer be a resident of the UK and think they might not be considered under the complicated tax affairs of Self-Assessment. If a person has already received a notice of tax return, in this situation, can call HMRC and request to withdraw or remove from SATR in the future.
Second Scenario: If a person is a UK resident and has been issued a notice to file a tax return, then it is a legal obligation to complete one; otherwise, HMRC will issue a penalty.
Third Scenario: If a person has ceased self-employment or left the UK, he will need to fill in a tax return for the year his self-employment ends or the year that he leaves. The date you stopped being self-employed or left the UK should be shown on your tax return so that HMRC can close your Self-Assessment record and stop sending you tax returns to complete.
A tax expert might be able to assist you with your tax situation. Authorise a tax consultant to deal with HMRC on your behalf. In addition, an expert accountant will verify that you do not make any mistakes.
Although accessing Self-Assessment through the internet, filling it out correctly might be difficult, especially if you are new to the process. It is possible to make mistakes, and these mistakes can be costly. A tax expert has filled out innumerable tax returns and is well-versed in the process. Hence he can help you in the Tax legislation of Self-Assessment Tax Return.
Payroll services support corporates in inspecting the daily-based payroll processes, i.e., calculations of accurate tax, salaries, wages, allowances, accounts, and eliminations of inaccuracies in the payrolls. Corporations, however, need to arrange payroll solutions with essential features for business continuity.In general, payroll taxes are collected via the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) system performed by employers.
To pay employees on time, including all the benefits bounded by HMRC, employers must register with PAYE. During the COVID-19 crisis, the UK government has helped employers and employees by introducing more beneficial schemes and packages.Â
As lockdown regulations have been released, the Chancellor declared a range of support packages to continuing COVID in the spring Budget of 2021 to benefit enterprises, self-employed individuals, employers, and the economy. Paying Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and Coronavirus Job Retention Schemes (CJRS) are the support packages, yet both schemes are part of the PAYE system. Employers registered with the PAYE can take advantage of these schemes as well.
UK payroll procedure is considered as one of the complex procedures. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is a central system responsible for processing payroll taxes in the UK. The employer must deduct the amount of tax from the salary that an employee owns and directed it to the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) department.
Although, the process of paying payroll tax is the same for both the salaried and hourly-paid workers. The majority of businesses deduct this amount every month from the employees. Employers send their current pay deductions by post and electronically on or before the 19th and 22nd of each month in the UK. Thus, employers need to keep on updating their accounts to pay their workers on time.
In the UK, employers have to go through a simple procedure to prepare employee payroll. As soon as the employer employs his first worker, he follows some basic steps of PAYE, elaborated down below:
Predominantly, employers apply online to get a reference number from the government. After successfully registering as an employer with HMRC, only then RN can be acquired. HM Revenue and Customs send reference number via message to employer after five working days.
Employer uses tax code to inspect the amount of tax deduction from the employee’s pay or pension. However, plenty of tax codes are used in the UK, yet HM Revenue and Customs department provide the exact tax code to employers. Furthermore, the required tax code is also available on employee’s pension letters, payslips, and P45 forms.
Every employee has a National Insurance Number (NIN) in the UK that shows the tax they must pay to HM Revenue and Customs. Employees can find NI numbers on the payslip, bank statements, pension letters, and letters from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). So far, the employer also needs this number to check benefits, pensions, and amount of tax-related to his employee.
The P45 form is a tax code that is very important for both the employee and employer. Details regarding the employee leaving work, issued by the former employer at job termination, are available in this form. Revenue and Customs have the list in which the tax codes are listed. The employer gets this code to complete the further process.
Finally, the employer can pay a new employee by computing their PAYE. To maintain continuity in PAYE, the employer can record the salary, estimate deductions, add the employer’s NI contribution in the pay, and get payslips. Consequently, the employer reports all payrolls to HMRC in a documented form recognised as a Full Payment Submission (FPS).
Employers receive the tax code of each employee via P9T or P9X forms. Whenever the tax code of any employee is updated by HMRC, under the PAYE system, an employee can receive the details of the new tax code through the P9T form. Further tax details such as employee’s tax-free income, increment, or decrement in tax will also be available in the P9T form.
However, an employee with more than one source of income gets confused among multiple tax codes. The employee does not get the right idea of which tax code should use. Hence, wrong information about the tax code can lead to incorrect deductions of tax for the taxpayer. As a result, employees are compelled to pay tax either over-deducted or under-deducted.
Also, due to the change in the tax code, an employee may get unqualified for multiple benefits, i.e., age-related relief and receiving a car on retirement. Sometimes, HMRC does not update the tax code automatically. Consequently, the employee might end up paying more tax. Due to these loopholes, HMRC is trying to mend the operations or functions of PAYE to avoid any discrepancies.
Basic PAYE Tools (BPT) is an advanced form of PAYE. BPT offers multiple services to employers, such as update details of employee pay and deductions for tax by using Earlier You Update (EYU) function in a real-time environment. HMRC has introduced BPT to help employers and employees by providing Real-time Information (RTI).
Employers can use BPT to run payroll and report the pension contributions paid by the employees. Moreover, BPT is easy to install, and everyone can take advantage. Employers can receive notifications automatically and can add employee payroll information on or before payment.
Basic PAYE Tools does not support auto-enrolment, pension contributions, staff assessment, and supply information to the pension provider. Thus, HMRC is constantly updating the services to enhance the PAYE system operations via digital tools. Still, with the huge number of registered individuals and tax data, HMRC and UK government upgrading gradually but surely.
Managing all payroll processes in-house is complicated, and consultancy from an experienced and effective payroll accountant can provide you with better payroll management. Similarly, quickly expanding organisations may find it challenging to adapt swiftly for delivering payroll on a large scale.
Payroll consultancy services providers are comprised of a team of payroll management experts, including local market experts. As a result, they know how to execute compliant and dependable payroll at scale.
Experts at Bloom Financials take the time to get to know your organisation and create an accurate, timely, and user-friendly payroll for employees. Their services and practical insights give you total control and visibility into personnel data and corporate metrics, including real-time data visualisation.
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