As the nation heads to the polls this Thursday 4 July, here’s a reminder of recent legislative changes that will impact bookkeepers and payroll professionals.
Whatever the results of the election, newly-elected Members of Parliament will sit for the first time on Tuesday 09 July 2024and the State Opening of Parliament will be on Wednesday 17 July 2024.
However, employers and bookkeeping professionals must not disregard what happened in the last Parliamentary session, as there are things planned for later in 2024 (and 2025) that will have to be considered by the new administration. Here are the things we think you need to look out for:
Self-Assessment Tax Returns
They were open for consultation until 09 May 2024 but when they come into force, from tax year 2025/26, the following information will have to be included on tax returns:
This impacts tax returns for tax year 2025/26 and the submission deadline of 31 January 2027.
Real Time Information (RTI) Reporting
As part of HMRC’s intention to collect more data, we need to be vigilant for the following which will mean additional data collection and reporting from April 2025:
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The Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No *) Regulations 2024 will amend The Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2003 which is the primary legislation concerning RTI and National Insurance. Where employers have employees working in Freeport and / or Investment Zone areas, they will be required to report the postcode of the location of employment
Both measures will require bookkeepers to gather more information from clients so that the RTI reporting obligation can be met. There was an associated consultation related to these amendments – the outcome of which has been pushed back by the General Election, and therefore delayed guidance to professionals and software developers.
Employment Law (in Great Britain)
The following are all pieces of employment law legislation that apply when an employee is ordinarily resident in Great Britain.
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The Statutory Neonatal Leave and Pay Act provides a new statutory right to leave from day one, and pay if the employee qualifies. This will be where a child requiresneonatal care in the first 28 days of life. This is due to come in from April 2025, however, so far, HMRC have only advised that this will mean changes to RTI submissions. We require Regulations to bring this Act into force (plus guidance)
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The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 is also referred to as ‘the Tipping Act’. It does not make any changes to the way that tips and service charges are taxed, however, does require employers to have processes in place to ensure they are fairly allocated amongst workers. A Code of Practice has been approved which will help employers and Regulations will be needed to bring this into force, expected 01 October 2024
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The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 allows workers to ask their employers for a change to their employment contract where it contains any element of unpredictability. For example, maybe the current contract does not allow the worker to plan their weekend because they might be called into work. A Code of Practice is in development to aid employers but will require Regulations to bring this into force (expected September 2024). This affects bookkeepers as workers will have a statutory right to ask for a contract change, which may mean changes to their payroll set-up
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The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 was passed at the last minute in the last UK Parliamentary session and allows the automatic transfer of maternity and adoption leave to the ‘father’ where there is a bereavement. There are no further details on this apart from the Act itself, so Regulations will be required and, of course, details of how this will work.
FYI No similar legislation has been passed in Northern Ireland meaning that the UK-wide bookkeeping profession may have to operate differently.
Too often we can be mistaken into thinking that a new administration will only allow us to look forward, yet what happens in the future is shaped by what happened in the past:
Policy may be shaped by the UK Government, however, implementing this is down to the civil servants who work at places like HMRC. They are the ones responsible for creating legislation. Acts of the UK Parliament only allow for things to happen. They do not usually implement changes straight away. It is secondary legislation that bring the provisions into force with an effective date. If there is an Act of Parliament, we must watch for when and how this is bought into force.
A reminder that the ICB’s newsletter and the monthly Wages Wednesday keep bookkeepers and payroll professionals to keep on top of the relevant changes that impact the bookkeeping profession.
