Nov 2019
12
How to choose the right Cloud HR platform for your business
Choosing the right HR platform for your business can be difficult. To help you make the right decision we have highlighted five points you need to consider first.
- Cost – Migrating to the cloud should be cost-effective since it does not require you to purchase any new hardware or software. This minimizes up-front costs from the start. You want a product that can grow as you grow or that can accommodate a temporary slowdown in business so you're not paying for something you don't need or worse, find yourself outgrowing your product.
- Productivity – Along with this, you want a product that reduces man-hours, you want it to take those mundane, day-to-day HR tasks off your desk, the requests, the interruptions that distract you from getting your work done. Look for a product that facilitates multiple users. One that allows you to delegate tasks like approving holidays or grant selected access, like letting your accountant see your payroll reports or your P30 breakdown.
- Compliance – You want a product that takes into account the obligations you have as an employer, both under employment law and GDPR, and that includes features that make compliance easy, stress-free and trackable.
- Simplicity – Choose a product that removes the risk for human error in processes. Make sure it is user-friendly and that training and support is available for you to use it effectively. The best cloud vendors will provide the proper tools and education needed to migrate your data with ease.
- Connection – Pick a product with attractive employee features. Make sure your employees, current and future, know that you’re a progressive company and interested in your employee’s welfare. Your employees are not going to be excited about something unless it works for them. People nowadays expect their needs to be met through technology. Banking? Communicating? Tracking your steps? Applying for jobs? Booking a flight? It’s all online. Employees expect to be able to manage their lives online. Make sure you are right there on the cutting-edge of cloud technology!
Book a demo today to find out how BrightPay Connect can improve your business.
Nov 2019
8
BrightPay Customer Update: November 2019
Welcome to our November update where you will find out about the latest hot topics and events affecting payroll. Our most important news this month include:
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Important Pricing Update for BrightPay 2020
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Free Webinar - PAYE Modernisation: The story so far
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Parent’s Leave & Benefit Bill... Paid leave is on the way for all new parents!
Important Pricing Update for BrightPay 2020
To ensure that our investment in technology keeps pace with Revenue’s changing landscape and to facilitate the increase in customer support resources, we are changing our pricing for 2020. This new pricing structure is designed to better match usage and support requirements with price.
Unlike many of our competitors, we’ve added hundreds of powerful features and enhancements and heavily invested in additional customer support staff, all so that you don’t have to worry. 99.9% of the time everything will run smoothly but if you ever have problems we will be there to help you. Payroll is way too important not to have a first-class backup service. We believe our pricing remains excellent value and continues to be very competitive when compared to the options from other providers.
Why Customers Love Us
"When I rang support, I was answered straight away, no holding, and my query answered quickly. My payroll is a joy to do, easy and quick."
Félim O'Connor, Photofast Ltd.
"Having previously used Sage payroll software, I wish that I had used BrightPay much sooner. It is such an improvement and so much easier to use."
Lynda Blake, Day-to-Day Bookkeeping
"Knowing that your exceptional customer service continues after the sale plays a big part in my decision to use and highly recommend BrightPay. Would like to say a big THANK YOU."
Eileen Mc Williams
"Best payroll software I have used. Very user friendly and the reports that can be complied are great because they can be tailored depending on what you want in the report."
Caroline Moynihan, Quiet Moment Tearooms
Free Webinar - PAYE Modernisation: The story so far
This webinar is specifically tailored for employers where we will look back on PAYE Modernisation in 2019 and decide if the new real-time payroll reporting system has been a success. We are delighted to welcome Sinead Sweeney from Revenue who will review some of the most common mistakes employers have made to date and what employers should expect in 2020.
New BrightPay Connect Subscription Pricing Model
From January 2020, customers will be billed on a usage subscription model based on the number of active employees in the billing month. Once signed up for a BrightPay Connect account, you will be invoiced monthly in arrears through our new online billing system. There are no contracts or ties. Should you decide to stop using Connect, no notice is required. Payroll Bureaus on a bureau package will be charged based on the total number of active employees in respect of clients that are synchronised to BrightPay Connect (not on a client-by-client basis). Our 2020 order system will be available shortly.
Free Webinar: Make your payroll bureau stand out with online client platforms
Discover simple ways to impress your clients and make your payroll service stand out. Grow your practice, improve efficiency and save time and money. Register for this free webinar to see how new cloud technologies are positively impacting the way bureaus offer payroll services.
Oct 2019
25
Cloud HR Platforms – Making Compliance as simple as 1,2,3
As an employer, when it comes to your new employees, you must give a written statement of 5 core terms of employment within 5 days of starting employment (also known as a Day 5 Statement).
These 5 terms are:
- The full name of employer and employee
- The address of the employer
- The expected duration of the employment contract
- The method of calculating or rate of pay
- The expected normal working day and week
Employees must receive the remaining terms in writing within 2 months of starting work. Penalties for non-compliance are up to €5,000 fine and in extreme cases a potential prison sentence!
Nowadays, you don’t have to worry about how to get documents to your new employees. There is an easier, more powerful way to share your employee contracts. Thanks to Cloud HR Platforms, compliance is as easy as 1,2,3!
- Create a contract of employment for your new employee, making sure to include the core terms of employment.
- Ensure that your new employee has access to the employee portal for your company’s Cloud HR Platform
- Upload their completed contract to the Cloud and move on to getting to know your new hire!
That’s it! You are now fully compliant, following best practice recommendations and safe in the knowledge that your employees have received the information you need them to have!
With BrightPay Connect, employers can securely and seamlessly distribute documents to employees via their employee self-service app. Book a demo today to discover more ways that BrightPay Connect can keep you compliant.
Oct 2019
22
Parent’s Leave & Benefit Bill... Some paid leave is on the way for all new parents!
The Government is working on a range of changes to help parents spend more quality time with their children. Last week, they published the new Parent's Leave and Benefit Bill 2019. This Bill is expected to be enacted on or before 1st November 2019.
So what is this….?
The new Parent’s Leave & Benefit Bill introduces the concept of paid parent's leave for employees for the first time in Ireland. Originally called the ‘Parental Leave & Benefit Bill’, this has had a name change to the Parent’s Leave & Benefit bill to clearly differentiate parent's leave from parental leave (which is a separate entitlement!).
What’s included in the new Bill?
- Parents will be able to take two weeks paid parents leave for any child born / adopted on or after 1st November 2019. The leave must be used before the child’s first birthday. In the case of multiple births, a parent will only be able to claim parents leave once.
- It is available to both parents and it can be taken as a continuous period of two weeks or in two separate one week blocks.
- An employee needs to give their employer six weeks' notice of when they want to take the leave, stating the expected start date and the duration.
- Employers are allowed postpone the parent's leave in situations where taking the leave would have a substantial adverse effect on the operation of the employer's business. Employers however cannot postpone the leave for more than 12 weeks.
- Parents receive a statutory payment of €245 per week (they need the necessary PRSI contributions to qualify!).
The Bill does not require employers to pay employees while on parent's leave. It will be up to each employer to decide if they want to top-up an employee's parent's benefit and, if so, by how much. The advice would be to be consistent with approaches taken on the other family leave types.
Company policies should be reviewed and updated to reflect the changes being introduced. This will help you prepare for any increase in staff requests. Make sure you keep your paperwork & record keeping in order.
Want to find out more? Register for our free employment law webinar.
Oct 2019
16
BrightPay Customer Update: October 2019
Welcome to BrightPay's October update where you will find out about the latest hot topics and events affecting payroll. Our most important news this month include:
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PAYE Modernisation in 2020: What you need to know
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BrightPay’s new employee SmartPhone App
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Budget 2020 – Employer Focus
Backing up your payroll data in 2019
Disasters happen. It’s all part of being in business: Fire, flood, theft, you name it. If you own premises or an office, it might happen to you. Did you access your free BrightPay Connect cloud backup facility yet? In 2019 we gave all of our BrightPay customers a FREE BrightPay Connect licence. Automatically store payroll information in the cloud and enable online access anywhere, anytime for you and your employees.
Free CPD accredited webinar | PAYE Modernisation: The story so far
During this PAYE Modernisation webinar, BrightPay's MD Paul Byrne looks back at the story so far and decides whether or not the new real time payroll reporting system has been a success. In this free CPD accredited webinar, we will review some of the most common mistakes employers have made to date and what employers should expect in 2020. Part two will deep dive into how online payroll platforms can improve your efficiency.
Places are limited. Book early to avoid disappointment.
Have you invited your employees to use their FREE smartphone app?
Our new employee self-service smartphone and tablet app is available with our cloud add-on BrightPay Connect. It’s completely free to all BrightPay customers for 2019. The user-friendly app streamlines the payroll processing while reducing the number of payroll queries from employees. The benefits for employees include:
- Instant access to current & historic payslips.
- Request leave on the go.
- View HR documents such as employee contracts & handbooks.
- Edit personal contact information including address and phone number details.
HR & Employment Law Landscape - Free Webinar
Business Owners and Managers are all too aware of the on-going challenges and constant changes in the area of Employment Law and HR Best Practice. This webinar will offer the opportunity to keep abreast of change and plan for the future. Places are limited.
Oct 2019
9
Budget 2020 – Employer Focus
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe announced Budget 2020 with very few changes:
- There is no change to tax credits, cut off points or the rates of PAYE
- There is no change to the rates of Universal Social Charge (USC)
- The Earned Income Tax Credit will increase by €150 to €1,500
- The Home Carer Tax Credit will increase by €100 to €1,600
- The Benefit In Kind will remain as 0% on electric vehicles provided by an employer to an employee until 2022
- The Minimum Wage increase of 30c recommended by the Low Pay Commission has been deferred due to the threat of a no-deal Brexit. The current rate of €9.80 per hour will remain until there is more clarity on Brexit.
PRSI:
The National Training Levy which is collected as part of Employer PRSI will increase by 0.1% from 0.9% to 1% in 2020 to fund further and higher education.
| 2019 | 2020 | |
| Employer PRSI Class A Reduced Rate | 8.7% | 8.8% |
| Employer PRSI Class A Higher Rate | 10.95% | 11.05% |
| Employer PRSI Class H | 10.25% | 10.35% |
Oct 2019
3
One year later... Can PAYE Modernisation be considered a triumph?
Join BrightPay’s Paul Byrne as he takes you through the PAYE Modernisation journey so far, and decides whether or not PAYE Modernisation has been a success. During the webinar, Paul will also review some of the most common mistakes employers have made to date and what employers should expect in 2020.
As part of this webinar, we’ll take a closer look at BrightPay Connect and how important it is to backup your payroll data for PAYE Modernisation. Ian Jenkinson will take you on a whistle-stop tour revealing the hidden benefits of our self-service employee app and explain how BrightPay Connect’s cloud platforms can improve your payroll processes.
We are delighted to be joined by our guest speaker Sinead Sweeney, who is the PAYE Modernisation Change Manager at Revenue. Sinead will discuss what has happened since PAYE Modernisation has gone live and what challenges businesses are facing.
The webinar is CPD accredited for accountants and payroll bureaus. The webinar is free to attend and takes place on 23rd October at 11.00 am for payroll bureaus and 24th October at 11.00 am for employers. Limited places available - book your place now to avoid disappointment.
Can’t make it? Register for the webinar anyway and we will send you the on-demand recording when it’s ready.
More upcoming webinars
BrightPay is hosting a number of webinars over the coming months. More upcoming webinars include:
Sep 2019
24
Are you owed income tax? €4 billion claimed back already from Revenue since 2010
Oh boy, have I got news for you! So, word on the grapevine (aka the national newspapers) is that you, yes YOU, could possibly maybe probably hopefully might be due a tax refund. Huzzah! Music to anyone's ears. But how? Well, according to Revenue, a whopping €4 billion (yes that’s a B) of income tax has been claimed back from them since 2010; and there’s plenty more where that came from!
How did this happen? So it turns out that us Irish are just so laid back that we barely noticed when we were due relief or weren’t assessed for tax properly. If your tax credits were not correctly applied, if you didn’t claim tax relief on health expenses, nursing home fees and other allowable expenses then it all starts to add up. If you changed job half way through the year and were not assessed in the right way, again, you could have been overpaying tax the whole time and adding to Revenue’s coffers!
Since the introduction of PAYE Modernisation in January 2019, these small errors are being picked up automatically as that’s literally what PAYE Modernisation was designed to tackle. Fortunately, you can claim any overpaid tax that was paid in the last 4 years. Be aware however, once the overpayments are gone - they’re gone. And when the underpayments are gone, they're gone too.
In fact, Revenue are actively encouraging employees to look at the income tax they’ve paid in the last 4 years and if you think you’ve overpaid, you can seek a refund from the Revenue by requesting a P21 Balancing Statement, which is available to all PAYE customers through their myAccount. The statement outlines:
- Your income from all sources
- A breakdown of your tax credits
- Any tax and Universal Social Charge you’ve paid throughout the year
- Any underpayments or overpayments of tax
Sep 2019
12
CWPS rates to increase on 1st October 2019
The Construction Workers' Pension Scheme (CWPS) is a multi-employer occupational pension scheme providing pensions solutions for workers in the construction and related industries, at a low cost to both employees and employers. It is designed to allow construction workers and their families retirement and low cost protection cover.
The pension rates for CWPS agreed in the Sectoral Employment Order will increase from 1st October 2019. The employer contribution total will increase by 78 cents and the employee’s contribution total will increase by 53 cents.
The new rates are as follows:
| Employer Contribution | Employee Contribution | Total | |
| Pension Contribution | €27.35 | €18.24 | €45.59 |
| Death in Service Contribution | €1.14 | €1.14 | €2.28 |
| Sick Pay Contribution | €1.30 | €0.65 | €1.95 |
| Totals | €29.79 | €20.03 | €49.82 |
The additional voluntary extras of Construction Workers Health Trust member contribution of 1.00 and the Benevolent Funds of employer contribution of 0.19 and member contribution of 0.50 will remain the same as the current rates.
Sep 2019
4
Schools are back! Using Parental Leave to help your staff get a good work-life balance
Many employees find it tough to balance their work responsibilities with the demands placed on them in their home and family lives. This is never more obvious than with the return of schools this week – school drop offs and collections, preparing healthy lunches for fussy little eaters, extra-curricular activities to attend, homework battles and an increase in time spent stuck in traffic are all too familiar occurrences come September….
Employers can support their staff by helping them adjust to their new daily routine through flexible working options and/or reduced hours working arrangements. Employers, however, will need to manage these requests carefully, ensuring there are no substantially adverse effects on their business. Very recently, there has been a number of changes made to Parental Leave that employers should be aware of.
So, what’s new with Parental Leave?
- Parental Leave entitlement has increased from 18 to 22 weeks. This is going to further increase again on 1st September 2020 to 26 weeks. Employers should be aware that, for their employees who have already taken their current entitlement, they will be able to take the additional 8 weeks of leave - provided they meet the eligibility requirements.
- The leave can be taken at any time prior to the child turning 12 years old. This was previously set at 8 years old. So any leave not taken previously, due to the fact that the child in question reached the previous limit of 8 years, will now become available for employees to use again.
What should I do?
As an employer, you will now need to update your Parental Leave policies to reflect these new changes (If you use our Bright Contracts package, we have updated these for you already in the Handbook section!). You need to put in place a process for keeping Parental Leave records – these need to be retained for 12 years.
You should review every application for Parental Leave very carefully – weighing up the impact of this request for both the staff member and your business. Parental Leave can be taken as either a block period or as single days. Staff must give you 6 weeks notice of any leave they wish to take. You can postpone a Parental Leave application request, based on business needs, for up to 6 months.
What are the benefits of being seen as a flexible employer?
- You can attract top talent as you will create a culture that respects and recognises that your staff have priorities outside of work.
- Improved retention of staff and less staff turnover as they are better able to manage their time. They will not feel under as much pressure or that it is not sustainable for them to keep working with you.
- Improved employee well-being – their emotional and mental health can benefit by being able to successfully multi-task family and work duties.
- Improved employee morale and loyalty to their employer.
- Improved diversity. As childcare still falls mainly on women, female talent is more likely to be retained as you have made facilities available to them to enable them to keep working.
There is no doubt that employers are increasingly supporting their staff by helping them to balance the demands of working versus homelife. In this current climate of skills shortages and demands for talented, committed staff, it is hoped that progressive steps such as flexible working options will enable parents, juggling these conflicting demands, to remain in the workplace and feel supported by their employer when doing so.
Book a demo of Bright Contracts today to find out how you can keep your Parental Leave policies updated and compliant with employment legislation.
