Oct 2017

Are you ready for PAYE Modernisation?

To raise awareness about forthcoming PAYE Modernisation in 2019, Revenue has commenced its awareness campaign by releasing an information leaflet “PAYE Modernisation – Are You Ready”.
This leaflet highlights the vital steps for new and existing employers to undertake in advance of 1st January 2019, in order to succeed in the imminent taxation system revolution.

The key idea behind PAYE Modernisation is that all communication between employer and Revenue will happen in “real time”. In order to effectively overcome the upcoming challenges, employers are being encouraged to focus on the quality and accuracy of the data they provide to Revenue.

In preparation for PAYE Modernisation, employers are advised to follow several easy steps to guarantee its overall success when it does come into effect in 2019:

Verify the PPSN provided by employees (e.g. check it against a Public Services Card, P45 or other Revenue or DSP correspondence) and where the employee does not hold a PPSN, they should contact the DSP to apply for one.

Register all employees with Revenue (i.e. P45(3) or P46 where the employee has no P45). Where the new employee has not worked in Ireland before, the employee must register the employment online using the Jobs and Pension service available in myAccount. The Jobs and Pension service can also be used by employees who are changing from one employment to another. Once the employment has been registered, Revenue will issue a tax credit certificate.

Issue a P45 when an employee ceases employment and submit it to Revenue.

Ensure an up-to-date tax credit certificate has been received for each employee. The leaflet outlines the basis of tax which should be applied on the first payday of a new tax year in the event that an up-to-date tax credit certificate for that year is not received.

Ensure a complete PAYE, PRSI and USC record for each employee is held at the end of the tax year.

At Thesaurus Software & BrightPay, we have always strived to deliver excellence in customer service and professional expertise in both Irish and UK payroll. We widely welcome the upcoming PAYE changes. As Paul Byrne, director of Thesaurus Software Ltd, stated during the Revenue's public consultation process held in December 2016:

“Whatever system is adopted, it is important that it represents a step forward for all parties. We are already committed to not charging our customers for the additional development involved. In addition, we are considering making a free version of our software available for micro employers, those with one or two employees.”

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Posted byAlena AmelyanchukinEmployment Update New Features PAYE Modernisation

Sep 2017

What do you mean…. “Do I have a backup?”

One of the most common calls I get on the support line is from a distressed customer who tells me they have lost their payroll information. Reasons for the loss of this information are varied and could be anything from a laptop being stolen, a virus attacking the computer, holding files to ransom or fire or water damage to the computers in the office.

The first question I’ll ask on a call of this type will be “do you have a backup?”. Honestly, I can’t tell you the number of people that say “No” to this. People are also mistakenly under the impression that we have a copy of their payroll data. Unfortunately this is never the case, we do not have access to the employer’s payroll information so this can add to the customer's stress levels as you can imagine!

We would always stress the importance of taking a backup of your payroll information. You would have your computers and office equipment insured against anything happening so why would you not do the same for your data? Think of your backup as your information’s insurance policy, after all it is almost irreplaceable or at the very least a major inconvenience to try and rebuild your payroll.

In a lot of cases, the call to our customer support line comes too late for us to be of any real assistance and the only advice we have to give is to start over and process payroll from the beginning again.
We never think anything like this will happen to us, but take it from me, it does, so go ahead and take out that insurance policy and backup before it is too late!

The following links will guide you to taking a backup in your software or book a demo of BrightPay Connect our latest cloud add on that offers an automated online backup feature:

BrightPay UK: https://www.brightpay.co.uk/docs/17-18/backing-up-restoring-your-payroll/
BrightPay Ireland: https://www.brightpay.ie/docs/2017/backing-up-restoring-data-files/backing-up-your-payroll-data/
Thesaurus Payroll Manager: https://www.thesaurus.ie/docs/2017/processing-payroll/backup-data-files/

Posted byDonna WalshinPay/Wage Payroll

Sep 2017

New Automatic Enrolment Pension System to be in place by 2021?

With better living standards and expanding economy, it is without doubt that Irish people are now living longer and we have a much healthier society. At the same time, we need to face the fact that with the Irish population inevitably getting older, there is the prospect that senior citizens will have to stay in employment long after they have passed retirement age. It is therefore absolutely vital to address the funding of the Irish pension system now if we want our pensioners to be well-protected in the future.

To tackle this issue, Brian Hayes MEP has called on Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty to start work on the introduction of an automatic enrolment pension system, whereby all Irish private sector employees would be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme. As Mr Hayes stated, "a road map needs to be put in place for the introduction of an auto-enrolment system for all Irish businesses. The Cabinet needs to make it a priority to ensure that auto-enrolment is put into Irish Law by 2021. This is something that can be done through cross-party agreement."

In 2012, the UK introduced an automatic enrolment system which is working well and providing long-term sustainability. Automatic enrolment systems have also been introduced in Australia and New Zealand, and similar systems exist in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. These countries are recognised as world leaders in pensions.

Mr Hayes has suggested that Ireland should create its own system, whereby every employee will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme, into which they should contribute at least 1 per cent of their monthly salary, to be matched by their employer.

Mr Hayes also added, “In Ireland we are far too dependent on our state pension system. We have a very low take up of workplace pension schemes. Less than 40% of Irish workers are covered by a workplace pension scheme. The best way to deal with both of these problems is through an auto-enrolment system which reduces dependency on the state system and ensures people have additional pension pots built up.”

A recent global study called the ‘Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index’ has stated that Ireland's pension system is good but has serious sustainability problems into the future. Elsewhere, Mercer's report found that Ireland will increasingly struggle to afford the provision of a guaranteed pension for everyone, if the current pension system isn’t addressed.

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Posted byAlena AmelyanchukinAuto Enrolment

Sep 2017

Public Holiday Pay Entitlement

There can often be some confusion surrounding an employee's entitlement to pay for a public holiday particularly where the employee may be part-time or the public holiday falls on a day that the employee does not normally work.

It is also worth noting that not every bank holiday is a public holiday though in most cases they coincide. Good Friday is a bank holiday but it is not a public holiday. The following dates are the official public holidays in Ireland.

New Year's Day (1 January)
St. Patrick's Day (17 March)
Easter Monday
First Monday in May, June, August
Last Monday in October
Christmas Day (25 December)
St. Stephen's Day (26 December)

Employees who qualify for public holiday benefit will be entitled to one of the following:

A paid day off on the public holiday
An additional day of annual leave
An additional day's pay
A paid day off within a month of the public holiday

So, who is entitled to a payment?

Part-time employees qualify for public holiday entitlement if they have worked at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks ending the day before the public holiday.
Full time employees are not required to have worked up a minimum number of hours.

How to calculate the amount to be paid?

If the public holiday falls on a day which the employee would normally work:

Full-time employees are entitled to one of the above four options at the employer’s discretion.
Part-time employees have the same entitlement, so where the employee’s pay is a fixed amount the normal daily rate can be used. If the pay varies, the daily rate should be calculated over the 13 weeks immediately before the public holiday in question.

If the public holiday falls on a day which the employee does not normally work:

Further information can be found at Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.

Thesaurus Payroll Software

BrightPay Payroll Software

Posted byDonna WalshinEmployee Records Pay/Wage Payroll Wages

Sep 2017

Long Service Awards - Appreciation to staff

Have you employees with 20 plus years of service? If so why not say thank you with a gift.
Revenue Commissioners offer tax relief on long service awards, which is considered to be at least 20 years of service. Tax relief on long service awards can be in addition to the small benefit exemption.
Employers can reward employees for long service with tangible articles with a value up to a maximum of €50 per year of service, starting at 20 years of service and every 5 years thereafter.

20 years of service – value up to €1,000
25 years of service – value up to €1,250
30 years of service – value up to €1,500
35 years of service – value up to €1,750

The award must be a tangible article e.g. a gold watch, it does not apply to awards made in cash.
Tax will not be charged provided:

• The cost to the employer does not exceed €50 per year of service
• The award is made in respect of service not less than 20 years
• No similar award has been made to the recipient within the previous 5 years

Where any of the conditions are not met PAYE, PRSI & USC must be applied on the full amount.
Details can be found on Revenue's website