ADVANCED PAYROLL COMPLIANCE
ADVANCED PAYROLL COMPLIANCE
Many recruitment businesses, accrediting organisations and other stakeholders welcomed the recent announcement, by the chancellor herself, that a legislative crackdown on umbrella companies was imminent, from April 2026.
As the umbrella company market and all its stakeholders await further guidelines on upcoming legislation, which is due to come into force from April 2026, due diligence remains more important than ever.
The much anticipated first budget for the new Labour government has now been delivered, for the first time by a female Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the initial reactions are rolling in on the extensive range of measures announced, many of which previously 'leaked'.
With Budget Day around the corner speculation is rife on what will be included, and what will not. The wait will soon be over but in the meantime Olivia Spruce, Director of the Payroll Compliance Authority (PCA), shares her views on a key area that needs addressing on 30th October.
With the new government having laid its new Employment Rights Bill before Parliament, including proposals to introduce a ban on zero-hour contracts, Martin Innes, Director at the Payroll Compliance Authority (PCA), a not-for-profit accreditor in the outsourced payroll sector, warns that a blanket ban could push more contractors into the unregulated umbrella company market.
With fraudulent activity widespread among a minority umbrella companies, trust can be hard to earn within the contracting payroll market.
Paul Newsham - CEO of Payroll Compliance Authority (PCA) and Chartered Accountant with more than 30 years of experience.
With a new Labour government in place, we can expect numerous proposed changes to employment law. One such change is to create a Single Worker Status, under Labour's plan to Make Work Pay.
Olivia Spruce - PCA Director and CEO of healthcare recruitment firm, Positive Healthcare
MYTH: All recruitment firms handle the payroll function for the contract workforce they manage.
A new Labour government will be entering Parliament, and we at the PCA are keeping a close eye on Labour's plans for the outsourced payroll sector.
In the UK, the contracting workforce faces the risk of being taken advantage of by a minority of unscrupulous payroll providers, known as umbrella companies, looking to make a profit from their payslips.
In April this year, HMRC announced that regulation was on the cards for the umbrella company market to tackle widespread non-compliance with tax and employment legislation, which we discussed in a previous blog.
The growing number of healthcare contractors in the UK means that more professionals are at financial risk from fraudulent activity in the outsourced payroll sector, warns Martin Innes, the newest board member at the Payroll Compliance Authority (PCA), a not-for-profit accreditor in the outsourced payroll sector.
In a scheduled update from the government on its plans for tackling non-compliance in the umbrella company market last week, HMRC made clear its intention to regulate the sector. The update moots a new statutory due diligence regime for businesses that use umbrella companies, following further engagement with stakeholders.
Healthcare contractors are at significant risk due to a lack of awareness of fraudulent activity in the outsourced payroll sector, warns Martin Innes, the newest board member at the Payroll Compliance Authority (PCA).
In a previous article, we explored three ways that recruiters and contract workers can identify a fraudulent umbrella company. However, the majority of umbrella companies operating in the UK are compliant, and yet their reputation is tarnished by unscrupulous players.
As of the 6 April 2024, regulations around IR35 changed to prevent double taxation where hiring firms have misclassified the tax status of contractors under off-payroll working rules. Since the introduction of IR35 in the public sector in 2017 and the private sector in 2021, hiring organisations have complained about the complicated system and the expensive risks involved if they get it wrong.
When temporary workers or recruitment agencies select a payroll provider, it is essential that they do everything they can to ensure the provider is fully compliant with employment law, pays taxes as it should, and acts ethically.
On 6 March 2024, the government opened a new consultation to understand the issues facing the tax advice sector, learn how best to raise standards in the industry, and explore the possibility of regulation.
As anticipated, Wednesday's Spring Budget did not include any announcement around regulation of umbrella companies. Unsurprisingly, the focus of the measures announced, and the financial claims made was to win over as much of the electorate as possible in the months before a General Election.
New measures coming into force in March awarding greater powers to Companies House could catch out some unscrupulous payroll suppliers, but will not replace the need for sector regulation, says Paul Newsham, CEO of Payroll Compliance Authority (PCA), an accreditor in the outsourced payroll sector.
With the Spring Budget on 6 March, speculation is rife on what package of measures Jeremy Hunt will announce in the run up to an election.
Unclaimed holiday pay is one of the easiest ways an unscrupulous umbrella company can make a profit at the expense of the temporary workforce. Every worker is legally entitled to paid annual leave, but by not being transparent about what is owed or clear about how or whether it is being paid, it is much harder for a contract worker to access this money. By failing to inform a worker that they have annual leave still to claim, an unscrupulous firm can use the worker's holiday pay to supplement their own profits.
One of the distinctive elements of the Payroll Compliance Authority (PCA) is the fact that it is a not-for-profit organisation. In the UK, there are many accreditors across various industries that are set up as not-for-profits or charities.
The UK healthcare sector, and the NHS in particular, are facing well-documented issues with understaffing and low pay. The cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating these problems, with recent strikes a clear demonstration of the dissatisfaction of the workforce.
For recruitment companies and temporary workers that arrange or receive pay through umbrella companies, identifying which ones are compliant and trustworthy is challenging. Even with considerable due diligence, recognising the sophisticated tax avoidance schemes that are widespread in the unregulated contracting payroll market is extremely difficult.
The PCA is delighted to confirm that Edward Thomas is the first company to have passed its compliance audit and has now been awarded their certification. Edward Thomas successfully completed a forensic analysis of all processes and procedures utilised in relation to their payroll models and organisational structures, which was conducted throughout the summer of 2023 by Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP.
London - 27th July 2023
Representatives of the PCA attended a highly informative seminar focussing on the regulation of the umbrella market in London at the end of July 2023.
