Payroll compliance 101: Essential tips for UK businesses

Payroll compliance is an essential responsibility for UK employers, ensuring employees are paid correctly while meeting legal obligations. Non-compliance can result in financial penalties, audits, and reputational damage. Here’s a comprehensive guide to achieving payroll compliance and how QPS can help.

Real-Time Information (RTI) submissions

Since 2013, HMRC has required payroll information to be submitted in real time. This includes details of employee pay, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), and Income Tax deductions. Every payroll run must be accompanied by an RTI submission via software that’s compliant with HMRC requirements. Missing deadlines or providing inaccurate data can lead to fines.

QPS offers RTI-compliant payroll solutions, ensuring accurate and timely submissions for your business.

Pensions auto-enrolment

All employers must automatically enrol eligible employees into a workplace pension scheme. Businesses must contribute at least 3% of qualifying earnings. Failing to enrol employees or deduct the correct contributions can result in penalties from The Pensions Regulator.

QPS can manage pensions auto-enrolment on your behalf, keeping your business compliant while reducing administrative burden.

Statutory deductions and tax codes

Employers must calculate deductions for Income Tax, NICs, and other statutory obligations like student loans or child maintenance. Understanding tax codes, thresholds, and allowances is crucial to avoid overpaying or underpaying employees.

Our team at QPS ensures accurate calculations and manages employee queries about payslips, making the payroll process smoother for you.

Record-keeping and GDPR compliance

Accurate record-keeping is a legal requirement. Employers must retain payslips, tax records, and employee details for at least six years. Data security is equally important to comply with GDPR regulations.

QPS provides secure, cloud-based record management to protect your sensitive payroll data and streamline audits.

Staying updated on legislation

Payroll laws change frequently, from updates to NIC thresholds to changes in minimum wage. Employers must stay informed to avoid falling foul of the rules.

QPS’s payroll experts stay ahead of regulatory changes, ensuring your payroll processes always meet the latest requirements. With QPS by your side, you can rest assured your business is compliant.

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