HLAS

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published new guidance for businesses and employers on responding to subject access requests (SARs). The right of access, commonly referred to as a subject access request or SAR, gives someone the right to request a copy of their personal information from organisations. This includes where they got their information from, what they're using it for and who they are sharing it with. Individuals can request the personal information held by their employer, or former employer, such as details of their attendance and sickness records, personal development, or HR records. Organisations must respond to a SAR [...]

The deadline for reporting shares and securities and share options issued to employees for 2022/23 is 6 July 2023. This is the same as the deadline for reporting expenses and benefits provided to employees on form P11d for 2022/23. Employers must submit their employment related securities annual returns online and attach the appropriate spreadsheet template if they have something to report. HMRC provide templates on their website that may be downloaded in order that the information may be entered and uploaded. Note that there are different templates for each of the four tax-advantaged employee share schemes – Company Share Option [...]

The June edition of the Employer Bulletin brings you the latest HMRC updates and guidance to support employers. Included in this edition are updates on: reporting of expenses and benefits – correct recording of diesel company cars; P11D and P11D(b) filing and payment deadlines; PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) deadline and digital services; making Child Benefit claims quicker and easier for new parents; how the National Cyber Security Centre helps businesses tackle cybercrime risks; and saving National Insurance numbers to the Apple Wallet. The next Employer Bulletin is in August 2023. The employer bulletin is only available online. See: June 2023 [...]

The UK government is giving people more time to pay National Insurance contributions towards their State Pension. Taxpayers now have until 5 April 2025 to fill gaps in their National Insurance record from April 2006 that may increase their State Pension - an extension of nearly 2 years. Extending the voluntary National Insurance contributions deadline until 2025 means that people have more time to consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them and ensures no-one need miss out on the possibility of boosting their State Pension entitlements. The original deadline was extended to 31 July 2023 earlier this year, [...]

Lone workers can be at greater risk of harm as they may not have anyone to help or support them if things go wrong. Employers should provide training, supervision, monitoring, and support for those working alone. The Health and Safety Executive’s free-to-download leaflet, Protecting lone workers: How to manage the risks of working alone, is for anyone who employs lone workers, or engages them as contractors etc, including self-employed people. The leaflet is supported by their lone working webpages which include advice aimed at lone workers themselves, as well as a video setting out the key advice. See: Working alone - Health and safety guidance on [...]

The Government has published the third annual Investing in Women Code report. The Investing in Women Code is a commitment to supporting the advancement of female entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom by improving female entrepreneurs’ access to tools, resources and finance from the financial services sector. Key findings in the review showed: A higher percentage of venture capital deals made by Investing in Women Code (IWC) signatories feature at least one female founder as compared to the wider market; This is the third year in a row that IWC signatories have outperformed the venture capital market; More diverse investment committees are key [...]

A scam is a fraudulent scheme or operation designed to hoax people out of their cash, property, or personal information. Scams can take many forms, but they all share one ultimate goal: to take advantage of people’s trust to part them from their money. With the internet providing anonymity as well as opportunity, the scope for scams has increased – and a particularly rich area for scammers with eyes on your money is investment. You want to grow your money by investing it – scammers know ways to convince you to invest it with them. Scammers are very good at [...]

In a call for evidence launched recently, the UK government wants to hear views on Save As You Earn (SAYE) and the Share Incentive Plan (SIP), as it seeks to improve the schemes and expand their use by making it easier for businesses to set them up and offer them out to staff. The government is considering more simplified schemes to support business growth. The changes also aim to boost participation among low earners. This comes as a HMRC evaluation report shows that 81% of businesses say these schemes help boost their business, with almost three quarters of these saying [...]

New guidance designed to help organisations support employees experiencing menopause or menstruation and better enable them to retain experienced and talented people of all ages has been published by British Standards Institute (BSI). BSI, the UK National Standards Body, has published the menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace standard (BS 30416), following consultation with experts and the public. It sets out practical recommendations for workplace adjustments, as well as strategies to sit alongside existing well-being initiatives, to help organisations meet the needs of employees experiencing menopause or menstruation. The guidance is designed to enable organisations to prioritize the [...]

HM Treasury and the Bank of England are consulting on a potential digital pound, or central bank digital currency (CBDC). The consultation paper sets out analysis by HM Treasury and the Bank of England on the potential case for a UK central bank digital currency – a “digital pound” - and consult on the key features of a potential model. A digital pound would be a new form of digital money for use by households and businesses for their everyday payments needs. As part of the wider landscape of money and payments it would sit alongside, not replace, cash – [...]