Question: What is the correlation between the World Cup, Wimbledon and staff behaviour?

 Answer: Staff are more likely to call in sick or be absent from during major sporting event so that they can watch the games.

 Whether businesses like it or not…….major sporting events do have an effect on the behaviour of some of their staff.  It is not difficult to understand the choices that some staff make when faced with the option of:-

A)           Continuing to work and missing the match.

Or         

B)              Skiving off or taking leave on a nice summer day to watch the World Cup or Wimbledon.

For some staff it really is a ‘no brainer’.  However, for a small or medium sized business such behaviour can be a headache.  The end result can be disruptions to your business and a fall in profits for the month.

Research has shown that there is a distinct correlation between major sporting events and staff absenteeism.  That is staff are more likely to take a day off during a sporting event.  For businesses this is a real issue that requires diplomatic  management.

So what can businesses do?

First and foremost it is essential that businesses are aware of the rules regarding what is considered to be good practice under ‘Working Time Legislation’.

Requesting leave

For example: – Employees should give sufficient notice when seeking to take time off.  That is an employee is expected to give double the notice in respect of the time that they are seeking to take off.  If employees are seeking to take a week off then they are required to give a minimum of two weeks’ notice in advance.

It is also good practice to deal with annual leave requests on a ‘first come first served basis’.  The idea is to make staff more proactive when requesting leave and to deter them from using the ‘Last Minute.Com’ approach. This will help you to maintain staffing levels.  However, this method does not prevent maverick staff from calling in sick.

Flexible working hours

Flexible working hours are now a common feature of many organisations.  If your business operates a flexible working policy – then   staff will be able to take time off and make it up at a later date or bank the hours they will need in advance.

If your business does not offer flexible working hours then you may want to consider implementing it on a short term basis as a good will gesture.

On-site TV.

Another option to consider is the provision of a television to enable staff to watch the matches whilst at work.  It is not uncommon to walk into a variety of different working environments and see a TV.  Allowing staff to watch matches at work may be more conducive to the continued running of the business.

Whatever the solution you arise at it should be a solution that is suitable for both the running of the business and also keep staff happy.

Many directors or small business owners do not claim statutory sick payments (SSP) even though they are entitled to. By all accounts many directors are under the mistaken impression that they are not entitled to SSP because they own the business.

How is statutory sick pay assessed?

The formula of assessing SSP is strict and often works in the favour of smaller companies. If you are a small business with a small wage bill then it is likely that you will be able to reclaim ay payments made under SSP rules. The rules state that if SSP is more than 13% of national insurance contributions then it can be reclaimed. One of the advantages of outsourcing your payroll is that all of the administration linked to SSP will be taken care off on hence claiming SSP need not be problematic.

How is SSP assessed?

It does not matter whether a director or business owner receives a fee or a salary; they both count under the rules pertaining to SSP. SSP can be used to top up a shortfall in a normal salary. For example if a normal salary were £1,000 per month and a director decided to claim SSP. The normal salary could then be reduced to £800.00 and then be topped up with £200.00 SSP.

The moral of this tale.

Always seek professional help and advice in relation to paying salaries and employee related benefits. Mis-information often results in missing out on benefits that your business could be entitled to.

According to recent press reports it has been suggested that four out of five company directors have not been issued with the correct tax code. In essence this means that some directors may pay either too much or too little tax during the year.

Possible reasons offered for this error relate to changes in personal circumstances which may have occurred throughout the year.

Reasons why tax codes could change throughout the year
1. A change to any benefits-in-kind. For example a director may stop or start receiving medical insurance or a company loan.
2. Changes may occur to a pension plan.
3. A director may start or stop using a company car.

As a rule any variation to benefits-in-kind will have a knock-on-effect on tax codes.

Self assessment tax returns

Final tax bills will be calculated at the end of the year when self assessment tax returns are completed. Hence potentially any over payments or underpayments will be adjusted at the end of the year.

What can be done?

There is absolutely no reason as to why tax codes cannot be adjusted throughout the year. Each time personal circumstances change they can be reported to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom’s (HMRC). Each adjustment made by HMRC will help to ensure that tax codes remain correct throughout the year.

On the plus side – directors will not be charged interest on underpayments that have genuinely incurred. Hence the tax man could be indirectly giving you a loan!!!

Demonstrating to customers and suppliers that your business is environmentally friendly is not only good for the environment but also good for your business. The idea of operating as a green business is no longer the exception, it has become the norm.
There are an increasing number of businesses that will only use environmentally friendly businesses when procuring new suppliers. Being a green business could make the difference between wining or losing a contract.

Recycling is often one of the first things that comes to mind when thinking about environmentally friendly practices. There are other steps that can be taken when trying to reduce your carbon footprint. A number of easy steps can produce big results when trying to ensure that your business is empathetic with the environment.

1. Turn off equipment when it’s not being used.
2. Encourage communications by email, and only print if necessary.
3. Use a fax-modem as this allows documents to be sent directly from a computer without the need for printing.
4. Look for suppliers closer to home. The further your supplies or service providers have to travel, the more energy will be used to deliver them to you.

Running a business does not need to result in compromising the environment. Small savings on energy can see your business ‘quid’s’ in on an annual basis. Small actions can have a big effect on your bank account. Being environmentally friendly makes sense in more ways than one.

As your business grows and develops so will the way you manage your business change. The two natural go together, where there is growth there will always be a change. A payroll service that you negotiated sometime ago may no longer meet the needs of your business. It would therefore make sense to shop around and see what is available on the market.

Look for an up-to-date payroll service

Thanks to the use of IT there are now many improvements in the provision of a payroll service. There are a number of different ways that the delivery of a payroll system can be tailored to meet individual requirements. Additionally it is also fairly easy to add new updates to the system without any disruption.

Each Change request costs money

Each time a change request is made to a payroll it costs money. The key is to be able to recognise which changes are necessary and which ones should be phased in at a later date. Having a price list with the costs associated to changes will enable you to assess how any changes made will affect your annual or monthly budget.

Measure the promised business benefits

It is important to take the time to assess whether or not the perceived benefits of outsourcing your payroll are being delivered. It is easy to put up with the short comings of an old out of date system simply because you are used to it.

A word to the wise…..

Gone are the days of having either part time or full time workers. Workers can now fall into a variety of different categories. There are several categories: salaried, hourly, temporary, contracted, full-time or part-time. Correctly identifying each employee’s category will avoid headaches and possible tax penalties in the long-run.

Poor record keeping is often the bain of an incorrect payroll system. Maintaining correct pre-employment and employee records is a critical factor in maintaining a healthy payroll system. A correctly paid employee is often – a happy employee.

Deductions at source ca be an almighty pain in the………Employees may owe money such as child support or student loans it is your duty as the employer to collect these monies. The responsibility of maintaining and sending payments to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs belongs to the company and is maintained through payroll.

There are several do-it-yourself software programs ranging from a basic programme to those with all of the bells and whistles on. However, they are only as good as the data entered into the system and the working knowledge behind them.

Losing data can be a major nightmare. BACKUP your system on a regular basis. What would happen if the person responsible for your company’s payroll was unavailable due to illness or an emergency? Employees would still need to be paid and regardless of your situation.

Take heed…….