As an employer, you don’t want to waste time carrying out extra admin tasks, such as processing multiple expenses claims for employees’ subsistence claims. Could benchmark rates provide you with a good alternative? Helen Johnstone from our Galashiels office takes a closer look. As an alternative to reimbursing your employees’ subsistence costs (which might consist...

HMRC has changed its guidance on home to work travel costs where an employee’s home is their workplace. How might this affect your right to tax relief? Naomi Swan brings you a detailed update. Tax experts have been saying for years that HMRC’s guidance on tax relief for travel costs needed updating to cover the...

According to The Pensions Regulator, there are employers who take on seasonal or other temporary workers who are not following the workplace pension rules correctly. If you hire short-term workers, what steps should you be taking?  Pamela Singh advises. Summer is of course a peak time for taking on seasonal staff. One thing you should...

If the work that you do through your company is caught by the IR35 off-payroll rules, PAYE tax and NI must be accounted for even where you extract the income as a dividend. This can result in a double tax charge. How can you prevent this?  Partner Joanne Gibson looks at this below. PAYE tax...

It’s been suggested that your business should only auto-enrol new employees who are eligible into your workplace auto-enrolment pension scheme once they’ve successfully completed their probation period. Is this acceptable?  Natasha Crockatt from our Payroll department answers the question.. If you require your employees to successfully complete a probationary period before they start working for...

NI contributions are crucial to your entitlement to the state pension and other benefits, so it’s a very good idea to keep a close eye on them. But how can you identify and check if you’ve overpaid or underpaid contributions?  Head of Payroll Department Joanne Gibson brings you up to date. Whilst HMRC keeps a...

You want to hold a summer event to entertain your employees and to improve morale. But you are unsure what the tax and NI position will be?  Gail Trojan advises. Normally, business entertainment is not a tax-deductible expense. However, the cost of entertaining employees (including directors), such as by having a staff party, is an...

Can services be zero-rated? Q. We have decided to build a bungalow next to our farmhouse so that my partners elderly mother can live in it and be close to us. We have obtained planning permission for the project and have appointed a builder to start the work. The builder will supply labour and materials....

You’ve received an attachment of earnings order (AEO) instructing you to deduct payments of an outstanding debt from one of your employee’s pay. You’ve heard that not all earnings are “attachable” so what earnings does it apply to? Natasha Crockatt from our Payroll department advices below. An attachment of earnings order (AEO) is an official...

All women in the UK are entitled to a total of 52 weeks of maternity leave from work – made up of 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks additional maternity leave. There are two types of maternity benefits available, Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) which is paid by an employer and Maternity Allowance (MA)...