The tax treatment of termination payments has changed significantly over recent years. The changes have aligned the rules for tax and secondary National Insurance contributions (employer (NICs)) by making an employer liable to pay NICs on termination payments they make to their employees. An employer is required to pay NICs on any part of a termination payment that exceeds the £30,000 threshold.

In addition, all payments in lieu of notice (PILONs) are both taxable and subject to Class 1 NICs. The legislation requires the employer to identify the amount of basic pay that the employee would have received if they had worked their notice period, even if the employee leaves the employment part way through their notice period. The amount is treated as earnings and not subject to the £30,000 Income Tax exemption. All other termination payments are included within the scope of the £30,000 termination payments exemption.

It is expected that any employer NICs due on termination payments will be collected in 'real-time', as part of the employer’s standard weekly or monthly payroll returns and remittances to HMRC.

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced a £500 million expansion of the Plan for Jobs as part of his speech delivered to the party faithful at the Tory annual conference in Manchester. The money will be used to help hundreds of thousands of people leaving the furlough scheme as well as the unemployed over the age of 50 to get back to work.

It was also announced that there will be more help for those earning the lowest wages with increased support for workers on Universal Credit from next April. This will focus on helping the lower paid to progress their careers. 

The Chancellor said:

'At the start of this crisis I made a promise to do whatever it takes, and I’m ready to double down on that promise now as we come out of this crisis. The job is not done yet and I want to make sure our economy is fit for the future and that means providing the support and skills people need to get into work and get on in life.'

It was also announced that the Kickstart scheme is being extended to March 2022. The Scheme allows employers to offer young people on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment state-subsidised work placements for six months. The government is also extending its £3,000 incentive payment for every apprentice a business hires up until 31 January 2022.

The deadline for submitting the 2020-21 forms P11D, P11D(b) and P9D is 6 July 2021. Employees must also be provided with a copy of the information relating to them on these forms by the same date.

P11D forms are used to provide information to HMRC on all Benefits in Kind (BiKs), including those under the Optional Remuneration Arrangements (OpRAs) unless the employer has registered to payroll benefits. This is known as payrolling and removes the requirement to complete a P11D for the selected benefits. However, a P11D(b) is still required for Class 1A National Insurance payments regardless of whether the benefits are being reported via P11D or payrolled.

Where no benefits were provided during 2020-21 and a form P11D(b) or P11D(b) reminder is received, employers can either submit a 'nil' return or notify HMRC online that no return is required. Employers should ensure that they complete their P11D accurately, including all the details of cars and loans provided. There are penalties for late filing of returns.

Employers pay Class 1A National Insurance contributions on most benefits. If you provided taxable benefits to staff or directors your business is likely to have a Class 1A employers’ NIC liability. The deadline for paying class 1A NICs is 22 July 2021 (or 19 July if paying by cheque).

In addition, any tax or National Insurance due for 2020-21 under a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) needs to be paid electronically to clear into HMRC’s bank account by 22 October 2021 (19 October 2021 for payments by cheque).

A taxable benefit charge can apply when employees return office equipment they used to work from home. There was a significant rise in the provision of office equipment to employees working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualifying home office equipment is that deemed necessary for an employee to work from home and can, for example, include a laptop, mobile phone, office desk and chair and other necessary computer accessories such as webcams.

Taxable benefit charges are as follows:

• If you supplied your employees with office equipment so they could work from home, and you did not transfer ownership, there is no tax charge when they return the equipment to you.
• If you transfer the ownership of home office equipment to an employee at any stage of their employment, a benefit charge generally arises on the market value of the equipment at the time of the transfer, less any amount made good by the employee.
• If your employee has agreed to purchase home office equipment for use whilst working at home due to COVID-19 and you reimburse the exact expense, unless you have specified that your employee must transfer ownership to you, the ownership of the equipment rests with your employee. There is no benefit charge on the reimbursement.
• There is also no benefit charge if you allow your employee to keep the equipment as it is something that they already own.

The new National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates came into effect on 1 April 2021. The new rate for the NLW is £8.91 which is a 19p increase over last year. The NLW is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 23 or over. The NLW used to apply only to those aged 25 and over but from 1 April 2021 has been extended to 23 and 24 year olds for the first time. The threshold is expected to further reduce to 21 by 2024. The increase represents an additional £345 per year for someone working full-time and earning the NLW.

The hourly rate of the NMW (for 21-22 year olds) increased to £8.36 (a rise of 16p). The rates for 18-20 year olds increased to £6.56 (a rise of 11p) and the rate for workers above the school leaving age but under 18 increased to £4.62 (a rise of 7p). The NMW rate for apprentices increased by 15p to £4.30.

It is important that you ensure that you have adopted the new rates as there are significant penalties for employers who are found to have paid workers less that they are entitled to by law. 

If you have underpaid an employee, you must pay any arrears immediately. There are penalties for non-payment of up to 200% of the amount owed unless the arrears are paid within 14 days. The maximum fine for non-payment can be up to £20,000 per employee and employers who fail to pay face up to a 15-year ban from being a company director as well as being publicly named and shamed.