Payrolling & Compliance

As a leading recruiting company that provides hiring solutions to companies across Europe, we have a track record in implementing recruitment solutions to meet companies contract hiring needs. This covers "non-employed" short term project work including temporary staffing and independent contracting.

 

Our work revolves around you. Employers require a professional service delivered by a team of recruiting experts that they can trust. With this, our services are tailored to reflect the changing needs of clients, who require a deep understanding and monitoring of any legal change that impacts engaging temporary staff and contractors.

 

Understanding the areas of compliance, recruitment law, employment law and contracts is complex and can often seem like a stumbling block with many hurdles to overcome.

This is where we can help – as specialists in providing Contingency Workers to clients for over 25 years, we will guide you successfully over each hurdle resolving your problems in a practical and efficient way.

This is of paramount importance when engaging ‘Contingent Workers’ directly as the worker may be providing their services to you via their own Limited Company (often referred to as a ‘PSC’ or 'Personal Service Company'), via an Umbrella Company or as a PAYE worker; each having different legal and risk implications to you depending upon the type of work undertaken by the individual.

  

We implement practical risk control solutions that work. We have extensive working knowledge of the recruitment sector and how it operates, with complete, well researched understanding of the laws relevant to hiring Contingency Workers. We also consult our legal advisors regularly to safeguard our continued compliance and to mitigate any client or worker risk.

All our contracts encapsulate years of understanding the risk areas arising from engagement such as any employment rights and potential ‘Debt Transfer’ implications to the hirer such as a worker’s unpaid tax.

With this, we safeguard hirers and Contingent Workers from creating employment relationships – a risk when they contract direct, and to avert that risk we contract with the Worker instead.

How we work

Handling a contingent workforce can be time-consuming, particularly as rules and regulations are ever changing in the area of hiring contractors and temporary staff. Keeping on top of all contingent worker rules and ensuring compliance as well as managing the payment and extensions of workers are vital. Documentation needs to be handled quickly and signed by all parties as quickly as possible whilst making sure any on-boarding issues are handled properly to ensure a great experience is provided to your contingent workforce.

We help manage this with our ‘Payroll and Compliance Service’ of contingency workers, by having a single Client Framework Agreement with you and then issuing one page schedules for each contingent worker you wish to hire.

All contingency workers then have their signed contracts with us, depending upon the scope of the work and their status (PAYE/PSC/Umbrella Co) ensuring compliance checks and documents are in place and visible for reporting. 

Hiring Direct Temps – the risk & reward facts

Hiring Temporary Workers “Temps” directly saves agency margins and adds valuable skills to your business, without increasing full time headcount. Should you then make a ‘temp to perm’ offer you also save around £8,000* in Agency introduction fees. (*based on a £40,000 salary)

However, hiring Temps directly creates a reciprocal relationship with mutual obligations and the potential risk of expensive legal action if a Temporary worker’s rights are broken. Especially, the risk of breaking those rights is much reduced if there is no direct contract.

Companies can spend a substantial amount of time and money when they defend themselves in employment claims thrown by employees. These are more often drawn out workplace disputes that ultimately reach employment tribunals that have an adverse financial effect on both the company and its workers.

Routing ‘temps’ via Software Personnel International offers companies the savings of direct hiring but avoids the inherent risks, as Software Personnel International assume the contract and payroll obligations to the Temporary Worker. You’re also safeguarded from expensive “direct hire” contract terms which do not apply to Employment Agency assignments such as minimum notice, unfair dismissal, redundancy, occupational maternity and sick pay, maternity and paternity leave, company pension, flexible working, life cover and Private health Insurance.

De-risking is the essential with the addition of reducing hiring time and total spend – these are significant benefits our clients have relied upon us to deliver consistently, for many years.

 

Hiring direct PAYE Temps

For Temporary Workers our payroll registration is easy yet thorough, ensuring that accurate payments are made from week / month one. Temporary Staff also appreciate that we’re always accessible to discuss any queries and resolve them quickly.

By routing Direct Hire PAYE Temps to Software Personnel International we save company’s HR department substantial time and payroll workload by managing the following administration tasks:

  1. take client instructions and contact temps promptly
  2. brief temps on timesheet & payroll procedures and BACS payments
  3. temp registration and issue of a Contract for Services
  4. statutory ID checks such as Passport
  5. references for work, education and training – if requested
  6. instruct accountants to set-up temps on payroll system
  7. confirm worker’s bank or building society account details
  8. new starter on-boarding including client policies, compliance and H&S
  9. time record processing and detail entered onto payroll system
  10. HMRC liaison on tax codes, P45’s, P46’s, P38’s, NI no’s
  11. student loan and other deductions eg. CSA payments
  12. advice on holiday pay, tax, NI contributions, payments
  13. BACS payments with payslips sent to temps
  14. Enrolment onto NEST Workplace Pension
  15. record and pay SSP, SMP, SPP and SAP entitlements
  16. issue P45’s for temp leavers or temp to perm transfers
  17. issue year end P60’s and temp’s tax reclaims
  18. submit HMRC RTI and remit payroll deductions to HMRC payment deadlines
  19. ensure temp queries are resolved quickly
  20. check invoices, timesheets, PO or cost codes, authorisations
  21. update temp use database, analysis and statistics
  22. financial reporting, analysis and key temp use metrics – if required
  23. monitor temp feedback for HR and line managers –if required
  24. HR & line manager user satisfaction surveys – if required
  25. spend analysis, statistics and reporting – if required
  26. end of assignment exits, leaver references – if required
  27. temp job/pay references for estate agents etc – if required

 

  

Hiring direct PSC/Ltd. Company Contractors

Contractor registration is wide-ranging to ensure compliance with numerous rules, particularly HMRC IR35 and the new False Self-Employment Regulations in the 2014 Finance Act.

Our IR35 “friendly” contracts have been tested and proven robust, giving reassurance to both contractors and clients. We understand the implications in determining the status of the contractor, which is of paramount importance when defining their contract and the scope of the project.

With regard to ‘False Self-Employment’ we also gather relevant information that is needed to comply with reporting to HMRC where those individuals are not included within HMRC RTI returns. This is particularly crucial when contractors may operate through different channels e.g. through their own Ltd company (PSC) or via an Umbrella organisation where Travel and Subsistence has been claimed.

We also ensure that where there has been an ‘opt out’ from the Conduct Regulations we inform the client.

This trusted solution helps safeguard the “independent” status of the contractor and reduces the mutual risks of contracting direct.

Our understanding and conforming to all the regulations mitigates the end user’s risk by managing the following essential tasks: 

  1. take client instructions and detail project scope with contractors promptly
  2. resolve contractor queries – IR35, VAT, PSC’s, Umbrella’s
  3. brief contractors on BACS, gross payments, expenses
  4. arrange contractor registration and Contract for Services
  5. Statutory checks – Passport, Visas, proof of address
  6. Obtain references for work, education, training – if required
  7. verify PSC / Ltd. Company bank account details
  8. instruct accounts to load invoice data onto pay systems
  9. assignment induction, client policies, H&S, compliance
  10. check timesheet records, upload data to payment system
  11. make monthly BACS payments to contractors
  12. ensure quick resolution of queries by accountants
  13. check invoices, time records, PO & cost codes, authorisations
  14. update worker database, cost code analysis, statistics
  15. financial reporting, analysis, key worker use metrics – if required
  16. relaying feedback from contractors to HR/managers – if required
  17. conduct HR and line manager satisfaction surveys – if required
  18. monitor Project spend with analysis and statistics – if required
  19. check PSC Ltd. Company status at Companies House & EU VAT
  20. obtain Certificate of Incorporation, VAT 4 Certificates
  21. check insurance policies, eg. Professional Indemnity
  22. HMRC quarterly Employment Intermediaries Reporting
  23. manage end of project exit, leaver confirms, references
  24. confirm contractor status/day rate for mortgages/loans
  25. provide consolidated client invoice with PO /cost codes

If you’re interested in finding out more about our Payroll and Compliance Service please contact us.