Dataplan Education payroll blogs
Teachers Pension Audit - external payroll - 08 January 2010
2008-2009 appears to have been the year when the Audit Commission are putting Local Authorities under pressure in respect of their Teachers Pension audit.
We have seen a small number of authorities have their Audit Reports qualified because they have been unable to demonstrate that Teachers Pension contributions have been calculated and paid by external school payroll providers.
NJC scales for 2009/10 released - 28 September 2009
For non teachers in schools the pay is predominantly determined by the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services. Some schools opt out of the NJC system completely, providing their own alternate pay scales and others use the Greater London Provincial Council inner and outer London pay spines.
Payroll, social engineering and employee helplines - 27 July 2009
Security experts will tell you that most security breaches are not via hackers breaking through firewalls on corporate systems.One of the most common forms of security breach is via social engineering or hacking the human. Social engineering is the act of manipulating people to divulge confidential information or perform actions that they shouldn't.
This may seem like a strange subject for a blog on payroll but it is increasingly relevant in the world of payroll.
Some schools still unable to review payroll before payment - 21 July 2009
It continues to amaze but it seems that a number of LEA payroll departments continue to charge premium rates for their services but fail to deliver on such a regular basis.
We have attended three meetings with potential customers in the last few weeks, across three separate authorities. In each case we were told that the schools in question did not receive payroll reports and payslips to review prior to pay date.
Teachers pay award 2009 - 20 July 2009
As you are probably aware the Teachers pay awards were fixed in 2008 for a period of 3 years.
Set at 2.3%, the next increase is due on 1st September 2009.
August will be a busy period as usual for us preparing for these changes and the new teachers in post from September.
Time to check your payslip - 12 July 2009
Are you on the right tax code? Have you been paying tax unecessarily?
It is still a suprise but it happens more often than you'd expect. When we take on a new school payroll we always carry out a check to see what tax codes employees are on. But it is not always possible to say.
Holiday is no obstacle to approving payroll - 12 July 2009
School term is almost up and it is the time of year when many in admin an finance take that well earned break.
Schools unlike many businesses can have periods when noone is around to approve their payroll.
FMSiS is pretty tough, and rightly so, on audit trail and evidence of approval for payroll. So normally special arrangements have to be made to approve payroll over the summer break.
With paysafe though that isn't a problem. Paysafe is our online payroll portal. It can be securely accessed from anywhere in the world.
Disclosing holiday pay - 07 July 2009
We have had a few queries lately regarding holiday pay when it comes to part time casual staff members.
Under new EC rulings all employees are entitled to holiday pay and this pay must be disclosed to them. Typically, this is via the payslips produced. However, it can be agreed contractually via terms of employment.
How does this affect schools. Well, at this time of year many schools have part time, casual staff in the form of exam invigilators drafted in.
Be warned, you need to consider how you address holiday for this group of employees.
Customer service downturn benefits Dataplan - 29 June 2009
The last few weeks has again seen a number of payroll enquiries for Dataplan based on poor customer service.
Without naming names our enquiries are coming from companies and schools where their existing larger payroll service provider is just not delivering on service.
There seems to be a lack of personal contact and customers feel they are not getting what it is that they need from payroll providers.
Don't be fooled by low rates - 04 May 2009
Increasingly we are noticing a trend where payroll outsourcing providers are providing low rates and then hiding away in the detail the extra charges that you will face.
An example would be payslips £2.50 each. What the small print may not tell you is that there are extra charges for, starters, leavers, year end, duplicate P60's, BACS payments, in year filing etc etc etc.
If you are a Moorepay client they may charge an extra period to cover year end.
It may not include monthly pension reporting, payment of pension contributions and annual service returns
