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  • Back to Work – but who is a worker?

    Happy New Year everyone!  Now we are all back at work, maybe it’s time to clarify who is a ‘worker’ in your organisationLego Worker

    A person is generally classed as a ‘worker’ if

    • they have a contract or other arrangement to do work or services personally for a reward (your contract doesn’t have to be written)
    • their reward is for money or a benefit in kind, for example the promise of a contract or future work
    • they only have a limited right to send someone else to do the work (subcontract)
    • they have to turn up for work even if they don’t want to
    • their employer has to have work for them to do as long as the contract or arrangement lasts
    • they aren’t doing the work as part of their own limited company in an arrangement where the ‘employer’ is actually a customer or client

    Employment rights

    Workers are entitled to certain employment rights, including:

    • getting the National Minimum Wage
    • protection against unlawful deductions from wages
    • the statutory minimum level of paid holiday
    • the statutory minimum length of rest breaks
    • to not work more than 48 hours on average per week or to opt out of this right if they choose
    • protection against unlawful discrimination
    • protection for ‘whistleblowing’ – reporting wrongdoing in the workplace
    • to not be treated less favourably if they work part-time

    More details can be found here

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  • Christmas Holidays

    baby-jesus-christmas-nativity-wallpapers-1024x768Wishing you all a joyful Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year from all of us at DCAS

    The office will be closed for the Christmas Holidays from Friday 22nd December 2017 until Tuesday 2nd January 2018

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  • DCAS Winter Newsletter

    Winter 2017 NewsletterOur Winter Newsletter should now be with you, but if you have not received it, you can read it online here Winter 2017 Newsletter.

    If you would like us to post a copy to you, you can join our Newsletter Distribution List by contacting us here

     

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  • Changing Your Charity’s Structure

    When to change charity structure

    Changing to a different charitable structure usually involves setting up a new charity, transferring your original charity’s assets and liabilities to it then closing your original charity.

    Your charity’s legal structure sets out what type your charity is. There are four common types of charity structure:

    • charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) – there are 2 structures; association CIO and foundation CIO
    • charitable company (limited by guarantee)
    • unincorporated association
    • trust

    Your charity’s legal structure determines:

    • who will run it and whether it will have a wider membership
    • whether it can enter into contracts or employ staff in its own name
    • whether its trustees are personally liable for what it does

    A “Changing Charity Structure Checklist” can be found here

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  • Informing Companies House of Changes

    You must tell Companies House about any changes to your limited company, including:

    • directors and company secretaries, eg new appointments, resignations or changes to their personal details
    • changing your company name
    • changing your registered office address
    • changing your accounting reference date
    • changing where your company records are kept, if different from your registered address
    • which records you’ll keep at an alternative address

    More information can be found here

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  • Increase of Automatic Enrolment Pension Contributions

    The minimum contributions that you and your staff pay into your automatic enrolment workplace pension scheme are increasing.

    Minimum contributions are increasing in two phases. The first increase must be in place from 6 April 2018 and the second from 6 April 2019.

    Most employers use pension schemes that currently require a total minimum of 2% contribution to be paid. The calculation for this type of scheme is based on a specific range of earnings. For the 2017/18 tax year this range is between £5,876 and £45,000 a year (£490 and £3750 a month, or £113 and £866 a week).

    This table shows the minimum contributions you must pay and the date when they must increase:

    Date Employer minimum contribution Staff contribution Total minimum contribution
    Until 5 April 2018 1% 1% 2%
    6 April 2018 to 5 April 2019 2% 3% 5%
    6 April 2019 onwards 3% 5% 8%

    The staff contribution rate may vary depending on the type of tax relief applied by your scheme. If you are unsure check your scheme documents.

    The Pensions Regulator gives more details here

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  • Statutory Maternity Payments Help

    We received this cry for help recently – ‘My employee is entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay, but we can’t afford to pay it – what can we do?‘

    Help is available from HMRC

    If you can’t afford to make payments

    You can apply for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to pay you in advance if you can’t afford to make statutory payments.

    How to apply for advance payment

    Apply online to be paid in advance for:

    • Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
    • Statutory Paternity Pay
    • Statutory Adoption Pay
    • Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)

    You can apply up to 4 weeks before you want the first payment

    You can find more details here  

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  • Charity Trustee Disqualification

    Compliance-Rules-Regulations-and-Guidelines-arrows-sign-street-signPeople Who Can’t Be Trustees

    People aged under 18 (16 if your charity is a Company or Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO))

    People who are disqualified by law (banned) from acting as charity trustees, including anyone who:

    • has an unspent conviction for an offence involving dishonesty or deception
    • is currently declared bankrupt (or is subject to bankruptcy restrictions or an interim order) or has an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) with creditors
    • is disqualified from being a company director
    • has previously been removed as a trustee by either the Charity Commission or the High Court due to misconduct or mismanagement
    • is disqualified from being a trustee by an order of the Charity Commission under section 181A of the Charities Act 2011

    While a person is disqualified they will also be disqualified from holding positions with senior management functions (whether paid or unpaid) within the charity or charities concerned, unless the commission includes an exception in the disqualification order that this is not the case.

    You can search the register of Removed Trustees here

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  • Closing your PAYE Scheme

    You need to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) straight away if you stop employing people.

    Closing your PAYE scheme

    You need to submit a final payroll return – either a Full Payment Submission (FPS) or Employer Payment Summary (EPS). You should:

    • deduct and pay any outstanding tax and National Insurance to HMRCwithin 17 days (or 14 if you’re paying by cheque)
    • select the ‘Final submission because scheme ceased’ box
    • put the date you closed your PAYE scheme in the ‘Date scheme ceased’ box – you can’t put a date in the future

    You also need to:

    • send your expenses and benefits returns
    • enter a leaving date on each employee’s payroll record
    • give your employees a P45 on their last day – most payroll software can produce a P45 for you or you can order them from HMRC

    If you start employing anyone in the same or next tax year, you should reopen your PAYE scheme by sending an FPS with your PAYEreference.

    If you temporarily stop employing staff

    Your PAYE scheme continues to run if you stop employing staff for less than a whole tax year (eg if you run a seasonal business). You don’t need to give your employees a P45 if you keep them on your payroll.

    More details can be found here

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  • Workplace Pensions – Changing Jobs

    A workplace pension is a way of saving for your retirement that’s arranged by your employer.

    Some workplace pensions are called ‘occupational’, ‘works’, ‘company’ or ‘work-based’ pensions.

    If you change jobs

    Your workplace pension still belongs to you. If you don’t carry on paying into the scheme, the money will remain invested and you’ll get a pension when you reach the scheme’s pension age.

    You can join another workplace scheme if you get a new job.

    If you do, you may be able to:

    Ask your pension providers about your options.

    If you move jobs but pay into an old pension, you may not get some of that pension’s benefits – check if they’re only available to current workers.

    If you worked at your job for less than 2 years before leaving, you may be able to get a refund on what you’ve contributed. Check with your employer or the pension scheme provider.

    You can find out more details about Workplace Pensions here

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