Over 100 employers who have failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW) have been named and shamed.

Between them, the 113 employers owed workers over £387,000 in arrears, and span sectors including hairdressing, retail, education, catering and social care. The cases named were thoroughly investigated by HMRC.

Since the scheme was introduced in October 2013, 398 employers have been named and shamed, with total arrears of over £1,179,000 and total penalties of over £511,000.

Business Minister, Nick Boles said:

‘Employers that fail to pay the minimum wage hurt the living standards of the lowest paid and their families.

As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it.

Next April we will introduce a new National Living Wage which will mean a £900-a-year pay rise for someone working full time on the minimum wage and we will enforce this equally robustly.’

On 1 October 2015, the main rate of the NMW rose to £6.70 per hour.

Acas online offers advice to both businesses and employees that have any questions about the NMW.

For help with payroll issues contact us.

Internet links: GOV.UK news NMW rates

From April 2016, the Scottish Parliament will have the power to set its own rate of income tax to fund spending by the Scottish government. The rate will be set in the Scottish Budget on 16 December and we will update you on pertinent announcements.

Those who are resident in Scotland will pay two types of income tax on their non-savings income. The main UK rates of income tax will be reduced by 10p for Scottish taxpayers and in its place the Scottish Parliament will be able to levy a Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT) applied equally to all Scottish taxpayers. If the SRIT is set at 10p then income tax rates will be the same as in the rest of the UK. SRIT can however be reduced to zero and there is no upper limit.

The Scottish Rate of Income Tax doesn’t apply to income from savings such as building society interest or income from dividends. Tax on this income will stay the same for all taxpayers across the UK. It also doesn’t affect income tax thresholds and allowances, which will continue to be set by the UK government.

The definition of a Scottish taxpayer is based on where an individual lives in the course of a tax year. Scottish taxpayer status applies for a whole tax year. It is not possible to be a Scottish taxpayer for part of a tax year. HMRC will identify those individuals who will be Scottish taxpayers based on their records of where individuals live. In early December HMRC started to write to potential Scottish taxpayers to confirm that the address held in their records is correct. If it is, taxpayers will need to take no further action. Those paying the new rate will see their tax code prefixed by an ‘S’ and their income tax will continue to be collected from pay and pensions in the same way as it is now.

Further details and the effect on employers can be found by visiting the following link.

Internet link: GOV.UK briefing

On Wednesday 25 November the Chancellor George Osborne presented the first Autumn Statement of this Parliament along with the Spending Review.

His speech and the supporting documentation set out both tax and economic measures. Our summary concentrates on the tax measures which include:

• changes to the prospective Tax-Free Childcare scheme
• reversal of most of the tax credit proposals
• retaining the 3% diesel supplement for company cars which was to be abolished
• the introduction of an apprenticeship levy
• proposals to restrict tax relief for travel and subsistence expenses for workers engaged through employment intermediaries
• the introduction of a payment on account of any capital gains tax due on the disposal of residential property
• the introduction of higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax on purchases of additional residential properties.

In the Budgets in March and July the government announced various proposals many of which have been subject to consultation with interested parties. Some of these proposals are summarised here. Draft legislation relating to many of these areas will be published on 9 December and some of the details may change as a result.

Click here for our Autumn Statement Review

Carrier bag charges began in England on 5 October 2015. For a large retailer the minimum charge is 5p for single-use plastic carrier bags. For small or medium-sized businesses no charge is required but can be made on a voluntary basis.

A business that employs 250 or more full-time equivalent employees, in all roles not just in retail roles, will be treated as being large and must charge the 5p. The number of employees is calculated at the start of each reporting year. The first reporting year will start on 5 October and run to 6 April 2016. Subsequent reporting years will start on 7 April.

When calculating full-time equivalent employees a business that is operated under a franchise needs to only include employees in that business, not the whole franchise.

The type of bags that will carry the charge will be:

• unused
• plastic
• with handles and
• 70 microns thick or less.

Where deliveries or online sales are made to customers any plastic bags used will also have to be included in the total cost. It may be that the amount of bags to be used is unknown when the order is placed. In this situation an average number of bags can be used in the charge as long as 5p or more is charged per bag overall.

There are a number of specific exemptions on the types of bags which would not be subject to the charge. These include bags for:

• uncooked fish and fish products
• uncooked meat, poultry and their products
• prescription medicine
• free promotional material given away.

Retailers will need to maintain reporting records and also make a report to Defra on or before 31 May following the end of the reporting year. The first report should therefore be sent to Defra by 31 May 2016.

The details to be sent to Defra are as follows:

• number of bags distributed
• the amount of money received from selling the bags
• any VAT paid from the money received from selling bags
• what the business did with the proceeds from the charge
• any reasonable costs (see below) and how they break down.

Reasonable costs include costs to comply with the legislation and do not include the costs of the bags. Examples would be:

• costs of changing till systems
• training staff
• communicating the policy to staff.

Once reasonable costs have been deducted, the remaining proceeds should all be donated to good causes.

The local authority, where the shop is based, is authorised to make inspections to ensure the law is being followed. Where there is non-compliance, they will have the authority to issue a notice to the retailer to correct the non-compliance or issue a fixed fine of up to £200 or a variable penalty of up to £20,000. In additional the local authority can order the retailer to advertise that they have broken the law.

Internet link: GOV.UK Guidance

HMRC have reported that:

• a record breaking 24,546 people submitted their tax return online on New Year’s Eve
• more than 11,467 people sent off their self assessment tax return on New Year’s Day
• and in excess of 2,000 taxpayers submitted their tax returns on Christmas Day.

Ruth Owen, Director General of Personal Tax, HMRC, said:

‘As we all enjoy the festive season it’s easy to see how completing your tax return can be forgotten, but the 31 January deadline will be here quicker than we think.’

The deadline for sending 2014/15 tax returns to HMRC, and paying any tax owed, is 31 January 2016. Please contact us if you need help with your self assessment return.

Internet link: GOV.UK news