Just under half of employer respondents do not see the benefits of real-time information (RTI) reporting, according to research by the Forum of Private Business (FPB).
The latest Referendum study, carried out quarterly among FPB members, found that 17% of respondents saw the overall benefits of RTI and 27% saw the benefits in the longer term. It also found that one in five respondents felt RTI would make them less likely to take on new employees.
RTI, which comes into effect from April 2013, will require all employers to run monthly reports for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) instead of on an annual basis.
Phil Orford, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business (pictured), said: “With this uncertainty in mind, we are calling for HMRC to adopt a sensible and reasoned approach towards enforcement in the early stages.
“Already the government has announced the delay to some fining powers, but the effect of the switch to online reporting must not be underestimated, nor the cost of investing in new software ignored.
“Ideally, we want to see a moratorium on fines in all but the most serious cases.”
