All Tax and legislation articles – Page 28
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OpinionStephanie Creed: How should employers handle data sourced from benefits scheme technology?
But with great power comes great responsibility. The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), which governs data protection in the UK, imposes certain obligations on employers when handling personal data.What kind of information can be gathered?Benefits scheme technology encompasses a wide range of applications and software, including online benefits portals, workplace ...
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ArticleFedEx, Uber and Yelp cases bring employee status issue to the fore
In the US-based case of Gray vs FedEx Ground Package System, the latter contracts with operators to make deliveries. Under their contracts, the operators were not required to personally drive, but could hire someone else to do so. The plaintiffs brought a suit against FedEx claiming that they should be ...
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ArticlePolice forces to appeal decision on age discrimination case
An appeal has been filed against the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT’s) ruling that a regulation enabling police forces to compulsorily retire officers after they become entitled to a pension worth at least two-thirds of pensionable pay is not age discriminatory.The judgment in the case of Harrod and others v Chief ...
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OpinionJo Broadbent: Addressing long-term sick leave during unit transfers
A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision found that an employee on long-term sick leave did not transfer under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Tupe) to a new employer with other employees when the part of the business in which he worked before his absence transferred.In the case of ...
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Article23% favour Isa-style tax system for pensions
Less than a quarter (23%) of respondents would opt for an individual savings account (Isa)-style system for pensions after gaining a full understanding of the tax implications, compared to an initial 41%, according to research by Aviva.Its survey of 2,000 working adults found that the number of respondents that prefer ...
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ArticleEuropean Court rules that travel time is work
The European Court of Justice has ruled that travel between an employee’s home and the first and last job of the day at a client’s location constitutes working time for staff without a fixed or habitual place of work.The court considered this time spent travelling as working time, with the ...
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ArticleEmployee status of US Uber drivers to be decided
App-based taxi firm Uber, is facing further legal action regarding the employee status and rights of its workers, this time from the US.The US-based case, that of O’Connor et al. vs Uber Technologies, has been brought to the courts by three Uber drivers who claim that they should be treated ...
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Article66% have little to no understanding of pension tax relief
Around two-thirds (66%) of respondents have little or no understanding of how the tax system impacts pension contributions, according to research by insurance provider Aviva.Its survey of 2000 working adults in the UK, carried out in August, also found that one in ten respondents have never heard of pension tax ...
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ArticleJury to rule on employee status of FedEx drivers
A US district court in St Louis, Missouri, has referred a dispute over the employee status of FedEx drivers to a jury for deliberation.In the case of Gray vs FedEx Ground Package System, the latter contracts with operators to make deliveries. Under their contracts, the operators were not required to ...
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ArticlePolice to appeal against EAT decision on age discrimination
An appeal has been filed against the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT) ruling that a regulation enabling police forces to compulsorily retire officers after they become entitled to a pension worth at least two-thirds of pensionable pay (typically after 30 years’ service) is not age discriminatory.The judgment in the case of ...
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Article69% take entire pension pot as cash lump sum
More than two-thirds (69%) of respondents have chosen to take their entire pension pot as a cash lump sum since the pension freedoms came into effect in April, according to research by Royal London.The life, pensions and investment firm’s survey of 800 customers found that just under a third (32%) ...
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ArticleUS court rules Yelp reviewers are not employees
US District Judge Richard Seeborg has dismissed a class action against Yelp in which a group of reviewers sought to be considered employees and therefore be compensated as such.In the case of Lily Jeung, et al., vs Yelp. the claimants alleged that they were ‘directed how to write reviews and ...
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AnalysisThe legal minefields of tax-efficient benefits
If you read nothing else, read this:Employers should consider the business reasons behind their reward policies.Employers must be aware of any tax or national insurance consequences of providing benefits.They should include any tax considerations when planning and budgeting.Once they are certain that they know what each policy is intended to ...
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ArticleCourt rules travel expenses are subject to tax
Reed Employment has lost an appeal against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), in which it contested up to £158 million in tax payments relating to travel expenses for the temporary workers it employed.The case covers the period between 2001 and 2006 when the employment agency aimed to make non-taxable payments ...
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ArticleTribunal rules on valuation of restricted shares
The First-Tier Tribunal has ruled that restrictions should be taken into account when shares issued to employees are valued for tax purposes.In the case of Sjumarken v HM Revenue and Customs [HMRC], Lars Sjumarken was employed by BNP Paribas as an investment banker, in charge of BNP’s EU investment banking ...
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ArticleGovernment consults on pension freedom charges
The government has launched a consultation on early exit charges surrounding the pension freedoms that came into effect in April.The consultation will examine whether exit charges should be capped for those aged over 55 years that are planning to withdraw money from their pension pots.It will also look at how ...
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ArticleHigh Court sides with BBC to cap pensionable pay
The BBC took the decision to introduce a 1% cap on increases to pensionable pay to its three DB schemes to cut its pension liabilities. But the approach that it took to implement the change, requiring members to accept the cap or receive no pay rise, or alternatively to cease ...
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ArticleConsultation launches on gender pay gap reporting
The government has launched a consultation to establish the details of its plans to make it complusory for large employers to publish the average salaries of male and female staff. The consultation will also look into what information from employers will be published, as well as where and when.Plans for ...
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ArticleGovernment to consult on pensions tax relief
Summer Budget 2015: Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the government is to consult on a reformation of pensions tax relief.It will publish a green paper shortly setting out the various options, which range from fundamental reforms, for example moving to a system which is tax exempt like individual savings ...
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ArticlePersonal allowance increases to £11,000
Summer Budget 2015: The tax-free personal allowance will increase to £11,000 a year, Chancellor George Osborne announced during his Summer Budget speech today (8 July).In 2016-17, employees who earn up to £11,000 a year will not pay income tax. The new tax-free personal allowance threshold represents an increase of £400. ...