As HMRC continues to progress their PAYE computer system with the National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS), they are expecting to issue 14 million P2 Coding Notices to employers in tax year 2011-12 as Pay and Benefits magazine recently reported.

The problems associated with incorrect tax codes were well highlighted in the national press during 2010, due to the introduction of this new system. These problems have been attributed to a mismatch of information between employers HR and payroll software systems, pension providers and HMRC. The system had to be updated to make sure PAYE will work well in time for the introduction of Real Time Information (RTI).

In readiness for the tax year 2011-12 and in light of previous problems, HMRC issued largely electronically P9s. For those unable to receive P9s electronically in time for the new tax year, HMRC advised they follow the P9X procedure, the main crux of which was to add 100 to any tax code ending in L to reflect a change in allowance. Perhaps ironically, those who couldn’t receive this electronically, thus perhaps the least technology savvy of their audience, were told the full details of how to follow P9X procedure were available on the HMRC website.

Pressure to modernise to leaner greener paperless electronic systems leads organisations such as HMRC to increasingly direct people and organisations to more electronic means. The large HMRC website for procedural information can make it difficult for payroll managers to keep up to speed with all the latest updates and impossible to those who still use paper based systems and manual approaches to payroll. HR software, payroll software, also other payroll solutions such as time and attendance software can all help with compliance through digital updates. However there will still be companies who can’t afford that level of investment, but need that level of processing power. For those, payroll bureau services, or fully managed payroll outsourcing could be the best solution to keeping HR payroll activities up to date.

To find out more about Safe EMS HR and payroll software and bureau or managed services visit www.safe-ems.co.uk and click on ‘enquire online’, or call us on 0844 583 2134 quoting ref ‘HMRC RTI’ to arrange a free demonstration.

Fair employment monitoring
The Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (FETO), as amended by Fair Employment and Treatment Order (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 , makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religious belief and/or political opinion in the fields of employment, the provision of goods facilities and services, the sale or management of land or property and further and higher education.  We created this solution specifically to serve the above legislative requirements.
This module can be added to track religions of those you employ in Northern  Ireland, and works totally transparently to your employees.
For your HR teams, this module allows for data collection, so your business is able to demonstrate equality in terms of employment.
This allows your business to anonymously track levels of one religion and of another, so you can keep and demonstrate when questioned, a healthy balance.
To find out more about adding our FETO module to your Safe EMS solution, please contact your account manager or visit www.safe-ems.co.uk and use our ‘enquire online’ link. 

Penserver interface
Our penserver interface solution for Safe EMS assists with calculations of pensions for government agencies employees. This tool provides an interface for files of data relating to pensions, and the interface allows the product user to extract the correct information in the correct file format as requested by law. Laws surrounding government pensions are very specific, and file formats are defined within the law. Our penserver interface automatically populates the Safe EMS solution with pension deductions per employee. Captured information through the interface is sent to pension administrators who are usually external to our customer’s business, in a format easily accessible to all, namely Microsoft Excel files.
Some information will need to be manually inputted, for example spouse contact details, however we do provide you with a form screen to make this data entry easier.
You are able to choose the frequency of reports you can run for pensions administration, so if you pay a financial adviser to check these daily, monthly, or annually, you are able to run reports in time to match this agreement. Similarly, if you wish to run reports based on how often the information is likely to change, for example if you run two major recruitment events each year, you are able to customise report dates to suit.
To find out more about adding our penserver interface to your Safe EMS solution, speak to your account manager or visit www.safe-ems.co.uk and use our ‘enquire online’ link. 

Safe EMS HR and payroll
Get every facet of your people management business facing in the same direction with Safe’s integrated HR, payroll, recruitment, and training solution.

Human resource management
• new Starter wizards and checklists
• ‘out of the box’ document management
• full HR history tracking
• recruitment management
• training administration
• absence administration
• leaver processing
• org charting
• integrated self service functionality

Payroll management
• UK and Irish Payroll modules
• integrated with HR
• statutory and occupational absence schemes
• hourly, weekly and monthly configuration options
• pensions management
• HMRC on-line ready
• integrated modules P11D and BACS
• variable data management tools
• bureau, in-house and hosted

System wide tools
• integrated Cognos reporting
• integrated EasyAsk, English language reporting
• Microsoft Office integration
• Microsoft SQL server based
• task and workflow automation
• configurable and customisable to key requirements

‘The time we have saved through using Safe EMS is incalculable’ commented Irene Stannard, Anglian Group.

www.safe-ems.co.uk

New feature - Questionnaire builder

Hello, another little blog from me, Renata Jones, to tell you about the latest addition to the Safe EMS range. The employee questionnaire builder, which can be used on its own with the Safe EMS base platform, or interact beautifully with a host of other optional extras.
As a standalone, this optional extra can capture all kinds of differing employee information. A good application of this would be to use it for an employee satisfaction survey. This information captured would then be brought into the Safe EMS product, and analysis of this could either be used to look to make improvements to increase employee retention, or to use in job advertisements top line figures of satisfaction to show you are a good employer. Staff churn is often an issue companies wish to lower, as a high staff turnover means greater costs in advertising and training for new recruits, so staff retention is desirable as it is far more cost effective. A good working environment is known to increase efficiency, and statistics which show happy employees can even be used to gain accreditations, such as investors in people. Such accreditations maybe part of selection criteria for your prospects, so gaining this information could potentially increase your customer base and revenue.

Questionnaire style is completely customisable at customer level from a list of handy options. You can choose from radio buttons, for typically ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer questions, right through to free form open text questions for gathering a detailed response. You could choose a checker box multiple choice format, allowing for more than one answer, and allowing respondents to show their order of preference. Each question could even have a likert chart, where respondents show their level of agree or disagree, generally on a sliding scale you could set values for. For example, you could ask for the statement ‘I really enjoy working here’, does the respondent strongly agree, or strongly disagree, where 1 is strongly agree, and 5 is strongly disagree. This allows those who are unsure of their feelings to choose 3, and those who disagree, but perhaps not strongly, to choose 4.

You could use this tool for anything where you wish to gauge a response, from a very serious health questionnaire, through to simply finding out a consensus preference for the venue for the annual company Christmas party. Create your questionnaire using our tool in a format completely tailored to your needs. Distribute the survey for responses using our workflow tool, which is part of the standard EMS package.

Once responses have been received, Safe EMS allows you to analyse collated data in a simple format table showing all responses, or in detail with the Impromptu reporting tool. In simple format, Safe EMS can provide you with top level statistics, such as to question 1, 90% of people answered ‘yes’, while 10% said ‘no’. Impromptu is an optional extra customisable reporting device which can provide in depth analysis. From your questionnaires, using Impromptu, you can design the look and format of your reports, filter data, and calculate detailed analysis. With the final report format, Impromptu allows you to print out your findings, or email the report to colleagues. Impromptu also works with real time data, so you know your findings are as up to date as possible.
Our questionnaire builder optional extra is able to integrate with our performance management, and MyView Safe EMS optional extras. By integrating this module with your performance management process and our dedicated optional extra, you can conduct detailed and qualitative information collection as part of your 360 degree appraisals. By integrating with our MyView web portal, you could collect this information online.

To find out more, visit www.safe-ems.co.uk and use our ‘enquire online’ link, or if you are an existing customer, speak to your account manager to add this to your Safe software package.

Two new additions to help with your recruitment process for Safe EMS

Hi there bloggers, I’ve just got time to tell you a bit about another fantastic addition to the Safe EMS platform, which will cut your recruitment administration to almost nonexistent, and make it so easy for candidates to apply, you’ll have more choices of applicant than ever before.

Introducing our candidate portal and CV parsing optional extras
Our candidate portal optional extra, allows your business to import data from curriculum vitae (CV) information received, directly into Safe EMS. When using our software, your business can send out advertisements for vacant positions which then appear in the candidate portal. This portal then acts like a website, which your business can promote. Job seekers can visit the candidate portal, register their details, and generate a login to upload their CV information.

Applicant uploads are then parsed automatically. The CV parser interprets information such as skills and experiences from uploaded CV’s, and populates a form on the candidate portal. Essentially it is akin to automatically completing an application form from and uploaded CV for the applicant. This saves the applicant a lot of time, which may stimulate a greater response to your advertisements. This also means that all information received in the same order for your business, making it easier to shortlist on specific criteria. Easier short listing saves your human resources team time, meaning they can focus on more in depth interviewing, seeing more candidates, or even other core business functions.

Recruitment optional extra
Our recruitment tool works hand in hand with our candidate portal and CV parsing optional extras. It drives applicants through the recruitment process stage by stage, creating various communications. Our recruitment module can create letters and emails to invite candidates to interviews. This tool can generate emails and letters to tell candidates they have been successful or unsuccessful. The tool can even conduct applicant checks, which have customisable levels. For example, if the employment ultimately involves working with children, you can assign a criminal records bureau (CRB) check or similar to the interview stage. You can assign a simpler CV check to the CV received stage, so that our tool can check if skills certification claims are genuine.  Communications generated are sent in a timely manner using the workflow tool, which is part of our standard EMS solution.

Right, that’s enough from me, if you want to find out more, then visit our website www.safe-ems.co.uk and use the ‘enquire online’ link, or if you are an existing customer, speak to your account manager. Thanks for reading bloggers! Renata.

New feature for Safe EMS - Performance management, now with 360 degree appraisals

Hi bloggers, Renata Jones here, just dropping you a line to let you know about our latest and most exciting update to the Safe EMS platform. We have offered you linear appraisals for some time, but we have now enhanced this solution to offer you 360 degree appraisals!

A bit of history
In version 5.01 our optional performance management extra provided you with a process for traditional format, one on one between manager and employee, styled appraisals. This module was integrated with the MyView optional extra, and allowed the appraiser and member of staff being appraised, to both enter their answers to a set of questions about their work, through the MyView web based portal. MyView also tracked and added to the appraisal documents statistics associated with the appraised employee, such as absence monitoring for the last twelve months.  

And now
For our version 5.03 software, our latest performance management optional extra will do all the above and more. You can now conduct 360 degree appraisals through this optional extra, integrating with MyView to allow stakeholders from around your business who interact with the appraised to comment on working style. Using MyView to collect this information allows these various employees the flexibility a web browser based application can offer. So our software supports working from differing offices, and even working from home, without the need for a complex installation or synchronisation process.

Being web based, your 360 degree appraisals can even allow for anyone external to the business who interacts with the employee to write a review to form part of the appraisal.

Allowing for information to be collected from many sources, and through our online MyView platform, means our performance management optional extra can collate and feed your Safe EMS system. Employee records are updated, and appraisal reports are generated, seamlessly, saving your business a lengthy administrative process for your human resources professionals. Safe EMS will then manage all record storage, saving you office space for copious paper files, and saving associated paper and printing costs, in addition to reducing your carbon footprint and saving the planet. Saving administrative processes frees your HR team to focus on performance monitoring and analysis of feedback, rather than simply spending copious time writing up, typing up, and keying in data associated with the process. You can streamline your back office with our products, and focus on the most important activities.

To find out more, visit www.safe-ems.co.uk and use our ‘enquire online’ link, or if you are an existing customer, speak to your account manager to add this to your Safe software package.

EP60’s from 2011

From next year, HMRC are allowing P60’s to be produced and transmitted electronically. This is great news for the green minded, as it reduced the paper trail of many an office environment. This also prevents data becoming lost in traditional post for remote workers. One potential snag, could be that this type of very sensitive data could not possibly be sent via a standard email for security reasons. Safe have thought one step ahead already. Safe EMS software allows each employee to see their personal information via a web portal and secure login. EP60’s could easily be sent to employees via this product and web portal. The portal can also capture holidays, sickness, and personal information like home address and emergency contact numbers. The portal allows for greater transparency from employer to employee.  Visit www.safe-ems.co.uk to read more, or follow the enquire online link to ask us more.

Attention all soon to be parents!

Allowances for statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), and statutory adoption pay (SAP) are changing! Previously the allowance for maternity pay was up to one year, and for paternity pay just two weeks. The system is changing to become more flexible. Mothers and fathers can split their allowed time, should they wish to, 50:50. For instance a mother could decide to take 6 months maternity leave, meaning the father could take six months paternity leave, either at the same time, or at the end of the six months of the mother’s maternity leave. This change could make life far easier for new parents. It means that either both parents can take time off together, sharing that tough first six months looking after their new bundle of joy. It also means new parents can choose to take it in turns, and thus one parent is at home with the child for 6 months while the other works, and then the other can be at home while the first returns to work. Essentially for women, this flexibility means they do not need to take such a long career break. Sometimes those who have been out of work for a year, can find it daunting to return, as so much can change in this time. Six months out of the office can mean much less has changed, and thus, returning to work would not seem so daunting. This certainly will be an interesting and useful change for soon to be mums and dads. Employee management systems (EMS) and payroll systems will need to be able to cope with this change. Will yours? Visit www.safe-ems.co.uk to read more about our software and services, or follow the enquire online link to ask us more.

CSA becomes CMEC

The child maintenance and enforcement commission (CMEC) is expected to replace the role of the child support agency (CSA) in the UK and Ireland in the early part of 2012. CMEC describe themselves on their website as a ‘Non-Departmental Public Body responsible for the child maintenance system in Great Britain’. From 2011 CMEC will have new powers to work in conjunction with HMRC. On their website they state:
‘From 2011, the Commission will introduce a new statutory maintenance scheme (the future 'gross income' scheme), based on latest available tax year information from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Using information from a single source is expected to reduce significantly the time taken to calculate child maintenance. The maintenance award will be fixed for a year unless income varies by more than 25%.’
From an employee management systems perspective, those who work in HR are expecting CMEC to expect a mandatory report of information from employers to enable them to decide maintenance payment levels. Safe will be evolving their employee management system (EMS) software, services, and software as a service solutions with these changes. If you are worried your HR and EMS provision may struggle with these changes, visit www.safe-ems.co.uk to read more about our software and services, or follow the enquire online link to ask us more.