HMRC have provided a further update on miscellaneous matters which will mainly be of interest to employers and practitioners engaged in this area – these are informal highlights provided by HMRC as a result of working in partnership with Agents and advisers.

Filing P11Ds

HMRC have confirmed that it is not possible to submit P11Ds in parts as is currently allowed for P35s. Whilst HMRC understand that the current process may be inconvenient for certain employers, they wish to point out that the background to allowing P35's in parts arose due to mandatory electronic filing. That principle was not carried across to P11D submissions. HMRC's systems are not designed to work on that basis and any attempts to file in parts would be treated as amended data and not additional data. This could result in inaccurate data being applied to employer and employee records.

Temporary Reference Numbers

HMRC have recently noticed an increase in the use of temporary references by employers (i.e. numbers not in NINO format but in format nnAnnnnn). Whilst it is possible that numbers using this format may have been quoted in SA correspondence or sometimes supplied to Expatriates by HMRC staff these should be ignored and temporary references should never be used by employers during transactions with HMRC.

If an employee does not have a NINO, employers should directed them to the Department of Work and Pensions, who will arrange for one to be allocated.

National Minimum Wage Rate Change

The rates for National Minimum Wage changed on 1 October 2010. Also on 1 October, the Government announced a scheme to name employers who flout National Minimum Wage law.

The scheme will come into effect on 1 January 2011 and employers who meet published criteria will be named in a press notice. Full details are available on the BIS website: http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/employment-matters/rights/nmw