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Inspired Confidence!

Be inspired by our panel of Inspiring Women discussing CONFIDENCE!

Our panelists will chat about their journeys, and how they have inspired confidence in themselves and others. We have a wide range of women from different industries and we are so excited about this uplifting and casual discussion.

The event is hosted by Heather Offord, Director of One4Growth / Clarity Consultants - also a SWIB Committee Member.

Our Panelists:

Danielle Macleod - Co-Founder at Remarkable Women | Executive Coach | Keynote Speaker | Leadership Development | Author

Bayile Adeoti - WISE100 Leading woman in Social Enterprise (2023). The Telegraph NatWest 100 Female Entrepreneurs to watch (2022) Founder Dechomai Ltd (Stimulating Entrepreneurship amongst Ethnic Minority communities) and of course President of Scottish Women in Business

Gill Baird MBA - Owner & Managing Director at St. Ellen’s Hospitals & Cosmedicare. Looking to connect with Scottish Consultant level medical professionals and Senior NHS Management

Jo De Sylva - Chair Visit Inverness Loch Ness, Chair 161 SQN RAF, Court Member University of the Highlands and Islands, Board of Directors HIghland Tourism Awards, Director MacGregors Hospitality

Lee Walls - Expert firewalk instructor, delivering confidence-building and motivational events and courses.

Zahra Hedges - CEO Winning Scotland | Building Confidence and Resilience in Children & Young People

Watch here: https://youtu.be/q4EMr1Yg5l4

Updated Terms & Conditions

swib has updated its terms and conditions to clarify how refunds are handled when a paid-for event is booked through Eventbrite.

Eventbrite refunds are requested through that site, and Eventbrite's policies mean that the booking fee is deducted from the amount paid.

Accordingly, the Terms & Conditions now state:

Requesting your refund Except for events booked through Eventbrite, refunds should be requested using this form. Upon checking eligibility for a refund against our policy, Scottish Women in Business will arrange for the refund to be made based on the method of payment (e.g. card payments will be refunded onto the relevant card).

For events booked through Eventbrite, refunds should be requested using Eventbrite. If the refund is approved by SWIB, the amount refunded will be the cost of the ticket minus Eventbrite’s fees (this is Eventbrite policy).

Timescales Refunds will be made within 14 days or when an item is returned.

BCC launches three-year gender equity campaign based on stark research findings

BCC launches three-year gender equity campaign based on stark research findings

• Almost two thirds (63%) of women felt they missed out on career progression as a result of childcare responsibilities
• More than eight in ten (85%) women disagree that there is sufficient support for people with caring responsibilities
• Almost two in five (38%) women feel they will miss out on career opportunities as a result of menopause
• BCC outlines three-point plan for three-year gender equity campaign

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) worked with leading panel provider Find Out Now to conduct a landmark survey of more than 4,100 respondents. The research found that almost two thirds of women feel they have missed out on career progression because of childcare responsibilities.

The survey, the first of its kind from the BCC, looks at the perceived impact childcare, general caring responsibilities and menopause have on a person’s career, as well as the support available to those impacted by the issues.

Childcare
Overall, over half (55%) of people felt they missed out on career progression as a result of childcare responsibilities. This included career development, pay rises and/or promotions.
Almost double the proportion of women (63%) than men (33%) believed they missed out on career opportunities due to their responsibilities.

General caring responsibilities
78% of men believe there is not sufficient support available for people with non-paid caring responsibilities for elderly/disabled relatives or friends. This figure increases to 85% for women. For those who have had caring responsibilities in the last 10 years, 46% of men felt
they missed out on career progression as a result of their duties, while almost half (49%) of women felt the same.

Menopause
Almost three quarters (74%) of women feel there is not sufficient support for those experiencing menopause. One in three (32%) women who have gone through menopause felt that it impacted their career negatively. However, there is a higher level of concern about the impact of menopause on a woman’s career amongst those who are yet to experience it. Almost two in five (38%) women believe they will miss out on career opportunities due to
menopause.

Levelling Up for Women in the Workplace
The BCC is committed to facing these challenges head on by levelling up for women in the workplace, through an urgent three-year Chamber campaign.

The campaign will be based on a three-point plan, to include:
1. Short-term action: Convene employment experts, Chamber CEOs and employers to create a Chamber Workplace Equity Commission
2. Medium-term work: The commission to analyse research findings and case studies, to develop policies for Government and best practices for businesses enshrining equity in the workplace.
3. Long-term goal: Re-run the same survey with the aim of moving the dial on the findings we are publishing today.

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the BCC, said:
“This survey is the first of its kind carried out by the BCC. With over 4,000 respondents, it is a significant contribution to assessing the state of play of gender equity across society today. Many people feel that the burden of childcare, caring responsibilities and menopause have had a negative impact on their career, but women report higher levels of concern across the board. What women want is a level playing field. They don’t want handouts or a hand up, they simply want to make sure there are no barriers to career progression and face the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Tackling these issues is integral not only to the wellbeing of our women and workplaces, it is crucial to the functioning of any strong economy.”

Sarah Howard MBE, Chair of the BCC, said:
“Today is day one of our three-year BCC campaign to face these challenges head on by levelling up for women in the workplace. Priority number one is to immediately form a BCC Workplace Equity Commission with business leaders, employment experts and Chamber CEOs from across our national and international network to analyse the survey findings in detail. The commission, led by the BCC, will work with Government to help shape the future of the workplace and will also develop best practices for businesses to adopt. Our ultimate goal is to see the dial moving in the right direction when we rerun this same survey again over the course of the next three years. A level playing field is not just a nice to have. Gender equity is good for the economy, good for our labour market and good for society as a whole.”

For more information, visit: www.britishchambers.org.uk

Ever thought of buying an electric car?

It is minefield - let us help you understand how the financials work!

Tax codes by Advantage Accounting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tax codes – what’s the deal?

As a Payroller, one of the most common questions I receive from both employers and employees is “what does my tax code mean?”

Fear not – I’m here to help! To understand your tax code, we must delve into the background of tax codes and Personal Allowances.

What is a Personal Allowance and why does it matter?

Every year in April, the Chancellor of the Exchequer sets the Personal Allowance for the year during the Annual Budget. A personal allowance is the amount an individual can earn in the year before any tax is deducted from their income. Every person in the UK, regardless of age, is entitled to a tax-free Personal Allowance.

For the 2022-2023 tax year, the standard Personal Allowance across the UK is £12,570, meaning that majority of the UK can earn up to £12,570 before paying any tax on their income.

However, personal allowances are assessed on an individual case based on personal circumstances and your personal allowance may be lower or higher than the standard.

Your Personal Allowance matters because it dictates what your tax code will be and in turn dictates how much tax you will pay on the remainder of your income.

With all the current turmoil in Government, it’s anyone’s guess what the personal allowance will be in 2023!

Can my Personal Allowance change?

Yes – and often does for some individuals!

The amount of your personal allowance can be spread over several sources of income, particularly if you have several jobs or rental income, and therefore you might have two different tax codes in two different employments.

Expenses, allowances, benefits, and additional pay are all factors that can increase or decrease your personal allowance.

If an individual earns over £100,000 in a year, their personal allowance is reduced by £1 for each £2 of earnings over the limit, until their Personal Allowance becomes £0.

What is my tax code and where can I find my tax code?

Tax codes are created by ignoring the last digit of your personal allowance. For the standard Personal Allowance of £12,570, the tax code would be 1257L – the letter at the end indicates how your tax code is used and we will discuss this further later.

For example, if your tax allowance is 1060L, your tax-free personal allowance would be £10,600.

You can find your tax code on:

Your payslips

Your P60

Your P45

Your Personal Tax Account: https://www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account

What do the letters mean and how are they used?

This is where it gets really interesting (for payrollers in any case) – ever lain awake at night and wondered what the letter means at the end of your tax code? Yes – then it is your dream come true. No – well you might find it vaguely interesting.

You can also do a fun quiz while you are reading – what does each letter in the phonetic alphabet represent – answers below

There can be 2 types of letters in a tax code: Suffixes and Prefixes.

Suffix (appear at the end of a tax code):

L: Used for a single person’s tax code and is the most common suffix in the UK.

T: T suffixes are ‘temporary’ tax codes and usually issued to individuals that have a more complicated tax code. If you have a T at the end of your tax code, HMRC require more information from you before allocating you a better-suited tax code and you should contact them to discuss.

OT: This suffix shows that your personal allowance has been used up and you are now being taxed on the entirety of your income.

BR: This indicates that all your income in that job is taxed at the basic rate – you are normally assigned this tax code if you have more than one job.

D0: This indicates that all your income is taxed at the higher rate – you are normally assigned this tax code if you have more than one job.

D1: This indicates that all your income is taxed at the additional rate. The current additional rate of tax is 45% for income over £150,000 per year.

M and N: These are very specific tax codes only assigned to married or civil partnership couples who apply for Marriage Allowance. This is where a spouse or civil partner who is a basic rate taxpayer (or is a starter/basic or intermediate taxpayer in Scotland) can transfer 10% of their own personal allowance to their partner. If you are the partner transferring 10% of your personal allowance, you will have an N suffix. If you are the one receiving 10% of your partner’s personal allowance, you would have the M suffix at the end of your tax code. This is typically done when one partner will not fully use their personal allowance and so their partner can benefit from the transfer.

Prefix:

S prefix: if you have an S at the beginning of your tax code, HMRC have identified that you are a Scottish taxpayer. This means that your main residence is in Scotland, even if your employer is based elsewhere in the UK.

C prefix: if you have a C at the beginning of your tax code, HMRC have identified that you as a Welsh taxpayer.

If there is no C or S prefix, HMRC have identified that the taxpayer resides either in England or Northern Ireland.

K prefix: This prefix reflects additional pay such as state benefits or company benefits and indicates that you are taxed on more than just your salary. It can also mean that you owe tax to HMRC from a previous year.

Answers phonetic: :L- Lima; T – Tango; O – Oscar; B – Bravo; R – Romeo; D – Delta; M – Mike; N – November; S – Sierra; C – Charlie; K – Kilo – well dome 11 out of 11!

If you receive company benefits such as private health care, the value of that benefit would be deducted from your personal allowance e.g., you have a standard tax code of 1257L and receive private health care at the value of £150, your new tax code would reflect this and become 1242L (12570-150 = £12,420).

You would only receive a K prefix on your tax code if the additional pay you receive is more than your personal allowance.

There are other Suffixes, so if you can’t see the one that is in your tax code you can view them here.

Why does your tax code change?

Your tax code can change for multiple reasons:

  • A change in employment
  • You receive benefits in kind – eg a company car or healthcare.
  • Additional income from another job or pension
  • You claimed Marriage Allowance
  • Started or stopped receiving taxable state benefits (Carers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Job Seeker’s Allowance, State Pension etc)
  • You have paid too little or too much tax in a previous year
  • Claiming expenses with tax relief

What is an ‘emergency’ tax code?

I can guarantee that almost all of you have heard the words “emergency taxed” but what does that actually mean?

‘Emergency tax codes’ are shown as W1/M1 or X. If you are being emergency taxed, then your tax code would look something like 1257L W1/M1 (W1 stands for Week 1 and M1 stands for Month 1.)

You will be assigned this tax code if you have had a change in circumstances and HMRC haven’t yet received all the necessary information needed in time for when you are next paid. These circumstances can be starting a new job, receiving a state pension or company benefits or going from self-employed to employed.

Usually, employees are taxed on a cumulative basis, where HMRC have calculated what tax they’ve already paid in the year and how much of their personal allowance they have already used. However, the emergency tax code means that you are taxed in a non-cumulative way.

Basically, on an emergency tax code, you are taxed on what you earn in that single pay period alone rather than what you’ve already earned and paid tax on throughout the year, and you are also taxed on the assumption that you would have the standard personal allowance and as if you haven’t used any of your personal allowance yet.

I know that the word emergency tax sounds scary, however, this is not something to be frightened of. Being placed on an emergency non-cumulative tax code is designed to ensure the fairest calculation for an interim period until HMRC receive all the details they need and can conduct a more accurate calculation for you.

What to do if you believe your tax code is wrong

The news you don’t want to hear – Payrollers cannot change your tax code on the payroll system unless specifically instructed by HMRC to do so. HMRC will send a ‘change of tax code’ notification which will advise us what your new tax code should be. Unfortunately, the Payroller is not told why your tax code has changed or how they have calculated the new personal allowance that forms the tax code. We will try our best to give our own insight into why it might have changed, but the truth is only HMRC will be able to give you true detail on why your tax code is what it is.

I would always recommend calling HMRC – and calling them early in the morning to have more chance of actually getting through to someone! – on 0300 200 3300 to discuss your tax code. If your tax code is recalculated by HMRC, your employer/payroll department will receive notice of this a few weeks later and will update your tax code on the payroll system.

What about tax refunds? Does that really happen?

Tax refunds often seem like a myth, much like the unicorn, however they are real! If you have paid too much tax, there are two ways HMRC will remedy this. They will either write to you and send you a cheque – which you can either cash in online or at a bank branch.

The other way you could receive a refund is directly through the payroll, and it will show up on your payslip as a negative tax figure under ‘deductions’. Your employer would pay the tax refund to you. Employers you will not be out of pocket for any tax refund due to employees as the amount would be deducted from your PAYE liability that month.

What if I paid too little tax previously and now owe HMRC?

Normally if HMRC have calculated that you’ve paid too little tax in a tax year, they will reduce your personal allowance in the following tax year so that you pay more tax going forward.

HMRC will write to you to let you know if you’ve underpaid tax.

I’d like to thank you all for taking the time to read this blog. I hope you are now all clued up on tax codes and have enjoyed reading! If you have any payroll questions or suggestions for my next blog post, please get in touch. It would be lovely to hear from you.

Author Rachael Connelly

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