RTI timescales are too tight November 2011
Posted date: 26 October 2011
Around 75 per cent of respondents to the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) consultation, Collecting Real-Time Information (RTI), believe the timescales are unachievable.
In reply to these concerns HMRC emphasised that there is no flexibility on the “go-live” time as RTI needs to be ready for Universal Credit. However, it has revised its approach to software.
Its summary stated: “HMRC agreed a revised approach to the pilot that means not all software products would need to be RTI enabled for April 2012.”
Colin Frith, Group Payroll Manager at General Healthcare Group, said: “My concerns remain with the speed of this change, the volume and nature of the data required and, of course, with the ability of HMRC systems and reduced staff to cope with this at the back end.”
There are also plans to expand the number of volunteer employers using RTI during the 2012/13 test period. This will help to volume-test the system and should ensure that at least 25 per cent of employments are within RTI by March 2013.
Other areas for concern were the data items, particularly those of hours worked, passport number and holiday or strike pay. For a number of reasons the payroll does not always hold this information. The report states: “hours worked will be reported in bands of normal weekly hours worked, broadly reflecting the current Tax Credit legislation.”
Passport numbers are to be used as an alternative way of identifying an employee who does not provide a National Insurance number.
Finally, holiday pay is no longer a required data item as “employers will provide information on the number of pay periods covered by the payment instead.”
Draft Pay As You Earn regulations will be published for consultation later in the autumn.
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