The continuity plans of businesses large and small have been consistently challenged over the past 6 months, and with no definite end to the pandemic in sight, they remain a challenge. With more employees choosing (or being instructed) to work from home, business and their workers have been forced to rethink many of their duties and responsibilities, payroll included.
Whether you’re an employee or a business owner, the importance of payroll can never be underestimated, and just as workers want to be paid correctly and on time, managers and owners know that they must calculate pay and complete tax requirements without fail every month. With the repercussions of the ongoing pandemic still being felt, companies of all sizes are under pressure to make appropriate and effective adjustments to their systems.
Below are some of the challenges faced by many businesses when trying to adapt to a new, more remote way of working and paying employees:
Constantly evolving laws:
By its very nature, emergency legislation can change at the drop of the hat, and it’s vital that employers stay up to date and integrate it into their existing policies as quickly as possible. Changes may need to be made to sick pay, overtime and leave, and any new rules must be scrutinized and thoroughly understood.
One way of ensuring that as an employer, you always stay on the right side of changing legislation, is by outsourcing your payroll responsibilities; the payroll experts assigned to work for you will be up to date with any changes to tax and payroll responsibilities, and will ensure that you remain compliant at all times.
Changing workplace trends:
With the ongoing global pandemic, many employees may need to adjust their planned leave or travel plans – either due to sickness or travel restrictions – and some of these changes could come at short notice, through no fault of their own. With that in mind, employers will need to examine their flexibility regarding adjustments to paid and unpaid vacation.
The pandemic has already caused many companies to rethink their employee headcount, and while some local government support measures are in place to help businesses, many are still being forced to place employees on shorter workweeks or on unpaid leave. Overtime policies and the use of contractors may also need to be examined, and each of these adjustments will have direct implications for both payroll and taxes in the short and medium-term.
Dealing with these accelerated changes as the global situation changes from week to week, and in some cases, from day to day, is imperative, and working with a payroll provider can help simplify the situation and enable you to stay up to date with changes as they happen.
In conclusion, payroll has certainly changed since the outbreak of Covid-19, but perhaps more importantly, it’s set to continue changing for some time to come. Therefore, the need to stay up to date with payroll adjustments and changes to legislation is essential, and thankfully, outsourced payroll providers can help you do exactly that.