IT specialist issues payroll warning ahead of National Insurance changes

The timely alert has come from local IT and payroll specialist Susan Marlow, who says she fears many businesses in the county are yet to revise their in-house systems despite the planned uplift to the National Insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profit Limits – both of which will impact on worker’s wages.

Ms Marlow, managing director at Kidderminster-based IT and software provider Minster Micro, says employers must plan and implement the changes now, or face seeing an “administration nightmare” this summer.

The changes, which come into force on July 6, were announced in March in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement as part of the Government’s tax plan to support the UK’s economy.

Under the new rules, there will be increases to the National Insurance Primary Threshold for Class 1 National Insurance Contributions, and also the Lower Profits Limit for Class 4 contributions. The move will align them with the equivalent income associated to the tax personal allowance which is set at £12,570 per year.

Susan said: “The Government is doing all it can to claw back losses following the devasting Covid pandemic and one of those solutions is to amend National Insurance, which will essentially see millions of people paying more contributions.

“What I am concerned about is that the 6 July deadline is quickly creeping up and it’s clear from the business networks I am speaking to that they aren’t prepared – meaning that wages and deductions could be incorrect and cause unnecessary financial pain for employees.

“Essentially incorrect data would mean a huge administration nightmare for any company, large or small, so my advice is to take extra care to ensure their payroll systems and software are capable of adjusting to the change.”

Minster Micro Computers has more than 40 years’ experience in ERP and payroll systems and have delivered numerous payroll-related seminars. Supporting a range of business sectors, the company is an accredited provider of Pegasus business software.

The firm supplies payroll software, training and implementation as well as IT support services.

Businesses looking for advice on updating their payroll systems in preparation for the July 6 changes can email sales@minstermicro.co.uk or telephone 01562 68211.