3 days£1639 +VAT
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Level 3 payroll qualification

This 3 day face to face course covers elements from the following courses:

Day 1 - Basic Tax & NI course
Day 2 - Statutory Payments & Family Leave course
Day 3 - Employment Legislation & Advanced Payroll Deductions

Subsequently complete the optional assignments and you will be awarded the Pearson BTEC Level 3 Award in Payroll Techniques.


Courses Overview

Duration: 3 days Price: £1639+VAT

Who will benefit

This course is suitable for those wishing to expand, refresh or consolidate their payroll knowledge, incorporate Statutory Payments, Court Orders and Student Loans into their working environment and gain an industry recognised qualification.

What you'll achieve

By the end of the programme, you will be able to confidently deal with all the common problem areas, such as deductions from wages, recovering overpayments, and the payment of expenses and holiday pay. Statutory payments, maternity, paternity, adoption and sick pay as well as leave entitlements, Court Orders and Student Loans are also covered. Also included is an overview of the impact on payroll of other legislation, including Working Time Regulations, the National Minimum Wage Act, and the Asylum and Immigration Act.

Course content

Day 1

  • How the UK tax and NI system works
    • Understanding the key dates in the tax year
    • Rates of tax and NI
    • Personal allowances
    • Tax and NI thresholds
    • Importance of NI numbers
  • Gross pay
    • What gross pay is and what additions to pay there might be
    • What deductions from pay are allowed before tax
    • What elements of pay are treated differently for tax and NI
  • Pay and earnings periods
    • The effect on tax and NI when employees are paid weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly and monthly and how to use the tax calendar correctly
  • Calculation of tax
    • What a tax code is and how it is derived
    • The difference between a cumulative and non-cumulative basis (week1/month1)
    • How HMRC notifies tax code changes
    • How to calculate the pay adjustment
    • How to calculate tax
  • Calculation of National Insurance
    • What an NI table letter is, how it is derived and its impact on the calculation of NIC
    • NI for employees
      • Not yet 16
      • Under 21
      • Apprentices under 25
      • Over state pension age
    • How to calculate NI using the exact percentage and table methods
  • New employees and leavers
    • Dealing with starters and leavers
      • P45s
      • Starter Declarations
  • Calculations
    • Step-by-step calculations of tax and NI with examples and exercises
    • Preparation of a manual payroll with tutor assistance
    • The makeup of a payslip
      • What has to be entered in order to meet legal requirements

Day 2

  • Statutory Maternity Pay
    • Form MATB1, and key dates for entitlement
    • Requirements for notification, qualifying service, and calculating average earnings
    • Other key factors, including:
    • Effect of early birth
    • Pregnancy-related absence
    • Working for more than one employer
    • When to start paying SMP
    • How to calculate the SMP to be paid
    • How much to recover
    • Understanding the notice requirements
    • How to complete forms SMP1 and SMP2
  • Maternity rights
    • Entitlement to and differences between Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and Additional Maternity Leave (AML):
    • Notice periods
    • Terms and conditions during leave
    • Right to return to same job or not
  • Statutory Adoption Pay and Leave
    • Brief overview of Statutory Adoption Leave and Pay
  • Parental Leave and time off for dependants
    • Brief overview of parental leave and time off for dependents
  • Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave
    • How to determine the key dates
    • Entitlement to SPP, the requirements for notification and evidence, qualifying service
    • Calculating average earnings
    • Other key factors:
      • When SSP overrides SPP
      • Early birth
      • Working for another employer
      • When to start paying SPP
      • How much SPP to pay
      • SPP1
  • Overview of Shared Parental Leave and Pay
    • Eligibility criteria for shared parental leave and pay
    • Notice requirements
    • Qualifying criteria
    • Rate of ShPP
  • Statutory Sick Pay
    • Defining a Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW)
    • Linking of PIWs
    • Defining Qualifying Days (QD)
    • Defining Waiting Days (WD)
    • The use of self-certificates and the provision of medical evidence
    • Calculating average earnings
    • Making decisions on entitlement and exclusion
    • How to complete form SSP1
    • Step-by-step calculations, plus examples and exercises, with tutor assistance
  • Calculation of SPP, SSP, SMP, ShPP and maternity leave
    • Step-by-step calculations, examples and exercises, assisted by the tutor

Day 3

  • Tax and NI
    • Brief review of basic tax and NI calculations
      • Correct tax and NI treatment of:
      • expenses
      • vouchers
      • approved mileage allowance payments
      • holiday pay
      • pay-in-lieu-of-notice (PILON)
      • other payments made when, or after, an employee leaves
    • Lawful deductions from pay and the protection of wages provisions of the Employment Rights Act as it applies to:
      • Statutory deductions
      • Contractual deductions
      • Voluntary deductions
    • How to avoid problems when recovering overpayments of wages.
  • National minimum wage
    • The rights of workers and their implications for payroll
    • Record-keeping requirements
  • Working Time Regulations
    • The rights of workers and their implications for payroll
    • Paid annual leave rules
    • Record keeping requirements
  • Asylum and Immigration Act
    • The procedures to avoid heavy penalties when taking on new employees
  • Court Orders
    • All of the different types of court order in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (the appropriate orders are covered depending on where the workshop is held)
    • Step-by-step calculations with examples, exercises and tutor assistance
  • Student Loan Deductions
    • The forms that can trigger student loan deductions
    • Calculating the deductions using calculator or tables
    • When to stop deducting
    • Completion a P45 when an employee leaves
    • Reporting requirements

"I have used The Learn Centre on a number of occasions and have found it provides a great platform to gain the knowledge required to carry out my job. I started off with the Payroll Technician course and this in-depth learning gave me a great foundation of payroll knowledge to build upon and give me the confidence to progress up the career ladder, well worth it and would certainly recommend, no matter what level you are at there will be a course/qualification that can help you."

Ayman Zagloul
HR Analyst at Queen's University Belfast

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