Sessional expenses 14-15 documentation
The following sessional expenses documentation for 2014-2015 have been finalised and regions will be sending these out to 14-15 tutors over the next few weeks:
- Sessional Expenses Policy
- Sessional Expenses Claim Form
- Miscellaneous hours and expenses claim form
- Expenses Prior Approval Form
The dates for claims submission remains unchanged: Claims need to be received (through the post) at the relevant local WEA Regional Office by the last working day of the month in order to receive payment by the 15th of the following month. Full information regarding prior approval requirements and allowable expenses is included in the documentation.
P45 format
P45’s format – hard copy only for employers
A recent query has cropped up in the WEA in relation to P45’s and whether these can be submitted by and to employers electronically. The current HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) position is that: no, P45’s should be issued in hard copy to employees who in turn should also submit it to their new employer in this format – electronic submission is not acceptable as there is no validation/data integrity mechanism embedded into an electronically submitted version.
So if you are leaving an employment and your employer provides you with a P45 which is not in hard copy form, you should go back to them and request the hard copy version.
And if you providing a P45 to the WEA, we require it in hard copy format through the post.
New fraudster/scam warning
A new type of scam email is doing the rounds; as with similar previous scams, again fraudsters set up email addresses to look like the email has come from the HMRC. This latest scam relates to pay pal, advising recipients that a payment has been made to your paypal account and asking users to log into their account by following a link provided in the email. The email address relating to these scam emails is HM Revenue & Customs Service @ paypal.co.uk so if you do receive any emails from this address please beware, do not follow any link included in a suspicious looking email. HM Revenue and Customs have a department that deals with fraudulent/phishing emails; details of phishing emails including some sample email addresses are detailed on HMRC’s website along with the address to contact them if you do receive a scam email: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/reporting.htm
If in doubt, always contact HMRC directly to check whether an email you have received which looks like it’s from them, really is from them. Remember, HMRC never email ask for password information by email or issue tax codes or refund information by email.
Teachers’ Pensions changes 1st April 2015
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme is changing from 1st April 2015.
The Teachers’ Pensions (TP) is changing from 1st April 2015 when pension arrangements will be career average as well as final salary. TP will be producing various factsheets for employees and employers over the coming months, and a wealth of information regarding the changes is already available on their website: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/reform/members/reform-member-hub.aspx for members to read through.
The WEA will also be providing information to its employees between now and the 1st April to help staff understand the changes and how the changes will apply to them. More details will follow from the WEA early in September.
WEA Payroll and Pension Matters 