Small business checklist 2023/24: Key dates for your diary

Working within the payroll industry can be extremely fast paced, making it hard to keep on top of new rules and regulations as well as key payroll dates. That’s why we’ve put together a small business checklist of the key dates you need to add to your diary in 2023/24.

Tax deadlines

Keeping on top of tax deadlines will ensure you stay compliant with tax rules and regulations as well as paying your tax on time.

Sole Traders (self-employed)

If you’re a sole trader then you will need to pay your income tax and National Insurance liabilities in two stages. These are also known as payment on account and are payments in advance towards your tax bill.

Key dates for sole traders include:

●       July 31st 2023 - Second payment on account of tax for 2022/23 is due.

●       January 31st 2024 - Balance for tax for 2022/23 is due.

●       January 31st 2024 - First payment of tax for 2023/24 is due.

If you’re having trouble paying for your tax you can contact HMRC to organise a time to pay or to set up a payment plan.

Self-assessments

Your self-assessment tax return must be filed before:

●       October 31st 2023 - Paper tax returns must be filed.

●       January 31st 2024 - Online tax return must be filed.

Have you got a new partner?

If you’ve gained a new partner in the 2022/23 tax year you will need to notify HMRC by the 5th of October 2023.

UK VAT deadlines

●       March 31st 2023 - UK export declarations will need to be made via CDS (Customs Declaration Service) instead of CHIEF and NES (National Export Systems) as they will be switched off from the 31st March. (CHIEF was switched off on the 30th September 2022).

●       31st December 2023 - TSS (The Trader Support Service) will end. This was set up to deal with new compliance requirements for goods moving between mainland UK and Northern Ireland post Brexit.

●       In terms of Routine deadlines, these will vary depending on your VAT period and whether you do monthly, quarterly or annual returns.

National minimum wage and statutory rates

New national minimum wage and statutory rates have been released for 2023.

As of April 1st 2023, the new rates will be:

●       National Living Wage will increase to £10.42 for 23 year olds or over.

●       National Minimum Wage will increase to £10.18 for 21-22 year olds.

●       National Minimum Wage will increase to £7.49 for 18-20 year olds.

●       National Minimum Wage for under 18’s will increase to £5.28.

●       Weekly statutory sick pay rate will increase to £109.40 a week.

●       Weekly statutory maternity, paternity, parental leave, parental bereavement and adoption pay will increase to £172.48 a week.

Payroll deadlines

When it comes to payroll you want to make sure you keep on top of payroll deadlines so that you stay compliant with rules and regulations.

Key payroll dates for 2023 include:

●       April 6th 2023 - Employee payroll records need to be updated for the new tax year.

●       April 19th 2023 - Your final Full Payment Summary and Employer Payment Summary for the tax year ending 5th of April 2022 and any payment for tax and National Insurance should be submitted.

●       May 31st 2023 - A P60 needs to be given to all employees on your payroll that are still working for you on the last day of the tax year.

●       July 6th 2023 - Employee expenses and benefits should be reported.

●       July 19th 2023 - Class 1A National Insurance Contributions should be paid by post.

●       July 22nd 2023 - Class 1A National Insurance Contributions should be paid electronically.

Additional bank holiday dates in 2023

Due to the King’s Coronation this year there will be an extra bank holiday. The Coronation will take place on Saturday the 6th of May 2023, meaning there will be an extra bank holiday on Monday the 8th of May 2023.

Do you need to give your staff the extra day off?

Whether you have to give your staff the extra bank holiday off, depends on the wording of your employees contract of employment. For example, if the contract says that employees are entitled to take all bank holidays and public holidays as paid leave rather than saying employees are entitled to the usual 8 bank holidays off then you have to give your staff the paid holiday.

Employment legislation

Keeping on top of employment legislation is important so that you understand what employees are legally entitled to as well as being able to write legally sound contracts of employment.

Exclusivity Clauses

Exclusivity clauses have previously been put into employment contracts to stop staff from taking on additional work with other employers.

Putting exclusivity clauses in zero-hour contracts have been unenforceable since May 2015. The ban has now been extended to those whose net average weekly wage does not exceed the lower earnings limit (currently at £123 a week). These regulations came into force on the 5th of December 2022 in England, Wales and Scotland.

To avoid breaching the new regulation, employers shouldn’t enforce an exclusivity clause in existing contracts for low income workers. This includes not implementing dismissal or taking disciplinary action for undertaking additional employment without authorisation.

Upcoming and proposed legislation changes

Flexible working

Currently employees need to be employed for 26 weeks before they have the legal right to put in a flexible working application.

The proposed change to legislation will:

●       Remove the 26 week qualifying period employees are required to take before they can apply for flexible working.

●       Require employers to talk to employees about compromises they can make before rejecting requests.

●       Allow employees to make 2 flexible working requests within 12 months instead of 1 request.

●       Require employers to respond to requests within two months rather than 3.

Tips in the hospitality sector

The government is planning to make it a legal requirement for all employers to make sure that tips, gratuities and service charges are paid to workers in full without any deductions.

This will also enforce that tips must be distributed fairly and equally.

Redundancies during maternity leave

Currently if an employee is on maternity, adoption or parental leave, an employer has a legal obligation to offer them a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists before making the employee redundant.

New legislation extends the obligation for employers to offer an alternative vacancy starting from when an employee tells their employer that they are pregnant until 18 months after birth. This is also being proposed to help those on shared parental or adoption leave.

Carers leave

A new bill will entitle those who provide care or are arranging care, to a week of unpaid leave per year. This will be available to employees from the first day of their employment.

Neonatal care leave

A new bill will allow parents to take up to 12 weeks of statutory paid leave each per year, as well as other leave entitlements like maternity or parental leave where their child can receive neonatal care after birth.

Sexual harassment in the workplace

Sexual harassment as well as any other form of harassment is unlawful under the 2010 Equality Act.

If the new bill becomes law, employers will have a proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

Another proposed bill would make employers liable if third parties, such as clients or customers harass their employees.

Online Safety bill

The Online Safety Bill (OSB) was presented to Parliament on the 17th of March 2022, where it is likely to receive Royal Assent in 2023. This aims to protect children and to tackle illegal and harmful content online. The bill is predicted to have the biggest impact on social media, search, messaging and online advertising services.

To learn more about the online safety bill visit the GOV.UK website.

How can PayEscape help you keep on top of key dates for 2023?

Here at PayEscape our payroll software gives you access to technology and a team of payroll experts trained to keep on top of the latest rules, regulations, trends and key calendar dates. This makes it easier for you to keep on top of payroll dates and changes, while allowing you to focus on other critical tasks.

Visit our website to book a demo today