The Enter paternity details option is used to record firstly the Matching week date for adoption cases and the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC) or Placement date for adoption purposes and then to start the Paternity Pay Period (PPP) and to generate Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) payments to the employee and claim back amounts from the government based on a set of government SPP rules and SPP parameters.
The system caters for the Small Employer Relief Scheme by the use of SPP parameters.
To access Enter paternity details
The Payroll Password form is displayed.
Enter your payroll password.
The PAYROLL menu is displayed.
Select the Enter paternity details option.
The Payroll period information form is displayed. This should be checked to ensure you are in the correct payroll type and period.
Note: If the payroll has been confirmed for the current period the message Period payroll has been confirmed is displayed at which point you should select the Exit option to return you to the payroll menu since further updating of the payroll is not possible without the payroll being reset.
Select the OK option.
The Enter paternity details form is displayed.
The Enter paternity details form is displayed when you select the Enter paternity details option from the PAYROLL menu and select OK to the payroll period information form.
What do you want to do or be advised about?
Employee number: The individual number allocated to each employee consisting of up to six digits. The first available employee number within the employee record sequence will either be shown if the payroll type parameter called Employee default is ticked otherwise will default to number zero. The employee number chosen may however be changed by the user by entering the employee number or by using the search function described in the tip below.
Tip :
Click the Ellipsis button ![[...]](Ellipsis.gif){kind=small}
to search for an employee number from the employee records file by either a surname search or a word search. The search will only list those employees that have been created for your current payroll company and payroll type that do not have their left flag set to Y or P indicating a left employee in the current and previous tax year respectively.
If the payroll type parameter called Block edit of own record is ticked it is not possible to select your own record as identified by the Employee record containing your user id in the User ID field. If you enter your own payroll record number the error message You are not permitted to edit your own payroll record is shown.
The system checks the employee's records and can give one of the following warnings:
Employee has left (DD/MM/YYYY).
Error reading payroll record (Record locked).
This employee has an invalid National Insurance code.
Matching week date: If the Statutory Paternity Pay is being used for paying the employee as a father of the child the matching week date may be left blank. If on the other hand the Statutory Paternity Pay is being recorded for a child adoption scenario then the date the child was matched with the employee should be entered. In adoption cases one of the adults receives Statutory Adoption Pay and the other adult receives Statutory Paternity Pay. The system will adjust the date to the Sunday of the week entered.
Expected Week of Childbirth EWC)/Placement date: The Expected Week of Childbirth EWC)/Placement date must be completed when entering the Enter paternity details option for the first time for an employee. The date will be defaulted to the day X weeks in the future from the current day where X is the SPP parameter Qualifying weeks before = 15 weeks for 2005/2006. If the date on the maternity or placement certificate is different the EWC/Placement date can be changed. For Statutory Paternity Pay purposes the EWC/Placement date does not have to be a Sunday.
Qualifying week (QW): After tabbing out of the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC)/Placement date field the qualifying week will be adjusted to X weeks before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC)/Placement date where X is the SPP parameter Qualifying weeks before = 15 weeks for 2005/2006.
Note: If the employee has not been with the company for at least the number of weeks given by the SPP parameter Weeks service to qualify = 26 weeks for 2005-2006 at the qualifying week, the employee does not qualify for SPP. The following message will be seen:- WARNING: Employee started after DD/MM/YYYY.
If this is the first time you are entering the Enter paternity detail option for an employee you should now select either to Save the data entered or Cancel to not save the data and return to the main payroll menu.
Paternity leave start: This is only a memorandum date to record the start of the paternity leave, entering this date will not in itself start the payment of paternity pay.
Paternity leave end: This is only a memorandum date to record the end of the paternity leave. The paternity leave start and end dates will be reset when there are no more SPP weeks left and you select into a new payroll period whose start date is beyond the paternity leave end date.
SPP start date: When using the Enter paternity details option having earlier set the Expected Week of Childbirth / Placement date the SPP start date needs to be entered in order for the SPP to be generated.
There are two parameters which govern when the payment of SPP can be commenced. The system will give warnings if SPP is being started too early and if started late.
SPP average pay: Before the SPP start date is shown a Start paternity pay period dialog box is displayed. The system then prompts for the Pay periods since qualifying week. This prompt is necessary because the average pay must be calculated at the qualifying date which is defined as X weeks before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC)/Placement date where X is the SPP parameter Qualifying weeks before = 15 weeks for 2007/2008. Rather than let the system decide from which week the average is to be calculated it is simply asking how many pay periods to skip back down the S.S.P./S.M.P. gross pay for National Insurance earnings history before it takes an average of the previous 8 weeks or 2 months pay.
Enter the number of Pay periods since the qualifying week and select OK.
The following are the validity checks made on the payment:-
If the average pay is not equal to or greater than the lower earnings limit in the NI table for this employee then the employee is not eligible for SPP: WARNING: Average earnings are below NI limit, no SPP due.
If the SPP start date is before the SPP parameter Earliest before = 11 weeks for 2007/2008 a warning is given:- WARNING: SPP should not be started until DD/MM/YYYY.
If the SPP start date is after the SPP parameter SPP Latest after = 0 weeks for 2007/2008 after the EWC/Placement date there is no loss of SPP payments and consequently no warning.
The average weekly pay can be amended if your payroll priority is equal to or greater than that set in the system parameter called Priority to amend SMP average pay unless this parameter has been set to N.
SPP weeks left: The system defaults an original number of weeks as the total weeks left using the SPP parameter called Maximum weeks SPP = 2 for 2007/2008.
SPP weeks this period: The system defaults in the maximum number of full weeks that may be paid in the current payroll period using the SPP start date and the payroll period dates.
SPP start days: The number of SPP days at the start of the pay period to complete a week of SPP previously started in the prior payroll period. This field is only accessible if the payroll type parameter on the SPP Logging TAB called Divide SPP payments is ticked. If used the days represented by the days are shown to the right too.
SPP end days: The number of SPP days at the end of the pay period to complete the end of the payroll period. This field is only accessible if the payroll type parameter on the SPP Logging TAB called Divide SPP payments is ticked. If used the days represented by the days are shown to the right too.
These fields can be manually altered as required.
SPP period pay: The total SPP this period is the number of weeks paid this period multiplied by the lower of the standard SPP rate stored as a SPP parameter called Standard weekly amount SPP = 106 for 2005/2006 and the SPP average pay multiplied by a SPP parameter called Earnings % = 90 for 2005/2006.
Total SPP due: This contains the amount of SPP which has still to be paid including this period's amount. If an attempt is made to pay more SPP than is currently due then a warning is given:- WARNING: SPP this period exceeds total SPP due.
If you are entering the Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) start date and other details on this occasion you should now select either to Save the data entered or Cancel to not save the data and return to the main payroll menu. See below the summary for the other push buttons.
PUSH BUTTONS:
Exit: Returns you to the PR MAIN MENU.
Save: Saves any changes that you have made to the paternity details form and returns you to the PR MAIN MENU. Unless your system is set up for automatic updating of the rates table you should now review the payment rates being paid to the employee during the current payroll period.
If the payroll type parameter called Posting warning before confirm is ticked the nominal ledger postings to be generated as a result of using the option are verified and any posting validation errors are brought to your attention. Press Continue to close the form and correct the employee or payroll record as soon as possible. Posting errors will normally be due to the Cost centre or Cost centre split fields on the employee record forming an invalid account combination with the NL Grade field on the Static 1 TAB of the payroll record.
Cancel: Cancels any changes that you have made to the paternity details form and returns you to the PR MAIN MENU.
Help: Displays help on the current application in your default company browser.
Next: Displays the details of the next employee number.
Previous: Displays the details of the previous employee number.
Setting the Matching week date or the EWC/Placement date
To set the Matching week date or the EWC/Placement date:-
Enter the employee number within the Enter paternity details option.
Enter the Matching week date or the EWC/Placement date.
Click the Save button.
Correcting the Matching week date or the EWC/Placement date
To correct the Matching week date or the EWC/Placement date:-
Use the main payroll menu option called Add/modify payroll record and amend the SPP data on the Static 3 TAB.
Click the Save button.
Starting the Paternity Pay Period (PPP)
To start the Paternity Pay Period (PPP):-
Enter the employee number within the Enter paternity details option.
Complete the remainder of the Enter paternity details form starting with declaring the number of Pay periods since the qualifying week.
Click the Save button.
Amending the Paternity Pay Period (PPP)
The Paternity Pay Period (PPP) details may be changed at any time provided the payroll period is unconfirmed and the employee has not left and is not being amended by another user. Simply use the Enter paternity details form.
Enter the employee number within the Enter paternity details option.
Complete the remainder of the Enter paternity details form starting with declaring the number of Pay periods since the qualifying week.
Click the Save button.
Calculate period pay processes
SPP payments are added to gross for Tax, NI and Pension.
The calculation of SPP period pay as described above within the enter paternity details form for starting or amending PPP details or carrying forward the period results in the payroll record Static 3 and Totals TAB SPP fields being amended.
The full value of possible recovery is stored in the Total TAB field called Statutory Paternity Pay Gross.
The Statutory Paternity Pay Claimed period value is calculated by the SPP parameter called SPP recovery rate multiplied by the Statutory Paternity Pay Gross.
The Statutory Paternity Pay National Insurance Compensation period value is calculated by the SPP parameter called Compensation % multiplied by the Statutory Paternity Pay Gross.
The SPP parameters called SPP recovery rate and Compensation % are set to different values depending on if the company is in the Small Employers Relief scheme for SPP recovery.
If your system has several payroll companies with a mixture of companies being in and not in the Small Employer Relief scheme it is necessary to have company specific SPP parameter files instead of a global file. Contact the software support department if this is required after the initial system set up.
The Statutory Paternity Pay (S.P.P.) Paid period value is determined by comparison with the Gross Pay figures calculated from the Rates and Additions/deductions which contain SPP as indicated by the SMP flag. If the gross figure is less than the SPP Gross figure the result is held in the Statutory Paternity Pay (S.P.P.) Paid period value and must be paid to the employee.
SPP and payslips
For the printing of SPP on payslips a payroll type parameter on the SMP TAB called Show SMP detail on payslip is used.
If this check box is left unset only the 'SPP paid' value is printed as 'SPP'
If this check box is set to a tick then the full value of the 'SPP gross' is printed as:
'SPP this period' - Value of SPP gross
and underneath
'SPP already incl' - Difference between SPP gross and paid if not zero
Reporting SPP
It is recommended that the Period SPP details report be added as a mandatory end of period option report. This report may otherwise be run from the Reports & enquiries, Period reports menu.
Select new period
When the pay period is carried forward, even at year end, the following checks and calculations are made after the Total SPP weeks this period is deducted from the total weeks left if not already zero to obtain the new value.
If the result is zero or negative then the SPP is ended and the Matching week date and the EWC/Placement date fields are blanked.
If positive then the new period pay is calculated as before.
Human Resources calendar update
The payroll system may be set up by users if the optional Human Resources (HR) module is installed so that the calendar facility within the HR system is automatically updated with calendar data once the Enter paternity details option is used and the Paternity Pay Period (PPP) is started. The HR calendar is also updated when the Select new period option is used to advance into the next tax period. Typically code P is used for Paternity pay.
To set up the HR calendar update a priority 8 user has to use the System maintenance menu option called Payroll type parameters to set up the SPP calendar code on the SPP TAB.
Automated rates table update
The payroll system may be set up in an advanced mode so that once Enter paternity details has been used the rates table itself is automatically adjusted to reflect the period of absence and the optional payment based on service entitlement of company paternity pay. This process is highly parametised and needs to be carefully thought through and understood before set up.
Consultancy is recommended for the implementation of this process but please note that due to varied nature of the process it cannot be guaranteed that the system will handle the exact process required which will only be determined during a consultancy review process.
To set up the Automated rates table update a priority 8 user has to use the System maintenance menu option called Payroll type parameters to set up the SPP logging rules on the SPP TAB.
What is the next process?
Your next step in the payroll process is to use the Enter adoption details option to input the adoption details.
The overall process of running a payroll period may be summarised as follows:-
Make amendments to existing employees and create new employee and payroll records and if used, Human Resource records for joiners using either the main employee records or payroll menu option called Full employee edit or the Employee records main menu option called Add/modify employee details, the main payroll menu option called Add/modify payroll record and the main human resources menu option called Human resource records.
Input pay details option to input the main payroll details.
Enter sickness details option to input the sickness details if this option is to be used on your system.
Enter maternity details option to input the maternity details.
Enter paternity details option to input the paternity details.
Enter adoption details option to input the adoption details.
Enter court orders/CSL option to input the court orders and student loan collections.
Enter leaving dates option to maintain leavers and to re-instate payroll records to perform final irregular payments to left employees.
Calculate period payroll option to calculate the payroll.
Reports & enquiries option may be used at this or at any other entry stage to check the data that has been entered onto the system.
Print payslips option to first preview the payslips on screen or to print them on plain paper for checking and then to print the payslips followed by selecting the Update option.
Print cheques option to first preview and then to print cheques if used as a payment method followed by selecting the Update option.
Print bank giros option to first preview and then to print bank giros if used as a payment method followed by selecting the Update option.
Confirm/reset period payroll option to freeze the input of the payroll and to generate nominal and optional BACS postings held at this stage within the payroll module.
BACS listing option to produce a BACS listing report if BACS is used.
Transfer BACS buffer to BACS option to copy the payment data to the BACS submission module on the main accounting system or the payroll system ready for transmission to BACS if BACS is used.
Confirm/reset period payroll option to possibly reset the payroll and to correct the original generated payroll. This is typically followed by selective use of all the steps prior to the first use of the Confirm/reset period payroll option.
Execute EOP options option to produce the reports set up for mandatory running within the payroll period - this is best left until you are satisfied with the accuracy of the payroll processed.
Reports & enquiries option to produce any other optional reports and at payroll year end mandatory reporting.
Select new period option after a nightly system backup to select into the next payroll period or payroll year including the optional copying of the nominal ledger postings to the main accounting system and any other BACS generated postings to the BACS submission module on either the main accounting system or the payroll system ready for transmission to BACS.
