I look after a restaurants books and I also do their payroll. All their staff are given induction packs when they start with all of the relevant forms to be able to process their pay. Sometimes the staff will work a couple of shifts and then decide not to come back. In this instance to process them through the payroll for a few hours of work is a pain, but if i have their details then this is what I do. On some occasions I have no details at all and the staff members have been paid by cheque or cash by the restaurant management. In this instance I post to casual wages as a bank payment but I have nothing else to back it up as these payments cannot go through the payroll due to the lack of information. The amounts are generally small, normally under £100 so not really too sure how else to deal with it?
Going forward I have suggested to the management that the forms should be filled in before they start a shift and that any staff member not filling out the forms will not be paid but I am slightly concerned about the odd one or two that have slipped through the net.
Any suggestions/comments on how to deal with the above would be appreciated.
You have to be quite strict with management - tell them not to pay cash nor cheques, that it all has to go through payroll. Stress the need for P46/P45 etc. I know the amounts are pretty low level but you cant assume they havent got a job elsewhere and that you shouldnt be taking tax at BR rate (unless they are chefs working 18 days, lol!!) Even if the person has done a couple of days, doesnt mean they shouldnt wait for the proper payday to get their money and thats the bit you need to re-enforce. Its a faff unfortunately but thats the name of the game in the cafe/restaurant industry and I dont know if HMRC are specifically targeting such clients at the moment, but I know of two who have been picked on recently.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
