All I want for Christmas is…. A stress-free payroll!

Christmas and New Year can be the most expensive time of the year for most people. If you employ people, the festive period can bring a number of problems that you will need to be aware of before you can wind down for you break.

In this blog we will detail some of the most common employer Christmas payroll issues and how to avoid them.

December Pay Date

The December pay date can be awkward, paying your employees a few weeks earlier means a longer month in January.  

Generally, most employees will get paid the last working day of each month, however, if your organisations pay date falls before Christmas, your employees should be paid as normal. Failure to do so exposes your business to potential claims of breach of contract.

At Employment Law Services (ELS), we are often asked at this time of year: “Do we have to bring our employees pay dates forward in December?”

The short answer to this is, no. Employers are not legally obliged to bring their employees pay dates forward for December unless it says so in the contract of employment.

Christmas Bonuses and Gifts

Many employers choose to hand out Christmas bonuses and gifts to their employees to thank them for another successful year in business. On paper, this may look like a straightforward matter, however, for your payroll team it can be a huge challenge.

Employers should set out the difference between cash gifts and physical gifts and then consider whether the employee can sell this gift on for cash or whether the employee in receipt of the gift is a named director of the company and how much money they earn.

This can be a fairly complex matter and therefore, it is important that your payroll team are clear on both definitions.

Employers should note, that they do not have to pay a bonus to employees at all unless it states otherwise in the contract of employment.

Christmas Working Hours

There are no legal requirements around festive working hours and while a lot of employers choose to close the business for the full 2 weeks, others may choose to have their employees work in between. In this event, employers should ensure they have made the appropriate arrangements with pay roll so that these employees are paid the correct salary and on time.   

How can EmployEasily Legal Services help?

If you are an employer who requires assistance with any of the issues raised in this blog contact us today for your free consultation 0370 218 5662. �