3. STAFFING EXPENDITURE
PURPOSE OF THE ALLOWANCE
Staffing Expenditure is available to meet the costs
incurred in the provision of staff to help you perform your parliamentary
duties. It may be used to meet the following costs:
- Staff salaries and employer's
National Insurance Contributions
- Bonuses and overtime payments
- Payments for bought-in services
- Additional staff costs
- Redundancy payments
- Settlements made at tribunals
and court hearings
ELIGIBILITY
All Members are eligible for this allowance when
their claim complies with the principles set out in Part I. Members
must ensure their staff are:
- employed to meet a genuine
need in supporting the Member in performing his or her parliamentary
duties;
- able and (if necessary) qualified
to do the job; and
- actually doing the job
and that the resulting costs, in so far as they are
charged to this allowance, are reasonable and entirely attributable
to the Member's parliamentary duties.
EXAMPLES OF APPROPRIATE EXPENDITURE
The following provides examples of expenditure which
are appropriate under certain of the categories mentioned above.
Whilst these examples are not exhaustive, they
are designed to indicate the types of costs that are appropriate
and so guide Members for other expenditure they wish to incur
which is not on the list.
STAFF PAYMENTS
- Salaries and other payments
to staff, all of which are paid directly to the member of staff
by the Department.
- PAYMENTS
FOR BOUGHT-IN
SERVICES
- Professional advice, for example
from accountants or solicitors
- Cleaning, janitorial or reception
services
- Maintenance services for hardware
and software and equipment
- Interpreting and translation
services
- Recruitment services
- Training for Members and their
staff
- Research and consultancy services
- Secretarial services
ADDITIONAL STAFFING
COSTS
- Meals and subsistence for interns,
volunteers or permanent employees who are working away from their
main place of employment
- Travel to and from a permanent or temporary workplace
- Additional pension contributions
- Contributions to private healthcare scheme
ISSUES NEEDING PARTICULAR ATTENTION
RATES OF
PAY AND
CONTRACTS
Staff must be paid in accordance with the pay ranges
linked to the job descriptions and standard contracts prepared
by the Department and approved by the Advisory Panel on Members'
Allowances. These are available on the parliamentary Intranet
[link].
The Department provides standard employment contracts
which you must use when taking on new staff. However, you, not
the Department, have the responsibilities as employer towards
staff paid from the allowance. It is your responsibility to ensure
that you comply with employment law. The contract must be provided
to your staff within eight weeks of them starting work, and a
copy must be deposited with the Department (see below).
Exceptions for both contract terms and pay ranges
may be made for staff who were employed before 5 July 2001 and
therefore have pre-existing employment rights; self-employed contractors
(who are recognised as such by HMRC); and certain staff approved
by the Department who are employed on non-standard jobs.
ADVICE
A Personnel Advice Service is available to Members
and is staffed by professional HR practitioners. They are able
to provide advice on issues that concern your role as employer.
[link].
BONUS PAYMENTS
To help you get the job done, you may wish to give
incentives to staff or to reward them by giving them one-off bonuses.
Such payments are limited to 15 per cent of the gross annual salary
received by that member of staff in the allowance year in question.
RECORD KEEPING
As part of our payroll service, the Department keeps
records of payments made. However, you are responsible for all
other procedures connected with staff employment, for example
contractual changes (of which the Department must also be informed),
holidays taken and sickness absence.
ABSENCE FROM
OFFICE
If a member of staff is absent because of sickness,
you must inform the Department in order that pay can be adjusted.
This will also assist Members in managing long-term sick absences.
Any relevant certificates must also be forwarded.
If the absence is for more than two weeks (and is
caused by sickness, adoption leave, maternity leave or disability
within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995),
you may be able to claim "temporary staffing expenditure"
to meet the cost of a substitute member of staff or contactor,
or of additional hours for existing staff. Documentary evidence
of the reason for absence is required.
Further details are available on the parliamentary
Intranet [link].
PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS
If a member of staff is paid from Staffing Expenditure,
the Department will make regular payments from central funds,
equivalent to 10 per cent of salary, to the Portcullis Pension
Plan. This is a group stakeholder arrangement.
The 10 per cent can be paid to one of two nominated
providers or split between them, either as the member of staff
chooses, or 50:50 as a default arrangement.
A Portcullis Pension Plan leaflet is available on
the parliamentary intranet [link] or in hard copy from
the Department. This gives detailed information and advice to
both staff and Members.
TRIBUNALS AND
COURT HEARINGS
Staffing expenditure can be used to pay for settlements
made both prior to and during court and tribunal hearings concerning
a member of staff. But the allowances will not meet the costs
of any punitive damages awarded against a Member by a court or
tribunal.
Members are advised to contact the Department as
soon as they think litigation may be commenced against them for
advice about the assistance that the Department can provide.
ALL-PARTY
GROUPS
Staff may not be employed to work wholly or substantially
for All-Party Groups.
DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED
For payments to organisations for bought-in services,
evidence in the form of invoices or receipts must be provided
for all items of expenditure of £25 or more.
In addition, the following documentation must be
lodged with the Department:
- A copy of a contract of employment
for each member of staff paid from Staffing Expenditure
- A job description for each
member of staff
It is not possible for salaries to be paid unless
the contract and job description has been deposited.
You must also inform the Department of any alterations
to the terms of either staff contracts or job descriptions.
HOW STAFFING EXPENDITURE WORKS IN PRACTICE
BUDGETS
You must ensure that funds are available to meet
all commitments. If the allowance is exhausted, the Department
will only continue to pay salaries if money is transferred from
AOE or from your own parliamentary salary. Monthly statements
will be sent to you, showing the current level of spend and the
percentage of the allowance used.
Every staff member must be provided with a new starter
pack which contains information for a new member of staff and
a copy of a form SA1 for completion. This pack is available on
request from the Department. The SA1 form enables you to provide
relevant pay and personal details of the new starter. This must
then be forwarded to the Department so that payroll action can
be taken.
Members of staff are paid on the last working day
of each month. Income Tax and National Insurance contributions
are deducted from salary payments under PAYE regulations. P60s,
containing statutory information relating to pay and deductions,
are sent out annually to all staff still in employment at 5 April.
For this reason, no payments should be made directly by you to
a member of staff.
Staffing Expenditure is increased each year in line
with the annual earnings index. However, staff pay is not up-rated
automatically. This is a decision for you as employer each year.
You can advise the Department of a change of salary
on form SA2; and bonus or overtime payments on form SA3.
When a member of staff leaves your employment, you
must advise the Department using form SA4. This can also be used
to notify the Department of any holiday not taken for which payment
needs to be made.
All forms must be submitted to the Department by
the 15th of each month in order for changes to be reflected in
that month's payroll run. This is especially important for new
starters who may, for financial reasons, be unable to wait a further
month to receive their first salary payment and for leavers to
avoid an overpayment of salary.
Payments for bought-in services can either be paid
directly by the Department to the relevant organisation (using
a C2 form) or paid by you and reimbursement sought (using a C1
form).
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