Member Article

Garbutt & Elliott doubles payroll portfolio

Leading Yorkshire accountants and business advisers Garbutt & Elliott have seen their payroll portfolio expand rapidly in the past year with the introduction of auto-enrolment playing a large part.

In 2011 Garbutt & Elliott had 160 companies on its payroll books. This number has now increased to 320.

Lorraine Young, the firm’s Head of Payroll, commented: “One of the reasons for this amazing expansion is the introduction of auto-enrolment legislation, which requires companies to set up a pension scheme for their employees in line with rules laid out by the Government. Employers must contribute to the scheme, but employees can opt out.”

“The significance of these changes means that the need for both companies and individuals to take professional advice has never been greater. The new regulations affect all personal pensions and defined contribution company schemes, to which both employer and employee contribute to ensure a set level of pension on retirement.”

“We are fortunate to have an in-house team of Independent Financial Advisers, which means we are in a unique position of being able to cover all angles of the pensions maze, from overseeing the payroll to sorting out the best pension for the employer and looking at tax-efficient options for employees”

“Clearly, payrolls and auto-enrolment are inextricably linked and we are finding that new clients are coming to us to help with both their payroll and auto-enrolment requirements, whilst existing payroll clients are increasingly asking us to look after their auto-enrolment needs,” she added.

Clients cover a wide range of sectors and include construction & engineering firms, hotels, residential homes, charities as well as tourism centric firms together with other professional firms.

Gillian Wagstaff, Group Financial Controller, Plasmor Limited said: “Garbutt & Elliott made the outsourcing of our payroll easy and seamless. With the ever changing legislation, such as real time reporting and the auto enrolment of employees into a pension fund, they have taken away the fear that things might not always be done as they should. I can relax knowing that they have all the statutory and legal requirements under control for me”

Lorraine Young explained: “Overall this is a complex subject. At Garbutt & Elliott, the close relationship between our payroll team and our independent financial advisers means that we are able to offer a personal, joined-up, one-stop shop service.

She added: “We are here to provide advice on auto-enrolment, notably the duties and the consequences of the revolution which faces every single employer in the country – and a vast number of employees”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .