SmartWorks HR & Payroll Terms and Conditions of Trading

1.     SmartWorks HR & Payroll acts in the capacity of payroll service provider on behalf of clients to its service. It is the duty of the employer to keep suitable records of an employees journey within the business. As payroll service provider SmartWorks HR & Payroll is not a party to any employment arrangement entered into between a client and that client’s employees and is therefore not responsible for fulfilling any statutory obligation or making any payment required by statute that may arise as a consequence of the relationship between employer and employee.

2.     All pay periods administered by SmartWorks HR & Payroll will be based upon calendar weeks or calendar months. Other payroll periods requested by clients will generally not be accepted since SmartWorks HR & Payroll computer systems and payroll runs are based upon complete weekly or monthly cycles. Where employment starts or ends during a week or month the first (or last) wage slip processed will be to/from the date specified.

3.     Scope of work. SmartWorks HR & Payroll will provide a standard payroll processing service to include, the production of payroll, including changes to employee benefits and or additions, calculating statutory pay, processing leavers and starters, RTI to HMRC, pension administration, month end reporting. In addition, SmartWorks HR & Payroll shall provide a direct call number for employees for payroll queries, an online portal for employees to access payslips and payroll related documents. SmartWorks HR & Payroll will provide administrative access to employers to access reports and employee files.

4.     SmartWorks HR & Payroll acts as a payroll service provider only and will accept no liability or accept any responsibility for a client’s PAYE employer scheme and staff or the payments to HMRC in relation to that scheme.

5.     SmartWorks HR & Payroll acts only as a payroll service provider to active clients; If a client is in a position of having no staff at a particular time, or instructs SmartWorks HR & Payroll that they no longer require payroll services, the client may choose from 2 options re the HMRC PAYE scheme. Option 1. SmartWorks HR & Payroll informs HMRC that we are no longer acting for the client in any way whatsoever. Option 2 SmartWorks HR & Payroll will administer the HMRC PAYE scheme until the end of the financial year. Then file on line a final FPS for company, then de-register the company’s HMRC PAYE scheme and inform HMRC that SmartWorks are no longer acting for the client in any way whatsoever.

6.     SmartWorks HR & Payroll clients are required to provide full and accurate information concerning their company and staff.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not be held responsible or bear any liability for any consequences that may arise as a result of any incorrect information presented by a client.
5b) SmartWorks HR & Payroll reserves the right to abrogate the payroll service provider service to clients either verbally or in writing without notice.

7.     All SmartWorks HR & Payroll instructions will run for a minimum period of 12 months, normally the client will give 1 months’ notice of service termination, from the first week or month of tax records maintained on behalf of the client. Any re-negotiated rate will re-set the the minimum period from the the date the new rate was set.

8.     Where a client requires additional services, these will be charged at £60 per hour or an agreed rate before work commences. SmartWorks HR & Payroll will process weekly/monthly wage slips at the current rate as advised/quoted. Where a payroll needs to be re-opened after finalising, a fee of £30 will be charged each time the payroll is re opened and subsequently finalised. Custom reports and custom reporting outside of the standard payroll reports provided will be chargeable. The cost of which will be determined by the work involved.

9.     SmartWorks HR & Payroll, payroll service provider service is subject to weekly/monthly/per payslip charge. Clients are invoiced as per our individual agreement, this is calculated as per their payroll numbers and frequency. Payment is taken by direct debit. Non-payment by the net terms date of each invoice will result in the suspension of any services being provided by SmartWorks HR & Payroll at that time. SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not accept any liability or bear any responsibility for any consequences arising from the suspension of the payroll service provider service.

10.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll, payroll service provider service, upon request can produce a written contract/statement of employment, dependent upon the client requiring this part of the SmartWorks HR service. The terms and conditions are to be agreed between the client and their employee prior to SmartWorks HR Ltd preparing a written statement. SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not bear any responsibility or accept any liability for the terms and conditions contained within the contract of employment or their consequences.

11.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll requires all alterations to payroll to be received by the agreed deadline. After the deadline SmartWorks HR & Payroll will process payslips for the coming pay date as per the pay date instruction. Any instructions received after the agreed deadline where clients’ require amended wage slips may result in the client receiving an additional charge.

12.  Where information concerning changes in employment arrangements are provided late by a client, and especially where this results in a significant amount of extra work. SmartWorks HR & Payroll reserves the right, to charge an additional fee to cover the additional work involved.

13.  Where a client’s particular circumstances result in a significantly increased amount of work for SmartWorks HR & Payroll, subject to notification to the client SmartWorks HR & Payroll reserves the right to charge an additional fee to cover such additional work.

14.  In the event of a dispute arising between a client and that client’s employee, SmartWorks HR & Payroll will act on the client’s instructions. However, factual payroll information will not be unreasonably withheld from an employee who has, in any case, a statutory right to access to their PAYE records. SmartWorks HR & Payroll also reserve the right to advise a client, where that client’s proposed course of action in a dispute is in breach of his or her statutory obligations as an employer, and refuse to carry out any such instructions from a client if this is the case.

15.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not bear any responsibility for HM Revenue & Customs penalties or interest charges that may arise as a consequence of failure on a client’s part to make Income Tax and/or National Insurance Contributions liability payments due by dates notified to that client either by SmartWorks HR & Payroll or by HM Revenue & Customs, or as a consequence of the client’s failure to make information available to SmartWorks HR & Payroll Ltd which would affect or delay the submission to HM Revenue & Customs of statutory returns by the relevant due dates.

16.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not accept liability for overpayment or underpayment of wages incurred as result of an error in processing a client’s specified wage for any period in excess of one month from the date on which the first payslip for a full period of a week or month at the newly instructed rate is sent to a client. It is each client’s responsibility to check the payroll draft reports received from SmartWorks HR & Payroll to ensure that the information on them is correct as of pay date.

17.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not bear any responsibility for HM Revenue & Customs penalties or interest charges which may arise as a result of employment arrangements existing prior to a client appointing SmartWorks HR & Payroll or for retrospective liability due or the consequences of late filing a declaration of retrospective liability where the client appointed SmartWorks HR & Payroll after the due date.

18.  While SmartWorks HR & Payroll will make all reasonable efforts to make clients aware of the Tax & National insurance implications of their proposed or actual employment arrangements under the PAYE system, SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not bear any responsibility for liabilities that may arise out of a client’s unfamiliarity with or lack of understanding of how the PAYE system works in terms of their own particular employment arrangements. SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not be held responsible for any additional Tax or National Insurance liability incurred as a consequence of the client’s failure to follow advice given by SmartWorks HR & Payroll.

19.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll reserves the right to alter, amend and re issue the terms and conditions under which it provides its service as a result of changes in UK or European Union tax or employment law or as a result of issues that arise in the course of providing a service to its clients. Clients will be notified in advance of any changes to the terms and conditions of SmartWorks HR & Payroll which affect them.

20.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will only provide a payroll service subject to the regulations as stipulated by HM Revenue & Customs at the present time. This includes all staff employment regulations and rules governing Director PAYE status

21.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll reserves the right to suspend further payroll service provider service if clients do not adhere to the terms & conditions as per section 5.

22.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not bear any responsibility or accept any liability for errors that may occur during the payroll service provider service to clients, and/or after the end of a payroll service provider service to clients with respect to carrying out the payroll service provider service pertaining to end of year FPS submissions and its relevant forms, together with any liaison with HM Revenue & Customs on a client’s behalf.

23.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not accept liability for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, arising as a result of any advice by SmartWorks HR & Payroll or the services of any other organisation introduced by, but not within the control of SmartWorks HR & Payroll. When introducing any third party provider of services to a client, SmartWorks HR & Payroll will bring it to the client’s attention that such organisation is not controlled by SmartWorks HR & Payroll.

24.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not accept liability for any consequences arising from the failure to receive information from a client or of a client to receive information from SmartWorks HR & Payroll where such failure is due to a failure of the postal system or any other circumstances over which SmartWorks HR & Payroll has no direct control. Clients are requested to contact SmartWorks HR & Payroll if information they are expecting from SmartWorks HR & Payroll has not been received within five working days of it being due, unless they have already been advised by SmartWorks HR & Payroll of a delay.

25.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll observes a strict duty of confidentiality and will not disclose information held by it to any person without the client’s consent unless compelled to do so by law.

26.  Each party to this contract acknowledges that this contract contains the whole agreement between the parties and that it has not relied on any oral or written representation made to it which is not set out in this contract. This paragraph is not intended to relieve a party of any liability incurred for fraud.

27.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll will contact HM Revenue & Customs to de-register a client’s PAYE scheme at the end of a client’s final employment of staff, only at the request of the client in writing either by letter or e-mail. SmartWorks HR & Payroll will not cancel a client’s PAYE scheme without this instruction and will not accept any consequences arising from a client’s failure to notify SmartWorks HR & Payroll of their closing instructions.

28.  SmartWorks HR & Payroll reserve the right that if after 6 weeks of non-payment by a client of company invoices to suspend the payroll service and may inform HMRC that the SmartWorks HR & Payroll no longer acts for that client. If after this time the client wishes the company to act on their behalf, all unpaid invoices plus and interest, will have to be paid prior to any payroll processing on behalf of the client.