Welcome to the March issue of our Members' Newsletter!

FPS Launches Childcare Voucher Scheme with Busy Bees

FPS, in conjunction with Busy Bees has just launched its Childcare Voucher scheme. This is a more flexible way to meet the costs of your childcare, under which part of your wages or salary can be given up or “sacrificed” in exchange for Childcare Vouchers.

Childcare Vouchers are simple to set up and use and offer a number of benefits:

• They are exempt from tax and National Insurance contributions- a hugely important tax concession for working parents.
• Savings can be made by both parents
• Working parents can save up to £1196* each per year via reduced tax and NIC.
• They are Government and HMRC approved
• Can be used to pay for all Registered or Approved Childcare for children aged up to 16 years old, from nursery fees for the little ones to activity holidays for the teenagers.
• Tax free benefit voucher value £55 per week / £243 per month
• Busy Bees Vouchers- Discount on Busy Bees nursery places

Who are BUSY BEES?

Busy Bees was established in 1983 by working parents and is the largest childcare provider and voucher provider in the UK.

To find out more call Busy Bees on: 08000 430 860 or visit: www.busybeesvouchers.com

*Subject to individual circumstances

Your Employment Agreement

In addition to the launch of the childcare vouchers scheme FPS has updated your employment agreement to allow for the childcare vouchers and to ensure continued compliance with all relevant employment and tax legislation. These changes add protection for you as an employee.

Your Payslip

We have re-designed your pay slip to strengthen your position as an employee of an umbrella company. Your payments will now be a split of basic salary and commission. The commission is a flexible element to allow for expenses claims and salary sacrifice deductions.

This is a way for you to sacrifice cash for a non-cash benefit; the gross funds are then used to purchase the benefit allowing you to save on NICs and PAYE. For example the childcare vouchers mentioned above. This change will enable you to continue receiving the maximum benefits of FPS Umbrella.

Your payments will be split as follows:

Remuneration

We will shortly be sending you a payslip explanation letter with the new employment agreement.

ARE YOU ON THE CORRECT TAX CODE?
FPS can assist in avoiding any unnecessary overpayment of tax!

If you use our FPS Umbrella service and work through multiple agencies then you will have only one tax code. This helps you to avoid any unnecessary overpayment of tax.

If you are not using our Umbrella service and working through multiple agencies you will only receive your tax allowance on your first agency and any other payments made to you from other agencies may be on a BR (Basic Rate) tax code, which charges you at 20%.

In order for us to ensure you have the correct tax code it is essential that we receive your P45 as soon as you join our services as it has your current tax code. If you do not have a P45, you will need to complete a P46 to generate the correct tax code for your circumstances.

The answer is simple; FPS Umbrella is THE Tax Smart Solution!

Tax Rebates

If you haven't been working for a full tax year or have been paying tax under an emergency tax code, then you could be due a Tax Refund. We can do a quick check to see if you are eligible to claim back overpaid tax. If you are then we can complete the process on your behalf.

Our tax rebates service is available for a competitive fee of 12% +VAT of what is successfully claimed from HMRC (subject to a minimum charge of £58.75) Only charged if the Rebate application is successful. For more information on this service contact us on: 08707 669 229.

Buying online?
Do it the smart way with the Charterhouse Private Clients Card.

You may have heard of pre-paid cards, but may not realise how useful they are to safe guard against online fraud.

With this card you can enjoy all the benefits of card based transactions without many of the risks. The card works in a similar way to a prepaid mobile phone. You simply load up your card at your convenience or we can pay your salary direct to the card.

The card can be used wherever Maestro® is accepted - so virtually anywhere and for anything. It is especially useful for online purchases as it offers a safe and secure alternative to credit and debit cards. Unlike credit and debit cards, you cannot go overdrawn with a prepaid card. This means that someone using your card fraudulently cannot spend more than is loaded onto the card. Card fraud is also on the increase*.

How do you get set up? Its easy:

• Anyone can have one, subject to minimal identification requirements.
• No credit checks and no employment verification.
• A bank account is not required.
• Your application will take up to 72 hours to process.
• No interest charges or overdraft fees.
• The fee for setting up a credecard is £10.