Frequently Asked Questions
East Lancs Hospitals NHS Trust
This list of frequently asked questions has been produced for your reference and to provide a
quick guide. The document will be introduced to the ELFS web site and will be circulated via
email bulletins and communication magazines of our Client Organisations.
For those staff without regular access to PC’s, please can you ensure that copies of this
document are printed and placed on departmental notice boards for easy reference.
Q. How can I query my pay, travel expenses or Pension entitlements?
A. You can contact the ELFS Helpdesk as follows:
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Via our website at www.elfsnhs.co.uk .To do this, you should follow the General
Enquiries / Contact us link, and enter the appropriate details. (Preferred Method).
by email on [email protected]
by telephone on 01254 732014
by fax on 01254 732379
By writing in to ELFS Helpdesk, Viscount House, 2nd Floor, Arkwright Court,
Commercial Road, Darwen BB3 0FG
Q. What happens once I have logged a call with the helpdesk?
A. Once we have received your query, it will be logged and you will be given a call number.
We will notify you of the call number by email or telephone.
Q. How quickly can I expect my query to be resolved?
A. Once your call has been logged, the target response times are as follows:-
Who to
Contact
Response Times
No Pay or Significant Underpayment
of pay
Helpdesk
Within One working day.
Underpayment of Enhancements,
or Overtime
Helpdesk
Within five working days.
Leavers Payslips and P45's
Helpdesk
Within five working days.
Query on Income Tax or Pension
Deductions
Helpdesk
Within five working days.
General Pay queries - Mat Pay, Tax Codes
Deductions from salary
Helpdesk
Within five working days.
Underpayment of Travel Expenses,
Helpdesk
Within five working days.
Mileage Rates
Helpdesk
Within five working days.
Pension Estimates
Helpdesk
Query booked in,
Estimate within a month
Type of Query
Please note that the response times are
targets and the maximum allowed generally, most queries will be dealt with
before the 5 day limit.
Q. What should I do if my query is not resolved within the expected time?
A. You need to contact the helpdesk again by any of the methods above, quoting the log
number, and ask the operator to escalate the query. In this case, you should receive an
immediate call / response to clarify the status of the query.
Q. When will my salary be paid this month?
ELHT 2016 - 2017
Apr-16
May-16
28 April 2016
27 May 2016
Jun-16
Jul-16
Aug-16
Sep-16
Oct-16
Nov-16
Dec-16
Jan-17
Feb-17
Mar-17
28 June 2016
28 July 2016
26 August 2016
28 September 2016
28 October 2016
28 November 2016
22 December 2016
27 January 2017
28 February 2017
28 March 2017
Q. What are the deadlines for submitting ETAD Time sheets or Expenses claims?
ETAD / Travel Claims
Apr-16
May-16
Jun-16
Jul-16
Aug-16
Sep-16
Oct-16
Nov-16
Dec-16
Jan-17
Feb-17
Mar-17
07 April 2016
06 May 2016
07 June 2016
07 July 2016
05 August 2016
07 September 2016
07 October 2016
07 November 2016
02 December 2016
06 January 2017
06 February 2017
07 March 2017
If Expense claims are received after the above deadline, we cannot guarantee payment in the
appropriate salary.
Q. Why is my weekly (Bank) pay slip showing as zero net pay due to a larger than
expected tax deduction taking up all my wage.
A: This is due to employee’s having both a monthly and weekly post/employment with ELHT
and who have a cumulative tax code. Employees may find that in some weeks they pay a
larger amount of tax and in the following weeks may receive a tax refund. A larger amount of
tax will generally be charged in the weeks where an employee receives a monthly and weekly
payment in the same week. There will be under and over deductions due to the timing of each
payday. For a full explanation of how your weekly and monthly tax/NI Deductions are
calculated, please see the attached file/following link/end of this document.
Q. What is my PAYE Tax reference?
A. Your tax reference is used in contacting HMRC, and is Employer specific. The reference is
detailed on your ESR payslip – 4th line down, next to your employer’s name.
However the references are as follows:Tax Reference
East Lancs Hospitals NHS Trust
106/B417W
Q. If I have been underpaid, how soon will I be paid my outstanding monies?
A. Underpayments are usually rectified in the following month’s salary. However, where the
delay
is unacceptable to the employee, or where this causes financial hardship, then we will make a
salary advance to your bank account as soon as practically possible.
In this case – both the adjusting payment & the advanced salary payment are detailed on the
following month’s payslip.
Q. How much would I earn if I reduced / increased my hours to xxx per week?
A. The ELFS Payroll Team does not provide this service
In this case (and as a rough guide) you should divide your current net pay, by your working hours,
and multiply by your projected hours. Please note that this is only a rough calculation, and does
not take account of an employee moving across tax thresholds.
Q. What to do if you lose your year end P60?
A. ELFS Payroll has the facility to provide a copy P60; you can make a request via the helpdesk. If you
require the monetary values only then you can also use your March payslip. (Year to date balances).
Remember – File your P60 carefully!
Q. I have left the Trust but I have not received my P45. Can I get a copy?
A. The Inland Revenue are sent these details electronically and your new employer will be advised
of the figures in due course via HMRC
Q. How can I change my bank details?
A. By obtaining a Bank details form from your Trust’s Employment Services department – and sending the
completed and signed form to Payroll before the 12th of the month that you require the change to be made.
Alternatively you can complete the tear off section of your latest payslip (on the reverse of the front
page)
Q. How can I find out where I am on the Agenda for Change / Medical & Dental pay spine?
A. You can see your current salary rate from your payslip. The full pay spine can be accessed
at the NHS Employers web site at www.nhsemployers.org by following the link to pay rates.
Q. My wage slip contains lots of abbreviations! What do they stand for?
Abbreviation
ARRS
EN
OT
NNI
NP
NT
NW
OAP
OMP
OSP
R
SAP
SMP
SSP
WTD
Description
Arrears Payment
Enhancement Payment (eg. Unsocial)
Overtime Payment (e.g. Saturday)
Payment Not Subject to NI Contributions
Non-Pensionable
Payment Not Subject to Income Tax
Payment not subject to Working Time Directive
Occupational Adoption Pay
Occupational Maternity Pay
Occupational Sick Pay
Refund
Statutory Adoption Pay
Statutory Maternity Pay
Statutory Sick Pay
Working Time Directive
Useful Contact Numbers.
NHS Pensions Agency
HMRC
0300 3301 346
0300 200 3300
Healthsure/Simply Health
Medicash
0370 908 3481
0151 702 0265
Tax on a monthly basis
The general tax code for 2015/2016 is 1060L; however employee’s tax codes may differ based on personal
circumstances.
With a tax code of 1060L, an employee can earn £10,609 per year tax free(Tax Free allowance), which is
equates to £884 per month as listed below.
Rather than no tax being charged at all until an employee reaches that threshold, the tax code is split over the
course of the year, depending on how an employee is paid.
The following table shows the tax free allowances on a monthly basis for the tax code of 1060L, on a
cumulative basis, meaning the taxable earnings to date for each month would need to be looked at to check if
the correct amount of tax has been paid.
Month No
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Month 4
Month 5
Month 6
Month 7
Month 8
Month 9
Month 10
Month 11
Month 12
Calendar Month
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
April
Tax Free Allowance
£884
£1768
£2652
£3536
£4420
£5304
£6188
£7072
£7956
£8840
£9724
£10608
For example, if an employee’s taxable pay is £1200.00 in both April and May, their taxable pay to date would
be £1200.00 x 2 = £2400. After deduction of the tax free allowance for the most recent month’s pay, which is
May, £2400 - £1768(from table above) = £632. This is the figure that tax is due on. 20% of £632 = £126.40.
Currently an employee can earn up to £31785 paying 20% tax on any earnings over their free pay allowance.
Anything over £31785 and up to £150,000 is taxed at 40% and anything over £150,000 is taxed at 45%.
Tax on a weekly basis
If employees have a weekly bank post and a monthly substantive post the system will look at tax on a
weekly basis.
If an employee has a monthly and a weekly post, the earnings for both need to be added together as posts
are aggregated for PAYE and NI purposes, meaning earnings on both posts are taken into account. This is
HMRC regulations to meet RTI (Real Time Information).
The following table shows the free pay allowances on a weekly basis based on the tax code of 1060L, on a
cumulative basis, meaning you would have to look at the taxable earnings to date for each week to check if
the amount of tax paid is correct.
Week No
th
Week 1 – Paid 10 April
th
Week 2 – Paid 17 April
th
Week 3 – Paid 24 April
st
Week 4 – Paid 1 May
th
Week 5 – Paid 8 May
th
Week 6 – Paid 15 May
nd
Week 7 – Paid 22 May
th
Week 8 – Paid 29 May
th
Week 9 – Paid 5 June
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
£204
£408
£612
£816
£1020
£1224
£1428
£1632
£1836
£2040
£2244
£2448
Week No
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Week 19
Week 20
Week 21
Week 22
Week 23
Week 24
£2652
£2856
£3060
£3264
£3468
£3672
£3876
£4080
£4284
£4488
£4692
£4896
Week No
Week 25
Week 26
Week 27
Week 28
Week 29
Week 30
Week 31
Week 32
Week 33
Week 34
Week 35
Week 36
£5100
£5304
£5508
£5712
£5916
£6120
£6324
£6528
£6732
£6936
£7140
£7344
Week No
Week 37
Week 38
Week 39
Week 40
Week 41
Week 42
Week 43
Week 44
Week 45
Week 46
Week 47
Week 48
£7548
£7752
£7956
£8160
£8364
£8568
£8772
£8976
£9180
£9384
£9588
£9792
Week No
Week 49
Week 50
Week 51
Week 52
£9996
£10200
£10404
£10608
The Week No is the Tax
Period shown on a weekly
pay slip.
Weeks in red also have a
monthly payment in that
period.
For example, if an employee’s taxable pay is £250 for each week from week 1 through to week 10, their
taxable pay at week 10 would be £2500 (250 x 10 = 2500). They would then need to deduct the tax free
allowance at week 10 from this amount, 2500 – 2040 = 460. £460 is the amount that tax is due to be paid
on, which means 20% of 460 = £92 and that is how much tax should have been paid at this point.
To calculate if the amount of tax paid on two or more posts (monthly and weekly), the most recent monthly
pay figures and the weekly pay figures from the current pay period need to be used. For example if an
employee needs to check their tax is correct in Week 9, they would need to add the taxable pay to date
figure from May’s monthly pay slip and the taxable year to date figure from the pay slip at week 9, then
deduct the tax free allowance for that pay period (£1836 if on 1060L tax code). The remaining amount is
what tax is due to be paid on and then the percentage to pay can be calculated.
Currently an employee can earn up to £31785 paying 20% tax on any earnings over their free pay
allowance. Anything over £31785 and up to £150,000 is taxed at 40% and anything over £150,000 is taxed
at 45%.
As bank staffs are now weekly paid, employees may find that in some weeks they pay a larger amount of
tax and in the following weeks may receive a tax refund. A larger amount of tax will generally be charged in
the weeks where an employee receives a monthly and weekly payment in the same week. There will be
under and over deductions due to the timing of each payday.
National insurance is deducted on a monthly basis, from employee’s substantive posts. If they have a bank
post the NI contributions from this post may be deducted from both posts. Once they have gone over the
thresholds each week they will pay NI and tax on their bank posts, however if we are unable to deduct the
correct amount on a weekly basis the remaining amount owing will be deducted from their main pay at the
end of each month, which is why NI A and NI D may show on the same payslip.
The reason as to why NI A and NI D are deducted is due to the percentage of national insurance which is
paid. NI A is charged at 12% of NI able pay and this is when an employee does not pay into the NHS
Pension Scheme, which they are unable to do so on if they already have a full time post elsewhere in the
NHS or if they have retired and returned to work. NI D is charged at 10.6% of NI able pay and is for
employees who do pay into the pension scheme.
Example PAYE Calculation for an employee who has a Monthly substantive post and a weekly bank position.
This does highlight variable PAYE deductions, with higher PAYE values in the week following the monthly
salary, and then refunds or reduced PAYE in subsequent weeks.