WHSmith Holiday Trading Scheme

Transcription

1 Dear Colleague, January 2011 WHSmith Holiday Trading Scheme WHSmith recognise that holidays are a very important part of our employee remuneration packages and that holidays are significant in achieving a work/life balance. Due to the Company s desire to support work/life balance, we are pleased to announce that employees are now able to purchase up to 26 extra days holiday per twelve monthly period through a salary sacrifice arrangement. This can be taken:- As individual complete/part weeks And/or as regular monthly/weekly changes (e.g. ½ day on Friday each week, every other Friday off etc) It is possible to combine the two options above as long as the 26 day maximum is not exceeded during this period. This pack provides all the information you need to know about the scheme and how to apply for the current scheme period, 1 January December It contains the following documents:- Rules of the scheme Questions and answers Process chart Application form Please read through the pack and decide if you would like to take part in the scheme. Applications must be handed to your line manager and returned to Vickie Pooley, HR, Greenbridge. If you have any further questions, please contact your HR Business Partner. Yours sincerely Anthony Lawrence Retail HR Director

2 Scheme rules 1. Introduction Holidays are a very important part of our employee remuneration packages and we recognise the significance of holidays in achieving a work/life balance. The Holiday Trading Scheme allows eligible employees to purchase up to 26 extra days of holiday per twelve month period through a salary sacrifice arrangement. As employees will not be liable to pay tax and NI on the amount sacrificed through this scheme, this means that standard rate tax payers can make up to a 32% saving and higher rate tax payers can make up to a 42% saving. 2. Employee eligibility a. Employees working in Group, High Street head office, Travel head office, and the Distribution Centres, all field roles, and regional office staff are eligible to join the Holiday Trading Scheme. b. Employees cannot join the scheme if they are earning a salary equivalent to the National Minimum Wage, or if the reduction in salary would take them below this rate. 3. Scheme operation a. The scheme operates over a twelve month period: January to December Employees have the opportunity to choose to register a request to buy up to 26 days additional holiday for the current year, subject to approval from their line manager and head of department. The number of days a part time employee can apply for is prorated based on the number of hours contracted to work. b. Employees will need to obtain authorisation for their request from their line manager and head of department so the Company ensures there is adequate cover. The head of department reserves the right to decide whether taking additional days is feasible and their decision is final. c. The scheme is administered through a salary sacrifice arrangement. Employees who join the scheme will have their

3 salaries reduced by the value of the holiday they buy in equal monthly instalments, before income tax and national insurance is deducted (see point 4). d. Once an employee has entered into the Holiday Trading Scheme, they remain bound by the agreement and the salary sacrifice will continue for the entire scheme period. e. At the point of scheme renewal, employees may apply to join the scheme again. If an employee decides not to re-apply, the related salary sacrifice will cease. f. All contractual holiday entitlement should be taken by the end of each holiday year in line with the current policy. Any additional days holiday bought through this scheme should be taken by 31 December g. In line with current policy, all holiday dates, including additional days purchased through the scheme, must be agreed in advance with the employee s line manager to ensure adequate cover at all times. h. The operation of the scheme is subject to employer approval depending on business requirements and the Company reserve the right to withdraw or modify the scheme at the point of each twelve monthly renewal. 4. Calculation of salary reduction a. For a full time employee, the salary reduction is calculated by dividing annual basic salary by 260 (the number of working days available during the year) and multiplying this figure by the number of additional days holiday to be bought in the twelve month period. Example A in Appendix 1 of this document explains this in more detail. b. For a part time employee, the salary reduction is calculated by dividing the annual basic salary by the actual number of working days available during the year, and multiplying this figure by the number of additional days holiday to be bought in the twelve month period. Example B in Appendix 1 of this document explains this in more detail. c. The value of the salary sacrifice is determined by the employee s basic salary at the start of each Holiday Trading period and is not affected by any change in basic salary during this time.

4 5. General information a. The employee s basic salary before any reduction the notional salary will be used when calculating any agreed pay review increases or bonus payments. b. Statutory earnings-related payments such as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) are based on average earnings that are subject to National Insurance so may be impacted by participation in this scheme. Any entitlement to Tax Credits or the amount awarded, may also be affected by participation in this scheme. c. If an employee is a member of either the Pension Trust or Pensionbuilder schemes, their pension contributions will be calculated based on the notional salary. d. If an employee leaves part way through a Holiday Trading period then their contractual holiday entitlement is prorated according to the leave date as per the current policy. Additional holiday bought in this scheme will also be prorated according to the leave date. If the leave date is before the 15 th of the month, the salary reduction is not actioned in the month of leaving and the holiday for that month is not counted in the calculation of the pro rata entitlement. If the leave date is after the 15 th of the month, then the salary reduction is actioned in the month of leaving and the holiday for that month is counted in the calculation of the pro rata entitlement. Example C in Appendix 1 of this document explains this in more detail.

5 Appendix 1 Example A Calculation of salary reduction for a full time employee A full time employee has a basic salary of 30,000 per annum and chooses to buy five extra days holiday in the period. Annual basic salary Notional salary (before Salary Sacrifice reductions) Value of five days holiday ( 30,000 / 260 working days per year) * 5 days Salary Sacrifice per month Value of 5 days holiday / 12 months Monthly gross salary (pre sacrifice) 30,000 / 12 Monthly gross salary (post sacrifice) 2, Net monthly impact on pay (after tax and NIC savings) x 68% 30, , , Example B Calculation of salary reduction for a part time employee A part time employee works four days per week (five hours per day), has a basic salary of 10,000 per annum, and chooses to buy four extra days holiday in the period. Annual basic salary Notional salary (before Salary Sacrifice reductions) Value of four days holiday ( 10,000 / 208 working days per year) * 4 days Salary Sacrifice per month Value of 4 days holiday / 12 months Monthly gross salary (pre sacrifice) 10,000 / 12 Monthly gross salary (post sacrifice) Net monthly impact on pay (after tax and NIC savings) x 68% 10, As employees will not be liable to pay tax and NI on the amount sacrificed through this scheme, this means that standard rate tax payers can make up to a 32% saving on the amounts shown above.

6 Example C Calculation of holiday entitlement and accrual for a leaver A full time employee with a basic salary of 30,000 per annum leaves on 31 March 2011 having bought six days additional holiday between January and December. Annual basic salary Notional salary (before Salary Sacrifice reductions) Value of five days holiday ( 30,000 / 260 working days per year) * 6 days Salary Sacrifice per month Value of 6 days holiday / 12 months Value of one day holiday ( 30,000 / 260 working days per year) * 1 days Value of Salary Sacrifice payments made in January, in February and in March Holiday accrued as part of Holiday Trading Scheme / (value of one day holiday) 30, days Calculation of total balance of holiday entitlement for a leaver A full time employee with 24 days annual contractual holiday entitlement and six days additional holiday purchased through the Holiday Trading Scheme for the period January - December, leaving on 31 March Contractual holiday up to 31 March Additional holiday purchased through scheme See example above Total entitlement Holiday already taken by employee Employee has taken 5 days holiday up to 31 March Holiday to be paid in lieu 7.5 days 5 days 6 days 1.5 days 7.5 days 5 days 2.5 days If the employee had taken 10 days holiday in the same period, then 2.5 days pay would be deducted from their final salary.

7 Questions and answers 1. How does the scheme operate? The scheme operates over a twelve month period, January to December. You have the opportunity to choose to register a request to buy up to 26 days additional holiday for the coming twelve months. This will be subject to approval from your line manager and head of department. The number of days a part time employee can apply for is prorated from the number of days a full time employee can apply to buy (see Q4). The Holiday Trading Scheme will be administered through a salary sacrifice arrangement and therefore your salary will be reduced by the value of the holiday you buy in equal monthly instalments, before income tax and national insurance deductions. The operation of the scheme is subject to employer approval depending on business requirements. The Company reserve the right to withdraw or modify the scheme at the point of each twelve monthly renewal. 2. Who is eligible? Employees working in Group, High Street head office, Travel head office, and the Distribution Centres, all field roles and regional office staff are eligible to join the Holiday Trading Scheme. You cannot join the scheme if you are on the National Minimum Wage or if the sacrifice would take you below this. 3. Will new starters be eligible to buy additional days when they join? New starters will be eligible to apply to buy additional holiday days. 4. I m part time how many additional holiday days can I buy? The number of additional holiday days in each twelve month period that a part time employee can apply to buy is pro-rated from the number of days a full time employee can apply to buy i.e. up to 26 days extra holiday in each twelve month period e.g. if you work 20 hours per week over 4 days, you can apply for 21 days.

8 5. How do I apply? You need to complete the Holiday Trading Scheme form and indicate the number of additional days holiday you wish to buy. You should then pass the form to your line manager. The form will then go to your head of department for final approval. Once your request is approved, you will receive a variation of contract letter, which you need to sign and return to HR. Your salary reductions will then commence in the next available payroll. 6. Why do I need to sign a variation of contract? The Company has chosen to use salary sacrifice to administer the Holiday Trading Scheme because it is a cheaper and more efficient method for both employees and the Company. The variation of contract is an essential part of the salary sacrifice scheme as you are signing to confirm you are giving up part of your salary in return for the benefit of additional days holiday during the Holiday Trading period. The variation of contract is also necessary to ensure that employees understand any potential impact of the scheme on other terms and conditions (please also see Q10). 7. If my request is approved, how do I record the extra holiday? Once you have signed and returned your variation of contract, you will need to enter the number of days you have purchased on your individual holiday form under Additional Holiday Awarded and return the form to your departmental holiday administrator. 8. My Head of Department has not approved my request to buy additional holiday what can I do? The Head of Department reserves the right to decide whether a request to buy additional holiday is feasible taking account of anticipated workload and the requests of other employees within the department. Their decision is final. 9. How will this scheme impact pay review and bonus? There will be no change to the current arrangement. Your basic salary before any reduction your notional salary - will be used when calculating any agreed pay review increases or bonus payments. 10. How will this scheme impact any statutory benefits that I may be entitled to i.e. Statutory Maternity Pay? Statutory earnings-related payments such as statutory maternity pay (SMP) and statutory sick pay (SSP) are based on average earnings subject to national insurance, so may be impacted by participation in this scheme. For example, qualification for SMP is dependant on your earnings being equal to or more than the lower earnings limit ( 5,304 per annum in 2011/2012) and is calculated on your average earnings in the 8 week period prior to, or including, the qualifying week (the 15th week prior to your expected due date). Participation in this scheme

9 will mean that your average earnings will drop and if they fall below the lower earnings limit, then you will lose your entitlement to SMP. Any entitlement to tax credits or the amount awarded, may also be affected by participation in this scheme. 11. Will this scheme have any impact on my company pension? If you are a member of either the Pension Trust or Pensionbuilder schemes, your pension contributions will be calculated based on your notional salary. 12. I pay my workplace nursery fees to KidsUnlimited through salary sacrifice will the Holiday Trading Scheme have an impact on this? There will be no impact to the KidsUnlimited salary sacrifice scheme. However, they will be processed in the following order:- i. Holiday Trading Scheme ii. Kidsunlimited workplace nursery fees You will be unable to participate in the Holiday Trading Scheme if the total of your salary sacrifice deductions would cause your salary to fall below the National Minimum Wage. 13. Can I carry any additional holiday I have bought over to the following year? All contractual holiday entitlement should be taken by the end of each holiday year in line with the current policy. Any additional days holiday bought through this scheme should be taken by 31 December What happens if I leave the business part way through the year? Please refer to the scheme rules for guidance. 15. Can I opt out of the scheme part way through the period? No. Whilst the arrangement will be subject to review every twelve months, once you have entered into the arrangement you remain bound by the agreement and the related salary sacrifice will continue for the entire scheme period. At the point of scheme renewal, you may apply again for a further twelve months or if you decide not to reapply, the related salary sacrifice will cease. 16. What happens if I have a salary change during the year? If you have a salary change part way through a Holiday Trading period, this will have no impact on the value of your salary sacrifice, as this will remain unchanged for the entire period. This is because it is determined by your salary at the beginning of each of the Holiday Trading periods.

10 17. Can I trade down my contractual holiday entitlement? This scheme does not allow for any amount of your contractual holiday entitlement to be sold back to the Company. Holidays are a very important part of our employee remuneration packages and we recognise the significance of holidays in achieving a work/life balance.

11 Process Employee completes the request form stating how many additional days holiday they wish to buy. This is then passed to their line manager and head of department to confirm their agreement. Line manager and head of department authorises/ declines the request taking account of anticipated workload and the requests of all employees within their department. Head of department returns the authorised request form(s) to Vickie Pooley, HR. HR issue variation of contract letters for employees which is a necessary part of any salary sacrifice arrangement. Employee signs and returns the variation of contract to Penelope Larman, HR and a copy is placed on their personal file. Employee enters the number of days bought on their individual holiday form under "Additional Holiday Awarded" and returns it to their departmental holiday adminstrator.

12 Guide to calculating the real cost to you Step 1 Decide how many days you wish to trade in total during the scheme period A days Step 2 Calculate the gross cost to you of these days: Annual salary 260 (working days per year for a full timer) Step 3 Calculate gross cost of days traded (A x B) B per day C Step 4 Check which band in the table below your annual taxable pay falls in. Taxable pay is your total earnings, less pension, other salary sacrifice arrangements and tax free pay allowance. Your free pay allowance is based on your tax code, e.g. tax code 747L is annual free pay of 7,470. Taxable pay Tax rate NIC rate Total deduction rate Up to 35,000 20% 12% 32% 68% % of gross pay to arrive at net pay 35,000 42,475 40% 12% 52% 48% 42,475 upwards 40% 2% 42% 58% Step 5 Depending on your earnings level (see table above) calculate the net cost of each day. Multiply the amount in C by the appropriate % in the final column in the above table. This is the total cost to you of the holiday traded Step 6 Divide the amount in D by the number of months in the scheme period to calculate the real net reduction in your monthly pay D

13 Holiday Trading Scheme Request Form 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011 Name Department Payroll number Line Manager Head of Department I request to buy an additional days holiday (up to a maximum of 26, prorated for part time employees) for the period 1 January December 2011 to be taken in the following way:- a. Taken as additional annual holiday applied for and approved by my manager in the usual way b. Taken as a regular change to my normal working arrangement as below e.g. Current (e.g hours per week over 5 days): Proposed (e.g. 9 days per fortnight): I understand that joining the scheme means a change to my terms and conditions of employment. If my request is authorised I understand and confirm that:- I will receive an amendment to my contract of employment which I need to sign and return to Human Resources. I wish to reduce my monthly basic salary in accordance with the calculations set out in the scheme rules for a fixed period ending on 31 December The exact value of this monthly salary reduction will be confirmed in the amendment to my contract of employment if my request is approved. I confirm that I have received and read a copy of the scheme rules and accept the conditions as set out in it. Employee Signature Date I authorise the employee request above to buy day s additional holiday for the period 1 January December Line Manager s Signature Head of Department s signature Date Please forward authorised request forms to Vickie Pooley, Human Resources.