21st May, 2019, Stephenson Smart
I recently ran in the Kings Lynn GEAR 10k, with my colleagues from Stephenson Smart.
We sponsor it to encourage our staff to be healthy and active.
Obviously during the week leading to it we limbered up by running up and down the stairs at least twice and all the doughnuts kicking about the office were hidden away in drawers.
A few of my colleagues are keen runners, so I was hopeful we would do well.
And we did do well. We were actually the top placed team in the corporate challenge.
I must have some kind of penchant for pain as I also offered to join my son and his friends in the Mini Gear Race.
I thought this would be a walk in the park and I could meander around the route.
The mistake I made was promising them an ice cream if they beat me.
Why do I open my mouth?
I might as well have strapped them to a rocket and sent them off to space the speed they ran at.
The thought of a 99 with a flake clearly brought out their competitive sides, leaving me out of breath and with an empty wallet.
Keeping up to speed is something that is very much part of my job as an accountant, because I need to be on top of all the ever changing rules and regulations.
The latest payroll changes mean that employers must provide employees, who are paid according to ‘time worked’, details of the number of hours being paid on their payslip, while also keeping an eye on the increase in the national minimum wage and auto-enrolment pension contributions.
Although this happens in many cases already, we are encouraging our clients to review their processes and check compliance with this new law.
On the plus side employees can ensure employers meet their minimum pay obligations.
A bit like how the boys met the obligation to run faster than me.
Will I ever learn?
