Members’ offices are offered an opportunity to join an in-person briefing in Bristol with representatives of relevant services from across the House Administration and IPSA to find out more about the Dissolution Guidance and ask any questions they may have.
To register to attend, please email MST@parliament.uk
It’s that time of year, when IPSA Proxies lock themselves in their offices, set their phones to ‘do not disturb’ and bury their heads in spreadsheets. Yes, it’s year end! But don’t worry, IPSA has made things much simpler and, assuming you’ve been reasonably well-organised, sorting out your year-end documentation shouldn’t be too stressful.
Don’t put it off until the last minute, do it now, then if you have any queries, you have time to sort them out.
Key dates:
You no longer need to submit a year-end for payroll.
It’s a good idea to log into the website regularly to check that there are no tasks outstanding in your task manager.
You can find all of IPSA’s year-end guidance here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/year-end-2023-24 and the staff are really helpful and patient, so give them a call if you’re stuck or unsure about anything.
Already submitted everything? Great! Go and get a brew, then sit down and prepare your paperwork for 2024-2025. Why not make a list of your regular outgoings and work out a forecast, which you can update as you go along throughout the year? You could set up a simple spreadsheet to do this, and then you will always know the current state of your budget and can adjust your spending accordingly.
IPSA has published the salary ranges for 2024-2025 and they can be found here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/pay-and-benefits
London area: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/pay-and-benefits#mps-staff-pay-ranges-2024-25-london-area
Non-London area: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/pay-and-benefits#mps-staff-pay-ranges-2024-25-non-london-area
It’s that time of year again, when Office Managers/Proxies start their financial year-end process.
If this is your first time doing the year-end submission, don’t panic – it’s really not as scary as it sounds. The staff at IPSA are really helpful and will guide you through it, and they’ve published some useful information here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/year-end-2022-23
What do you think about MPs spending public money?
A lot has changed since the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2009, but IPSA’s research shows that there are still misconceptions around MPs’ staffing and business costs. Here are some facts that might surprise you:
Want to know more? See the IPSA website here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/myths-about-mps-business-costs
IPSA has published an informative article explaining that MPs’ business costs are not expenses. You can read it here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/news/mps-business-costs-arent-expenses
There’s no longer any need to book calls to IPSA in advance, you can just call them directly on 020 7811 6400. Your call will be answered by a member of the team, not necessarily your Account Manager or Payroll Officer, who will try to resolve your issue or will forward to a member of the team
However, if you do still want to book a call with a specific team member at a particular time, you can still do this too, using call booking system. You can find the link at the bottom of every IPSA Bulletin.
IPSA has confirmed the budgets for MPs’ offices for 2022-2023 and you can read the bulletin here: https://assets.ctfassets.net/s90k6prbkeee/3Qh3dqtF4hBC3WpZ2ADrMi/65f374248b72727a3154424b2a77f5e3/Bulletin__2_March_2022.pdf
and the finer details here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/reports-and-budgeting#summary-of-2022-23-budgets
You can find an updated monthly and yearly salary calculator here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/reports-and-budgeting#document-downloads
It’s that time of year when MPs’ proxies start to gather together all of the information required to finalise their accounts. There’s forms to fill in, accruals and prepayments to check and whilst it’s usually plain sailing, there’s sometimes a few furrowed brows.
Never fear, though – IPSA is on hand to help.
From 14 February 2022, IPSA will be hosting weekly webinars, drop-in sessions every Tuesday to answer queries and you can also book a call with your IPSA Account Manager for individual support. You can also call IPSA directly on 020 7811 6400 without booking, but your call will be answered by a member of the team, not necessarily your Account Manager or Payroll Officer, who will try to resolve your issue or will forward to a
member of the team.
Even if you think you know what you’re doing, it’s still worth listening to the webinars in case there’s anything you’ve missed.
You can find out more information about these events here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/notices/year-end-support
Please note that links to the old Parliamentary intranet have been removed as of October 2023. Please use search on ParliNet to find relevant current details, if available.
https://parlinet.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-members-staff/
The House of Commons Members’ HR Service has produced a series of Best Practice Guides. Recruitment and Selection.
They can be found on Sharepoint
The one on Recruitment and Selection provides practical advice on efficient and effective recruitment practices and support Members (and their Office Managers) with the tools to attract and recruit people with diverse backgrounds, skills and abilities.
Recruiting staff can be a rewarding experience, unfortunately, there are some common pitfalls if the process is rushed or not well thought through. There is also a legal requirement placed on all employers to ensure that recruitment practices meet the requirements of the Equality Act (2010). It is therefore important to ensure that your recruitment practices are not only deemed to be fair, consistent and transparent but that this is also the experience of the individuals going through your recruitment process.
The guide looks at the different stages of a recruitment process, which would normally include:
Although this is a guide to recruitment and selection, it is well worth reading it even if you’re not currently in the process of seeking a new employee. It contains a wealth of valuable information which could also be used to help you to carry out appraisals and self-assessments.
Security
For information about security clearance for people on work experience see Apply for security vetting and passes