What is Payroll Compliance?

When operating in a particular jurisdiction, it’s of great importance to ensure compliance with local payroll laws. Adhering to payroll regulations is crucial to ensure legal and ethical practices, making it one of the most complex and daunting challenges for every international business.

In this article, we discuss the details of payroll compliance, including the importance of adhering to labour laws, the key considerations, the most common mistakes to avoid, and the best practices to ensure alignment with laws and regulations. Keep reading.

Definition of payroll compliance

Payroll compliance refers to the adherence to sets of laws, regulations, rules, and obligations when making payments to employees, including every associated process within the organisation.

Compliance with payroll laws and regulations follows a few crucial aspects, such as complying with wage and hour laws in the country, accurately calculating and deducting taxes, verifying employment eligibility, and maintaining proper records. 

Why payroll compliance is important

There is a wide range of reasons why businesses should adhere to payroll laws and ensure compliance. Here are the most important ones:

• Ensuring legal compliance – Compliance with payroll laws means meeting legal obligations set by local, state, or federal authorities. 
  
• Promoting fair practices – Building a fair and transparent environment where employees feel more valuable.
  
• Mitigating risks – Minimising the chances and risks of investigations, audits, and penalties by the tax authorities. 
  
• Maintaining a good reputation – Demonstrating the business’s responsibility and commitment to fair practices, which positively impacts the brand’s image and reputation.

By prioritising compliance, businesses can achieve transparency, integrity, employee satisfaction, and a good reputation on the market. Companies not adhering to payroll laws and regulations often face penalties, legal disputes, and financial losses.

Here at Native Teams, we specialize in offering solutions to make remote work easier and accessible for everyone – for employees as well as for employers. Take a look at our tips for paying your international team the easiest way!

What are the key payroll compliance considerations 

Payroll compliance consists of a couple of crucial considerations and factors that need to be taken into account to ensure maximum law compliance. In this section, we’re presenting the most important considerations for every organisation.

1. Local labour laws

In order to stay compliant with the payroll regulations of a country, businesses need to understand and follow the specific labour laws of the country. Some common labour laws that extend to payroll regulations are minimum wage laws, anti-discrimination laws and family and medical leave regulations.

To employ a workforce in foreign countries, it’s essential to understand and be compliant with international labour laws. Read our article International Employment Law and learn everything about international employment law, including the applicable laws, labour standards, general principles, tax laws, and any difficulties you can encounter during the process.

2. Tax withholding 

Accurately calculating and deducting income taxes, Social Security contributions, Medicare, and other taxes are among the most important considerations to ensure compliance. Employers must determine the correct withholding amount and remit it to the taxing authorities within the designated timeframe.

3. Reporting

Employers in different jurisdictions are responsible for submitting forms and reports to government agencies. This often includes filling employment tax returns, issuing forms to employees, filling new hire reports, and others. 

4. Recordkeeping

Keeping organised and accurate records is crucial to stay compliant with payroll regulations. This includes maintaining records of relevant data, such as employee information, wage rates, working hours, tax withholdings, deductions, and all subsequent documentation.

5. Benefits and contributions

Employers must deduct and remit employee contributions for health insurance, retirement plans, flexible spending accounts, and other benefit programmes. In order to stay fully compliant, employers need to ensure that they’re deducting the correct amount and accurately remitting it to the respective benefit provider. 

The most common payroll mistakes

Payroll mistakes can occur due to a variety of reasons, such as human errors, lack of understanding of payroll regulations, and inadequate processes and systems. In the following section, we discuss the most common payroll mistakes, and how to avoid them.

1. Incorrect employee classification

Misclassifying employees for independent contractors, and vice versa, can result in tax withholdings and benefits errors. Therefore, to avoid compliance issues, penalties, and legal consequences, it’s essential to properly classify employees based on legal criteria.

2. Inaccurate calculations

If an employer fails to calculate employees’ work hours accurately, it results in incorrect wages, payroll discrepancies, and potential wage and hour violations. To avoid this, employers should pay extra attention to timekeeping and calculations, or work with financial experts to ensure compliance.

3. Inaccurate benefit deductions

Employers must accurately allocate benefit deductions, such as health insurance and retirement plan contributions. Mistakes when deducting and remitting contributions can lead to discrepancies in employee benefits, and therefore, legal consequences.

4. Tax filing mistakes

To ensure payroll compliance, employers must meet the tax authorities’ specific deadlines and requirements. Failing to meet deadlines to submit forms, fill in tax returns, and make tax deposits can also result in penalties, sanctions, and other legal consequences. 

5. Inadequate recordkeeping

Not maintaining organised and accurate payroll records can create issues when addressing employee inquiries, or while doing audits. Poor recordkeeping practices and insufficient documentation are among the most common payroll mistakes, leading to difficulties in proving compliance, and legal consequences.

6. Keeping up with changing regulations

Not keeping up with the ever-evolving payroll regulations often lead to failure adjusting payroll practices, and non-compliance. This can be easily solved by collaborating with tax and legal consultants, to ensure compliant payroll practices. 

7. Inadequate security measures

Besides taking measures to stay compliant, employers must also implement security protocols to safeguard payroll data. Data breaches or unauthorised access to payroll information can be a risk for sensitive employee information, and cause reputational damages and legal issues.

Payroll compliance best practices

Implementing a few payroll practices can aid the process of ensuring legal compliance, and promote transparency within the organisation. Here are some of the best practices to enhance compliance with payroll regulations.

1. Keep up with payroll regulations

Payroll laws and regulations are subject to constant changes. Therefore, employers need to monitor regularly and stay updated with payroll regulations, tax laws, and labour requirements in the jurisdiction of operation. 

In order to achieve compliance, employers can subscribe to reliable sources, attend training programmes, or consult with legal and payroll professionals for any updates that may impact their organisation’s legal compliance.

2. Establish payroll policies and procedures

One way to maintain compliant payroll practices is to develop comprehensive policies that outline all the processes and responsibilities related to payroll management. However, it’s also crucial to ensure that such policies are aligned with labour laws and requirements, and well communicated to all the relevant employees. 

3. Maintain accurate employee classification

For employers who work with both employees and independent contractors, it’s crucial to make a proper classification to avoid compliance issues. Understanding the distinction and obligations of each of these classifications is the key to avoiding misalignment issues and legal consequences.

4. Conduct regular payroll audits

Regular internal audits of payroll processes can help organisations detect discrepancies, ensure accuracy, and identify opportunities to improve the overall procedure. To ensure compliance and avoid issues, it’s recommended to consult payroll specialists and experts before conducting an internal audit.

5. Seek professional assistance

Businesses are always recommended to utilise the expertise of payroll professionals, tax advisors, and payroll service providers. Payroll experts can provide proper guidance and knowledge, and assist in managing payroll processing effectively and compliantly. 

6. Use payroll software and platforms

A global payroll platform such as Native Teams can provide comprehensive guidance and assistance with payroll procedures. Using payroll solutions allows businesses to manage employee salaries, benefits, taxes and contributions, and all the required documentation within a single platform, efficiently, and effectively. 

Wrapping up

Payroll compliance is among the most important legal requirements for every business. Compliance with payroll laws prevents legal issues and consequences, promotes transparency and a fair work environment, and contributes to a positive image and reputation on the market.