Frequently asked questions

The breakdown below is based on the results from the 2011 membership survey which ran from 1 August 2011 for six weeks. Members selected all of their areas of responsibility: 95% - payroll 49% - pensions administration 49% - implementation of new systems 45% - HR 40% - compensation and benefits 36% - absence management 35% - finance 32% - flexible benefits 24% - pensions payroll 24% - training 22% - accountancy 16% - recruitment

Our research shows that approximately 85% of our readers ONLY read Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward magazine and do not subscribe to any other publication.

An agency is classed an advertising agency that has been commissioned to place ads on behalf of another organisation. Agency discount is 10% off the rate card.

Previous research shows that there are approximately 500,000 individuals that process payroll in the UK.

Currently there are ten issues a year, one per month with the July / August and December / January issues combined.

Not at the moment, but we are looking to have it ABC audited in the future.

All of our subscribers' request, and pay for, Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward magazine and 97% read every issue. 87% also keep every issue to refer back to should they need to. Another advantage is that all of our subscribers are either CIPP subscribers', or students of the CIPP. And 59% are in a management / decision making role.

Approximately 6,500 - this is made up of CIPP subscribers', students (1,200) and paid for subscriptions.

Our subscribers' are based all over the UK, with a small percentage overseas. Most are located in the South.

There is a funding cap per individual apprentice but not the employer and it is important to note that the levy must be spent on apprenticeship delivery and not on the business costs associated with hiring an apprentice for example:

• Overheads;
• Supervision costs
• Salaries for the apprentice of your staff

There are currently six caps for existing trailblazer standards, which are demonstrated in the table below:

Additionally there are three incentive payments available, which are details in the table below:

The levy aims to put the employer at the heart of the delivery of apprenticeships that are fit for purpose in industry that also increases their quality, holding both the employer and the training provider accountable.

• April 2017
  • Apprenticeship levy collection begins
  • Apprenticeship Service Account launched
• August 2017
  • Apprenticeship grant for employers funding end
  • No SFA allocations for apprenticeship delivery
  • Dual running of SASE frameworks and apprenticeship standards

The new service, which launches in April 2017, will assist the employer to:

• Find an apprenticeship training course;
• Choose a training provider; and
• Advertise apprenticeship vacancies.

6 April 2017 and will affect all employers in both public and private sectors and will be payable by employers whose pay bill exceeds £3 million in a tax year.

The government has provided the following example calculations:

Example one

• Employer of 250 employees, each with a gross salary of £20,000 would pay:
  • Pay bill – 250 x £20,000 = £5,000,000
  • Levy sum – 0.5% x £5,000,000 = £25,000

Allowance of £15,000 is taken into account so a payment of £10,000 would be payable.

Example two

Employer of 100 employees, each with a gross salary of £20,000 would pay:

• Pay bill – 100 x £20,000 = £2,000,000
  • Levy sum – 0.5% x £2,000,000 = £10,000
  • Allowance of £15,000 is taken into account there would no annual levy payment.

It will be collected monthly by HMRC through PAYE and is likely to be payable with remittances for Income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs). The pay bill will be calculated on total employee earnings that are liable to Class one secondary NICs.

A connected person rule, similar to the one used for the Employment Allowance, will mean that employers who operate multiple payrolls will only be able to claim one allowance for the levy.

The apprenticeship levy must be spent on an approved apprenticeship standard or framework. This can mean new apprentices or existing staff that would qualify for an apprenticeship*.

_{*Apprenticeship funding is available based on an individual’s eligibility for an apprenticeship so may not be available to all prospective apprentices.}

We are working with both BIS and a group of employers to develop an advanced apprenticeship standard in payroll and assessment plan for approval.

In time we will also launch an employer group to develop a higher apprenticeship standard in payroll.

A number of standards have been approved and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-standards

Any apprenticeship levy funds that are not used by employers will be reallocated to employers that wish to fund quality apprenticeship training.

How will this be managed?

A new independent body; the Institute for Apprenticeships, will be established during 2016 and will be operational in time with the introduction of the apprenticeship levy that will regulate apprenticeship quality and will also advise on funding caps, apprenticeship standards and assessment plan sign off.

If there are no dates listed for a training course on our website then this course is not running within the next three months. However, if you wish to attend a course which is not scheduled, email [email protected] as we may be able to run the course internally, or if we have enough interest schedule an additional date.

Recommended study time is seven hours per week.

£1,395+VAT, which includes student membership of the CIPP for the duration of your studies. Please contact [email protected] for multiple booking discounts.

The CIPP's designatory letters will be: associate ACIPP, Full MCIPP or MCIPPdip (if diploma qualified), Fellows FCIPP or FCIPPdip (if diploma qualified) and FCIPP MSc (if qualified to MSc level)

There will be differing grades of membership to accommodate the different levels within the payroll profession, i.e. fellow, full, associate and affiliate members. In order to maintain being fellow or full member, members have to participate in the Institute's CPD scheme, in which they have to provide evidence of their ongoing technical and experience development. Under the rules of the Charter, the Institute has to be rigorous in assessing CPD requirements amongst its fellow and full members. If these members fail to demonstrate adequate evidence of CPD, they will not be allowed to use the designatory letters 'MCIPP' (or 'MCIPPdip' if they are diploma qualified) after their name. To summarise, any member who uses 'CIPP' after their name has to demonstrate a sufficient level of commitment to the Institute's CPD scheme.

Since achieving Chartered Status, retired members become retired members of the CIPP. However, if a retired member wants to use 'CIPP' after their name, they will have to demonstrate commitment to CPD. It is not mandatory for this status of membership, but in order to have the letters, they have to show active participation in the Institute's CPD scheme. This can be easily done through keeping up to date with News On Line and Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward.

Becoming a member of the CIPP and demonstrating CPD does not mean that there will be increased costs for training and development. Keeping up to date, and developing and maintaining skills can be done through a number of channels, and as a member, you are already utilising a number of them. If you read News On Line and Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward, attend free meetings such as the CIPP's Member Forums and National Meeting, and make use of our new podcasts then you are demonstrating CPD, all we ask is that you document this in the online CPD tool. You can find out more about CPD and the online tool by emailing [email protected]. Regarding the cost of membership, the CIPP will not be increasing membership fees just because we have achieved Chartered Status. There will be, as with every year, an annual review on the cost versus the benefits received, and costs may increase in line with the rate of inflation, and/or associated costs of delivering the benefits to members.

The CIPP will not be increasing membership fees just because we have achieved Chartered status. There will be, as with every year, an annual review on the cost versus the benefits received, and costs may increase in line with the rate of inflation, and/or associated costs of delivering the benefits to members. With regard to the current membership structure, these will remain exactly the same except that members will now belong to the CIPP, not the IPP. As it is now, there will be differing grades of membership to accommodate the different levels within the payroll profession, i.e. Fellow, Full and Associate Members and within each of the three there will are subsets to accommodate international and retired members. Under current CIPP membership criteria and rules, Affiliate Members do not have to be qualified, and therefore cannot use letters after their name. They are likely to work in payroll but this is not necessary to become an Affiliate Member. They may just have an interest in payroll and want to keep up to date on developments in the industry. Therefore, they will be Affiliate Members of the CIPP, but they will still not be allowed to use the designatory letters 'CIPP' after their name. Full and Fellow members are qualified, either through professional qualifications or experience, and this gives them a higher standing and enables them to use the letters 'CIPP' or 'CIPPdip' for diploma qualified individuals after their name. CPD is already mandatory for these grades of membership and therefore they automatically become members of the CIPP once the Charter is granted.

As long as this is evidenced, yes.

No. CPD is any form of continued learning and therefore can include informal learning such as reading an article in News On Line or Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward magazine which contributes to your development. You'd be surprised how much CPD you do on a monthly basis without even realising. Of course there may be some things that you will need more formal, or interactive methods of learning - such as a CIPP National Meeting, or attending a training course of conference - but you are not obligated to attend these events if they are not necessary to your development.

You highlight a very true and accurate point, "within payroll you are always in CPD due to legislative and IR changes". To evidence that you are keeping up to date all we ask is that you utilise the online CPD tool. It is quick and simple to use so should not take too much time and effort to do so. If you are a fellow or full member, it is a mandatory requirement to participate in the Institute's CPD scheme, in which you have to provide evidence of your ongoing technical and experience development. This does not change when once the Institute becomes the CIPP - fellow and full members are still obligated to fulfil their CPD requirements. If these members fail to demonstrate adequate evidence of CPD, they will not be allowed to use the designatory letters 'MCIPP' (or 'MCIPPdip' if they are diploma qualified) after their name. However, they will remain fellow or full members of the CIPP.

That depends on your current processes. CPD is measured through setting learning objectives for the year, which is normally done at appraisals anyway. We suggest that three learning objectives are set and measured using KPIs which you agree with your CPD monitor (usually a line manager). If you don't currently set objectives during your appraisal process, drop us an email and we will be happy to help.

You would not need to complete further CPD, but we would encourage you to record the achievement on the CIPP tool as evidence.

As one of the most effective training methods you can use, on the job learning counts towards CPD, as does keeping up to date through other free learning tools, such as News On Line, Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward magazine, national forums and podcasts from the policy and research team. All we ask is that any learning and development is evidenced. The CIPP does not want becoming chartered to impact on our members financially. Chartered status should have, and has had, a positive impact on current members, students and the payroll industry as a whole (including employers).

You do not have to be employed to keep up to date and demonstrate CPD. In fact, it can be argued that it is more important for you to demonstrate CPD so that when you are going to interviews you can show employers that you are still aware of current legislation and how this affects payroll. Having knowledge and developing skills on the job is one thing, but demonstrating that you have done so even out of employment shows commitment and dedication to ensuring that you strive to be the best. As long as you maintain your membership, and do not let it lapse, and you continue to read and learn from News On Line, Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward magazine and other benefits provided to you, then your membership status will not be affected.

You can use the year filter at the top right of your CPD log to show your logged records during that year. This is based on the subscription year and not an calendar year. 

Year filters are created once CPD records are added for that subscription year. If no records have yet been created for your current subscription year then no filter will show. Once you have added a record that falls in your most recent subscription period, the filter will be created.

We provisionally book course venues and only confirm the actual venue when we have an idea of the numbers of delegates booked. Therefore, the venue details will be confirmed to delegate that have booked no later than seven working days prior to the course date

If you contact the office on 0121 712 1000 or email [email protected] we can discuss your requirements and help you select the most suitable course.

We can run in house courses on a date that best suits you and your organisation. The costs depend on the number of employees attending the course, which course, whether you have the content tailored specifically for your organisation etc. Therefore, to obtain a quote for in house training please email details of what you require to [email protected].

Unfortunately, the CIPP does not offer discounts for booking multiple delegates.

No you do not need to have a qualification to become a member, the CIPP has different grades of membership and there is an opportunity for members to move through all grades during the course of their career.

Currently there are ten issues a year, one per month with the July / August and December / January issues combined.

No, you don't need to be a member to book a training course or event, however, we would recommend you take up membership to support you and to ensure you keep your knowledge up to date.

Yes, there is a retired rate for members. To find out more please email us or call 0121 712 1073.

This can be done by going to the 'My CIPP' section of the website and going to the 'update details' tab.

Members are required to log at least 1 piece of CPD in order to renew their membership. Chartered Members must attain 40 CPD points for the year to renew their membership.

CIPP members can claim back up to 40% tax relief on their CIPP membership subscription costs or fees.

The CIPP is a HMRC approved professional organisation (list 3) and as such, members who pay for their CIPP subscriptions themselves will be able to claim back potentially a considerable amount of money.

This benefit could potentially be going widely unused by our members. CIPP’s 2019 market insight survey indicated that approximately 30% of our members paid for their fees themselves with the same amount unaware that they could claim tax back.

Example – Sarah is a full member (MCIPP) and paid the annual subscription of £195. As Sarah pays the basic rate of tax (20%) she was able to claim £39 against her annual income tax bill. At the higher tax rate of tax Sarah would have been eligible to claim £78.

If Sarah goes on to become a Chartered member (ChMCIPP) she could claim a whopping £100 against the £250 yearly Chartered subscription, at the higher rate of tax.

For more information on this please visit the HMRC website. To explore your range of CIPP membership benefits please visit https://www.cipp.org.uk/grades.html

New members are required to pay a £50 registration fee when joining the CIPP. Any members who have let their membership lapse for over three months will be re-charged the £50 joining fee.

This course is delivered on a 26 week timetabled period. 

You will access the materials for your course online, via the Learning Management System. When your course booking is confirmed you will receive an email from System - No Reply ([email protected]) with details of how to log in to this platform. Please ensure that this address is added to your safe senders list to ensure that you receive these details.

We recommend using Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari (we do not recommend Internet Explorer v.11 or below). Your browser must allow cookies, JavaScript, and pop-ups.

Note: We do not plan to update any content for legacy browsers such as Internet Explorer. All courses are built around the latest browser versions – either for development, testing or publishing. 

We recommend having a stable connection of 25Mbps download speed and 3Mbps of upload speed. This will ensure that you can download the required materials and run the eLearning courses without any major discrepancies. 

We recommend that you have worked in payroll or pensions for over two years to apply for the Foundation Degree Year two. You will have to undergo an online RPL test which will assess you on your basic pensions knowledge. Once we have received your enrolment form we will contact you regarding the RPL test.

No you do not need to have a qualification to become a member, the CIPP has different grades of membership and there is an opportunity for members to move through all grades during the course of their career.

Enrolment forms can be found on the website and will need to be downloaded and the original ink copies sent to the CIPP office.

On average we estimate that you need to spend between 8 and 10 hours per week.

Visit the study pages on the CIPP website for the most up to date prices.

We do recommend that students work in payroll or pensions, however students can enrol if they are not currently in a payroll or pensions job.

Each year of the Foundation Degree can be regarded as a unit and commitment to study and, for that matter, finance is to one year at a time. It is accepted that some students may not wish to progress immediately from Year one to Year two.

Indications of these can be found on the enrolment form, locations are subject to change without prior notice.

Tutors will be allocated to you once your course has started.

Please email [email protected] for information on enrolments.

Visit the study pages on the website for the next enrolment dates, or email [email protected].