Common acronyms
Glossary of terms and acronyms can be found by clicking on the sections below.
A-D
A
ABAB:
Admin Burdens Advisory Board
ACAS:
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
AEO:
Attachment of Earnings Order
AML:
Additional Maternity Leave
APP:
In relation to statutory payments: Adoption Pay Period
In relation to pensions: Appropriate Personal Pension scheme
ASPL:
Additional Statutory Paternity Leave
ASSP:
Additional Statutory Paternity Pay
AVC:
Additional Voluntary Contribution
AWE:
Average Weekly Earnings
B
BACS:
Organisation used for transferring money between UK banking institutions.
BERR:
Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
BIS:
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
BRCC:
Better Regulation Consultative Committee
BSP:
Basic State Pension
BUNAC:
British Universities North America Club
C
C-MEC:
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
CA:
Contributions Agency (now NICO)
CAO:
Conjoined Arrestment Order
CCV:
Child Care Vouchers
CHAPS:
Clearing House Automated Payments System
CIMPS:
Contracted In (sic) Money Purchase Scheme
CIS:
Construction Industry Scheme
CMA:
Current Maintenance Arrestment
CML:
Compulsory Maternity Leave
COMBS:
Contracted Out Mixed Benefit Scheme
COMPS:
Contracted Out Money Purchase Scheme
COP:
Computerisation Of PAYE
COSR:
Contracted Out Salary Related
CSA:
Child Support Agency
CTAEO:
Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Order
D
DEO:
Deduction from Earnings Order (raised by CSA for child maintenance)
DWP:
Department for Work and Pensions
E-H
E
EA:
Earnings Arrestment (Scotland)
EAS:
Employer Alignment Submission
EAT:
Employment Appeals Tribunal
ECON:
Employer Contracted Out Number
EDI:
Electronic Data Interchange
EEA:
European Economic Area
EEC:
European Economic Community
EFT:
Electronic Funds Transfer
EPS:
Employer Payment Summary
ERA:
Employment Rights Act
ESA:
Employment and Support Allowance
ESC:
Extra Statutory Concession
ET:
Earnings Threshold
EWC:
Expected Week of Confinement (also known as Expected Week of Childbirth)
EYU:
Earlier Year Update
F
FAB:
Features Advantages Benefits
FdA:
Foundation degree Arts
FOT:
Free Of Tax
FPS:
Full Payment Submission
Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions
FURBS:
Funded Unapproved Retirement Benefit Scheme
G
GB:
Great Britain (comprising England, Scotland and Wales)
GMP:
Guaranteed Minimum Pension
GPP:
Group Personal Pension (plan)
H
HMCS:
Her Majesty's Courts Service
HMT:
Her Majesty's Treasury
I-L
I
ICO:
Information Commissioner's Office
ISDN:
Income Support Deduction Notice (raised by DWP)
J
JSA:
Job Seekers' Allowance
K
Kilo:
In units of measure (outside the computer industry) 1000 eg £100K = £100.000
In units of measure (within the computer industry) 1024 eg 100Kb = 102,400 bytes
L
LEL:
Lower Earnings Limit
M-P
M
MA:
Maternity Allowance
MPP:
Maternity Pay Period
MW:
Matching Week
N
NIC:
National Insurance contributions
NICO:
National Insurance Office (part of HMRC)
NINO:
National Insurance Number
NIRS2:
National Insurance Recording System mark 2. Now part of NPS
NMW:
National Minimum Wage
NPS:
HMRC's National insurance and PAYE service (a merger of COP and NIRS2)
NRA:
Normal Retirement Age
NVR:
NINO Verification Request
O
OAL:
Occupational Adoption Leave
OML:
Ordinary Maternity Leave
OMP:
Occupational Maternity Pay
OPL:
Occupational Paternity Leave
OSP:
Occupational Sick Pay
P
PAYE:
Pay As You Earn
PIE:
Personal Incidental Expenses
PILON:
Pay In Lieu Of Notice
PPP:
Paternity Pay Period
Primary:
In relation to NIC's, primary refers to the employee (or director). Eg primary contributions - employee contributions. In relation to legislation, primary refers to acts of parliament (either Westminster or Edinburgh)
PQP:
Payroll Quality Partnership
PRP:
Profit Related Pay
PSA:
PAYE Settlement Agreement
Q-T
Q
QD:
Qualifying Day
QW:
Qualifying Week
R
RPI:
Retail Price Index
RTI:
Real Time Information
S2P:
State Second Pension
SAL:
Statutory Adoption Leave
SAP:
Statutory Adoption Pay
SAYE:
Save As you Earn
SCON:
Scheme Contracted Out Number
Secondary:
In relation to NIC, secondary refers to the employer. Eg secondary contributions = employer contributions. In relation to legislation, secondary refers to a statutory instrument (SI) or an order made by a government department or minister
SERPS:
State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (now S2P)
SI:
Statutory Instrument
SL:
Student Loan
SML:
Statutory Maternity Leave
SMP:
Statutory Maternity Pay
SP:
Statement of Practice - issued by HMRC
SPA:
State Pensionable Age
SPDS:
Simplified PAYE Deduction Scheme
SPL:
Statutory Paternity Leave
SPP:
Statutory Paternity Pay
SRP:
Statutory Redundancy Payment
SSP:
Statutory Sick Pay
T&A:
Time and Attendance (recording system)
TAS:
Taxed Award Scheme
TMA:
Taxes Management Act 1970
TPR:
The Pensions Regulator
Trades Union Congress
TUPE:
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) from the regulations of that name
U-X
U
UAP:
Upper Accrual Point - introduced in April 2009 - the earnings point at which an employee will cease to accrue S2P benefits
UEL:
Upper Earnings Limit
UK:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
V
VAT:
Value Added Tax
W
WBD:
Week Baby Due
WD:
Waiting Day
X
X:
National Insurance category to be used for those without a liability to NIC
Y-Z
Y
YTD:
Year To Date - the accumulated value for the (tax) year
Z
Zero-rated:
Zero rated for VAT purposes - no supply tax charged but input tax can be claimed
