Organisational practices and culture often drive workplace conflicts. Ian Brinkley examines the impact of conflict and how it can be resolved and prevented in the future The modern workplace is often a place of harmonious or at least tolerable relationships, but sometimes things go wrong. Ranging from one-off tiffs to more serious and systematic incidents, conflict can occur even in the best run workplace. In early 2024, the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD) conducted a large-scale workplace survey in the UK focused on the incidence, impact and resolution of conflict. What is conflict? According to the survey, conflict included feeling humiliated or undermined at work, being shouted at or in a heated argument, verbal abuse, unfair allegations, sexual and physical harassment, intimidation and assault and discrimination for a protected characteristic such as race, gender, disability or age. (The survey question did not mention religion.) About 25 percent of the UK workforce reported at least one form of conflict in the preceding 12 months. The most common conflicts involved being humiliated or undermined at work, being shouted at, followed by verbal abuse and discrimination linked to a protected characteristic. The most serious incidents, such as sexual and physical assault were thankfully rare. Most attention focuses on formal processes such as industrial tribunals, grievances and mediation as a means to resolve disputes. However, in practice, very few reported conflicts ever make it to this stage – just one percent ended up in employment tribunals, for example. The most common reactions are informal. About half of those who reported conflict reported that they let it go. Involving managers and HR was the second most common way of resolving conflict. Unresolved conflict About two-thirds of conflicts are either fully or partially resolved. However, one-third are not resolved at all. Unresolved conflicts may not be escalated because they are not serious enough, especially “one-offs”, or because people fear the repercussions if they do. The survey does not tell us directly which is more likely, though evidence on the impact of the conflict suggests the former is more common. Most people who reported conflict also said they had good working relations with managers and colleagues. However, they were more negative when it came to specific actions – for example, whether they were always treated fairly. We think this apparent contradiction is down to people making a distinction between working relations in general and specific incidents. Conflict also had relatively little impact on voluntary effort. Those who reported conflict were almost as likely to say they were willing to work harder than they needed to in order to help their organisation and just as likely to say they would help colleagues under pressure or make innovative suggestions. However, we do find a clear negative association between conflict and a range of other indicators of the quality of work. For example, those who report conflict are much more likely to say work had adversely affected their mental health and that they experienced excessive workloads and work pressures most or all of the time. We cannot tell from the survey whether the conflict was the cause of these negative impacts or whether workplaces, where work quality was already poor, are more likely to suffer conflict. Both are likely to be true. A decrease in workplace conflict The survey asked about conflict in 2019 and since then there has been a significant decrease from 30 to 25 percent of the workforce. There are, however, two important caveats. First, the improvement was largely confined to older white males in permanent, higher-skill white-collar jobs without disabilities. There was little or no improvement for the young; those in temporary or zero-hours jobs and short-hour contracts or those with disabilities, ethnic minorities and women. Non-heterosexual workers also saw less conflict over this period, but it still remains at a high level. In 2024, the latter groups reported significantly higher levels of conflict than the former, and since 2019 that gap has widened. Second, the fall in conflict has also been greatest for those groups that saw the biggest rise in home-working. Those who work at home are less likely to report conflicts such as being shouted at or subject to verbal abuse. Reducing workplace conflict No strategy to improve the quality of work can fully succeed unless the incidence of conflict is reduced, especially among the “left behind” groups. Improving the relative bargaining power of those who are more likely to report conflict may help. Legislative change focusing on formal dispute resolution may be justified but is unlikely to make much difference to the overall incidence of workplace conflict. The biggest impact is going to be from organisational practice. Improving work quality in workplaces with below-average work quality is an obvious priority, but even well-run organisations can suffer conflict. In both cases, mitigating some of the underlying causes of conflict, such as excessive workload combined with helping line managers manage conflict better in the future, will be required if progress is to be made over the next five years. Ian Brinkley is a labour market economist

The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment has announced that the European Union (Adjustments of Size Criteria for Certain Companies and Groups) Regulations 2024 (S.I. No. 301 of 2024) were signed into law on the 19 June and come into operation on the 1 July 2024. The purpose of the Regulations is to adjust company size thresholds in line with 25 per cent inflation, thereby reducing the regulatory and administrative burden on some companies, which would otherwise become subject to audit and additional financial reporting requirements.  The Regulations, which transpose delegated Directive 2023/2775/EU, amend the Companies Act 2014 increasing company size thresholds as set out below. These size thresholds are contained in sections 280A to 280I of the Companies Act 2014, with company size being typically determined based on the company meeting two out of the three size criteria (with other relevant factors also applying). The increased size criteria are as follows; micro company –a balance sheet total of not greater than €450,000, a net turnover of not greater than €900,000 and no more than 10 average employees. small company – a balance sheet total of not greater than €7.5 million, a net turnover of not greater than €15 million and no more than 50 average employees. medium sized company – a balance sheet total of not greater than €25 million, a net turnover of not greater than €50 million and no more than 250 average employees. large company –continues to be defined as a company that does not qualify as micro, small or medium (ie. balance sheet total of greater than €25 million, net turnover of greater than €50 million and more than 250 average employees). Group size thresholds have also increased as set out below; small group- group balance sheet total of no greater than €7.5 million net (or €9 million gross), group turnover no greater than €15 million net (or €18 million gross) and no more than 50 average employees of the group. medium group- group balance sheet total of no greater than €25 million net (or €30 million gross), group turnover no greater than €50 million net (or €60 million gross) and no more than 250 average employees of the group. The measures apply for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024, enabling companies to benefit from the adjusted thresholds immediately.  Companies may elect to apply the measures on or after 1 January 2023. Please see the DETE announcement. Chartered Accountants Ireland are delighted to see this regulation signed into law, giving clarity to companies on size thresholds, and their reporting requirements.      

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual which outlines procedures to make an application to pay Local Property Tax (LPT) by SEPA monthly direct debit. Paragraph 4 of the manual has been revised to include Andorra and the Vatican City in the list of countries in the SEPA area, and the screenshots to demonstrate online procedures in appendix 7 have been refreshed.

Revenue has updated the Stamp Duty Manual which provides guidance on the exemption from stamp duty on conveyances and transfers of property between associated companies. The exemption is provided under section 79 SDCA 1999 and is generally referred to as “associated companies relief”. The manual has been updated to clarify the treatment that may apply where the transferred property comprises shares in a company that is liquidated or dissolved within a two-year period following the transfer, resulting in the extinguishment of those shares (section 5.3.1).

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual regarding the confidentiality of taxpayer information. The updated guidance addresses the authorised disclosure of taxpayer information in the context of Joint Audits carried out by Revenue officials in conjunction with nominated officials from other EU Member States(paragraph 4.13). Section 891L TCA 1997, introduced by Finance (No. 2) Act 2023, implemented article 12a of DAC7. A joint audit is an administrative inquiry conducted by Revenue and the competent authority of another Member State when linked to a person of common or complimentary interest in both jurisdictions. At a recent meeting of the TALC Audit Sub-Committee, Revenue confirmed that the joint audit process is outside the scope of the Compliance Intervention Framework.

Revenue has updated the following guidance to reflect increases in the 2024 tax rate bands and tax credits in Finance (No.2) Act 2023: High Income Individuals' Restriction regarding income chargeable to tax at the standard rate in joint assessment cases; PAYE reviews where Week 53 applies; and Guidance on the income tax treatment of married persons and civil partners.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual which provides guidance on tax relief for charitable donations to approved bodies. The amendments include: Examples of payments to "approved bodies" which are not considered a relevant donation for the purposes of the Charitable Donation Scheme (paragraph 3); Educational institutions defined in section 53(1)(a) of the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 and the Royal Irish Academy are added to the list of approved bodies (paragraph 6); and The increase to €250,000 in the minimum annual income limit for audited financial accounts (paragraph 8).

Revenue’s Economic Research Unit is running a survey of medium sized tax agents to further inform its understanding of the issues facing tax agents in order to improve the quality of the service it provides. Agents selected for the survey will receive an email inviting them to complete the online survey before Monday 8 July 2024. Revenue has confirmed that it will not ask for financial or personal information in this, or in any other survey, or email. The survey is not in any way connected with an agent’s individual tax affairs. Further information is available in Revenue’s press release.

The Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, made representations on behalf of members at last week’s meeting of the TALC Collections Sub-Committee. At the meeting, Revenue provided an update on the Debt Warehousing Scheme and the local property tax (LPT) and vacant home tax (VHT) compliance projects which it has commenced. Revenue confirmed that it is preparing updated guidance on 2023 income tax filing requirements for non-resident landlords and it has updated its system to allow agents to pay Relevant Tax on Share Options for pre-2024 liabilities. Debt Warehousing Scheme Revenue confirmed that if taxpayers have phased payment arrangements (PPAs) for both warehoused debt at 0 percent interest and other debt at the standard rate, PPA payments are automatically allocated against the oldest debt. Taxpayers cannot elect to allocate payments against debt with a higher interest rate if this did not precede the warehoused debt. However, it may be possible to reduce the interest charge if the taxpayer makes a payment outside the PPA towards current taxes.   Revenue explained that PPA compliance monitoring is fully automated once commenced. If there is a failed payment, the taxpayer is notified that Revenue will retry in 21 days. If there is a further failure, the taxpayer will lose the 0 percent interest rate and standard enforcement will commence.   Local Property Tax Revenue noted that some taxpayers who pay their LPT by deduction at source from pay or pension have failed to file an LPT return. Revenue advises that they file an LPT return as soon as possible in order to avoid issues at a later date. Revenue will write to this cohort of taxpayers in September to remind them to file the outstanding return; agents will not be copied. Vacant Homes Tax Revenue intends writing to persons that own 2 to 19 properties, asking them to declare whether the property is occupied or is vacant. Where vacant, and not already returned, a return and payment will be required to regularise their affairs. In September Revenue will issue 2024 reminder letters to those that previously declared a VHT liability. Non-resident Landlords A consequence of the commencement of the non-resident landlord withholding tax (NLWT) portal on 1 July 2023 is the requirement, in some cases, for two income tax returns for 2023. This arises in instances where a collecting agent was responsible for the non-resident landlord’s rental affairs for the period to 30 June 2023 then opted to utilise the NLWT portal from 1 July 2023 onwards. Revenue is preparing guidance to outline how a single return can be filed in such circumstances for 2023. Single filing will require the chargeable person (responsible for period 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2023) to cease registration and the non-resident landlord will file all rental details for the 2023 year. Letters will issue in the coming weeks to chargeable persons. If they want to retain registration, they must contact Revenue to do so. Revenue has confirmed that non-resident landlords should not include details of Irish rental income that is being returned by a chargeable person. Payment of RTSO As readers will be aware, from 1 January 2024, the taxation of a gain realised on the exercise, assignment, or release of share options no longer falls under individual self-assessment. Instead, employers are responsible for collecting income tax, USC, and PRSI from employees on share option gains and for remitting those taxes to Revenue as part of the payroll process. Revenue has updated its website for these changes and additional text has been added to screens to alert anyone trying to submit RTSO for 2024. The self-assessment regime continues to apply to gains arising on or before 31 December 2023, as does the obligation to register for RTSO. Revenue has confirmed that is has updated its system to allow an agent to make an RTSO payment for pre 1 January 2024 liabilities.

At the most recent meeting of the TALC Direct & Capital Taxes Sub-committee, Revenue announced that it is finally updating its practice surrounding the review of its Tax and Duty Manuals (TDMs), including a commitment to make historic TDMs available on its website. The plan over the summer months is to commence a two-stage process to enhance the availability of Revenue guidance in future. Stage one will see up to four previous versions of a manual made available on Revenue’s website. The TDM will bear a watermark conveying that the particular manual is “out of date” and so may not be relied upon. Revenue has committed to refreshing its website so that the four most recent previous versions of guidance are available (excluding the current version). Stage two will see a change to the annual TDM review process whereby the manual under review will remain available during the review process. The manual will bear a watermark conveying that the guidance is “out of date/under review” and so may not be relied upon. The Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, raised this issue in April 2022 via the TALC Direct & Capital Taxes Sub-committee (see Item 3). In October of that year, a delegation of stakeholders met with Revenue to progress the matter further (see Item 3(c)). Although it has taken time to implement the recommendations arising from this earlier engagement, this change in practice will make a significant difference to practitioners and taxpayers in future. As such, we are grateful for the continued engagement of both Revenue and those representing CCAB-I through the TALC process as a key forum to raise pressure points arising on both sides of the tax administration divide.

Readers are aware of an ongoing issue where Revenue-initiated emails in MyEnquiries can be overlooked if the email has been sent to an unattended or inappropriate email address. In response to the Institute’s representations at the Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC), Revenue is now providing a facility in MyEnquiries for users to mark a designated email address as the priority email address for sending Revenue-initiated queries. This enables practice staff with permissions to access that email address to ensure correspondence is not overlooked. Revenue has provided instructions to assist practitioners in assigning a priority email address for MyEnquiries if they choose to do so. Revenue will issue a revised Tax and Duty Manual (37-00-36A) in due course.

As recommended by the NI Tax Committee in a letter last August to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and subsequently in the Institute’s evidence submission to the House of Lords Finance Bill Sub-Committee, the draft Finance Bill clause which would have retrospectively applied the change to the geographical scope of agricultural property relief (“APR”) for Inheritance Tax (“IHT”) has been removed from the most recent Finance Act. From 6 April 2024, APR, and woodlands relief (“WR”) is only available in respect of UK assets.  In accordance with draft Clause 1(7)(b), this change would have applied “in relation to transfers of value made before 6 April 2024, for the purposes of any charge to tax, or to extra tax, which arises on or after that date”.   This would have meant that lifetime gifts in the seven years prior to 6 April 2024 would have been impacted by the removal of APR and WR for non-UK assets had the settlor died within seven years of the original lifetime gift or made a further lifetime gift into trust within seven years of one made in the seven-year window prior to 6 April 2024. The original APR and WR would longer be available resulting in a decrease in the available nil rate band and potentially a 40 per charge to IHT.  The Institute recommended that the draft Finance Bill clauses be rewritten in a way that removed any damaging retrospective impact, as this would have otherwise threatened the principle of legitimate expectation.   HMRC confirmed the change when it published an updated policy paper on the amended Finance Bill clauses. The change is now reflected in Section 11 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 which received Royal Assent last month.