IRIS Cascade system updates for payroll year-end 2025/26

Rate changes

Legislative rates for the 2026/2027 tax year have been updated on the following screens to match the information provided by HMRC:

  • Apprenticeship Levy

  • Employment Allowance

  • National Insurance

  • Postgraduate Loans

  • Shared Parental Pay

  • Statutory Adoption Pay

  • Statutory Maternity Pay

  • Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

  • Statutory Neonatal Care Pay

  • Statutory Paternity Pay

  • Statutory Sick Pay

  • Student Loan

  • Tax

Under Maintenance > Legislation you can view the new rates that come into effect for the 2025/2026 tax year after completing year-end.

Tax

We have updated Tax code formats and calculations.

National Insurance

We have updated National Insurance rates, thresholds and calculations.

The rate and thresholds values for 2026/27 can be found here: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK

FPS changes

We have updated the FPS in line with HMRC specifications for the 2026/2027 tax year. These changes do not affect any FPS relating to the 2025/2026 tax year.

EPS changes

We have updated the EPS in line with HMRC specifications for the 2026/2027 tax year. These changes will not affect any EPS relating to the 2025/2026 tax year.

Automatic enrolment

To reflect the new HMRC/TPR rates for the 2026/2027 tax year, we have updated the Auto Enrolment thresholds in Admin > Auto Enrolment > Qualifying Earning Thresholds.

Student Loan Plan 05

HMRC announced a new student loan plan type, 05, for 2026/27 tax year. This plan type has a lower payment threshold than existing plan types of £25,000. The contribution rate for employees on this type is 9%

The new plan type can be selected from the following places:

  • HR > NEW STARTER CHECKLIST > What type of Student Loan do you have?

  • PAYROLL > Application Data > Pay Elements > Deductions > Student Loan Plan Type

  • PAYROLL > Details > P45/CHECKLIST > Student Loan Plan Type

The plan type can be downloaded from HMRC via HMRC messages > Get Latest Messages. Once downloaded, these can be actioned via HMRC messages > Student/Postgraduate Loan Notices.

For any installed customers, please check any student loan messages downloaded since 1st March until your installation date to ensure the correct plan type is correct.

Employment Allowance de minimis state aid

Employment Allowance no longer counts as 'de minimis state aid' (financial support from the government) from tax year 2025/26. From 6 April 2026, HMRC no longer accept de minimis state aid on EPS. The options to select state aid has been removed from Employment Allowance Legislation

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Northern Ireland)

From 6th April 2026, new rules have been introduced for payments of SPBP for employees gainfully employed in Northern Ireland. A summary of these changes is as follows:

  • Access to parental bereavement pay as a Day 1 right in the cases of stillbirth and child death, thereby removing the 26 week continuous employment criteria which will continue to apply in Britain.
  • Inclusion of miscarriage (up to 24 weeks) as part of the bereavement provision (also available from the first day of employment).
  • The Miscarriage element of the bereavement payment and the Day 1 right for parental bereavement payments only applies to claimants gainfully employed in Northern Ireland and on whose behalf an employer makes Class 1 National Insurance Contributions.
  • Payments made under the distinct elements of the NI entitlement for miscarriage payments in NI and the Day 1 right for parental bereavement payments to be reported on RTI separately

    Three new Data Items on FPS:

  • Value of Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay to date in Northern Ireland (SPBPNIRE)

  • Access to Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay in Northern Ireland due to Miscarriage

  • Northern Ireland Workplace Postcode

    Two new Data Items on EPS:

  • Value of Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay recovered year to date in Northern Ireland

Value of NIC compensation on Statutory Bereavement Pay year to date in Northern Ireland


New Fields in Cascade

In HR two new fields have been added to PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT LEAVE:

  1. Country of SPBP Entitlement

  2. SPBP is being paid due to a miscarriage

 

In Payroll, the following fields have been added:

  1. Country of SPBP entitlement has been added to INPUT STATUTORY PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT LEAVE

  2. SPBP is being paid due to a miscarriage has been added to INPUT STATUTORY PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT LEAVE

  3. Workplace Postcode - Northern Ireland has been added to Details > REAL TIME INFORMATION

  4. A new section for Northern Ireland has been added to Details > STATUTORY PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT PAY which includes the fields:

    • No. of Weeks Paid

    • Amount to Date

    • SPBP Recovered to Date

    • SPBP NI Compensation to Date

    • SPBP Paid Due to Miscarriage