The Trust is moving to Payrolling of Benefits from 1st April 2027 – The upcoming change will replace the traditional method of P11d reporting to HMRC.
The total amount of tax you pay/owe for the year will not change, just the way it is collected - Please click Payrolling Benefits :: NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group for more information and for FAQs.
The Trust has teamed up with a new Salary Sacrifice provider called Liaison OneCall.
They provide alternative schemes - Hays Holidays, GMP Lease cars, Liaison Home Tech, Valiant Boilers + Swyft Furniture
Please click Salary Sacrifice - Liverpool FT Benefits for full details.
**If you wish to register with GMP, the Employer code is LUHFT032148
National living wage update - 5th December 2025.
The National Living Wage (NLW) rate is due to rise to £12.71 from 1st April 2026.
With this in mind, we continually carry out NLW audits to identify Employees who have fallen below the NLW whilst having items through GROSS salary sacrifice arrangements or NET Deductions.
We have outlined some answers to possible FAQ's below, however if you have any queries and require more information, please contact smartsalary
Q. How does the National living wage (NLW) rate affect me?
A. The Trust has a legal obligation to ensure that no employees fall below the current NLW year wage Threshold, if found that you have fallen below due to Salary Sacrifice or NET Deduction then the Trust must act.
Q. How will I know if I have fallen below the NLW?
A. We will email employee's that have fallen below to explain and to provide any further important information. The Staff Hub/FAQ's will be updated and information will be on the 'Liverpool News' emails.
Q. I have fallen below the NLW and have a car via the Salary Sacrifice scheme, will I have to return the car?
A. No, provided you haven't reduced your *contractual hours *Please see extensive answer below. The Trust have agreed with NHS Fleet Solutions to allow the continued lease for these existing vehicles, this is done by ongoing support from NHS Fleet to ensure that deductions will continue. If deductions were to be 'paused' then please be aware there will be a potential of arrears/monies owed of which can be quite substantial. We will look to update any employee in writing if there are any further updates.
Q. I have fallen below the NLW and have a car via the NET Deduction scheme, will I have to return the car?
A. No, please contact michael.anderson2@liverpoolft.nhs.uk or smartsalary@liverpoolft.nhs.uk to discuss further. Please note that the car must be returned at the end of the contract period with no extension period.
Q. I have reduced my contractual hours and have a Lease car via the Salary Sacrifice scheme, what happens if I have fallen below the NLW?
A. There are a number of reasons why an employee chooses to reduce their contractual hours due to personal circumstances, however, if reducing your contractual hours and the car deduction makes you fall below the NLW then unfortunately your car will have to be returned as the Trust has a legal obligation to ensure you stay above the NLW at all times. Also please note there will be an 'Early Termination' fee associated to this so please check your Lease contract. If you are considering a reduction of hours and would like to discuss further before making an informed decision, please contact the Team smartsalary@liverpoolft.nhs.uk
Q. I have a Home Electronics items and have fallen below the NLW, what happens?
A. If you have been affected by dropping below the NLW, any Home Electronics contracts that have made you fall below will be ‘paused’ until we have confirmation of any NHS pay award or your salary increases naturally with a new role or an increment rise. Deductions will be re-instated at this stage.
Q. What happens if I fall below the NLW but have other Salary Sacrifice scheme deductions?
A. If you have been affected by dropping below the NLW, any relevant Salary Sacrifice contracts that have made you fall below will be ‘paused’ until we have confirmation of any NHS pay award or your salary increases naturally with a new role or an increment rise. Deductions will be re-instated at this stage *Please note that 'pausing' does not apply to Lease cars - see above for extensive answers regarding this.
Q. What happens if a new pay award comes into effect or my pay increases from a new role or I receive an increment rise?
A. We will carry out regular audits and if found that you are above the NLW, we would instruct Payroll to re-instate and extend any paused Home Electronics deductions until all contractual payments have completed.
Q. What happens If I have Car Park fee and have fallen below the NLW?
A. If you have a query with your car park fee please contact carparking
Q. Am I eligible for future Salary Sacrifice schemes or a NET deduction scheme?
A. This will depend on your current employment details and status. We use a higher living wage value from the current rate, called a ‘projected rate’. This means that the Trust and you have a safety buffer to try and ensure that you don’t fall below the NLW in future years of any salary sacrifice contract. *Please see full details on the NLW page located within the Salary Sacrifice Staff Hub.
Criteria for Salary Sacrifice/Net Deductions Applications
- Annual deduction of any or all Salary Sacrifice items (in total) cannot drop employees annual salary below the National Living Wage (NLW) Thresholds.
- The Trust will use a 'Net' monthly deduction (car) against any future Salary Sacrifice applications. - For full details relating to this and for any other NLW queries/updates, please see the National Living Wage page.
- Gross/Net deductions cannot take salary levels to less than half their income.
- Must be over 18 years old.
- Employees must be in permanent employment.
- Salary Sacrifice schemes are not open to Bank/Locum/Fixed term employees.
- Maximum allowed for Hays Holidays £10,000 over two holidays per fiscal year - 1st April - 31st March - If eligible for this amount, **If your first holiday is £6,000 you can use £4,000 for the second - Please ask for full details.
- Maximum allowed for a Boiler with Vaillant is £5,000
- Please note that there are Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax implications with various schemes, only enter into an agreement if you are happy to proceed and understand the effect on your tax. If you would like more information to make an informed decision please contact the salary sacrifice team.
- By entering into a salary sacrifice contract, you agree that if you leave the Trust before the agreement ends, any monies outstanding will be taken from your final pay. Please refer to 'Leaving the Trust' page for further details.
Contact details
For questions relating to salary sacrifice, please contact the Salary Sacrifice Team by email
paul.
paula.
smartsalary
For any Salary Sacrifice payroll/invoice related queries/issues, please contact
michael.anderson2@liverpoolft.nhs.uk
For any Mersey travel pass/Cycle to work scheme, please contact
david.halpin@liverpoolft.nhs.uk
News and Updates
Additional Annual Leave Scheme update 12th March 2026.
Scheme is now open for 2026/27.
**Please ensure you use all of your purchased leave as the Trust does not offer a refund of payments if you leave the scheme early. For full details, please refer to guidelines below.
Applications window for 2026/27 - 1st April - 6th November
Payments: The scheme allows employees to spread their *monthly deductions starting from April 2026 to 31st March 2027 - If you wish payments to start from April, please look to apply from February/March 2026. *The Salary Sacrifice team will provide this figure once application is approved.
The NHS Pay Award is due to be effective from 1st April 2026, so we will be using this salary/hourly rates for applications.
The monthly payments 'window' will naturally reduce through the year, this will depend on when the application has been submitted and processed by the Salary Sacrifice team.
For any queries and for relevant 'cut off' payroll points in relation to applications, please contact smartsalary
Childcare Vouchers
As from 1st April 2020, the Trust will allow the minimum payment for Childcare Vouchers to be reduced to a minimum of £1.
This will be reviewed on a monthly basis, any changes will still need to be received by 2nd of the month to be in time for that month’s payroll - Please note we cannot accept any lower than £1 monthly deduction.
Any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Salary Sacrifice Team at smartsalary@liverpoolft.nhs.uk