BrightPay Ireland - Customer Update

PAYE Modernisation - An Update

From 1st January 2019, whenever Irish employers pay their employees, a file must be submitted (electronically) to Revenue containing details of these payments. Unlike the annual P35, this file must be submitted each pay period. Find out more about what direct effects this will have on employers.

Read full article

BrightPay to discontinue Windows XP support

The technology that BrightPay utilises has been updated and improved. As a result of this improvement, BrightPay will no longer be able to run on Windows XP operating systems. This technological enhancement brings many performance, reliability and security improvements.

Read full article here

Cyber Security - Keep your payroll data safe against Ransomware

Ransomware is when your files are held for ransom. It is a type of malware that essentially takes over a computer and prevents users from accessing their data until such time as a ransom is paid. Learn more about keeping your payroll data safe.

Read full article here

Do you need help with your employee contracts?

Our sister product, Bright Contracts enables you to create tailored, professional contracts of employment and staff handbooks. What was once a very expensive and time-consuming process can now be done on your PC.

Find out more / Book a demo

Be careful of discrimination in job interviews

When conducting an interview, you may veer off your pre-set questions when building rapport with a candidate and to do a little digging in some areas, however asking the wrong question could leave you at risk of a hefty discrimination claim.

Read full article here

Have you tried BrightPay Cloud?

BrightPay Cloud is an optional cloud and HR add-on which offers an online self-service portal for employees, automatic cloud backup, annual leave management, uploading of employee documents (including contracts and handbooks) and much more.

Book a demo / find out more

BrightPay to discontinue Windows XP support

The technology that BrightPay utilises will be updated and improved from January 2018. As a result of this improvement, BrightPay will no longer be able to run on Windows XP operating systems. This technological enhancement will bring many performance, reliability and security improvements, while also opening up new possibilities for our development team to add further functionality. Users will not notice any obvious difference using BrightPay 2018 compared to previous versions as all the changes will be operating in the background.

Microsoft discontinued support for Windows XP in April 2014. This means that Microsoft are no longer releasing upgrades for these systems. Although Windows XP machines may still work normally, it does mean that these PCs are more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. 

If you are still using Windows XP, you should consider upgrading to a newer PC or operating system. Due to the greater security risks, more and more programmes and applications are discontinuing support for Windows XP. Internet Explorer 8 is also no longer supported. If your Windows XP PC is connected to the Internet and you use Internet Explorer 8 to surf the web, you might be exposing your PC to additional threats.

These security threats became a reality for many Windows XP users in recent weeks with more than 200,000 organisations becoming victims of the widespread ransomware attack, WannaCry. This cyber attack affected organisations across the globe, including hospitals, banks and government agencies. The majority of these victims were using outdated or older Windows operating systems, such as Windows XP and Windows Vista.

While we do apologise for any inconvenience this change may cause, it is the best decision for our customers’ security and user experience.

Useful links:

• Which version of Windows am I running?
• Keep your payroll data safe against Ransomware

Posted byRachel HynesinPayroll SoftwareSoftware Upgrade

Keep your payroll data safe against a Ransomware attack

Ransomware, like the name suggests, is when your files are held for ransom. It is a type of malware that essentially takes over a computer and prevents users from accessing their data until such time as a ransom is paid. The ransomware encrypts data on the computer using an encryption key that only the attacker knows. If you want to decrypt them, you have to pay. If the ransom isn’t paid, the data is often lost forever.

A ransomware attack, also known as WannaCry or WeCrypt, recently spread across the globe and is believed to have affected over 200,000 organisations. The cyber-attack struck banks, hospitals and government agencies in more than 150 countries, exploiting known vulnerabilities in Microsoft operating systems.

How to protect against a ransomware attack?

• Think before you click – It is important to look for malicious email messages that are often concealed as emails from companies or people you regularly interact with online. It is important to avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in those messages, since they could unleash malware. However, unlike many other malicious programs, WannaCry has the ability to move around a network by itself. Once the virus is inside an organisation, it will hunt down vulnerable machines and infect them too.
• Keep software up to date – Users should ensure that security updates are installed on their computer as soon as they are released. Last month, the NSA revealed software vulnerabilities in a Windows Server component which allows files to spread within corporate networks. Since then, Microsoft has released software patches for the security holes. Anyone who applied this patch more than likely was not affected by WannaCry. However, not everyone has installed these updates and so these users are susceptible to an attack. It is also important to note that the vulnerability does not exist within Windows 10, but is present in all versions of Windows prior to that, dating back to Windows XP. Support for Windows XP was discontinued in 2014, and so if you are using XP it is recommended to upgrade to a more secure system. It is important to keep all software packages up to date to maximise protection against attacks.
• Keep backups of data files – Users should regularly back up their data, which will make it possible to restore files without paying a ransom. This can be done by saving files to a USB key, external server or a cloud sharing facility such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Individual software packages may also offer a backup facility, enabling you to automatically back up sensitive data, for example BrightPay Cloud allows users to easily backup payroll data.

How can BrightPay Cloud help?

BrightPay Cloud allows employers to automatically and securely backup payroll data to a highly secure cloud server. Payroll data (including payslips, payroll reports etc.) is automatically backed up every 15 minutes ensuring that you will never lose your payroll data if you are the victim of an attack.

You may decide that you only want to use BrightPay Cloud for payroll backups, however, the features listed below can also be availed of.

With BrightPay Cloud, employers can invite their employees to their own self-service portal. Employees can login to their own personal account, be it on their PC, tablet or smartphone, where they can view payroll documents relevant to them, with a full history of payslips and P60s. Employees can also request annual leave and view annual leave remaining through their portal.

Furthermore, BrightPay Cloud provides users with an annual leave management facility and a document upload facility, where all information is stored within the same location. With the document upload, employers can upload employee contracts & staff handbooks, training manuals, employment documents and much more, which can be accessed by employers and employees on any device.

Find out more about BrightPay Cloud with an online demo.

Posted byRachel HynesinBrightPay ConnectEmployee ContractsEmployee HandbookEmployee Self ServicePayroll Software