What’s new in BrightPay Cloud: salary sacrifice, Pay By Bank and live Client Portal updates
This update covers releases from 10 September to 15 October 2026, including self-service removal of Pay By Bank accounts, live updates in the Client Portal and a change to how Resources documents are shared.
·5 min read
BrightPay Cloud UK now calculates, tracks and reports on salary sacrifice for you. This update covers releases from 10 September to 15 October 2026, including self-service removal of Pay By Bank accounts, live updates in the Client Portal and a change to how Resources documents are shared.
In brief
What’s new | What it does | Live from |
Salary sacrifice | Calculates the sacrifice, links it to pensions, works out the employer NI saving and reports on it | 15 October 2026 |
Remove Pay By Bank accounts | Lets you remove a bank account yourself, without contacting support | 10 September 2026 |
Live Client Portal updates | Keeps everyone’s view current while several people work on the same employer | 1 October 2026 |
Resources access default | New documents are no longer visible to all employees by default | 7 October 2026 |
If you’d rather see these in action, join our webinar on Thursday 12 November, 11am to 12pm.
What is salary sacrifice, and how does BrightPay Cloud handle it?
Salary sacrifice is an agreement where an employee gives up part of their salary in exchange for a benefit, such as a pension contribution. Because the employee’s pay is reduced, it can lower the income tax and National Insurance contributions that are due. The employer’s National Insurance bill can fall too.
Until now, that meant working out the figures by hand. BrightPay Cloud now handles it as part of the payroll. You choose which pay items count towards the sacrifice, and BrightPay Cloud calculates the sacrifice on each payslip.
This is general information, not tax advice. If you’re unsure how salary sacrifice applies to your employees, speak to your accountant.
[IMAGE: Salary Sacrifice – horizontal.gif. Alt text: Setting up salary sacrifice in BrightPay Cloud]
What are the benefits of salary sacrifice in BrightPay Cloud?
Less manual work. The calculation happens on every payslip, so there’s no spreadsheet to maintain alongside payroll.
Fewer errors. You decide once which pay items count, such as basic pay only, and BrightPay Cloud applies that rule every pay period.
Control over pensions. You can add the sacrifice to the employer pension contribution in full, up to a limit, or only for the amount over a limit.
Clear employer NI savings. BrightPay Cloud works out the employer NI saving for you. You can choose to add it to the pension contribution.
Figures you can check. The payslip summary shows the pay that counts towards the sacrifice, and the amount sacrificed.
Reporting you can share. Period and year-to-date figures are in one report (see below).
How do you set up salary sacrifice in BrightPay Cloud?
You set it up once for the employer, then add it for each employee who takes part.
Mark the pay items that count. Tick “Contributes to gross for salary sacrifice” on the payments, additions or rates that should be included. This is useful when, for example, only basic pay should count and overtime shouldn’t.
Add the salary sacrifice deduction to each employee. Set the percentage on their payslip.
Link it to the pension scheme. Choose whether the sacrifice is added to the employer contribution. This is off by default, so nothing changes until you choose.
Check the payslip. Run payroll and confirm the new salary sacrifice figures appear in the summary.
The full guide is on our support site: Salary sacrifice deductions in BrightPay.
Can you report on salary sacrifice in BrightPay Cloud?
Yes. A dedicated Salary Sacrifice report sits in Analysis. Go to Analysis, select More, then Salary Sacrifice.
It shows pay that counts towards salary sacrifice, the amount sacrificed and the employer NI reduction, for both the period and the year to date. You can also add these fields to your other Analysis reports. Export the report as a CSV, or as a PDF to share with colleagues or clients.
Our guide covers it step by step: Salary Sacrifice Reporting and Analysis.
Can you now remove a Pay By Bank account yourself?
Yes. You can remove a connected bank account from the Bank Accounts screen, without contacting support. Previously, accounts could be linked but not removed, so a closed or incorrect account stayed on the list and could be picked by mistake during a pay run.
When you remove an account, BrightPay Cloud:
clears it from any pay schedules in the current tax year that used it
shows you which schedules were affected, so you can choose a replacement before your next pay run
asks for an extra confirmation if it’s your only connected account
keeps the account listed until it’s safe to remove, if a payment using it is in progress
How do live updates work in the Client Portal?
When several people work on the same employer in the Client Portal, everyone now sees changes as they happen, across open sessions and browser tabs. Employee requests, payroll entries, approval status and finalised payslips all update live.
That means no manual refreshing, and less risk of missing an update made by a colleague. It’s useful for bureau teams who share clients, and for employers where payroll and HR work side by side.
What changed for Resources documents in the Client Portal?
New documents uploaded to Resources are now set to “not visible to all employees” by default. To share a document with your whole workforce, choose that option when you upload it. Documents already in Resources aren’t affected.
What else is new?
A number of smaller improvements are also live:
Government Gateway credentials remembered after a successful HMRC submission
Faster journals and exports
Bulk document downloads for up to 250 employees
More reliable payslip email batches and scheduled P60, P11D and P45 emails
Keep in Touch days and annual leave approvals on the Client Portal
Improvements to employee onboarding and BrightID sign-in
You can see the full list in the BrightPay UK release notes.
Frequently asked questions
Is salary sacrifice available in BrightPay Cloud UK?
Is salary sacrifice available in BrightPay Cloud UK?
Yes. It’s live from 15 October 2026 in BrightPay Cloud UK.
Do I need to change anything for salary sacrifice to work?
Do I need to change anything for salary sacrifice to work?
Yes. You need to mark the pay items that count and add the salary sacrifice deduction to each employee. Adding it to the employer pension contribution is off by default, so nothing changes until you choose an option.
Can I add the employer NI saving to an employee’s pension?
Can I add the employer NI saving to an employee’s pension?
Yes. You can choose to add the employer NI saving to the pension contribution when you link salary sacrifice to a pension scheme.
What happens to a Pay By Bank account if a payment is in progress?
What happens to a Pay By Bank account if a payment is in progress?
You’ll be told, and the account stays listed until it’s safe to remove.
Do I need to refresh the Client Portal to see my colleagues’ changes?
Do I need to refresh the Client Portal to see my colleagues’ changes?
No. Changes made in other open sessions now appear live.
See it in action
Join us on Thursday 12 November, 11am to 12pm for a walkthrough of this update. Save your seat.
This content may have been developed with the assistance of AI tools. Content is reviewed by a member of the Bright team before publication. Guidance on legislation can be obtained from your industry body.
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