Government ministers, regulators and figures from the pensions industry met last month to discuss how to tackle ‘pension liberation’ fraudsters. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Serious Fraud Office were also at the meeting on 12 September. Pension liberation scams convince people to hand over their pension pot in exchange for early access to the[…]
It was announced in this year’s Budget that people who bought a with-profits annuity from the Equitable Life Assurance Society before September 1992 – and were aged 60 or older on 20 March 2013 – would receive an ex-gratia payment of £5,000. Payments were planned for the 2014/15 tax year but have now been brought[…]
The UK’s 1.5 million micro businesses will now be able to prepare and publish much-reduced financial statements, as the Government’s drive to reduce the red-tape burden on businesses continues. A micro business has: a balance sheet total of no more than £316,000 a net turnover of no more than £632,000 10 (or fewer) employees. Despite[…]
New guidance for businesses on securing bank finance has been released by two leading membership organisations from the business and banking sectors. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) joined forces as part of Small Business Advice Week 2013, which ran from 2-8 September. The top five tips are: Develop[…]
In autumn 2015, employer-supported childcare will be replaced by a tax-free childcare scheme. However, employees may choose to remain in those schemes or switch to tax-free childcare. The new scheme is designed to help families and the Government will provide 20 per cent of working families’ childcare costs (subject to an annual limit of £1,200[…]
According to recent Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) surveys the majority of apprenticeships provide benefits to apprentices and business, Eight out of ten (83%) apprentices said their apprenticeship improved their ability to do their job and boosted career prospects. In a separate survey, 72% of employers said apprenticeships improved their product or service[…]
In the case of Morgan v Halls of Gloucester, a black delivery driver for a fruit and vegetable business brought a case against his employer for constructive dismissal and racial harassment after listening to his colleague being subjected to racist abuse. Although the delivery driver, Mr Morgan, was not the subject of the racist abuse,[…]
As we move towards the end of the year and with the economy showing signs of recovery, you may be planning to take on new workers in some capacity. Here are a few do’s and dont’s when taking on new people: Do: make the recruit feel welcome prioritise training that will make the worker useful[…]
Zero hours contracts have been in the news recently, with figures suggesting that they are used to employ between 250,000 and one million workers. Zero hours contracts are contracts for casual work, under which the employer does not guarantee to provide the worker with any work and pays the worker only for work actually done.[…]
Most new regulations affecting businesses come into force on ‘common commencement dates’ in April and October each year. The Government’s commitment to reducing the regulatory burden on businesses is being enforced with three key ideas: 1. One-in-One-Out Departments and ministers have to justify any increases in the cost of regulation by finding savings of at[…]