UK company directors should note with concern the this weeks decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) which found two of a company’s directors jointly and severally liable with company to pay damages of around £40,000 to two employees, for discrimination on the grounds of religious faith. The employees succeeded in claims of unfair dismissal and the [...]
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The Real Problem of Health & Safety
In the last few years Health & Safety (or ‘elf and safety) has been an increasingly popular source of stories for the media. We have all seen stories about local councils cutting down apple trees in case people trip over fallen apples and hurt themselves, or stopping using hanging baskets in public places in case [...]
Continue →A Promising Report from the Office of Tax Simplification
The Office of Tax Simplification has today published a document dealing with the taxation of small businesses. It contains a general appreciation that for very small businesses the existing tax rules are over complicated and that they tend to cause problems and costs for the business owner or manager that discourage and penalise entrepreneurial ideas. [...]
Continue →Is Sir Paul Stephenson Guilty of Money Laundering or Tax Evasion?
Before I continue let me make it clear that the above is not an accusation but a genuine question, and one which I think needs to be answered urgently. By now there can be few people who have not heard that Sir Paul Stephenson, the Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police force, resigned last night. In [...]
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Anyone with even a passing interest in the relationship between politician and newspaper publishers has knows for many months that it was only a matter of time before the inept cover up of the illegal practices carried on by, or on behalf of, the News of the World would unravel. So it has proven this [...]
Continue →Tax Crackdown on Teachers and eBay Traders
Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs have announced a new hit list of potential tax cheats who they are targeting for investigation. High on that list are teachers who make extra cash from giving private lessons, people selling goods on eBay, Amazon or other internet sites, personal trainers and tradesmen and businesses who hide their true [...]
Continue →Auto Enrolment Pensions Will Hurt Small Businesses
In an attempt to deal with the looming pension crisis and the failure of people to make provision for their retirement, the UK Governments has introduced legislation that will require all employers to auto-enrol their staff in a qualifying workplace pension scheme. The rationale behind the legislation is that it seems that currently many employees [...]
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