Everyone knows that the Greek economy is in meltdown and has been for some time. Frankly it is a scandal that Greece was ever allowed into the Euro. At the time everyone knew that the figures provided could not be right, but unlike the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, there was no little boy [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Way back in 1984, an American Advertising Executive, Jay Conrad Levinson, published a book called Guerrilla Marketing: Secrets for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business. Levinson, who as Senior Vice President of J Walter Thompson was responsible for many major campaigns including the Marlborough Man, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Tony the Tiger, and the Jolly [...]
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 [...]
If you have always wanted to run your own business (or even expand the one you have) but you haven’t yet made it happen, then maybe you are just too lazy to succeed. Or maybe you just haven’t found the information you need to make it happen because you haven’t got yourself organised. Here are [...]
There is nothing on Earth quite like the Isle of Man TT Races. They capture the imagination in a way no other race can and the sheer spectacle and uniqueness ensure that every May and June many thousands of fans flock to the Island – many with their own bikes – to revel in the [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has published revised Advisory Fuel rates to be used as mileage allowances where an employee is provided with a company car but not with company fuel. This can be, and usually is, advantageous to the employee who instead of being liable to be taxed on the “benefit in kind” of [...]
Way back in 2002 the EU enacted a directive which required owners of websites based in the EU to obtain customers’ consent before using ‘cookies’ to track how they browse their website. As usual the implementation of EU directives is subject to a number of delays and opt-outs, so much so that we often forget [...]
The UK Equality Act 2010 is a major piece of legislation which collects together all of the existing anti-discrimination laws and which has introduced several new areas which give rights to employees, some of which could cause major problems for business owners and managers. Most of the Act came into force last October and you can read about these [...]
One of the reasons that you won’t often find me commenting on US tax issues is that the US government have a lot of very nasty laws that they are prepared to use on anyone they think might be encouraging their citizens to evade or even just avoid tax – even though tax avoidance is [...]
The long-awaited and controversial Bribery Act Guidance has been published this morning by the Ministry of Justice. The Act will now come into force on 1 July 2011. Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has sought to reassure opponents of the Act by confirming that he would like to see the legislation implemented in a “workable, common [...]
These days everywhere you look on the internet people are talking about “Niche Marketing” and how by identifying a niche you can make lots of money. However, what is seldom discussed is what exactly a niche market is. Now, as it happens a niche market can be defined is several different ways but for our [...]
Networking refers to the practice of interacting with associates, fellow entrepreneurs, colleagues and other people to build a network of far-reaching contacts. Today, networking has become an integral element of conducting business as it helps to reach wider audiences and perhaps maximize client base in the process. A very famous entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki once stated [...]
The Time to Train regulations were introduced by the Labour government and took effect for businesses employing 250 or more people in April 2010. They were due to be extended to all employers as from April 2011 but this has now been indefinately postponed to enable a full review is undertaken. The regulations require businesses [...]
People like me are prone to bang on about the need for a Business Plan, a Marketing Plan, a Finance Plan and so on. Mind you for me a good business plan should contain all those elements but each does have a stand-alone life of its own and each needs regular updating. It isn’t enough [...]
