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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Running your own business is great but anyone who thinks that it is easy or less of a hassle than being an employee is fooling themselves. Most employees can finish their work and go home and relax but someone running their own business cannot switch off so easily. Trust me – I’ve been there. You [...]
Implementation of the Bribery Act 2010 is to be delayed amidst fears that promised guidelines to enable businesses to understand the somewhat complex legislation will not be ready in time. The Act was introduced by the last Labour Government and whilst the new Conservative-LibDem coalition broadly supports the rationale for the new law it decided to [...]
The National Employment Savings Trust (“Nest”) is the UK Government’s pension scheme introduced following the Pensions Commission’s 2005 report and is intended to encourage people to save for retirement. In fact it isn’t a new scheme, just a rebranding of the Personal Accounts Scheme which has been in operation for some time. The real difference [...]
The Institute of Directors (IoD) today publishes the results of a survey of its members on the administrative burdens that the tax system imposes on them. The picture is much gloomier than that painted by last Friday’s World Bank survey, which placed the UK fourth for ease of paying taxes. The IoD argues for specific [...]
On Tuesday 4th January 2011 the Standard Rate of Value Added Tax is increasing from 17.50% to 20%. This change will mean a lot of extra work for VAT registered businesses and any non registered business or private individuals should consider whether there are any steps they can take to try and pay at the [...]
If you have decided to start your own business as a self-employed sole trader (perhaps having read Choosing the Structure for Your Business) then you might think that you have nothing else to do apart from finding some work and getting paid when you have done it. Unfortunately it isn’t quite as simple as that, [...]
Today, 1st October 2010, sees a number of changes in respect of the UK national minimum wage (NMW) regulations. From today the age at which UK workers become eligible for the full rate drops from 22 to 21 and the rate itself increases from £5.80 per hour to £5.93. The hourly rate for workers aged [...]
UK business owners and managers who employ staff will need to be aware of the requirements of the new Equality Act the bulk of which come into force today (see below for a list). Failure to adhere to its requirements, some of them fairly onerous and complex, could see them end up in court facing [...]
