In short yes all workers are entitled to holiday pay.  Most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year (28 days).  Many employers include bank holidays as part of the statutory entitlement i.e.20 days plus bank holidays. If you employ someone on a zero hour’s contracts or if you are the person responsible for aspects of HR in your company, then it’s important Read more…

A response to a freedom of information request has revealed that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) cancelled 270,000 late penalty notices in 2016. However, this figure was dwarfed by the 610,000 cancellations in 2015 and the 400,000 cancellations in 2014. The request was made by a partner in a ‘magic circle’ law firm, who was himself issued with a late penalty notice, despite having submitted Read more…

An overhaul of “the complex patchwork” of tax charges and reliefs affecting businesses throughout various stages of the business lifecycle is urgently required in order to stimulate growth among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has said. In a report published midway through April, the OTS looked closely at business taxes, charges and reliefs, identifying a number of areas in Read more…

An annual survey suggests that some 1.3 million UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) intend to branch out overseas this year in a bid to expand their horizons and fuel their growth plans. According to CitySprint’s latest annual survey of business owners and decision makers, ambitions among Britain’s SMEs remain strong despite the fact that business confidence has fallen slightly over the past few years. Read more…

The percentage of salary employers and employees must contribute to a workplace pension has increased from 6 April 2018. Employees will now contribute three per cent (up from one per cent) of their annual salary into a personal workplace pension, while employer contributions have increased from one to two per cent. Under the new rules, an employee earning an average salary (around £27,000) can expect Read more…

For a while, company directors have been able to make a tax-efficient living by taking a combination of salary and dividends due to the generous Dividend Allowance. However, changes which took effect from 6 April 2018 have cut the allowance from £5,000 to just £2,000. The changes are meant to level the playing field between the self-employed, directors, shareholders and employees, but if you’re not Read more…

EU State Aid approval for the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme expired on 6 April 2018, meaning any share options received after this date may not be eligible for tax reliefs. This is an important change for employers who currently grant EMI share options or plan to do so in the future. The Government said it is currently following the process of applying to the Read more…

Introduction The way we manage data has changed beyond all recognition in the last few years. Filing cabinets are fast becoming a 21st Century dinosaur, no one uses rolodexes anymore and the vast majority of businesses are switching to computer, online and cloud-based services. But the laws governing how that data is managed haven’t kept pace with this change. Until now. You may have heard Read more…

Millions of people from across the UK could be paying more tax than they need to, it has emerged, after figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) showed that more than 15 million individuals have not checked their Personal Tax Accounts. The figure means that less than half of taxpayers have accessed their accounts, risking errors in the amount they pay. Personal Tax Accounts were Read more…

Small businesses in the UK have long been scourged by late payments, but the problem was brought into sharp focus earlier this year following the collapse of construction giant, Carillion, emphasising the importance of careful credit control. According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), some suppliers were waiting as long as 120 days to receive payment from Carillion. FSB National Chairman, Mike Cherry, said: Read more…