HLAS

The June edition of the Employer Bulletin brings you the latest HMRC updates and guidance to support employers. Included in this edition are updates on: reporting of expenses and benefits – correct recording of diesel company cars; P11D and P11D(b) filing and payment deadlines; PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) deadline and digital services; making Child Benefit claims quicker and easier for new parents; how the National Cyber Security Centre helps businesses tackle cybercrime risks; and saving National Insurance numbers to the Apple Wallet. The next Employer Bulletin is in August 2023. The employer bulletin is only available online. See: June 2023 [...]

The UK government is giving people more time to pay National Insurance contributions towards their State Pension. Taxpayers now have until 5 April 2025 to fill gaps in their National Insurance record from April 2006 that may increase their State Pension - an extension of nearly 2 years. Extending the voluntary National Insurance contributions deadline until 2025 means that people have more time to consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them and ensures no-one need miss out on the possibility of boosting their State Pension entitlements. The original deadline was extended to 31 July 2023 earlier this year, [...]

Lone workers can be at greater risk of harm as they may not have anyone to help or support them if things go wrong. Employers should provide training, supervision, monitoring, and support for those working alone. The Health and Safety Executive’s free-to-download leaflet, Protecting lone workers: How to manage the risks of working alone, is for anyone who employs lone workers, or engages them as contractors etc, including self-employed people. The leaflet is supported by their lone working webpages which include advice aimed at lone workers themselves, as well as a video setting out the key advice. See: Working alone - Health and safety guidance on [...]

The Government has published the third annual Investing in Women Code report. The Investing in Women Code is a commitment to supporting the advancement of female entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom by improving female entrepreneurs’ access to tools, resources and finance from the financial services sector. Key findings in the review showed: A higher percentage of venture capital deals made by Investing in Women Code (IWC) signatories feature at least one female founder as compared to the wider market; This is the third year in a row that IWC signatories have outperformed the venture capital market; More diverse investment committees are key [...]

A scam is a fraudulent scheme or operation designed to hoax people out of their cash, property, or personal information. Scams can take many forms, but they all share one ultimate goal: to take advantage of people’s trust to part them from their money. With the internet providing anonymity as well as opportunity, the scope for scams has increased – and a particularly rich area for scammers with eyes on your money is investment. You want to grow your money by investing it – scammers know ways to convince you to invest it with them. Scammers are very good at [...]

In a call for evidence launched recently, the UK government wants to hear views on Save As You Earn (SAYE) and the Share Incentive Plan (SIP), as it seeks to improve the schemes and expand their use by making it easier for businesses to set them up and offer them out to staff. The government is considering more simplified schemes to support business growth. The changes also aim to boost participation among low earners. This comes as a HMRC evaluation report shows that 81% of businesses say these schemes help boost their business, with almost three quarters of these saying [...]

New guidance designed to help organisations support employees experiencing menopause or menstruation and better enable them to retain experienced and talented people of all ages has been published by British Standards Institute (BSI). BSI, the UK National Standards Body, has published the menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace standard (BS 30416), following consultation with experts and the public. It sets out practical recommendations for workplace adjustments, as well as strategies to sit alongside existing well-being initiatives, to help organisations meet the needs of employees experiencing menopause or menstruation. The guidance is designed to enable organisations to prioritize the [...]

HM Treasury and the Bank of England are consulting on a potential digital pound, or central bank digital currency (CBDC). The consultation paper sets out analysis by HM Treasury and the Bank of England on the potential case for a UK central bank digital currency – a “digital pound” - and consult on the key features of a potential model. A digital pound would be a new form of digital money for use by households and businesses for their everyday payments needs. As part of the wider landscape of money and payments it would sit alongside, not replace, cash – [...]

Recently we have seen increasing interest rates, the largest monthly house price fall for nearly 14 years by 3.4%, and businesses and individuals paying the highest tax burden since the 1960’s. Times are likely to remain challenging for many businesses, however history shows us that that when things are difficult, genuine quality always rises to the surface. So what do businesses have to do to ensure that they succeed in the present economic environment? The changing nature of the economy presents a whole series of questions for any business: What finance will it need, short term and to invest? What [...]

Communities and businesses in the most remote areas will benefit from better access to wireless networks following the announcement of government plans. A new £7 million fund will test out new ways to bring together satellite, wireless and fixed line internet connectivity, helping support farmers and tourism businesses to access lightning fast, reliable connectivity in remote areas for the first time. The results of the new approaches will also help rural businesses in trial areas make the most of new agricultural technologies by improving connectivity on their land, for example using new drone technology to monitor crops and livestock in real-time, support landscape and wildlife conservation efforts, or [...]