HLAS

The Insolvency Service has successfully secured the winding-up of 11 companies for their part in a scheme which orchestrated systematic fraud against UK taxpayers during the covid-19 pandemic. Between them, the companies claimed £500,000 through the Bounce Back Loan scheme. The companies claimed to be registered at various offices in Berkshire, Lancashire, London, and Shropshire, however the Insolvency Service investigation could not identify trading premises for any of the businesses, nor establish that they had ever traded. Nine of the companies were found to have claimed the maximum available £50,000 through the Bounce Back Loan scheme, with one company even [...]

It is important to make sure your workplace is inclusive of deaf people and people with hearing loss. If you don’t, you are excluding a large number of people: for example, 1 in 5 people of working age have hearing loss which may have an impact on their communication, productivity and wellbeing. The RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People) is an independent charity supporting the 12 million people in the UK who are deaf or have hearing loss or tinnitus. They can help with: Online hearing checks, Supporting deaf staff with and staff with hearing loss, Communication, Training, Workplace [...]

Paid annual leave is a legal right that an employer must provide. Holiday pay is worked out according to the kind of hours someone works and how they’re paid for the hours. This includes: full-time workers, part-time workers, agency workers, workers working irregular shifts, and casual workers including those on zero-hours contracts. Workers are entitled to a week’s pay for each week of statutory leave that they take. You can calculate holiday entitlement for a full year and part of a leave year (if the job started or finished part way through the year) using this calculator: Calculate holiday entitlement [...]

From tax year 2023 to 2024 onwards, the Self-Assessment threshold for taxpayers taxed through PAYE only will change from £100,000 to £150,000. Affected individuals do not need to do anything now as the Self-Assessment threshold for 2022 to 2023 tax returns remains at £100,000.  They will receive a Self-Assessment exit letter if they submit a 2022 to 2023 return showing income between £100,000 and £150,000 taxed through PAYE and they do not meet any of the other criteria for submitting a Self-Assessment return. For the 2023 to 2024 tax year onward taxpayers will still need to submit a tax return if [...]

With the present economic uncertainty, managing your business’s cash and understanding the flow are now vital tools in maintaining resilience and being able to adopt flexible strategies for success. Cash flows reflect all the cash that is flowing in and out of a business. Owners can look at the direction of the cash flows for insights about the health of specific products or services and overall market patterns. Some types of business are more likely to run into cash flow problems, while other types appear to be more resilient. If you are a business owner, you might be wondering which [...]

Tenant farmers will be at the heart of the government’s work to grow and support the rural economy thanks to new measures announced last week to support the long-term sustainability of the tenant farming sector. The measures, announced in response to the independent Rock Review, agree with the review’s key recommendations and include a new Farm Tenancy Forum which will work to consider the unique challenges facing the sector, facilitate more collaborative relationships between landlords and tenants, and help to shape farming policy. The government will also launch a Call for Evidence this summer on the proposal for a Tenant Farming [...]

The government has stated that wine producers and importers will be freed from unnecessary red tape due to proposed changes to retained EU laws on the production and marketing of wine, providing a boost to the wine industry. The changes will allow wine makers the freedom to pick from a wider range of vines, including more disease resistant varieties, and overturn the restrictions which currently prevent the wine industry from producing new blends. Bottlers will also be able to turn imported wine into sparkling wine. Changes will also include removing certain packaging requirements – such as ending the mandatory requirement [...]

Parents and carers are to be given new protections at work, covering leave entitlement and redundancy rules as three Government backed Private Members Bills received royal assent last week. This wave of new workers’ rights has been welcomed by charities and parties across parliament. When in force, these new laws aim to increase workforce participation, protect vulnerable workers, and level the playing field by ensuring unscrupulous businesses don’t have a competitive advantage and delivering on our priority to grow the economy. Parents and carers will benefit from the following new protections once in force: Up to 12 weeks of paid [...]

Tax credit claimants should be on their guard against fraudsters, as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) warns of the latest tactics being employed by scammers. HMRC has issued a new alert, providing details of a number of new scams reported that aim to trick people into handing over money or personal information. Criminals use deadlines – like the tax credits renewal deadline on 31 July – to target their victims and the department is warning around 1.5 million tax credits customers to be alert to scams that mimic government communications to make them appear genuine. Typical scam examples include: emails or [...]

All workers are legally entitled to be paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW). This includes temporary seasonal staff, who often work short-term contracts in bars, hotels, shops, and warehouses over the summer. The National Minimum Wage hourly rates from 1 April 2023 are: £10.42 – age 23 or over (National Living Wage), £10.18 – age 21 to 22, £7.49 – age 18 to 20, £5.28 – age under 18, and £5.28 – apprentice. If you need help on paying temporary staff please contact us, alternatively you can contact ACAS via their helpline if you need employment law or workplace advice. ACAS [...]