HLAS

The government has launched a full review of the UK’s parental leave and pay system, aiming to make it fairer, simpler and better suited to the needs of modern families. This is part of the government’s wider ‘Plan to Make Work Pay, and it could lead to significant reforms in how maternity, paternity and shared parental leave work – with the potential to affect businesses and employers across the country. Why now? The review comes in response to growing concern that the current system is complicated and unaffordable for many families – especially new fathers and partners. Currently, one in [...]

Farm businesses are set to face greater scrutiny from the Environment Agency (EA) following an announcement that the number of annual inspections will increase by around 50% over the next four years. The move is part of a wider government strategy to improve environmental performance in agriculture and reduce pollution from farming activities. Under the new plan, the number of farm inspections is expected to reach 6,000 per year by 2029. A Stronger Regulatory Framework The EA’s inspection programme focuses on enforcing environmental laws, including those around issues such as fertiliser use, slurry storage, soil health, and runoff into watercourses. [...]

UK house prices experienced their largest monthly decline in over two years in June, according to the latest figures from mortgage provider Nationwide. Prices dropped by 0.8%, representing the steepest fall since February 2023. Although annual price growth stayed in positive territory at 2.1%, this marks the slowest year-on-year rise in nearly a year. The downturn appears to be linked to a slowdown in buyer activity following changes to stamp duty thresholds introduced in April. Stamp Duty Changes Prompt Short-Term Cooling Under the updated rules, homebuyers in England and Northern Ireland now pay stamp duty on purchases above £125,000—down from [...]

Companies House is undergoing a major transformation following the introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). Backed by new legislative powers, the agency is shifting from a passive registrar to an active gatekeeper - taking direct action against fraud, money laundering, and misuse of the UK’s corporate framework. A newly published progress report highlights the scale and impact of this reform so far. Key achievements include: Querying or removing misleading or false information affecting over 100,000 companies. Blocking over 10,000 suspicious company applications, including mass incorporations at single addresses - a known red flag for money [...]

Following the publication of the Employment Rights Bill in October 2024, the UK Government has unveiled a detailed implementation roadmap. This roadmap sets out a phased schedule for what is being described as one of the most far-reaching reforms to employment law in recent decades. The aim of these reforms is to enhance workplace protections and improve living standards across the country. It is estimated that the changes will directly affect approximately 15 million workers—around half of the UK workforce. The legislation forms a key part of the Government’s wider "Make Work Pay" agenda and its broader Plan for Change. [...]

A recent First Tier Tribunal case gave us a useful reminder of the rules governing the VAT treatment of private tuition. In Rushby Dance & Fitness Centre v HMRC (TC09534), the lead appellant and three other dance tutors unsuccessfully argued that their dance classes qualified as VAT-exempt private tuition. The exemption for private tuition is contained in the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (Schedule 9, Group 6, Item 2): “The supply of private tuition, in a subject ordinarily taught in a school or university, by an individual teacher acting independently of an employer.” In order to qualify for the exemption, [...]

If you are a sole trader or landlord with combined turnover from trade and property exceeding £50,000 in 2024/25, you’re likely to be mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD) from 6 April 2026. Individuals with lower income will be mandated at later dates. We have covered the general MTD requirements in previous newsletters, but it’s time to focus on how MTD will apply to those with income from property that is jointly owned by more than one person. The MTD legislation prescribes the various categories that should be used to record each individual item of income and expenditure. Any MTD-compatible [...]

Employees who join their employer’s pensions salary sacrifice scheme stop paying pension contributions and instead sacrifice part of their gross salary in return for higher employer pension contributions. This means that both employers’ and employees’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are saved whilst maintaining the same amount of pensions savings. This is because employers’ pension contributions are exempt benefits and they are not caught by the salary sacrifice rules. The employers’ NICs saving is the main benefit of such schemes. The employer can choose to use all or none of the saving to invest in the employees’ pensions. Before implementing a [...]

If you have children under 12 who attend a nursery, after school club, playscheme or childminder, or you are considering sending them to a summer camp, you should think about setting up a tax-free childcare account. The government adds 25% to the amounts that you save in the account - up to £2,000 for each child - so £8,000 is topped up to £10,000 (a higher amount applies for disabled children). The account is then used to pay Ofsted registered childcare providers. Note that it doesn’t need to be the child’s parents paying into the account; uncles, aunts, grandparents and [...]

“What’s the most tax-efficient way to take funds out of my company?” is perhaps the most common question put to accountants by their owner-managed company clients. The answer used to be simple: “Take a salary up to the level of the personal allowance and take the rest as a dividend”. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to give such a straightforward, one-size-fits-all answer. Put simply, the most honest answer we can give without performing individualised calculations is “It depends”! If the director(s) need to take a market rate salary for commercial reasons (including obtaining finance in their own name or [...]