HLAS

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) recommends that businesses and organisations establish incident response, disaster recovery and business continuity plans to address the heightened risk of ransomware attacks. The recommendation accompanies ICO's new guidance and a checklist of actions businesses should review to assess their preparedness against potential ransomware attacks on their organisation. Ransomware is an increasingly prevalent form of cyber-attack. Personal data breaches from the ICO's caseload during 2020/2021 have seen a steady increase in the number and severity of cases caused by ransomware. This guidance presents eight scenarios about the most common ransomware compliance issues the ICO has seen: [...]

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax will apply to sole traders, property landlords and certain other businesses with gross turnover and/or property income over £10,000 a year and will commence in April 2024. The system will then be extended to partners from April 2025 and LLPs and partnerships with corporate members from April 2026. The Income Tax (Digital Requirements) Regulations 2021, set out the requirements that relevant persons must comply with under MTD for Income Tax. These include the use of MTD-compatible software to keep and preserve their business records (income and expenses) digitally, send quarterly updates of their [...]

Do you agree?  Many of our other clients do. In this uncertain economy, managing your cash flow is more important than ever. If you are concerned about future trading conditions, then take some time to reflect on where you are and what could happen in the next few months. It is important for all businesses to plan ahead for a range of scenarios. Cash flow and business planning in these uncertain times may appear problematic, but there are some practical steps you can take to minimise potential disruption to your business: Review your budgets and set realistic and achievable targets [...]

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advice has recently changed, and employers must now carry out an individual risk assessment for pregnant workers and new mothers. There will be little practical change as you must already consider risks to women of childbearing age in any general health and safety risk assessment. The difference is that you must also carry out an individual risk assessment that covers a worker’s specific needs when they inform you in writing that they: are pregnant; have given birth in the last 6 months; or are breastfeeding. See: Protecting pregnant workers and new mothers - Overview - HSE

The ‘Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility’ competition, which is run by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), will provide grants to help roll out commercial use of self-driving vehicles across the UK from 2025, delivering convenience for consumers and making journeys safer, greener and more reliable. UK-registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £40 million of CCAV competition funding, supporting new automated transport service projects. The competition will help bring together companies and investors so that sustainable business models to be rolled out nationally and exported globally. Types of self-driving vehicles that could be deployed [...]

For most people, driving or riding will be the most dangerous work activity they do. Around one-third of all road traffic collisions (RTCs) in Britain involve someone driving or riding as part of their job and countless other RTCs involve people travelling to or from their workplace. Although the risks cannot be completely controlled, employers or companies (including those in the construction sector) who engage drivers and riders must take all reasonable steps to manage these risks and do everything practicable to protect people from harm. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) webpages were created following HSE and Department of [...]

Then ask us about our comprehensive guide to the financial, tax and accounting considerations of starting a business, “The New Business Kit” which we offer free to start-ups or those who have recently made the jump into business ownership. The guide helps start-ups think about: Selecting a legal entity; Registering with the tax authorities; Accounting and bookkeeping; Value Added Tax; Payroll taxes and pensions; Income and corporation tax; Cash planning and forecasting; Insurance; Selecting professional advisers; and Digital accounting systems. In addition, there is a section of useful names, addresses and telephone numbers. just ask – it’s free!

The Help to Grow: Management scheme now offers business leaders 50 hours of leadership and management training across 12 weeks, and covers 90% of the costs involved. This means that from £750, business leaders can benefit from one-to-one support from a business mentor, access to a network of like-minded business leaders, and a bespoke growth plan to help the business reach its full potential. The scheme offers development opportunities for leaders and their staff, boosting productivity and growing their companies which can lead to more high-skill, high-wage jobs. Businesses with 10 or more employees are now eligible to have up [...]

Companies House incorporate and dissolve limited companies. They register company information and make it available to the public. They have recently updated their guidance on how to protect your company from fraud and scams and how to report it: Register for online filing Keep your authentication code safe Sign up to our PROOF scheme Use our free Follow service Choose the right correspondence address Check website addresses are genuine Be aware of scam emails and telephone calls Report fraud Unregistered cryptoasset businesses See: Companies House - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In recent years, HMRC has identified and successfully challenged several false claims for Research and Development (R&D) tax credit relief made by purported R&D Consultants.  Many of these claims have been for projects that did not satisfy the criteria for the tax relief and some included overstated expenditure and consequently have been abusing the scheme. This is a generous tax break. As a Small or Medium-sized Entity (SME), the expenditure qualifies for a tax deduction of 230% of the amount spent which can then be traded in for a tax refund of 14.5% where the company is loss-making. Thus, £100,000 [...]