HLAS

The new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates will come into force from 1 April 2025. There are also changes to the National Insurance employers pay that take effect from 6 April. For many businesses, the April payroll will represent a sizeable step up in labour costs. As a reminder, here is a quick recap of the changes. National Minimum Wage rates The new minimum wage rates are as follows:   Hourly Rate National Living Wage (21 and over) £12.21 18-20 Year Old Rate £10.00 16-17 Year Old Rate £7.55 Apprentice Rate £7.55 Accommodation Offset £10.66 Employers National [...]

As part of the changes being gradually introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCT), identity verification is set to become a Companies House requirement. This is one of a number of changes that the Act is making to better protect the data held at Companies House. Who will be affected by identity verification? Identity verification will ultimately become a compulsory part of incorporation and new appointments for new directors and persons with significant control (PSCs). All existing directors and PSCs will also need to verify their identity as part of the annual confirmation statement filing, once Companies [...]

For affected businesses there is now just a week left to submit their 2024 packaging data under the new extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) scheme. Requirement to submit data and register The new legislation came into force on 1st January 2025 and requires data to be submitted by 1 April 2025. Large businesses are expected to submit their July-December 2024 data, whereas small businesses must submit their January-December 2024 data in one annual submission by that date. All businesses, regardless of size, also need to register with their environmental regulator by 1 April 2025. The fee is set based [...]

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is investigating how Artificial Intelligence (AI) could assist in detecting and analysing foodborne illness outbreaks. UKHSA experts recently conducted a study assessing different AI models to determine their ability to analyse online restaurant reviews and identify signs of foodborne gastrointestinal illnesses. The goal is to explore whether AI could eventually help detect and, if necessary, investigate outbreaks. How effective was the study? The study revealed several challenges that currently limit the reliability and effectiveness of using AI for this purpose. These barriers would need to be overcome before AI could be used as a [...]

The government has just announced that thousands of government credit cards will be cancelled as part of a crackdown on wasteful spending. With spending on these cards reportedly increasing fourfold over the last four years, it serves as a reminder of how important it is to keep a close eye on expenses. While your business is likely far more cost-conscious than a government department—where inefficiencies can sometimes go unchecked—this is still a great opportunity to review your own spending and identify any areas where you might be able to cut waste. Are you spending more than necessary?Even in a profit-driven [...]

The government has announced plans to lay legislation that will end the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). The PSR currently looks after payment systems such as Faster Payments and Mastercard. However, its role will be consolidated into the Financial Conduct Authority. Payment systems firms currently have to deal with three different regulators, which can make these systems unnecessarily complicated. Abolishing the PSR will simplify this. Nothing is changing immediately. The PSR will continue to look after its work until Parliament has passed the necessary legislation. See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-axed-as-red-tape-is-slashed-to-boost-growth

The Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) will be using their latest round of funding totalling £1.6 million to help support 58 UK artists to tour the world. The funding will help small and medium sized music companies with their marketing and promotion campaigns for their artists touring abroad. The aim is to attract new fans, overseas touring opportunities and revenue. MEGS has been operating since 2014 and has given out around £7.9 million in grants to support UK musical acts in touring abroad and finding an international audience. Some acts, such as Ezra Collective and Fat Dog have benefited from [...]

In their latest blog, ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) revealed some insights from their latest helpline and early conciliation data. Increased demand for services They report that the demand for their services continues to trend up. Their helpline service handled around 158,500 calls in the final quarter of 2024, which is an increase of 11% on the previous quarter. Web traffic has also increased significantly: up by nearly 20% on the previous year. Employers proactively seeking information They can see that employers and employees are being proactive about finding information when the law changes. There were 46,000 web sessions, [...]

Following a confirmed case of foot and mouth disease at a cattle farm in Hungary’s north-west, new import bans have been announced. The commercial import from Hungary and Slovakia of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and other non-domestic ruminants and porcines such as deer and their untreated products, such as fresh meat and dairy, are now banned. Since 8 March, travellers are also no longer able to bring meat, meat products, milk and dairy products, certain composite products and animal by products of pigs and ruminants, or hay or straw from Hungary or Slovakia. This case follows an outbreak of foot [...]

The Health and Safety Executive are reminding employers about their responsibilities to protect workers from the health risks that come from working with display screen equipment (DSE), including PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations apply to any worker that uses DSE on a daily basis for continuous periods of an hour or more. For these workers, the Regulations mean that employers need to do a DSE workstation assessment and reduce risks such as by making sure breaks are taken. The law applies not only to workers at a fixed workstation but also mobile [...]