Only one in 100 independent financial advisers (IFAs) believe small businesses are well prepared for auto-enrolment into workplace pensions, a new study has revealed. The survey for business software specialists Sage UK of more than 200 IFAs also found just one in five (21 per cent) agreed that small firms were aware of auto-enrolment, even… Read more…

The government has set out its remit for the annual review of the national minimum wage (NMW) by the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC). Alongside the review of the NMW, which will lead to recommendations on the levels the commission believes should apply from October 2015, the government has asked it to make recommendations on… Read more…

Employees on zero hours contracts will be free to find work with more than one employer after the government moved to ban exclusivity clauses. Exclusivity clauses prevent someone working for another employer, even when no work is guaranteed by the first employer. It is estimated that 125,000 workers on zero hours contracts are affected by… Read more…

Businesses supplying digital services – broadcasting, telecoms and e-services such as smartphone games and other apps – across the European Union will be able to use a one-stop VAT service from January. Using the VAT Mini One Stop Shop, or VAT MOSS, online service will mean that they do not have to pay the tax… Read more…

The government has launched consultations on key changes to employee benefits and expenses. The consultations, which began on 18 June, followed an announcement in the March 2014 Budget of measures designed to simplify the administration of employee benefits in kind (BiKs) and expenses. Separate consultations are being held on each of four proposals: abolishing the… Read more…

Businesses have been warned that HM Revenue & Customs will challenge attempts to claim capital allowances beyond their scope after a multi-million pound claim made by one of the UK’s largest clothing retailers was rejected for the second time by a tax tribunal. Next Distribution Limited, part of the Next Group Plc, claimed the Industrial… Read more…

UK small businesses could be damaging their growth prospects by paying accountants who aren’t even qualified, an accountancy body has warned. The ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) issued the alert on 27 May, after research from cloud accounting software provider ClearBooks showed just eight per cent of small businesses considered an accountant’s qualifications… Read more…

Late payment remains a concern for many small businesses, according to the latest research from the national small business group, the Forum of Private Business. In the organisation’s latest banking and finance survey, published on 13 May, 23 per cent of members reported an increase in late payment over the past year compared with only… Read more…

UK businesses will be able to better protect their intellectual property rights in the UK and abroad as new legislation was given the final go-ahead. A key part of the new Intellectual Property Act, which received Royal Assent on 14 May, is to create new powers for the UK to implement the Unified Patent Court… Read more…

Thousands of UK businesses have given a frank assessment of banking services on a groundbreaking new website. The Business Banking Insight (BBI) website, which looks at how well the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are being served by banks, went live on 28 May. Commissioned by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, BBI is… Read more…