Commemorative brick for the Queens Diamond Jubilee

Business owners must plan for the 2012 bank holidays as the late May bank holiday is planned to move to Monday the 4th of June as part of the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations, with Tuesday 5th June also designated as a bank holiday.

Dr Brian Sloan, head of business and economic policy at Greater Manchester Chamber, said:

“As we anticipated with the recent Royal Wedding bank holiday, with people off work there was a boost to some sectors of the economy, such as retailers, hotels, bars and restaurants, but unfortunately this comes at a cost to other firms in sectors such as manufacturing and construction that will take a hit in terms of lost production and costs.

Important point to remember when making your decision on how to deal with the extra Bank Holiday for the Queens Diamond Jubilee, that if you have previously given additional one off bank holidays, like the Royal Wedding in April 2011, but you do not intend to give the additional bank holiday in 2012, your employees might claim that taking additional one off bank holiday, has become custom and practice within your company. So think carefully about how your small business intends to cope with the 2012 celebrations.

The FSB conducted a poll of its members, with nearly one third claimed that cutting NIC for the first six months of any new employment would encourage them to start the recruitment process.

John Walker, the federation’s national chairman, said,

“Small businesses want to employ but have told us that they need incentives to do so. The Government must extend the national insurance contributions holiday to existing businesses if small firms are to take on new staff and so help tackle high unemployment.”

Do you run a small business?
What if anything is holding you back from recruiting new staff?
Let us know.

The battle between the sexes continues with men being 66% more likely than women to pick up the mobile for that business call while working on holiday.

This research was conducted by the internet telephony company Gradwell, they found that nearly a third of those who responded admitted to actively working on holiday. The findings of this survey will raise concerns over work life balance, and stress levels among employees in these hard economic times.

Peter Gradwell, MD of the internet telephony company said:

“It is very difficult, particularly in managerial positions, to cut yourself off from the office, especially if you’re staying in the country. It is important, though, to have a proper break and I often find that ignoring the phone and coming back for a fresh start after the holiday can give you some perspective on problems or difficult issues in the workplace.”

Do you work while on holiday?

Following the changes that came into effect earlier this year HM Revenue and Customs are more than likely to make a charge for any documents filled after the 19th May.

If an employer has not previously sent their return online, they will need to register for HMRC’s online service.

More information on filing online and registration can be found here.

Celia Donne, regional director at Regus, remarked, “Contrary to some reports, the survey shows that Britain’s employers are happy for their staff to down tools on 29 April.

“Perhaps their support stems from the fact that the nation wants a day off from talk of austerity.

“Also, it is a proven fact that employers who offer their workforce good work-life balance and flexible working practices can benefit from greater productivity and motivation.
“These in turn should help them make up for any working hours lost for the Royal Wedding.”

To read more articles about how the Royal Wedding has affected business follow the links below:

Royal Wedding gives employers a headache

Hiscox conducted a survey of 1,000 SME business owners, and found that 94% of those who took part took the view that hiring a family member is a positive move.

Surprisingly only 21% of respondents actually employ a relative, and 45% of these said that reliability was one of the biggest benefits of employing family members.

John Heaney, spokesman from Hiscox, said, “The silver lining of the tough financial climate has been the discovery of the family talent pool.

“The trend of SMEs turning to trusted family members who may be available and have the right experience has strengthened their businesses.”

However, the research also highlighted the problems that can occur when employing family members, as 43 per of respondents believe there is a danger associated with keeping home and work life separate.

This announcement outlined several changes to regulation in one are which has a massive burden on small business. SME businesses in particular often suffer the most under the burden of red tape.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “It’s important that we free small firms up so they can grow and drive the economy. The changes I have announced today mean that small firms will be able to concentrate on growing and taking on more people instead of paperwork.”

Although the Government understands the need for high standards in accounting. Some other areas could do with reform:

• Firstly the small company audit and account rules are stricter in the UK than is required by EU law;

• Secondly for even smaller businesses (with less than 10 employees) Government will push for exemptions to remove the requirement to produce dual sets of accounts;

• Thirdly for medium sized businesses Government will push for EU restrictions to be lifted so that they no longer need their account independently audited and;

• Finally, Government will look at relaxing the audit and accounts rules for subsidiary companies.

According to R3, an estimated 22 per cent of company administrations are currently pre-packaged (essentially having a sale agreed before the company is placed briefly into administration) because of concerns suppliers will make “unreasonable demands” over contract prices during the insolvency process. It added that around 14 per cent of liquidations could be avoided if materials were supplied at pre-insolvency rates.

Labour MP Gordon Banks, Liberal Democrat Lorely Burt and Conservative John Glen have all added their support behind the campaign.

Banks have also added that the rescue of businesses through the administration process generally produces better returns for creditors than other insolvency procedures, while Burt claimed suppliers should not be allowed to “to act like vultures” and take advantage of firms in trouble.

Glen argued the current law, which was introduced in the 1980s, “urgently needs updating”.
R3 chief executive Steven Law said, “When a business has to make a ransom payment, it effectively prevents any chance of rescue.

“It is unnecessary for suppliers to take this action as those who continue to supply during insolvency have the security of being paid as an administration expense ahead of all other payments.”

Scrutinise the trading and payment patterns of your customers. If the level of orders suddenly increases, find out why and try to adjust the payment terms. Also, asking for extended credit can be a tell-tale sign of a company with financial problems.

Be particularly vigilant with new customers and make sure they are not coming to you because they are “on stop” elsewhere. Don’t be over reliant on formal credit checks as these are based on information such as judgements or winding up petitions. By the time a business reaches this point, it’s often too late.

Communication about payment becomes increasingly difficult with businesses in trouble. If your customer is not replying to e-mails, taking phone calls or providing any feedback, they may be on the verge of insolvency. If all possibilities have been exhausted and complete communication breakdown occurs, seek specialist advice.

The largest single creditor of many companies is HMRC for PAYE, NIC and VAT. Be aware that HMRC has recently tightened up its scheme allowing businesses to pay tax by instalments, which is expected to contribute to more insolvencies as businesses fail to manage their debts.

Market intelligence is vital so do talk to other companies in your sector – even your competitors. When a customer becomes insolvent it can dramatically affect your own business, so it pays to be vigilant about the early warning signs.

Further information is available from Business Owner Debts on 08448 247 271.

Specific legal advice should be sought in any given case and the content of this article should not in itself be regarded as advice.

However, from the 1st of March, its powers will extend to include regulating commercial websites and businesses who promote their products using social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

Under the rule change, internet users will be able to make official objections about any indecent or misleading information they find online.

The ASA has spent a 12 months preparing for the regulation reform, and adding 10% to its staff numbers in order to deal with the projected extra complaints. 2,500 people complained about website content in 2010, even though the objections where not admissible.

“The principle that ads have to be legal, decent, honest and truthful is now going to extend to companies claims on their own websites,” Matt Wilson, of the ASA told the BBC.

Both adverts and claims on a company’s website which could be interpreted as marketing will be regulated by the authority.

Now is the time to review your website content and remove anything that might be view as misleading or untruthful.