October
1st 2013 was one of the Red Tape Freedom Days, on which the
government introduced a number of reforms in the regulatory requirements of
small businesses. They were in response to the Red Tape Challenge which looked
at how to minimise the effects of, or do away with altogether, some 3,000
regulations. The government believes this will make life easier for small
businesses and encourage more start-ups.
Employer Liability
Reduced
Among
the reforms now in place are changes to harassment legislation so employers
will not be automatically liable for staff being harassed by third parties. If
this is by your customers or members of the public, it is not really in your
control, so the regulation is now much fairer. Of course, you must still try to
protect staff wherever possible, by removing them from situations where this is
likely to happen, for example. Similarly, if you are an employer, you will no
longer be liable for workplace accidents, as long as you have assessed all
risks and taken preventative measures.
Freedom from Some
of the Red Tape
Office Assistants will join
you in welcoming another measure, which is that unnecessary statutory forms
have now been replaced with more flexible methods of submitting company
reports. Introducing the reforms, Business Minister Michael Fallon said, “For
small firms, less time spent filling in forms means more time planning the next
project, winning the next contract or looking for the next young recruit.”
Local
Growth Minister Mark Prisk said, “The government is setting business free from
red tape to the tune of over £212 million a year so local traders can generate
the kind of enterprise that is vital to our economic growth," He also referred
to the total amount of business rate relief for small shops, which has been
increased from £300 million to £900 million.
A Word of Warning
The
exemption for micro businesses from the EU requirements to produce profit and loss
accounts and detailed balance sheets is not yet in force, but will be
implemented later this year. This has prompted a warning from Experian, the
major information services provider. If you don’t submit information to
Companies House, you need to check your credit rating regularly and make sure
the credit reference agencies have enough information about your financial
situation to give accurate credit references. Office Assistants agree this
is vitally important if you need to finance your business plans.
