How to Attend Business Meetings Without Travelling

Doing business face to face and collaborating with others has always been an essential part of trade. Whether you’re brainstorming and sharing ideas with one of your partners, or talking through a brief with a new client, face to face is always beneficial.

Apart from the fact that things can often get lost in translation when done by telephone or email, putting the personal touch into negotiations often goes a long way towards problem solving or sealing the deal.

Obviously, it’s not always easy, economical or convenient to travel to meetings, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t do business face to face. The good news is that modern technology can help to overcome this obstacle.

VoIP Systems

VoIP – Voice over IP – systems have been around for some time now. They allow voice communications, multimedia sessions and face to face real time images to be delivered over the internet.

These include the likes of Skype, which allow you to make phone calls, or chat face to face using webcams, over the internet. You can also use this technology to share your screen with someone, which then allows you to give a training session via the internet, for example, or talk through something you’ve been working on.

Skype is probably the most commonly used VoIP system, but there are many others available too, such as UberConference, all of which will allow you hold a face to face meeting in a straightforward way without having to travel.

Interactive Conferencing

Other conference technologies take long distance meetings to another level. Innovations such as the SurfaceHub from Microsoft allow teams to come together face to face, yet be physically located miles, and even time zones, apart. This type of technology allows teams in different locations to:

1. Instigate meetings at the touch of a button
2. Take part in group discussions via the screen
3. Show customers or staff how to use a new product of system
4. Annotate designs, or add notes to documents
5. Play videos, and make notes over the footage

By using wide-angle camera technology and high-performance microphones, whole teams or groups of participants can take part in a real-time meeting, where both teamwork and eye contact is possible. What’s more, at the end of the meeting, any notes made or content created can be easily saved and emailed to all of the relevant people. 

Time to Consider the Possibilities?

Research has revealed that when teams come together to develop ideas and business is carried out on a face to face basis, the results are significantly enhanced. If you are looking to expand your business into a global marketplace, or simply want to make the way you run things more time efficient, why not look into the technologies available to you? The great news is that many of them are available on a subscription basis and can be scaled according to your usage needs, which means no capital outlay and you only have to pay for what you need.

Warning for Employers over Tough New Health & Safety Sentencing Regime

Two recent prosecutions by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have brought home the gravity of the reformed and far more stringent health and safety offence sentencing guidelines which were introduced in February 2016.

The new guidelines, applying to breaches of health and safety and food safety guidelines as well as corporate manslaughter, apply to incidents that occurred on or after 12 March 2015. Now, large companies in England and Wales will face fines of up to £10 million for the most serious breaches and magistrates’ courts will be able to impose unlimited fines for offences, whereas before they could only levy fines of up to £20,000.

Laura Cameron of Pinsent Masons, a well-known law firm, says that the new regime should act as a stark warning to businesses that there is no margin for error or failure when it comes to meeting their duties under the regulations.

"Businesses have been sent a clear message that the regulatory authorities expect health and safety to remain a key corporate priority... If they are not already doing so, directors should be pushing health and safety issues to the top of their agenda," she said.

Recent Examples of Hefty Fines

In November 2016, an automotive manufacturing company that produces parts for the likes of Jaguar Land Rover and Audi was fined after it was reported to the HSE that six of its employees had sustained back injuries following repeated heavy lifting. Mahle Powertrain, the company in question, was fined a staggering £183,340 plus costs of £21,277.

In December 2016, an Ipswich Burger King franchise operated by KFG Quickserve was fined after a young employee was scalded by hot oil following several breaches of health and safety legislation. The resulting fine was £166,000 plus £12,000 costs.

Why Businesses Should Take Heed

The new guidelines for sentencing following health and safety and food safety breaches and corporate manslaughter require the courts to undertake an initial assessment of the overall seriousness of the breach in question. They will pose questions such as whether there was a risk of serious harm, regardless of whether such harm actually occurred. They will also look at the liability of the offender and will take into consideration what could have happened, as well as what actually did happen.

Fines will be based on a tiered system based on how serious the offence was; the business size and the turnover of the company. If there are any mitigating factors such as evidence of a clean health and safety record and measures having been taken to ensure the incident did not reoccur, then these will be considered. However, if the offender stood to gain financially or has a track record of similar offences then these will also be considered.

The new sentencing guidelines have clearly proved expensive for the two organisations mentioned. Business owners therefore need to think, can we afford to breach the rules?

The importance of site specific risk assessments and adherence to health and safety guidelines cannot be emphasised enough for businesses of any size. The fines being levied now could be devastating, so if you don’t already have procedures in place to ensure a safe working environment for your staff, take those crucial steps today.

What the 2017 Budget Means for the Smaller Business

For many small business owners, the 2017 Budget will have cast more gloom than it did sunshine. Listening to Chancellor Philip Hammond will have left many small firms worried about the impact the budget will have on their bottom line, but it’s important to stay abreast of any changes so that you can plan accordingly.

These are the main points from this year’s Budget that will affect small businesses in the coming period.

National Insurance Contributions

This year’s Budget will likely be remembered for the Chancellor’s U-turn on his decision to increase Class 4 National Insurance contributions for the self-employed.

Class 4 National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed were due to rise by 1 per cent, to 10 per cent in April 2018, and then to 11 per cent in April 2019. However, the Chancellor reneged on this move shortly after its announcement. This is something that has been seen as a positive move by those who work for themselves and believe the fact they cannot claim the same benefits as employed workers, such as holiday pay, sick pay and maternity / paternity pay means they should not be classed in the same category.

Dividend Tax

The Chancellor announced a reduction in the tax-free dividend allowance for directors and shareholders from £5,000 to £2,000 with effect from April 2018. This will in part be offset by the reduction in Corporation Tax that came into effect this month. The reduction will see the rate drop to 19 per cent from 1 April 2017, then 18 per cent from 1 April 2020.

Business Rates

The effort to mitigate the impact of business rate increases was the only silver lining for many small businesses in this year’s Budget. There were previously fears that this tax would push many small traders out of business entirely.

The Chancellor announced that companies which are losing their business rate relief will receive an extra cap, which will stop rates from increasing by more than £50 a month. Furthermore, public houses will receive a £1,000 discount provided that they have a rateable value of less than £100,000, and there will be an additional £300 million fund for councils to allow them to provide discretionary relief to businesses which are deemed as struggling.

Delay to Tax Regime Digitalisation

The other relief for many small business owners was the news that there will be a delay of one year to the Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative for all incorporated businesses with turnover below the VAT threshold.

MTD will digitalise tax returns and call for quarterly reporting, which has caused some alarm amongst small firms. As the biggest change to UK tax reporting in a generation, many small businesses have been asking for more details in order to comply with the legislation, yet the details have not been as forthcoming as they may have hoped. The delay will therefore be a welcome relief to many.

If you’re unsure of what you need to be doing planning wise over the coming year, or how the changes introduced by the latest Budget will affect your small business, talk to your local bookkeeper who will be able to assist you with every aspect.

Important Dates for the Small Business Pension Diary 2017

Approximately 500,000 small to medium sized businesses will set up a workplace pension this year. Indeed, it’s the biggest ever year for workplace pension enrolment. If you’re a small to medium business that will be required under the regime to provide a workplace pension, there are certain key dates that you need to have in your pension diary for this year. These are as follows.

2017 Ongoing

Payroll integration is something employers need to think about on an ongoing basis this year. You will have a payroll system in place of course, but it’s wise to link it to your workplace pension provider in order to reduce the amount of admin required each month.

If you outsource your payroll to an external company, contact them to make sure you will not be charged extra should they not have an integrated system in place.

October 2017

October 2017 is when staging dates will no longer exist. The staging date is the date when a company has to have a workplace pension in place, but by October this becomes obsolete. Any companies formed after October 2017 will have to offer a workplace pension straight away.

End of 2017

Auto-enrolment into the workplace pension is an ongoing task. However, because the workplace pension has been rolled out across larger companies first, this year the majority of companies joining will be small to medium sized businesses.

This means it’s likely that if you haven’t already had a date to join, you’ll need to join by the end of this year.

At the end of this year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will start to review how successful auto-enrolment has been, and whether it can be improved.

This may lead to further changes in the year ahead, such as to the rules of the ‘earnings trigger’ (the minimum amount a person needs to earn before the automatic pension kicks in).

The aim of the DWP review is to look at ways in which certain workers could benefit more, such as those that work multiple jobs. It will also assess how much of a burden is being placed on the employer under the current auto-enrolment system. It’s important therefore that all small to medium sized businesses keep an eye on the review and any changes that may occur. 

April 2018

As things stand, under auto-enrolment, the minimum contribution to a workplace pension is currently set at two per cent of an employee’s qualifying earnings, with one per cent being contributed by the employer.

In April 2018, this is set to rise to five per cent, with employers contributing at least two per cent of that. It’s important that small businesses plan ahead to budget for this increase.

If you’re unsure about what you need to do with regards to putting the workplace pension in place, or the likes of payroll integration, speak to your local bookkeepers as they will of course be fully clued up on all aspects of it.

Getting it Right with Subject Access Rights

At any given time an employee can ask to see any personal data that their employer holds on them. This is known as a ‘subject access request’, and when it happens employers need to tread very carefully.

Subject access requests are a powerful tool for a disgruntled employee and can cost a business both time and money. They also have the potential to open a can of worms in terms of the documents that they uncover, which could prompt an employer to settle a dispute unnecessarily. It’s important therefore to be well informed when it comes to an employee’s subject access rights.

Employee Rights on Subject Access Requests

Under s.7 of the Data Protection Act 1998, employees have the right to make a subject access request to ask for copies of the personal data their employee holds on them. They also have the right to receive information on how that data is stored and processed.

The Subject Access Rights Checklist

There is a set procedure that employers must follow when dealing with subject access requests:

1. Check that the subject access request has been made correctly and that the £10 fee has been paid and received, as the timeframe for responding does not start until this point. This could therefore buy you some valuable extra time.
2. Deal with the request as soon as possible. It’s a time consuming process, and you’ll need to remember to build in time for your legal team to review the request, and consider whether there is any third-party personal data which will need to be redacted.
3. An employer has the right to narrow the focus of a data search where the request for data is particularly wide. For any electronically stored data, it is important to agree a time frame for the search, as well as agreeing search terms with the employee.
4. Consider using document management systems or litigation support if there is likely to be a large volume of data.
5. If you are conducting settlement discussions with your employee, try to reach an agreement with them that subject access requests will be put on hold until all discussions are concluded. If discussions break down, try to extend the deadline for the search with the employee.
6. Make sure the subject access request is with withdrawn if a settlement is agreed.
7. Remember that the normal rules of privilege apply and any documentation created for the purpose of legal advice or because litigation is being contemplated should be excluded.
8. Think about providing the documents electronically rather than in a hard copy format, as this will save you both time and money.

2018 Changes to the Law Surrounding Subject Access Requests

Having said all of this, the law is set to change in 2018, and employers may need to rethink how they deal with Subject Access Requests. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will require employers to respond to Subject Access Requests in a shorter timeframe than that which currently applies under UK data protection laws.

This is why it’s so important to follow a defined process for handling subject access requests, such as that outlined in the checklist above. Failure to meet the deadline could result in a significant fine under the new regulation.

Look out for further updates from Office Assistants on how GDPR will affect subject access requests and be sure to consult your legal advisers when handling any form of request, no matter what the circumstances.

What VAT Registered Businesses Need to Know About the 2017 Flat Rate Scheme Changes

The VAT Flat Rate Scheme was introduced over a decade ago to make paying VAT easier for small businesses by removing the complex need for record keeping.

However, from 1^st April this year, the government is setting the Flat Rate at 16.5 per cent for all limited costs traders. These are businesses which predominantly charge for a service that they provide rather than selling products. This will squeeze the tax relief for a variety of small businesses that currently enjoy lower rates depending on the nature of the services they provide.

The Changes

In the 2016 Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the changes to the Flat Rate Scheme which will affect those businesses with a very low cost base. These businesses will now be called ‘limited cost traders’.

The current rates depend on business type and can vary from as little as 6.5 per cent for the farming industry through to a standard 14.5 per cent for firms such as IT consultants or bookkeepers.

The Flat Rate Scheme was originally designed to give low-overhead micro companies some tax relief, but the government is concerned that bigger firms are manipulating their accounts to make it look as if they have a turnover below the £150,000 threshold so as to qualify for the scheme.

Who will be Affected?

The Flat Rate Scheme can still be used, but the percentage will be increased to 16.5 per cent for limited cost traders.

If your business is currently on the Flat Rate Scheme and you are unsure as to whether you will be affected, the government has stated that before the changes come into play, it will introduce a simple online test and calculator to enable current and future users of the scheme to work out whether they need to change to the new rate.

It is estimated, however, that approximately 4,000 businesses will be better off by switching to the standard form of VAT accounting.

If you are baffled by whether the latest changes will affect you and what the best course of action might be for your particular business, why not discuss the matter with your local bookkeepers? They’ll be armed with all the answers you need and will no doubt have solutions to make sure you are saving as much as possible where any form of tax is concerned.

The Apprenticeship Levy Explained

Later on this year, large organisations will be subject an Apprenticeship Levy as the government changes legislation surrounding apprenticeships. Although it will mainly be large employers that are affected by the levy, there may well be some effect on small businesses too.

So what do you need to know? Here we explain what the apprenticeship levy is, when it comes into effect and who will be affected by it.

What is the Apprenticeship Levy?

The Apprenticeship Levy is a charge payable to HMRC via PAYE returns which will be applied to large employers in both the public and private sectors. Once the new legislation comes into force, employers that pay into the levy can also use it to fund apprentice training within their businesses.

The idea behind the levy is that it will encourage employers to invest in apprenticeship schemes, as well as raise additional funds to help improve the quality and quantity of apprenticeships.

Who will be Subject to the Levy?

The threshold for the levy will depend on the size of a business’ payroll. Those businesses with a wage bill of over £3 million will be required to pay the charge. Therefore, as the levy will only apply to 2% of all employers, only larger SMEs will be affected.

If a company is over the payroll threshold, it will have to pay 0.5% of its payroll into the levy. With that, every employer will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against what they owe. This is why the levy is only being charged to those companies with a payroll larger than £3 million, as it means the £15,000 allowance could potentially offset the entire amount owed.

When does the Apprenticeship Levy come into force?

The levy comes into effect on 1^st April 2017, and is payable via PAYE. There has been a mixed response from businesses towards the levy. Some are worried that larger businesses will have to fund extra apprenticeships over their £15,000 allowance themselves. Others are welcoming the levy as a way to improve the quality of apprenticeship schemes.

If you’re worried about the effect of the apprenticeship levy on your business, why not take some advice from professionals? Your local bookkeepers will be able to help you navigate through the new legislation.