2007 - February
Your company’s owed money and you’ve heard that it’s now possible to sue online rather than having to pay a visit to your nearest county court. Is this right and if so, what’s involved and what might be the benefits for a director like you?
You’ve just been told that companies don’t pay any Corporation Tax on the Isle of Man. So shouldn’t you have an offshore company there?
During a recent board meeting a director asked if it’s possible to borrow money from the company. You’re curious too. So what is the legal position when it comes to a loan from the company to a director?
You’ve heard that (particularly premium) bank customers are being “upgraded” to packaged current accounts. As a successful director, if your bank approaches you with an upgrade, should you blindly accept it?
Extended warranties - extended trouble?
You’re about to buy, for example, a new dishwasher for your office. The sales person is also keen to sell you an extended warranty agreement. Should you take it? And if not, why not?
Like many successful directors, you’ve invested in the buy-to-let property market. You now have an awkward tenant that you need to evict. How should you play it in light of a recent case where a director got it horribly wrong?
To grow your company you need to hire two senior managers. Trouble is, the cost of them relates to the growth required. How can you accurately calculate the true cost of an employee?
A self-employed builder has recently been prosecuted for breaches of the Working at Height Regulations, even though there hadn’t been an accident. Why did the HSE decide to take this action and how you avoid a similar fate?
The stepladder debate has been re-ignited by a story involving the fire service installing smoke detectors. What happened, and can anything be learned from it?
A report has severely criticised BP for paying too much attention to “personal safety” at the expense of potentially bigger risks. What does this mean and what can you learn from the findings?
Can you rely on training to keep you safe?
You’ve put a lot of time and trouble into training your staff to ensure their safety. You’ve been working under the assumption that if they have an accident this will protect you. But in light of a recent case, should you rely on this theory?
If you have staff that carry out multiple tasks which aren’t always the same, ensuring you’ve assessed the risks can be complicated. To make life easier, why not use our job safety analysis document to ensure you’ve covered everything?
Although avian ‘flu attracts all of the media attention, there are numerous other potential risks associated with birds. One is Psittacosis. What is it, how is it passed on to humans and what can you do to minimise the risks?
Get your staff back to work quickly
One of your employees is making suspicious claims that their job is making an existing back complaint worse. You’re concerned that if you do nothing they’ll be off for ages and might even seek compensation for it. What are your options?
With the “cash for honours” affair never far from the headlines, we look at websites that help you to keep tabs on parliament, politicians and political parties.
If you’re an Opera user, you probably know that this excellent browser also has an e-mail program on board. Can this program hold its own against big shots such as Outlook or Thunderbird?
During the Christmas period, the number of eBay visitors almost doubled compared with the same period last year. Which tools help you to make the most of this hugely popular online auction site?
Are you thinking of setting up your own “wiki” in order to exchange information on a particular topic with a group of people? A lot of programs and services are available for this purpose. How do you make the right choice?
Most digital photos can do with some editing. Did you know that this is possible online, without having to install dedicated software? What are the best free web services to help you improve your final results?
Tune in to your favourite web-radio
The Internet hosts countless web-radios, which often broadcast in different formats. How do you find these radios and how do you tune in without any hassle via your favourite media player, iTunes or Windows Media Player?
More bells and whistles for Live Messenger
You can find lots of add-ons for the hugely popular Windows Live Messenger and they add useful features to the program. Here are some examples.
How to win government contracts
All SMEs can tender for public sector contracts. We look at sites that a. list the contracts on offer and b. give you advice about how to tender and improve your chances.
Many people use the Internet to look up information about a product before buying it. There are dozens of sites offering product reviews, but perhaps you’re looking for a site offering a summary of all reviews and ratings?
Explore our planet with Google Earth
Google Earth version 4 has just turned up and it has quite a few improvements. Maybe it’s time for an update… or to go where you’ve never been before!
Can men request flexible working too?
A recent TUC report shows that men are more likely to have a request to work flexibly turned down by their employer. Could this lead to legal problems and if so, how can they be avoided?
Maternity - let’s keep in touch
In our second article on the new maternity rules which apply to babies due on or after April 1, we focus on the new “keeping in touch” days. What are they all about and what do they mean for employers?
Whilst you’re required to consider flexible working requests, many employers still don’t. What lessons in poor practice can you learn from a recent case?
Must we be notified of a condition?
You’re reviewing your personnel policies and need to know how far you can go in requiring an existing employee to disclose a medical condition. What’s your legal position if there’s evidence of a serious medical problem?
You can’t fail to have heard that a smoking ban in enclosed public places and workplaces is coming into force this summer. The ban will start in England at 6am on July 1, 2007. What might the implications be for you?
Does an implied contract exist?
As you’re aware, the courts are increasingly finding employment relationships where none were intended. Following a recent Court of Appeal case, what’s the latest avoidance tactic that’s been tried?
After a very busy period, a much slower spring seems to be a reality. If so, you’re in the position of being heavily over-staffed. Is it possible for you to simply lay-off staff and if so, what are the golden rules to follow?
The Taxman has already started issuing PAYE tax codes for 2007/8. The code is a shortened method of defining your total tax-free pay for next year. So how do you go about checking you’ve got the right amount of tax-free pay for 2007/8?
If you stay overnight on business, how much can your company pay you tax-free to cover “personal expenses” (such as phone calls)? What happens if the company overpays you by accident?
Your company needs to move on from its existing premises. However, there’s an unexpired period to run on the lease. Will paying the landlord a lump sum to release you be tax deductible? If not, is there a way around this?
When the VATman goes back on his word
If the VATman decides that an earlier written ruling is wrong, surely all you have to do is change the VAT treatment from the date he changes his mind? What should you do if he just tries to claim it all back?
Convinced that you’re missing out on valuable tax breaks, you commissioned an advisor to carry out a review for you. Should you just blindly accept the recommendations they’ve come up with?
The Taxman has come up with a new way to incentivise his staff to collect “the right amount of tax”. What could this mean for you in 2007?
One of the problems with paying school fees or any other costs of bringing up children is that it all comes out of taxed income. However, there is a way to pay these and get some tax back. What’s involved?
Defining managers’ responsibilities
The recent prosecution of a council in connection with a fatal Legionella outbreak shows what can go wrong when management responsibilities for health and safety aren’t clearly defined. As a director, what lessons can you learn from it?
You’re in the process of buying another business. Everything seems to check out but you’re worried that some of the seller’s claims about his business might be sugar coated. How can you protect your investment?
During 2006, there was debate over whether the UK’s working time opt-out would remain. From a director’s perspective, what’s most likely to happen in 2007?
Cash or credit - how to choose?
Your company needs to invest in new machinery. Should you wait until you have the cash in your bank account or purchase it now using finance? How do you compare the two? Is tax the deciding factor?
Yours is a family business and with an eye to the future you’d like to bring in your two children as directors - trouble is, they’re 16 and 17. Is it possible to do this and if so, can they play a full role as directors?
Your company is about to sue a customer who hasn’t paid your invoice. Getting the judgment will be relatively straightforward but what pre-emptive steps can you take to find out if they’re worth suing?
What’s the true cost of a company credit card?
You’ve several employees with company credit cards which they use for settling business expenses. With recent changes to the terms of many credit cards, what’s the real cost to your company?
What’s in place and what’s missing?
Following a workplace incident at the end of last year, you now need to review your health and safety arrangements. What key areas should you focus on now and what can you sort out at a later date?
How often should you hold a fire drill?
A colleague has told you that changes to fire laws require you to complete a full fire drill every three months. You’re not convinced, as it sounds a bit over the top. Are they right and how can you get the most out of the exercise?
Is there a quick-fix training solution?
You’re always receiving faxes offering training courses which claim to cover numerous H&S subjects in one day. But are they really value for money or should you be looking elsewhere?
A 17-year old worker fell to his death whilst working on a roof. However, even though a jury reached a verdict of unlawful killing, his employer escaped a charge of manslaughter. Why, and what might happen in the future?
Recent strong winds and heavy rain have prompted your staff to ask when they should stop working in such conditions. You’d prefer this doesn’t happen, but equally you don’t want to put them at risk. What should you do?
Reversing vehicles and pedestrians in the same place don’t mix as a food company discovered to their cost. What happened when the HSE investigated an accident and found a complete lack of risk assessment?
“Excuse me - I didn’t catch that...”
Recent figures indicate that 40% of over 50 years old have suffered some level of hearing loss. Is this a safety issue? If so, what can you do about it?
Most of the small webmail services have vanished over the years. So if you want to be sure that you’ll be able to keep your web-based e-mail address permanently, it’s advisable to opt for one of the big players. Here’s our “Top Five”.
An indispensable tool on your computer is the image viewer - a program for viewing and managing all your images and graphical files efficiently. Which is the best free image viewer for you?
Blogs for family and friends only
Although millions of Internet users are already running a blog, there are many others who don’t fancy one that can be read by everyone. If you belong to the second category, check out the new blogging service called Vox.
Reclaiming unfair bank charges
You can reclaim fees for unauthorised overdrafts or late payments on your credit cards. We look at the websites that explain how to claim your money back.
MP3 has been the music format par excellence for many years. If you have a large collection of MP3s on your hard disk, here are some handy tools for editing them.
Are you fed up with being asked to enter passwords and login names for accessing websites - that you’ve already registered for - over and over again? How can you make the login process more efficient?
Your website is finally online, ready to “welcome” all and sundry. But how do you find out how many visitors you have, where they come from, etc.? By using a free counter, that’s how! There used to be plenty of them, but which ones are left?
Making an exhibition of yourself
Trade shows and exhibitions are an important part of any marketing plan for small businesses. Whether you want to visit or exhibit, we look at websites that can help you find the right show for your business sector.
Even more online storage space
For an extra backup of important files or for transferring files from one computer to another, online storage space is ideal. Several services are offering increasing amounts of storage space… and they’re free!
Our climate: for better or for worse
A lot is being said and written about our climate of late: summers are too wet, winters too warm, etc. Where on the Web do you find neutral and reliable information on this - life or death - topic?
Anti-disability discrimination legislation may require you to favour a disabled employee. But could this also extend to paying them extra sick pay?
“This is not what you offered!”
When making a job offer, you must ensure that the written statement accurately reflects what was discussed at interview. But what if there are major differences? What’s the legal position?
In the first of two articles, we look at the new maternity rules that are in force and apply to women whose expected week of childbirth (EWC) is on, or after, April 1, 2007. What’s changed from the current rules?
You know what when dismissing an employee you have to comply with the three-step statutory procedure. However, it seems that there are situations in which employers are omitting step 1. How can you avoid the pitfalls?
Direct discrimination exists if you treat one person less favourably than another on racial grounds. But following a recent Court of Session decision, what factors are taken into account in deciding this?
A subscriber has asked what’s the current position on justifying differences in pay between male and female employees without falling foul of the Equal Pay Act 1970. So, what can you use to justify those differences?
What happens if you receive a dreaded tribunal claim form alleging unfair dismissal (more than 115,000 were filed last year)? What are the deadlines and how should you respond in order to best defend yourself?
Avoid paying the Climate Change Levy
You’d been under the impression that it’s impossible to avoid paying the Climate Change Levy on your energy bills. However a colleague has suggested you can, simply by changing to a “green tariff”. If this is true, how is it done?
If your spouse isn’t a director then…
A colleague has told you that any employee who is not a director and earns less than £8,500 a year doesn’t get taxed on any benefits-in-kind they receive. They say this means that their spouse gets a company car tax-free. Is this true?
The Environment Agency appear to deal with businesses that have committed similar offences differently, e.g. some are prosecuted whilst others aren’t. Why is this, and how can you ensure you’re not the apparently unlucky one?
In January 2007, the Waste and Electrical and Electronic Regulations came into force. What could their effect be on your business?
So far, the UK has avoided a prolonged period of cold weather this year, but that doesn’t mean it won’t arrive. A colleague has suggested your external pipes could leak and cause pollution. How, and what should you do about it?
Take the strain off your drains
Prolonged recent heavy rainfall, although welcome, has highlighted some potential drainage problems on your site. Is this an issue you need to worry about? If so, what steps do you need to take?
Let’s say the Taxman challenges your claim to offset initial repairs against rental income from a buy-to-let, on the grounds that this is capital expenditure. Can he do so? If so, what’s your defence against this?
The civil servants within HMRC are planning to go on strike, as a protest about proposed job cuts. How could this affect you?