2017 -
January
WORK AT HEIGHT - 31.01.2017
Damaged stepladder costs Volvo £900,000
The UK truck, bus and plant division of Volvo has been fined £900,000 following a fall from a faulty stepladder. What were the circumstances of the accident and why was the fine so punitive?
MAINTENANCE - 31.01.2017
Do the CDM Regulations apply to all maintenance work?
When the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) came into force, lawyers and safety professionals concluded that most building maintenance was covered. Were they right?
SAFE SYSTEMS OF WORK - 31.01.2017
Permits are too much hassle
You’re struggling to convince a manager about the use of permit to work systems - he says they’re just a waste of paper. Is there any value in sticking with permits or are you safe to take a different route?
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH - 31.01.2017
The HSE’s “Health and Work” strategy
The HSE has launched a new strategy document: “Health and Work”. What’s in the pipeline and should you be preparing yourself for sweeping changes and major campaigns?
FIRE SAFETY - 31.01.2017
Near fatal blaze at holiday park
The owner of a holiday park in Devon has been given a fine and suspended prison sentence after a fire in which staff were injured and a guest had to break a glass door to escape. What went wrong?
MANUAL HANDLING - 31.01.2017
Failure to manage cage risks
Retailer Wilko has been fined £2.2 million by a local authority following a serious accident at one of its stores. What happened?
PPE - 31.01.2017
Must you upgrade your safety boots?
You’ve heard that safety footwear manufactured since 2013 is of a better standard than any which was made beforehand. Is this true and if so should you be replacing yours?
STAMP DUTY LAND TAX - 26.01.2017
How to deal with SDLT on leases
Accounting for stamp duty land tax when purchasing a freehold property is a familiar concept. The charge also applies to leasehold interests but calculating the correct amount can be more complicated. What do you need to know?
INHERITANCE TAX - 26.01.2017
Business property relief and double dipping
Business property relief is one of the most valuable tax reliefs as it can take the value of assets outside the scope of inheritance tax. How can your clients use a strategy to utilise the relief more than once?
PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS - 26.01.2017
How to avoid the money purchase annual allowance trap
One of the quietest announcements in the Autumn Statement 2016 was that from April 2017 the money purchase annual allowance would be reducing to £4,000. What is the allowance and how can your clients avoid inadvertently triggering it?
NI EARNINGS AGGREGATION - 26.01.2017
Is there an NI advantage in having separate employments?
In some circumstances having two separate jobs can mean paying less NI contributions than having a single job with the same gross pay. In what circumstances do separate earnings need to be aggregated?
LOSS RELIEF - 26.01.2017
Claiming relief when a loan becomes irrecoverable
When your clients invest in shares in a trading company which become worthless, they can usually claim share loss relief against income. What happens if instead of buying shares they lent the money instead?
TIME OFF - 25.01.2017
Paid time off to attend a funeral?
Apparently, nearly 20% of employees have been forced to take annual or unpaid leave to attend the funeral of a close relative or friend. This suggests there’s a right to paid time off to attend a funeral - but is there?
RESIGNATIONS - 25.01.2017
Slacking off during their notice period
An employee is working out their notice period and it’s obvious that they are starting to take it too easy. For example, their timekeeping is questionable and the standard of their work has dropped. How should you deal with this?
DISMISSAL - 25.01.2017
Dismissals close to the two-year point
You want to get rid of an employee who’s been with you for one year and 51 weeks. As they’ve not acquired two years’ continuous service and the right to claim unfair dismissal, can you just go ahead and sack them?
DISABILITY - 25.01.2017
Access to work and reasonable adjustments
One of your colleagues says that all smaller employers can obtain a grant to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees from the government-funded Access to Work scheme. Is this true?
CONTRACTS - 25.01.2017
The employee who altered an important contract
You’ve entered into a commercial contract with a third party that says “any changes must be agreed in writing”. If an employee verbally agrees to change something later, e.g. payment terms, will it alter the original contract?
BENEFITS - 25.01.2017
Salary sacrifice: benefits removed
From 6 April 2017 the income tax and employers’ NI advantages that currently apply to salary sacrifice schemes will be limited, but which benefits in kind (BiKs) won’t be affected?
SICKNESS ABSENCE - 25.01.2017
£9,000 award for botched absence investigation
When the Metropolitan Police discovered an officer had gone on holiday to Barbados whilst off sick, it launched a disciplinary investigation. However, one fatal error cost it £9,000 in damages. What do you need to know?
POLLUTION - 20.01.2017
Simplify your spillage procedure
If there’s a spillage on your premises you want staff to act swiftly but with enough caution that they don’t make a bad situation worse. Use our template flow chart to make your expectations clear.
WASTE - 20.01.2017
Suspended jail sentence for repeat waste offender
An Oxfordshire farm owner has been given a suspended sentence for running a waste processing business without a permit. What’s the story and why are small waste operations being targeted by the Environment Agency (EA)?
WATER - 20.01.2017
Water deregulation - what’s happening?
In April 2017 the commercial water market will change and it could bring plenty of benefits in terms of savings and water efficiency. What’s to know and what should you be doing to prepare?
RECYCLING - 20.01.2017
Printer cartridges classified
It’s fairly common for suppliers and retailers to take back old printer cartridges. But do you have to worry about the paperwork, or does whoever is taking them back have this responsibility?
ENFORCEMENT - 20.01.2017
Unfair advantage?
Local authorities are encouraging anonymous tip-offs about businesses which may not be legally compliant. What’s happening and what are the risks?
GREEN INITIATIVES - 20.01.2017
Resource use merry-go-round
The circular economy (CE) is becoming the big thing in terms of waste and resource use. But should you expect it to be plain sailing when it comes to implementing plans that follow this model?
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS - 20.01.2017
Simple certification of management system
You’ve seen ads for “ISO 14001 in 30 days” and similar plastered all over the Internet. So is achieving certification against the standard really as easy as it seems?
WEB SERVICES - MISCELLANEOUS - 19.01.2017
Web services in their own browser window
Wouldn’t it be handy if you could use a web-based service such as webmail, an online calendar or word processor in a separate browser window? It’s possible, and here’s how.
E-MAIL - E-MAIL USE - 19.01.2017
Migrate to another e-mail service
Are you feeling dissatisfied with your current e-mail service? Then maybe it’s time you switched to another service. How is it best do this and which tools can help you?
CONSUMER - MISCELLANEOUS - 19.01.2017
Top sites of 2016
The year end saw awards going to the top-rated websites in several categories. We’ve taken a look at those that could be called the “Best of British”.
LEISURE - WINE - 19.01.2017
Useful wine apps
Did you receive a good bottle of wine as a Christmas present and would you like to find out more about it? A wine app on your smartphone can help you. There are many such apps, so we’ve put some of them to the test.
WEB SERVICES - ONLINE STORAGE - 19.01.2017
Improved Dropbox functions on iOS 10
Online storage service Dropbox recently launched a number of new functions for iOS 10 users which enable them to work even more quickly and productively. What are they?
SOFTWARE - APPS - 19.01.2017
Scan photos and documents with your smartphone
You’ll not always have access to a scanner; however, you can scan photos or documents using your smartphone. How does this work and what apps do you need?
WEB SERVICES - ONLINE OFFICE - 19.01.2017
More versatile than PowerPoint?
Most people will automatically turn to PowerPoint to create presentations. However, there are lots of good alternatives which can offer extra features. We’ve put three of them to the test.
SOFTWARE - OFFICE - 19.01.2017
The difference between all the Office versions
The popular Microsoft Office suite comes in many shapes these days: Office 2016, Office 365, Office Online and Office Mobile. What are the differences between these versions?
E-MAIL - E-MAIL SOFTWARE - 19.01.2017
Efficient e-mail processing with Handle
You can easily check your Gmail account in your browser, in an e-mail program, on a smartphone or a tablet. The independent Handle app lets you process your e-mails quickly and efficiently. What does Handle add to Gmail?
PERSONAL WEBSITE - WEBSITE DESIGN - 19.01.2017
Add a web form to your website
Forms make your website interactive by allowing visitors to ask questions, respond to surveys, request quotes, etc. There are many online services which enable you to create forms easily. Which are the good ones?
BUSINESS - WEB SERVICES - 19.01.2017
Prepare your meetings adequately
As you will have experienced, not all meetings are equally productive. Good preparation can make all the difference. The cloud service “Do” might be able to help you. Is it worth exploring?
OVERSEAS TRADE - 19.01.2017
Brexit and the new GREAT.gov.uk portal
The Department for International Trade was set up following the Brexit vote to help UK businesses secure overseas trade deals. To achieve this aim, it has launched the new GREAT.gov.uk portal. What is it and should you use it?
PERSONNEL - 19.01.2017
The key questions to ask training providers
Your business needs to train some employees and, as you don’t have the appropriate expertise in-house, an external training provider is required. What questions will help ensure that you maximise your return on investment?
COMPANY LAW - 19.01.2017
Do you have to hold board meetings?
From time to time you’re bound to discuss company business and administration with your fellow directors. But is a decision made with one other director, rather than a majority in a board meeting, valid or could it land you in trouble?
SELLING A BUSINESS - 19.01.2017
Can minority shareholders block company sale?
You want to sell the family business but a few die-hard minority shareholders are blocking the deal. Can you force their hand to sell and what steps could you take to avoid this type of problem happening in the first place?
DIRECTORS’ DUTIES - 19.01.2017
Seven-year ban for Mr Perfect
A sole director has been disqualified for seven years because he failed to maintain proper accounting records on behalf of the company. What financial information are you required to keep?
TAX - PROFIT EXTRACTION - 19.01.2017
How much tax will you pay on your income in 2017/18?
A new tax year starts in April and the good news is that you’ll be able to receive significantly more income taxable at the basic rate. How can you make the most of this when planning how to take income from your company in 2017/18?
salary sacrifice - 19.01.2017
Restructure salary packages
From April 2017 the tax exemptions for most benefits will be lost if provided under a salary sacrifice or flexible benefits arrangement. How should remuneration packages be structured in the future?
overseas workers - 19.01.2017
Dealing with employees seconded from overseas
An employee from the overseas parent company has been sent to work at your office in the UK for several months. As the overseas parent will still be paying their salary they don’t need to be added to your payroll, right?
paydays - 19.01.2017
How to change a payday
From time to time and for a variety of reasons, it may be necessary to change the date of payment or frequency of payments. Where this occurs, what action do you need to take when reporting to HMRC?
fraud - 19.01.2017
Ghost employee fraud
According to a 2016 survey, employers in the private sector are losing £12 billion a year to payroll fraud, with one of the biggest problems being “ghost”, i.e. fake, employees. How can you protect your company against this risk?
RTI submission errors - 19.01.2017
How to avoid tripping up
It’s all too easy to make mistakes when making payroll submissions to HMRC. But what are the most common errors and what simple steps can you take to avoid tripping up and finding yourself in trouble?
CAPITAL GAINS TAX - 19.01.2017
Entrepreneurs’ relief and recently acquired shares
One of our subscribers sold shares in his company, some of which he acquired in the same tax year. HMRC’s guidance indicates the gain on the recently acquired shares won’t qualify for entrepreneurs’ relief (ER), but is it right?
PROPERTY - 19.01.2017
Rental losses and the new restriction on finance costs
From 6 April 2017 the tax relief for loan interest and other finance expenses relating to let residential property will be restricted. How will this affect current and future losses from your buy-to-let property?
RETURNS - 19.01.2017
Self-assessment last minute fixes
Each year around one million self-assessment returns are submitted in the last week before the filing deadline of 31 January, and 750,000 or so miss it. With just days to go which steps can you take to ensure your return isn’t late?
EXPENSES - 19.01.2017
Are benchmark subsistence payments still tax efficient?
The rules for benchmark subsistence rates changed in April 2016, and they can no longer be used in a salary sacrifice arrangement. What are the changes and is there still a way to use benchmark payments tax efficiently?
BENEFITS - 19.01.2017
Change at last to tax on private use of company assets
The government has drafted new legislation to put a stop to directors and employees potentially being hit by disproportionate tax charges for using a company-owned asset. What’s the full story?
VAT - 19.01.2017
Don’t forget your VAT annual adjustment
As a partially exempt business you’re required to review the VAT you’ve reclaimed over the previous twelve months and make an annual adjustment. What should you be looking out for to ensure you’ve maximised your claim?
INVESTMENTS - 19.01.2017
Tax-Free Childcare has arrived (almost)
In 2013 the government announced a new tax break for working parents to help them pay for childcare. It will, at last, be available soon. But what is it worth and how can you take advantage of it?
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT - 16.01.2017
A banksman is not enough
In December 2016 a fairground company appeared in court over a fatal reversing accident. What were the circumstances and why did the HSE conclude that the supervision of the manoeuvre was insufficient?
ASBESTOS - 16.01.2017
Who’s responsible for dealing with asbestos?
A case heard in December 2016 illustrates a common dilemma about the management of asbestos in a building: deciding who is responsible. However, as shown, having a prolonged argument may land you in court. What happened?
H&S MANAGEMENT - 16.01.2017
Bringing everything in from a previous employer
You have recently employed a new operations manager who has come from one of your major competitors. Since he joined he’s been trying to introduce his former employer’s policies and procedures. Should you go along with this?
FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT REVIEW - 16.01.2017
Reviewing your fire risk assessment
You should review your fire risk assessment periodically to check for any new hazards, evaluate compliance with your procedures and assess changes in the premises. To make the job easier use our review form.
PPE - 16.01.2017
Check out your dust masks
Research by the HSE shows that some disposable face masks don’t match up to manufacturer claims. What were the findings and is there any action you should take to ensure that your staff are protected?
PPE - 16.01.2017
Helmet rules on certain sites
Some large employers impose strict rules regarding helmets, such as not wearing a hoody underneath, or banning particular types. What restrictions might you come across and are they based on common sense?
STRESS - 16.01.2017
Work-related stress statistics
HSE statistics identify that work-related stress cases are costing businesses dearly. What are the figures and what do you need to do?
HOLIDAYS - 13.01.2017
Holidays: don’t bank on it!
Due to the way the bank holidays fall in April and May 2017, many employees will be able to take 18 consecutive days off work using nine days’ holiday. If this doesn’t suit you, can you say “no”?
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS - 13.01.2017
Another £42,000 after a full and final settlement
HMRC has made an employer pay a former employee £42,000 for unpaid statutory maternity pay (SMP) despite the fact she had already received £60,000 in full and final settlement. What went wrong?
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION - 13.01.2017
Is work-related stress a disability?
An employee has been signed off work for a few weeks by their GP who states that they are suffering from work-related stress. Does this medical diagnosis automatically mean your employee is disabled?
DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS - 13.01.2017
Disciplinary sanctions: must you prove guilt?
An employee has decided to appeal against a disciplinary sanction that you recently imposed on them because you didn’t “prove the misconduct beyond all reasonable doubt”. Are you actually required to prove guilt?
HEALTH & SAFETY - 13.01.2017
Obese employees and health and safety
An employee is seriously overweight and it’s been suggested that this may trigger specific health and safety obligations on your part. Must you take any action and, if so, how should you handle this sensitive topic?
APPRAISALS - 13.01.2017
The danger of a “satisfactory” appraisal
Appraisals aren’t a legal requirement but it is good practice to carry them out at least once a year. When doing so you should avoid a “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” rating system. Why?
RAISING FINANCE - 09.01.2017
Saving Wonga with an appeal
You’ve just been turned down for a loan by the bank and are looking at other more expensive options. But is it worth appealing against the decision and what could you save by doing so?
MODELLING - 09.01.2017
Building in risk and uncertainty
You’re assessing the viability of two major alternative projects on behalf of the board. With the UK’s economic future so uncertain at the moment, how can you build this into your financial model so that an informed decision can be made?
ENVIRONMENT - 09.01.2017
Jumping on the bag bandwagon?
Since charging for plastic bags came into force consumption has fallen dramatically. But are some people stocking up on free bags to save a few pence? If so, what can you do about it?
SPREADSHEETS - 09.01.2017
Moving subtotals to a new column
You have a worksheet with thousands of rows of data that need subtotals. But instead of having the subtotals in the same column as the rest of the data, is there a way to show them in a separate column?
COSTS - 09.01.2017
Reviewing overheads
It’s good management to regularly keep an eye on your overheads because expenses can easily start to creep up. How should you go about conducting an overhead review?
STATIONERY - 09.01.2017
Stationery: use stats rather than suspension
We’ve previously suggested a rather dramatic way to deal with an overspend on office stationery. We’ve just come across another approach. What could it save you?
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS - 09.01.2017
Is this the end of your salary sacrifice scheme?
From 6 April 2017 HMRC is to axe salary sacrifice tax and employers’ NI perks on a range of employee benefits. If your company currently offers a salary sacrifice scheme to employees, how will the changes affect it?
FLY-TIPPING - 09.01.2017
Stop the tippers in their tracks
Fly-tipping is on the rise again and if you’re a victim you’ll also have to cover the cost of clearing up the mess. How do you cut the risk without spending thousands on CCTV?
IT COSTS - 09.01.2017
Paying for data security - is it worth it?
You’ve just been approached by a fear-mongering salesman trying to sell you the latest security gizmo to protect your company’s data against a cyber attack. But before forking out, what factors do you need to consider?
