2024 -
April
MAINTENANCE - 23.04.2024
Poor maintenance increases safety risks
An independent safety body has highlighted two incidents where a casual approach to maintenance work nearly caused a fire. Both cases were discovered by a fire and rescue service and were caught just in time. What happened?
ENFORCEMENT - 23.04.2024
When does the HSE prosecute SMEs?
The HSE prosecutes certain companies while opting not to pursue legal action against others. What is the rationale behind its decision-making and what can you do to reduce the chance of falling foul of its decisions?
WORKING AT HEIGHT - 23.04.2024
Fall prevention awareness week
The first ever “No Falls Week” is taking place between 13 and 17 May 2024. What’s it about and should your company get involved?
ELECTRICAL SAFETY - 23.04.2024
Worker suffers serious burns after electrical flash
A company has been fined after a worker sustained serious burns to their body. What were the circumstances of the incident and how can you minimise the risk of a similar event occurring in your workplace?
WORK EQUIPMENT - 23.04.2024
How safe are lasers in the workplace?
Lasers are now widely used in everything from office equipment to construction work. However, they do introduce further risks into the workplace. What are these risks and how should you manage them?
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT - 23.04.2024
Serious mistakes led to amputation
A food manufacturing company has been fined £400,000 after one of its employees had to have her leg amputated. What happened and what should have been in place to prevent the accident occurring?
HOMEWORKING - 22.04.2024
Can you force a return to the office?
Where staff had previously been working from home during the pandemic, can you require them to return to the office for a minimum amount of time under a hybrid working arrangement?
STAFF HANDBOOKS - 17.04.2024
Should you have a staff handbook?
There’s nothing in law that says you must have a staff handbook, but it’s recommended you do, even if you don’t have many employees. What are the benefits and how should you set your handbook out?
TIME OFF - 17.04.2024
How to deal with unauthorised absence
When an employee fails to report to work without permission and without any legitimate reason or explanation, it’s an unauthorised absence. What steps should you take to deal with it?
HOLIDAYS - 17.04.2024
Holiday years for irregular hours and part-year workers
New annual leave accrual rules now apply for irregular hours and part-year workers, but only in respect of holiday years starting on or after 1 April 2024. What’s the problem here and is there a potential way around it for new workers?
PAY - 17.04.2024
Can you avoid new rules on tips?
A restaurant chain has removed its service charge and replaced it with a “brand charge”, seemingly to circumvent the new tipping legislation. Is this an option?
DISMISSAL - 17.04.2024
Fairly dismissed for irretrievable relationship breakdown
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that an employee was fairly dismissed due to a breakdown of trust and confidence in the working relationship, even though he received no written warning and wasn’t offered a right of appeal. Why was this?
REDUNDANCY - 17.04.2024
Redundancy during pregnancy and family-related leave
You must now offer a suitable available vacancy on redundancy not only to those on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave but also to those who are pregnant or recently returned from such leave. What must you do to comply with your duties?
FLEXIBLE WORKING - 17.04.2024
Using trial periods to assess feasibility of flexible working
The new Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working recognises that it’s possible to have a trial period to assess the feasibility of an employee’s proposed flexible working arrangement. How will a trial period work?
PENSIONS - 17.04.2024
The latest on pension lifetime limits
Pension companies are currently sending letters to many taxpayers saying that they have used some of their lifetime allowance (LTA). As the LTA has been abolished, why are the letters being sent and why might they matter?
PROPERTY - 17.04.2024
Act quickly to comply with the ATED
Your company owns a city flat for use by directors and employees. Its value has risen in recent years. Might this mean that the annual tax on enveloped dwellings (ATED) now applies and, if so, what steps must you take?
VAT - 17.04.2024
Avoiding the VAT registration cliff edge
Although the Chancellor announced an increase to the VAT registration limit in the Spring Budget 2024, it was relatively modest. As a service business if your turnover exceeds the new limit can you legitimately avoid having to register?
INCOME TAX - 17.04.2024
Deadline for child benefit tax
Changes to the high income child benefit charge mean some couples will pay less tax. Others can also benefit but must take steps to do so. What’s required and when?
CAPITAL GAINS TAX - 17.04.2024
Did MP dodge capital gains tax?
A story about Angela Rayner MP and the sale of her property has recently been doing the rounds in the media. The reports suggest that the police are investigating possible tax evasion. Is this justified or just wild speculation?
PROFIT EXTRACTION - 17.04.2024
Can dividend ever be paid from loss-making company?
Dividends are generally the most tax-efficient form of income you can take from your company but they can only be paid out of profits. Despite this, might there be a way for your loss-making company to pay you a dividend?
BENEFITS - 17.04.2024
The tax advantages of benefits in kind
Your company is doing especially well and you want to take advantage of its good fortune. The priority income you take should be tax efficient. Why might benefits in kind be your best option?
ABSENCE - 15.04.2024
Employee calls in sick following London Marathon
The London Marathon takes place this Sunday, 21 April 2024. If an employee calls in sick the day after, or following a similar event, is there anything you can do about it?
LEGAL DUTIES - 10.04.2024
Are you responsible for criminal acts?
The incident of a Deliveroo driver biting off a customer’s thumb raises questions of liability when it comes to employee acts. What’s to know?
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH - 10.04.2024
Lyme disease in the workplace
Lyme disease is a ‘flu-like illness caused by bacteria and transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. It poses a significant health risk, especially for those working outdoors. What can you do to protect your workers?
RISK ASSESSMENT - 10.04.2024
The cost of not paying attention to risk assessments
Whilst undertaking risk assessments can be seen as a bit of a chore, doing so is a necessary part of keeping your workplace safe. What can go wrong with inadequate risk assessments?
ENVIRONMENT - 10.04.2024
Inspections on the rise - should you prepare?
A colleague has told you about news stories warning that the Environment Agency has gone on the offensive, and is talking about all the additional inspections it’s now undertaking. Is this something you need to worry about?
MACHINERY GUARDS - 10.04.2024
Pizza maker fined after workers caught up in machinery
One of the nation’s largest producers of supermarket pizzas has been fined £800,000 after two workers suffered serious injuries at its factory in Bolton. What were the failures and how can you prevent injuries when working with machinery?
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE - 10.04.2024
How should safety be managed on a business acquisition?
Shortly after one of our subscribers took over a business there was an accident caused by safety procedures being ignored. Will he get an easy ride from the HSE because it’s so soon after acquisition? And what could have been done better?
SICKNESS ABSENCE - 08.04.2024
Managing dismissals for long-term sickness absence
If an employee’s long-term sickness absence starts to become protracted to the point where you’re contemplating their dismissal, how should you go about dealing with that?
SUSPENSION - 08.04.2024
Suspension following gross misconduct allegations
The employee at Red Bull who accused its Formula 1 team principal, Christian Horner, of inappropriate behaviour has now been suspended for alleged dishonesty. Is it lawful to suspend an employee where there are gross misconduct allegations?
FLEXIBLE WORKING - 08.04.2024
Should you trial a four-day working week?
The 4 Day Week Campaign and think tank Autonomy have launched a new initiative called 4ugust, under which you would give your staff a four-day week, while keeping salaries the same, for the month of August. Is it worth considering?
PARENTAL LEAVE - 08.04.2024
Parental leave and automatic unfair dismissal protection
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has refused to strike out an automatic unfair dismissal claim brought by an employee who argued his dismissal was because he sought to take parental leave. What was the rationale for the EAT’s decision?
DATA PROTECTION - 08.04.2024
Reporting personal data breaches
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating the London Clinic following claims that its staff attempted to access the Princess of Wales’ medical records. What are the legal issues here?
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION - 08.04.2024
Trial period in new role can be reasonable adjustment
According to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, an employer failed to make reasonable adjustments when it dismissed a disabled employee rather than placing him in an alternative role on a trial basis. What are the implications of this ruling?
PAY - 08.04.2024
Employee won’t work their notice - deduct from pay?
If an employee resigns but then refuses to work some or all of their contractual notice period, you might be tempted to deduct a sum from their outstanding wages to compensate you for their breach of contract. What’s the legal position on this?
WORKPLACE STRESS - 08.04.2024
April is Stress Awareness Month
Stress accounts for around half of all work-related ill health, causing problems for millions of workers and employers. How can you use this year’s Stress Awareness Month to improve the situation in your workplace?
REPAIRS - 05.04.2024
Have you underclaimed expenses?
In 2022/23 HMRC sent a nudge letter to taxpayers that included a statement saying that upgrading a boiler wouldn’t be a deductible expense for tax purposes. It’s now writing to individuals admitting that this was wrong. What action do you need to take?
TERMINATION PAY - 03.04.2024
Compensating a departing director or employee
A dispute in the boardroom has resulted in one of the directors resigning from the firm. A financial settlement has been agreed to prevent the departure becoming acrimonious. Can the company apply the £30,000 exemption to the payment?
CAPITAL ALLOWANCES - 03.04.2024
Employers or employees - who gets tax relief for equipment?
Your company is kitting out its directors with new computers for their home offices. As inevitably there’ll be some private use of the equipment, how might this affect the tax position of the company and the director?
PROPERTY - 03.04.2024
Property expenses - HMRC admits error
In late 2023 HMRC wrote to landlords suggesting they may have claimed tax relief they weren’t entitled to. It now accepts it was wrong. What’s the full story?
INVESTIGATIONS - 03.04.2024
Penalties for not reporting a tax liability
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) recently had to decide if HMRC was right to issue tax assessments and penalties because a taxpayer had provided inadequate information about her income. What practical advice can be learned from the FTT’s ruling?
CORPORATION TAX - 03.04.2024
Improving cash flow to help pay corporation tax bill
Last year produced a good profit with a correspondingly high tax bill. Conversely, the current year will show a small loss. This has left the company with insufficient funds to meet the tax bill. How might a change of accounting date help its finances?
EXPENSES - 02.04.2024
Overseas business trip with the family - is it taxable?
Our subscriber is making an overseas trip for business and is taking her spouse and two children so they can holiday while she’s working. Her question is, can she put the expense through her company and if so are there any tax considerations?
DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS - 02.04.2024
Using demotion as a disciplinary sanction
A police officer has made the news headlines after being demoted for selling some police uniform trousers on Vinted. Can you demote as a disciplinary sanction?
INVESTMENTS - 02.04.2024
EIS - retrospectively reduce your tax bill
You want to make a tax-efficient investment and you’ve read that one which qualifies for the enterprise investment scheme (EIS) is a good option because it means you can reclaim tax you paid on 31 January. How does this work in practice?
EMPLOYMENT STATUS - 02.04.2024
Determining someone’s employment status
Determining an individual’s employment status for the purposes of statutory employment rights can be a complex matter. What are the key tests that you need to be aware of when it comes to making this determination?
FIRE SAFETY - 02.04.2024
Fire extinguisher guidelines updated
When determining how many fire extinguishers you need, their type, size and location, the most important source of guidance is the British Standards document BS5306-8. What changes were introduced in the latest update?
COMPANY LAW - 02.04.2024
What’s new at Companies House?
The latest set of Companies House (CH) reforms aim to improve the reliability of the Register of Companies and help combat fraud. 4 March saw the first major implementation phase. How does this affect companies?
RECRUITMENT - 02.04.2024
Responsible AI recruitment
The government has published new guidance on procuring and deploying AI in the recruitment process, e.g. during the sourcing, screening, interview or selection stages. Is it worth a look?
