A settlement agreement (formerly known as a compromise agreement) is a formal and legally binding agreement made between an employer and an employee (or ex-employee as the case may be) under which an en employee agrees not to pursue any claims in relation to his or her employment or its termination in return for a financial settlement. Continue reading
Despite the widespread television advertisements urging awareness of pension auto-enrolment (AE), a year or two still remains until it becomes compulsory for small and medium-sized firms. Nonetheless, such ads have focused talk on the importance of companies providing their personnel with workplace pensions. The question for many of those using London Registrars’ business consultancy service will be whether directors will be affected in addition to regular employees. Continue reading
A key element of effective corporate governance will always be the keeping of appropriate company records. However, a balance must be struck between complying with legal requirements and not getting bogged down with red tape, to the expense of everyday business operations. It begs the question of what the bare minimum requirements are for company records. Continue reading
Clients of London Registrars’ business consultant services may be interested to read that there have been recent changes to partnership taxation, following the closure of a consultation designed to tackle the perceived use of partnerships to avoid tax. The consultation, which was announced by the Chancellor in the 2013 Budget, culminated in the issuing of draft legislation in December 2013, with the resultant measures set for inclusion in the 2014 Finance Bill
There are new rules concerning limited liability partnerships (LLPs), for example, aimed at tackling ‘disguised employment’. No longer will it be automatically presumed that an LLP member is self-employed for tax purposes and instead a member will be treated as an employee for tax purposes, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions. This will make them subject to PAYE and NICs. Continue reading
Many of those firms using the services of a business consultancy in London will have taken note of the recent national minimum wage (NMW) crackdown that has seen a quadrupling in non-compliance fines. This also raises the question of the potential effect on unpaid directors or those taking a low salary.
Recent reports have signalled the government’s intention to take a harder line with companies failing to pay young workers the NMW. Vince Cable has indicated that a general NMW crackdown is imminent. Legislation has already been pushed through parliament, which means that from 1 February 2015, the maximum penalty for failing to pay the NMW will be £20,000, compared to the current £5,000. Continue reading
Clients of London Registrars’ business consultancy service may be interested to read the Pensions Regulator’s recent publication of a report detailing its findings from a review into pension scheme record-keeping. Seven case investigations into the matter have now been opened as the regulator seeks to improve standards of record-keeping.
The regulator has said that various types and sizes of schemes exhibited good practice, but it also expressed concern about certain areas, where both the schemes themselves and the payment of member benefits were put at risk. It cited some generally smaller schemes as having lower levels of engagement with their advisers, therefore finding it more difficult to demonstrate that record-keeping challenges had been effectively tackled. Continue reading
In February 2011, Lord Davies’ landmark review into Women on Boards was published, aimed at identifying the barriers preventing the greater presence of women in the boardroom, in addition to making recommendations to government and business on what actions could be taken to increase the proportion of women on corporate boards. Now, more than three years on, the third annual progress report on the matter has been published. Continue reading
This is not the first occasion that London Registrars has reported on the formation of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s new principal consumer and competition body. Nonetheless, it is worth reminding the clients of business support agencies that this organisation gains its full powers in April 2014. Continue reading
Clients of firms such as company secretarial specialists, London Registrars, who demand the highest standards of company compliance, will be interested to read that in the period from April 2012 to April 2013, fraud and financial abuse were particularly frequent problems in the charities sector. Continue reading
Many organisations across the capital taking advantage of business support solutions are likely to have followed with interest the recent scandal surrounding the Co-op and the drug use and incompetency of former bank boss Paul Flowers. In so doing, some will have wondered whether the Group’s appointment of a non-executive director to chair a Governance Review will do much to restore its reputation. Continue reading