Jobcentres failing to help small businesses

The Jobcentre Plus network needs urgent reform if it is to combat rising unemployment and to help small firms recruit new employees.
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Let business fuel the recovery, government told

Businesses must be given the freedom to create jobs and to drive the economy, a leading business group has said...[more]

More needs to be done to soften impact of business rates rise

Plans for curbing the effects of increases in business rates, due next April, are not sufficiently far-reaching, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said...[more]

Keep apprenticeships affordable, says CBI

Apprenticeship wages should not be set at such a level that they price people out of training, it has been argued.
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Government proposes extension to paternity leave

Fathers are to be given the right to take up to six months of paternity leave in order to look after their children, the government has announced...[more]

Imminent rise in the minimum wage

Employers are being reminded that 1 October sees increases in the hourly rates for the national minimum wage...[more]

Safeguard post offices by making them business hubs

The future of hundreds of post offices around the country could be safeguarded by transforming them into small business hubs.

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Road to recovery fraught with risks, says BCC

The UK economy has begun the journey towards recovery but still faces many risks, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said.

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Companies Act 2006: the final push (III)

Changes that affect those details about directors and company secretaries that are made public. ..[more]

Companies Act 2006: the final push (II)

Changes to the way that share capital and shares are managed.

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Companies Act 2006: the final push (I)

Changes to the roles played by a company’s memorandum and articles of association.

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Pay rises slip to record low

Average pay increases offered by UK firms have dipped to just 1 per cent, the lowest figure since records began.

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Firms advised against employment law ‘complacency’

The recent rise in the number of tribunals, fuelled by recession-lead redundancies, should alert firms to the importance of complying with employment law.

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Fuel duty rises

The latest rise in fuel duty, which sees 2p added to the cost of a litre, has come into effect.

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HMRC and Companies House team up on online filing

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Companies House have announced that they have adopted a common approach to the online filing of company tax returns.

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Businesses split over question of environmental taxes

Small businesses are divided over how effective green taxes are at promoting good environmental practices, a new survey has revealed. ..[more]

Government broadens its trade credit insurance scheme

The government has amended its trade credit insurance top-up scheme so that more businesses can take advantage of it.

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Fall in tax receipts means VAT to rise as planned

There seems no prospect that the cut in VAT will be extended beyond the planned end of the year reversion to the old rate after it was revealed that tax revenues have fallen sharply.

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Tax breaks would boost 'value' of operating leases

Tax breaks that are available to profitable businesses when buying equipment should be extended to those SMEs that take out new operating leases.

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