Category: Business

Developed by Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), working with local partners, The New Markets Programme is a new way for local businesses to access high value, commercial business advice, tailored to your business needs and chosen by you. Eligible businesses can receive a 35% contribution to the cost of commercial advice that supports … Continued

New rules have been unveiled that will see companies forced to declare who their beneficial owners are. The Government has indicated that it will legislate where necessary as soon as Parliamentary time allows.  Shareholders with more than a 25% stake in a company registered in the UK will have to supply Companies House with personal … Continued

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published an amended version of the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (FRSSE) for use by micro-entities which want to take advantage of new regulations allowing them to prepare simplified financial statements. Micro-entities are the UK’s smallest companies. They are now able to use the FRSSE when choosing to … Continued

From the 30th June 2014 all employees with 26 weeks service at the time of the application will have the right to request flexible working. Under the Children and Families Act the existing statutory procedure is to be replaced by a duty to deal with flexible working requests in a reasonable manner.  Employers will have … Continued

A number of changes to employment rules and regulations came into force with the start of the new financial year on 6 April. The changes affect many areas of employment law, from employment tribunals and discrimination, to everyday areas such as auto-enrolment and maternity pay. Key changes: Statutory maternity and paternity pay have increased from … Continued

The percentage of private sector employees in a workplace pension scheme increased from 26% in 2011 to 35% in 2013, according to research commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Employers Pension Provision survey shows that at the time of the research, 2% of private sector businesses had passed their staging dates. These … Continued

The unemployment rate fell by 77,000 to 2.24 million between December 2013 and February 2014, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The official unemployment rate now stands at 6.9%, the lowest since February 2009. Key employment data: 30.39 million people were in work between December 2013 and February 2014 This is … Continued

Thousands of businesses have been mis-sold interest rate protection products (Swaps, Caps & Collars) on top of debt facilities by Banks. These products which were hugely profitable for Banks were sold to businesses on the presumption that interest rates would rise and these hedging products would provide protection. All the major High Street Banks have … Continued

An alternative source of finance, Funding Circle provides business loans from £5k to £1 million for working capital, expansion, property, asset purchase and one-off business expenses. 10% of eligible loans funded by the Government-backed British Business Bank and interest rates start at 6%. For more information see https://www.fundingcircle.com/businesses For further information about alternative sources of … Continued

The national minimum wage (NMW) for adults will rise by 19p an hour to £6.50 on 1 October 2014, the Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced. The Government has agreed to follow the three per cent rise proposed by the Low Pay Commission last month. This will be the first time in six years that … Continued