New technology to see cheques clear within one working day

From October this year, businesses that pay cheques into their accounts will be able to get the money cleared within one working day.Continue reading→

Tax-free childcare coming this April

From 28 April this year, parents with young children will be able to claim tax-free childcare against their yearly income.Continue reading→

Inflation rises past BoE’s two per cent target

The UK’s inflation rate jumped from 1.8 per cent in January to 2.3 per cent in February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.Continue reading→

Fines of up to £3,000 for failure to comply with Making Tax Digital, says HMRC

Taxpayers who fail to use Making Tax Digital, the Government’s all-new digital tax system, will face fines of up to £3,000, according to a consultation paper released today.Continue reading→

Country’s wealthiest burdened by increasing taxes, says study

The tax burden on the country’s wealthiest individuals has nearly tripled since the 1970s, a study has revealed.Continue reading→

This is what entrepreneurs love about being their own boss

Owners of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have shared what they love about running their own businessContinue reading→

Don’t get delayed over Easter weekend, say payment experts

Experts have urged businesses to “plan ahead” so that payments to staff and suppliers do not get delayed over the Easter weekend.Continue reading→

Parliament will not hike NICs for self-employed, says Chancellor

The Chancellor has today announced that the Government will not go ahead with planned hikes in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for self-employed workers.Continue reading→

Tesco to pay back staff following significant payroll error

One of Britain’s biggest businesses was left red-faced after it announced last week that it would be reimbursing 140,000 present and previous employees, following a mistake involving its payroll.

The error could mean that Tesco pays a total of £10million to the individuals affected.

The supermarket giant had made the mistake – which meant that a sizeable section of its workforce received less than the National Living Wage – while calculating pay for staff who had contributed a portion of their salary to a pension scheme, childcare or the company’s cycle-to-work scheme.

The blunder came to light during a review which was organised as part of the introduction of a new payroll system at the FTSE 100 firm.

The BBC has reported that around a third of the current workforce have been affected, in addition to 40,000 people who had since left the business.

Matt Davies, the chief executive of Tesco UK and Ireland, said: “As soon as our own review identified this issue we took immediate action to resolve it and establish which colleagues are affected.

“We’ve apologised to our colleagues and our priority now is to talk to them about how this affects them individually, and make any necessary payments.”

Business Minister Margot James said the supermarket’s announcement showed the Government’s approach to enforcing minimum wage legislation was working.

“It is completely unacceptable for any worker to be underpaid and everybody should check their pay ahead of the national minimum and living wages rising on April 1^st,” she added.

Row rages on over tax changes for the self-employed

Thousands of UK families who depend on a single self-employed wage could lose as much as a sixth of their income, new research suggests.Continue reading→