Following changes being made to the Sex Discrimination Act and, later this year, to the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations, the law on contractual terms of employment during Additional Maternity Leave (AML) is due to change in respect of women whose babies are due on or after 5 October 2008. HMRC had previously advised that […]

The government has announced up to £37m of funding to prevent work place disputes unnecessarily going to employment tribunals. The measures are part of a package designed to simplify the dispute resolution system. The extra funding will allow Acas to boost its advice services to make sure it is never too late to choose an […]

It will come as little surprise that, once again, an HMRC online system crashed an important time of year. This time it was the self assessment online service that was disrupted on 31 January 2008 and 1 February 2008. In response to these problems, HMRC have announced that any return (whether online or paper) received […]

David Carter, Rock Financial Consultants Dynamic and forward-thinking, professional but not stuffy: that’s David Carter’s verdict on TWP. It’s a description that also suits the approach David has adopted during almost two decades in the financial services and mortgage advice sectors, the last ten as co-founder of London-based independent financial advisors Rock Financial Consultants. David […]

For many years, there have been requirements for employers to verify the identity of their workers, to prevent illegal working. The legislation was backed up with fines. From 29 February 2008, the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 increased the civil penalty imposed on an employer to a maximum of £10,000 (previously £5,000) for every […]

In the January issue, we reported on controversial new rules proposed by the government on residence and domicile. As you may remember, the Pre-Budget Report announced that HMRC would be changing the rules on residence and domicile from 6 April 2008. The main proposals were: individuals who are resident (but not domiciled or ordinarily resident) […]

Normally, the payment or reimbursement of expenses or the provision of a benefit in kind is taxable on the employee. However, particularly with expenses, it may well be that the employee is entitled to tax relief personally on the same amount. In order to obtain the relief, the employee would have to write to HMRC […]

HMRC have announced that they have started sending penalty notices where their records show that they have not received 2006/07 forms P35 and P14 (the employer’s annual return and end of year summary). Similar penalties are also being issued where 2006/07 form CIS36 (the contractor’s annual return) is outstanding. These returns were due by 19 […]

Even if no PAYE/NICs or CIS deductions payments are due for a given month or quarter, businesses are still generally required to notify HMRC by way of a ‘nil’ return. In order to help with this, HMRC can be notified by completing an online form. This can be used to tell HMRC about a previous, […]

Alistair Darling has delivered his first Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer. His focus was very much on stability against a backdrop of economic slowdown and turbulence in the global financial budgets. His 50-minute speech delivered few shocks as Mr Darling said the government would do everything in its power to keep Britain’s economy strong […]