Business Advice Directory
More than 12,000 ready-to-use business solutions.Category E-mail services
Featured advice
EXPENSES
Overseas business trip with the family - is it taxable?
Our subscriber is making an overseas trip for business and is taking her spouse and two children so they can holiday while she’s working. Her question is, can she put the expense through her company and if so are there any tax considerations?
HOLIDAYS
Annual leave for irregular hours and part-year workers
For holiday years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, new rules will apply to annual leave under the Working Time Regulations 1998 for irregular hours and part-year workers. What are the essentials of those new rules?
RECRUITMENT
Pre-employment checks for new recruits
As part of your recruitment process, you should always carry out pre-employment checks on a successful candidate once they’ve accepted your job offer. What checks should you conduct and when should you do them?
DISMISSAL
Is it easy to dismiss short-service employees?
Employees with less than two years’ continuous service can’t generally claim unfair dismissal, so it can be relatively easy to dismiss them. But what risks do you need to be aware of before you decide to implement such a dismissal?
PROFIT EXTRACTION
Planning your year-end dividend
The end of the tax year is approaching and you want to make full use of the 8.75% tax rate that applies to dividends. How can you work out how much dividend you can take and ensure its payment before the tax year ends?
VAT
Leasing cars - what are the VAT pros and cons?
You’re considering leasing instead of purchasing cars for your business. This will improve cash flow and, according to the salesperson, allow you to reclaim VAT that you would not otherwise be entitled to. Are they correct?
LOANS
Make your mortgage interest tax deductible
A friend has told you that his accountant was able to get him tax relief for his home mortgage interest. As relief for this type of interest ended decades ago, how was it possible and might you be able to do the same?
DISMISSAL
Fairly dismissed for irretrievable relationship breakdown
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that an employee was fairly dismissed due to a breakdown of trust and confidence in the working relationship, even though he received no written warning and wasn’t offered a right of appeal. Why was this?
FLEXIBLE WORKING
Using trial periods to assess feasibility of flexible working
The new Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working recognises that it’s possible to have a trial period to assess the feasibility of an employee’s proposed flexible working arrangement. How will a trial period work?
NEW LEGISLATION
Legislation to crack down on misuse of NDAs
PAY
Can you avoid new rules on tips?
A restaurant chain has removed its service charge and replaced it with a “brand charge”, seemingly to circumvent the new tipping legislation. Is this an option?
