In a survey of 1,025 employees carried out by ACAS, 9 in 10 said they thought it was important for mental health to be prioritised at work. As a result, ACAS is encouraging employers to have empathetic conversations with their staff to ensure mental wellbeing is supported in the workplace. Many do not like to talk about mental health and not everyone will show obvious signs of poor mental health.
In the run up to the winter holidays, you may be considering taking on additional temporary staff to help with the workload. While these staff may only be with you for a short period, you still need to consider them for pension purposes each time you pay them. Staff need to be put into a pension scheme based on their ages and how much they earn. This applies to family members too.
With last week being Charity Fraud Awareness Week, the Charity Commission has unveiled updated guidance to help trustees protect their charities from fraud and cyber crime. This follows the regulator revealing that it opened 603 cases related to fraud and 99 cases involving cyber crime in the past year.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a reminder to be careful about scam attempts that target people filing Self Assessment tax returns. In the last year, nearly 150,000 scam attempts were referred to HMRC, a 16.7% increase on last year. With the 31 January 2025 filing deadline approaching, fraudsters are likely to step up their activities.
The government has unveiled some significant reforms to employment support, underpinned by a £240 million investment. The measures aim to address deep-rooted issues of unemployment, economic inactivity, and barriers to work, as detailed in the newly published Get Britain Working White Paper.
5,000 additional construction apprenticeship places are to be made available annually as part of a £140 million initiative aimed at addressing workforce shortages and meeting housebuilding targets. Central to this plan is the establishment of 32 new Homebuilding Skills Hubs, which are designed to accelerate training.
The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) recently released annual statistics for 2023/24 reveal the challenges being faced by employers in managing work-related ill health and injuries. Stress, depression, anxiety, and workplace injuries continue to be issues affecting the health and wellbeing of workforces.
People staying overnight in Wales may soon have to pay a small charge in changes proposed by the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill. The levy would be set at 75p per person a night for hostels and campsite pitches. For all other accommodation types the levy will be £1.25 a person a night. The decision on whether to set a levy or not will rest with the local authority for the area.
The UK government has announced that it remains fully committed to a Deposit Return Scheme and expects to launch the scheme across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in October 2027. The UK government will be working with the Scottish government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland to bring about these changes.
Changes to inheritance tax were announced in the Budget that have caused consternation to farmers and business owners across the UK. Clearly, both Agricultural and business property reliefs have played an important role in families being able to pass on agricultural and business assets without having to worry about inheritance tax. What exactly is changing and what could this mean for you?
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