Business News Articles

Free legal advice available to small firms
Technology, internet and digital SME companies can attend a free ‘boot camp' that covers legal issues faced by businesses in these fields. The sessions are run by American legal firm Winston & Strawn and are supported by a website which includes a forum for members to post comments and ask questions. Evening sessions are to be held once a month at the company's London office with the next ... more

Third of small business owners working over 50 hours a week
Small business owners work on average an extra 2 hours every day - 700 hours a year - than an employee working an average 37.5 hour week, according to a study by business insurer Hiscox. The study shows that more than a third of small business owners put in over 50 hours a week, with 14% working more than 60 hours every week. Despite the long hours, running a business remains an attractive p... more

Scheme to help small firms manage staff
The Employee Advisory Resource (EAR) has launched a new scheme designed to help SMEs meet their staff's needs. EAR recently released statistics revealing that the number of workers phoning their helpline regarding redundancy and contract termination has more than doubled since this time last year. Calls about job anxiety and stress are also up more than 25% from the same period a year ago. ... more

Firms targeting young and old workers for job cuts
Workers aged under 24 and over 50 are taking the brunt of the wave of redundancies that is currently sweeping the UK, the TUC has warned. The organisation’s analysis found there had been a 12.8% quarterly increase in those aged under 24 who had been unemployed for up to six months and a 29.7% rise in the number of over-50s who have been without a job for 6-12 months. ... more

Insurance payment protection crackdown proposed
The Competition Commission has launched a campaign to stop the sale of payment protection insurance within 14 days of customers taking out a loan. The schemes are designed to ensure customers can pay meet repayments even if they are made redundant or become ill but many providers have been fined for mis-selling the products. ... more

Nationwide warns of further house price fall in 2009
The UK’s biggest mortgage lender has said it expects house prices to continue to fall during the coming year. But the Nationwide also said the recent cuts in the interest base rate would minimise the number of people who were unable to afford mortgage payments and ease the burden for those coming off existing fixed-rate deals. ... more

Late filing of accounts rises 25%
An increasing number of British companies are struggling to meet deadlines for filing accounts to Companies House. Late filings have increased by 25% over the last four years and a total of 238,699 British companies filed their accounts late last year as businesses struggle to balance their books. The late filing of accounts can have severe ramifications on a business, especially in the curr... more

SME workers take less sick leave than staff at large firms
Employees in small businesses are less likely to take time off work sick than workers in larger organisations, according to research published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Workplaces with fewer than 25 employees had a sickness rate of 2.3%, compared with a 2.8% rate of companies that employed more than 500 workers. “The difference between small and large employers can be ex... more

Barrel of oil drops to lowest price in 20 months
Oil prices have fallen to less than $60 a barrel, the lowest price for over 20 months. This fall will further reduce inflationary pressures following the Bank of England and other Central bank's decisions to cut interest rates. Small businesses will hope that this decrease is passed onto consumers by lower energy bills and petrol prices at forecourts. The price of a barrel of oil has decr... more

Firms can receive tax exemption for Christmas party
Small companies that are considering cancelling their Christmas party to cut costs are being advised that if certain criteria are met then the party can be exempt from tax. In order for the seasonal party to qualify for the exemption certain criteria must be met. The party must be open to all staff, each employee must be allowed to bring a guest and no more than £150 can be spent on each em... more