A recent survey of SMEs has revealed that 46% do not provide a pension scheme for employees leaving little time to prepare for new legislation, aimed at dealing with Britain’s ageing population
In 2012 the Pensions Act 2008 will come into effect making it a legal duty for employers to automatically enroll all eligible employees into [...]

Click here to read more

Government figures have recently revealed that nearly 2,000 small businesses are facing high energy bills for gas & electricity because inaccurate estimates issued last year have left them with revised invoices.
In 2010 the helpline Consumer Direct was called by 1,848 small businesses to complain that they had received backdated bills.
Audrey Gallacher – head of energy [...]

Click here to read more

Small businesses are not doing enough to protect their ideas & creativity according to recent research.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) - an executive agency of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) - is the official government body responsible for Intellectual Property rights in the UK. This covers designs, trademarks, copyright & patents.
The IPO [...]

Click here to read more

Credit requests from small businesses fall.
As part of its remit to “contribute to protecting and enhancing the stability of the financial systems of the United Kingdom”, the Bank of England needs to be aware of current & changing credit conditions. In order to do so it regularly carries out a survey for lenders the most [...]

Click here to read more

Over 800 members of the Federation of Small Businesses – the FSB – who took part in a poll have indicated an overall feeling of indifference to the recent budget.
‘The Voice of Small Business’ survey panel felt that the budget would have little effect on the day to day management of their businesses. In [...]

Click here to read more

The Federation of Small Businesses – FSB – has issued a press release detailing its response to the latest budget.
While the FSB stated that it welcomed some of the announcements made in the budget which it felt would aid stability, it expressed concern that not enough had been done to encourage job creation.
It was pleased [...]

Click here to read more

The Federation of Small Businesses – the FSB – is calling on the government to reverse the planned 1p rise in fuel duty & take measures to counteract the current volatility of fuel prices.
Concerned about the impact of the rise in fuel duty for small businesses, the FSB is urging the government to introduce a [...]

Click here to read more