Tax & Legislation news – Page 29
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Consultation launched on employee-owner scheme
The government has launched a consultation that sets out its plans for a new employment status, called employee-owner.The move follows Chancellor George Osborne’s proposal on 8 October that employee-owners would be able to own shares in their company worth between £2,000 and £50,000, which will not be subject to capital ...
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IBM loses High Court pensions case
IBM will have to rectify the trust deeds and rules for its UK defined benefit (DB) plan to allow active members to retire from age 60 without the organisation’s consent or reduction in their pension, following a High Court judgement.The case was brought before the courts by the pension scheme’s ...
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Owner-employee contract a bad idea
The majority (63%) of respondents think the government’s proposal for owner-employee schemes is a bad idea, according to a poll by YouGov.The employee-owner schemes, which were announced by Chancellor George Osborne on 8 October, would require employees to give up employment rights, such as wrongful dismissal, the right to redundancy ...
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Owner-employee contract could breach EU laws
A proposed new employment contract that would require employees to give up employment rights for shares in their organisation could still leave employers open to claims for unfair dismissal under European regulations.The owner-employee contract, announced at the Conservative Party conference on 8 October by Chancellor George Osborne, could see employers ...
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AWR have increased admin costs
A year on from their introduction, the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) are thought to have cost organisations more than £1.5 billion in administration costs, but have not increased benefits for workers, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).The regulations, which were introduced 1 October 2011, give agency workers entitlement ...
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Ban on age discrimination extended
New provisions set out in the Equality Act 2010, which extends the ban on age discrimination, came into force on 1 October and could impact some service providers, such as healthcare providers.According to the Equality Human Rights Commission, the new ban will mean, in most cases, these service providers will ...
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Executive remuneration consultation closes
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) consultation exercise on revised executive remuneration reporting regulations has closed.The consultation, Directors’ pay: revised remuneration reporting regulations, includes draft regulations setting out the proposed form and content of the director’s remuneration report.The proposals of the report, if enacted, will give shareholders a ...
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ECJ considers Tupe case
The European Court of Justice is currently hearing a case that could impact on the remuneration employers provide to employees as part of a transfer covered by transfer of undertakings (protection of employment) (Tupe) regulations.The case, Parkwood Leisure versus Alemo-Herron and others, involves a private sector organisation that took over ...
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ECJ to examine VAT on DB pensions
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will examine whether defined benefit (DB) pension schemes should pay value-added tax (VAT) on investment management services.The case under examination involves Wheels Common Investment Fund (WCIF), a multi-employer scheme, and the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), after a tribunal in London in February ...
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Public sector pensions bill published
The government has published the Public Service Pensions Bill 2013, which is forecast to save £65 billion over the next fifty years and aims to reduce public sector pension scheme costs by around half.The Independent Public Service Pensions Commission published its final report in March 2011. The government accepted its ...
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Small employers could face RTI penalties
Small organisations and those that employ casual staff could suffer under real-time information (RTI) reporting, particularly from the on-or-before payment requirement.It requires the employer to submit information to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) each time they pay an employee. For example, when a catering company that uses casual staff to ...
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FSA announces incentive scheme review findings
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has completed a review of 22 organisations’ financial incentive schemes.The review encompassed banks, building societies, insurers and investment firms.It found:Most incentive schemes were likely to drive employees to mis-sell and these risks were not being properly managed.Firms were failing to identify how incentive schemes might ...
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Third of Scottish employment tribunal cases relate to equal pay
Over a third of all Scottish cases that are referred to the Employment Tribunal are related to equal pay, according to figures by HM Courts and Tribunal Service.The figures show that 10,000 cases were brought before the tribunal relating to issues of equal pay. The data was released following a ...
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Kay report calls for realignment of executive remuneration
A report commissioned by the government has proposed to realign company incentives by better relating directors’ remuneration to long-term sustainable business performance.The report, UK equity markets and long-term decision making, has also proposed that long-term performance incentives should be provided only in the form of company shares, to be held ...
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HMRC publishes consultation on tax avoidance schemes
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published a consultation on improving the information available about tax avoidance schemes and the risks of using them.The consultation includes proposals to revise and extend the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (Dotas) hallmarks (the descriptions of schemes required to be disclosed for income tax, ...
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High Court ruling will protect the pension benefits of Urenco employees
A ruling from the High Court on 12 June against nuclear fuel company Urenco will protect the pension benefits of 13,000 former employees of British Nuclear Fuels (BNF) and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).The ruling stated that the pension protection provided by the Energy Act 2004 for the former ...
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HMRC reminds employers about late penalties for annual tax return
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has written to employers this week with a reminder about the late penalties for missing the 19 May deadline for their 2011-12 employer annual returns.Employers that missed the deadline will receive an increased penalty if they do not act by 19 June.Even if an employer ...
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High Court rules that BBC pension scheme cap is legal
The High Court has ruled that the BBC pension scheme reforms, which cap future pensionable salary increases at 1%, are legal.The judgement, Bradbury vs. BBC, dealt with an appeal to the decision of the pensions ombudsman in a case brought by John Bradbury, a member of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. ...
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Beecroft report on employment law published
The Beecroft Report on employment law has been published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).Business secretary Vince Cable said the report, which was written by venture capitalist Adrian Beecroft, has been published to dispel some of the myths that have been associated with it.He added: “Because of ...
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Report on employment law to be published
A report on employment law, known as the Beecroft report, will be published this week.The report, written by venture capitalist Adrian Beecroft and commissioned by prime minister David Cameron’s former chief policy adviser Steve Hilton, is likely to include the following proposals: Delaying the pension reforms, which would force employers ...