All Tax and legislation articles – Page 28
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ArticleSecond Finance Bill to legislate for pensions advice exemption and company car tax bands
A second Finance Bill 2017 has been introduced into Parliament, which includes the introduction of an income tax exemption for the first £500 of employer-arranged pensions advice, company car tax bands, and the retrospective application of the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA).A number of measures were dropped from the Finance ...
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OpinionGreg Burgess: Back to the drawing board on employment tribunal fees?
The fact July 2017’s decision of the Supreme Court concerning the employment tribunal fees system made it on to the main evening news on all channels, shows just how significant the decision was.The court’s decision effectively said that the fees system was denying lower earners access to justice because the ...
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ArticleGDPR to be brought into UK law under new Data Protection Bill
The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be brought into UK law under a new bill to ensure data protection measures are maintained after the implementation of Brexit.The government has issued a statement of intent for the new Data Protection Bill, which is designed to update and ...
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OpinionKate Hurn: Taylor Review advocates enhancing rights for dependent contractors
The government-commissioned review of modern working practices by Matthew Taylor calls for legislative change to help determine employment status more easily and recommends enhancing rights for workers.Taylor acknowledges the confusion created by the current category of workers, made up of bona fide employees and so-called limb (b) workers who are ...
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ArticleSupreme Court rules that employment tribunal fees are unlawful
The Supreme Court has ruled that fees imposed on claimants to take employment law complaints to tribunal are unlawful.In the case, which was brought by trade union Unison against the Lord Chancellor, Unison contended that employment tribunal fees imposed by the Lord Chancellor under the Employment Tribunals and the Employment ...
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Opinion
Amanda Steadman: How would the Taylor Review proposals affect employers?
The overriding ambition of the Taylor Review is to make the case for all work being 'good work' and for this to become a new national priority. In a nutshell, 'good work' means that all work in the UK should be fair and decent with realistic scope for development and ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Building the foundation for a truly modern work environment
Changing workforce demographics and employers’ interest in adapting benefits strategies and working patterns accordingly to meet employees’ expectations and needs in the modern workplace is a topic we often address at Employee Benefits. Yet, despite many organisations’ aims to be seen as an employer of choice in order to recruit ...
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OpinionRuth Buchanan: The new General Data Protection Regulation is just around the corner
With under a year to go before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes direct effect on 25 May 2018 in European Union (EU) member states, including the UK, employers should be preparing for its implementation.GDPR introduces a much tougher regime than the existing data protection legislation, with potential fines ...
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ArticleGovernment to implement General Data Protection Regulation through Data Protection Bill
The government will implement the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) through the Data Protection Bill, which was announced in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday 21 June 2017.The GDPR, which been designed to protect EU citizens from privacy and data breaches, will include mandatory breach notifications delivered in a 72-hour period ...
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ArticleHow the Queen’s Speech 2017 will impact employee benefits
On 21 June 2017, the Queen attended the Houses of Parliament to deliver the Queen’s Speech, and officially open the next session of Parliament following the general election on 8 June 2017.The policies will be debated in the House of Lords and House of Commons over the next five days ...
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OpinionRosalind Connor: What the British Airways pensions case means for trustees and employers
The decision in the case of British Airways vs Airways Pension Scheme Trustee was handed down on 19 May 2017. The case, as the judge remarked, has been a lengthy one, and the appeal underway means that the case may well run for many more years. The case is the ...
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ArticlePoll: 15% are examining the General Data Protection Regulation’s impact on benefits
Employee Benefits poll: Less than one-fifth (15%) of employer respondents are currently looking at the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on benefits and pensions.A poll of www.employeebenefits.co.uk readers, which received 39 responses, also found that 31% are examining their staff data protection policies in light of the ...
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OpinionCrowley Woodford: Take stock of benefits strategies in light of upcoming changes
Employee benefit offerings come in all shapes and sizes. At one end of the spectrum, there are the traditional employee benefits such as contributions to an employee's pension scheme, childcare vouchers, and subsidised gym membership, and at the other end there are wine clubs, unlimited holiday allowances, and free-bacon Thursdays.With ...
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ArticleOntario to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour
Canadian province Ontario is to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2019.The general minimum wage currently stands at $11.40 (£6.60) an hour and is scheduled to rise to $11.60 (£6.69) an hour in October 2017. The government intends to increase this to $14 (£8.08) an hour from ...
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Case StudiesUber court ruling puts 'self-employed' status in the spotlight
Uber drivers are workers, not self-employed contractors, a UK employment court found in October 2016. The ruling in the case Aslam and Farra v Uber means the app could have to pay its drivers holiday pay, the minimum wage, and pensions, among other benefits.The employment tribunal decision found that the ...
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ArticleHow the Spring Budget 2017 will affect employee benefits
On 8 March 2017, Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his Spring Budget 2017 speech. Below is a round-up of the key announcements that have a bearing on employee benefits:The government’s tax-free childcare policy, which provides parents with children under the age of 12 up to £2,000 a year per child to ...
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ArticleKeep up to date with the Spring Budget 2017
Chancellor Philip Hammond will deliver his Spring Budget 2017 speech at approximately 12.30pm on Wednesday 8 March 2017.Stay tuned to the Employee Benefits website for all the latest updates on how the Spring Budget could impact employers and staff.In the Autumn Statement 2016, key announcements included an increase in the ...
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OpinionKate Hurn and Penny Hunt: Potential artificial intelligence and automation employment law issues in 2017
In January this year, a Japanese insurance company announced plans to replace 34 employees with robots. Automation is likely to affect labour markets worldwide and the reality is drawing nearer; RBS and NatWest announced in 2016 that they will be using a virtual chatbot to deal with UK customer queries ...
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OpinionAnna Humphrey and Anna McCaffrey: Worker-status cases reflect growing scrutiny on changing ways of working
In November 2016, four couriers for CitySprint began their case in the Employment Tribunal alleging they should be considered workers and not self-employed contractors.Coming in the wake of October's Uber judgement in which the Employment Tribunal found that Uber drivers were workers, the case represents growing scrutiny on whether the ...
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ArticleHow the Autumn Statement 2016 will affect pay and benefits
Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first, and with the scheduled changes to the fiscal event timetable, also his last, Autumn Statement on Wednesday 23 November 2016. Below is a summary of the key announcements impacting employers’ pay and benefits strategies:The range of benefits that attract tax and employer national insurance ...