Update on regulation chnages
| Published: 26th March 2008 12:33 |
April 2008 Regulation Changes
To save you time and money, a number of key government departments issue all their changes in regulations for business twice a year, on 6 April and 1 October.
As an enewsletter subscriber we thought you would be interested in our summary of the main changes expected to come into force on or around 6 April 2008.
Download the April 2008 Regulation Changes Summary (PDF)
Starting up
• Small company charities will become subject to the scrutiny requirements of charity law, rather than those of company law.
• Charity groups over a certain threshold will have to prepare group accounts. Charitable companies that are parent companies of a group that would not have to prepare group accounts under company law, will also have to comply with the new requirement.
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Taxes, returns & payroll
• The main corporation tax rate will be cut from 30 to 28 per cent and the small company rate will rise from 20 to 21 per cent. Changes will also apply to other allowances and credits, including:
o a rise in research and development credits
o a new annual investment allowance will apply to all business sizes and replace small and medium enterprises first-year allowance schemes
o payable enhanced capital allowances may apply on certain losses
• PAYE (Pay As You Earn) thresholds and rates and National Insurance rates and limits will change. The big change this April is that only two PAYE rates will apply -a basic rate of 20 per cent and a higher rate of 40 per cent for earnings over £34,600.
• The Companies Act 2006 further reduces burdens on private companies this April. For example: o you will not have to appoint a company secretary unless you choose to continue to have one
o you will not have to have the signature of two directors to execute deeds - the signature of one director before a witness will be sufficient
o you and your auditors will have to meet certain new auditing rules - eg new requirements relating to the resignation of auditors
• Small companies and groups will be redefined by new turnover and balance sheet thresholds. They will have the option of adopting fair-value accounting. They will have to make certain changes in their accounting and auditing practices, particularly with regard to listing directors' pay.
• Medium-sized and large companies and groups will also be redefined by new thresholds, and their directors' responsibilities will be clarified. Companies in these categories will also have to make various accounting and auditing changes.
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Employing people
• Information and consultation (I&C) rules will for the first time apply to organisations with 50 or more employees. There is no automatic requirement to have an I&C agreement, but if 15 or more employees request one, you will have to agree to their request.
• Very similar I&C rules for occupational pension schemes will also for the first time be extended to organisations with 50 or more employees that operate such schemes.
• P46 requirements will change for all new employees other than pensioners - eg with regard to providing full employee information. As of 6 April 2009, large and medium-sized employers will have to electronically file Parts 1 and 3 of P45.
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Health, safety, premises
• A new corporate offence of corporate manslaughter (or corporate culpable homicide in Scotland) will come in. This will apply to work-related death caused by a gross breach of a company's legal duty to protect the people the company employs, and those who use its premises and products or services. These rules do not introduce new requirements but serve as a reminder to review your health and safety programme.
• Noise exposure rules already in force in all other sectors will for the first time apply to the music and entertainment sectors, on land and at sea, including employers, employees and the self-employed. For more detail on noise exposure rules, see our regulation update - reminder: new noise exposure rules apply in the music and entertainment sectors.
• Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will for the first time be required for the construction, sale or rent of buildings other than dwellings with a floor area over 10,000 m2. EPCs will also be required on construction for all dwellings. EPCs show the energy efficiency of buildings.
• New rules for fixed building services such as heating, hot water service and electrical installation will require you to make certain changes when you commission and notify the authorities or approved building inspectors about new or altered energy-related systems.
• Empty property relief from business rates will change. The full business rate will apply to properties that have been empty for three months or more - or six months in the case of industrial property.
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Environment & efficiency
• Environmental permits will replace waste management and pollution control rules. You will not have to take any action if you already have a waste management licence or pollution prevention control permit, as these will automatically transfer to the new regime. There are certain changes in certification and licensing, but overall the new system simplifies what you must do to comply.
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Sales and marketing
• Business-to-business marketing will be regulated under new rules that will make misleading advertising unlawful. They will also impose restrictions on the use of comparative advertising. They will affect all businesses, and in particular those in retail, advertising and marketing, including companies and organisations responsible for a code of advertising practice.
• Consumer protection - a ban on many practices, and other measures, will protect consumers from unfair treatment in general and misleading or aggressive sales practices in particular. The bans and changes will affect every area of trade and advertising, from doorstep to high street to online sales.
• Consumer credit licensing, agreement limit values and other procedures will change. Among the changes is the removal of the financial limit of £25,000. This means that virtually all consumer credit agreements - regardless of their value - will be under regulation.
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Agriculture, forestry and fishing
• Other regulations are in process and may well apply as of April to parts of this sector.
o a ban on the sale of non-native species
o controls of trade in endangered species
o protection of water against agricultural nitrate pollution
o sea fishing - enforcement of Community measures and penalty notices
Catering and accommodation
• Changes will apply in the requirements to label meat products with prominent information about starches and proteins that are added to them. However, the changes are complex - and may simply transfer the requirement to other labelling regulations. Overall, the change, if any, will depend on the purpose of the added substances - ie for purely technological purposes or intended as bulk
.
Construction
• Site waste management plans (SWMPs) - in England, SWMPs will have to be in place before construction begins on any construction project on one site and that has an estimated cost greater than £300,000.
Professional and business services
• Agency workers will be protected by new rules. These rules will particularly affect agencies and their clients in the entertainment and modelling sectors. In other sectors, where accommodation and transport form part of the work agreement, you will be committing an offence if you make offers of work conditional on a worker using and paying for such services. These rules give workers the right to opt out of services they do not require.
• Estate agents should be aware that regulations that will affect them are in process and may well apply as of April.
Transport and distribution
• Workers on ships and fishing vessels will also be protected from the risk of exposure to excessive levels of noise arising from music and entertainment you provide on ships. Employers or those responsible for operating merchant ships, and fishing and other vessels must protect workers from exposure to all other sources of noise at work.
Download the April 2008 Regulation Changes Summary (PDF)
For more information about any business issue, contact a Business Link Customer Service Adviser on 0845 058 6644 or email info@businesslinkem.co.uk
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