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Health and Safety Breaches fines increased

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Businesses beware from January 2009, the maximum fine for health and safety breaches increases to £20,000 per offence.

The new Health & Safety Offences Bill, was introduced by former Labour Minister Keith Hill, who said the aim is to: "ensure appropriate punishment for those who are negligent or would seek to cut costs by infringing health and safety arrangements." The Bill will increase the maximum fine available in magistrates' courts from £5,000 to £20,000 for most breaches. It would also make a custodial sentence an option for more offences.

In April 2008, The Corporate Manslaughter Act made provision for Directors (if found guilty) to face unlimited fines, and imprisonment. Dev Masih, Head of Department for JAW Business Solutions Ltd, a Health and Safety Consultancy company in Sutton Coldfield, said: It’s the small businesses that need to be educated, because they mistakenly seem to think that these laws only apply to the bigger businesses”.

He continued: “I went to three local small shops during Christmas week, and in conversation with the shop owners, I discovered that they had no health and safety procedures in place, because no one had ever made them aware”.

The key to avoiding prosecution is simply to ensure that your business is following the relevant legislation. A lot of business owners lack the knowledge to be able to do this, in which case get someone who can help to make sense of it all. Dev Masih continued: “I said to one shop owner, you need to appoint a competent person who can help you with these technical matters. The owner replied, what’s one of them? To which I replied, it’s an offence not to have one. Then I saw the owners eyebrows narrow as he calculated the potential fines in head”.

Press & Public Enquiries:

Dev Masih – Head of Department JAW Business Solutions Ltd

25 Caversham Place

Sutton Coldfield

B73 6HW

Tel Office: 0845 388 7524

Mobile: 07908 383 570

Email: info@jawbusiness.co.uk

Website: www.jawbusiness.co.uk

Notes to Editors.

References:

DWP Press release: 16 October 2008 - Ministers welcome tougher

16 Oct 2008 ... New legislation, the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008, which will increase penalties and provide courts with greater sentencing powers

www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2008/oct/hse106-161008.asp -

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

Health and safety assistance 7. - (1) Every employer shall, subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in

www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/19993242.htm

Paying your 2008 Corporation Tax bill

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

At a time when business is hard to come by, and cash is scarce, the Taxman wants his cut of things from your profit from your last financial year. What can you do about this?

Corporation Tax (for companies with profits of less than £1.5 million) is due nine months and one day after your year end. The taxman charges interest at 7.5% on any tax paid after this date, but fortunately, companies do not face an automatic 5% surcharge on late CT payments.

Remember, whilst late payment does not automatically trigger an enquiry, it may add a risk point to your record which may increase the chance of being selected for an enquiry.

Our advice is to pay what you can on time, and not ignore your liability. Often companies do not pay anything until they can pay it off all in one go, but this only increases your interest costs. Remember, you only pay interest on the outstanding amount, so if you pay for example £6000 on time of a £10000 CT liability, you will only be charged interest on the £4000. An interest saving of 60% !
It is important to remember to pay the balance off as soon as is possible, or even try to arrange a payment plan for the balance.

Another option is to use post-dated cheques. In this instance write to the company's CT office and explain the current situation to them. If they agree, send the post-dated cheques with a covering letter (always quote your tax reference) to the accounts office in Shipley explaining what has been agreed - this avoids the taxman presenting the cheques straight away.
Whilst it will probably not avoid the late interest charges, it may go some way to avoiding a risk point on your record.

Between now and then :

So as to avoid this nasty tax shock every year, companies may wish to consider putting money aside every month or quarter based on monthly or quarterly profits.

As a rule of thumb, using your management accounts, calculate 22% (the 2008/9 rate for CT) of the monthly or quarterly profit and transfer this to a seperate account. If the yearly profits are over £300,000 then you need to consider transferring 28%.

Where to transfer to :

Option 1
Set up your own "tax" deposit account in the companies name and discipline yourself not to withdraw from it.

Option 2
Pay the taxman early. What?
It may sound hard to believe but the taxman is actually offering an interest rate of 4.5% on all company tax paid before the due date. Furthermore, if you have over estimated throughout the year, he also pays 4% interest on the overpaid amount from the due date to the date he sends you the refund.

Remember, it is important to organise a timetable with your accountant to ensure they can prepare the accounts and calculate the CT due. It is advisable to do this within a few months of your year end. This way you will know earlier rather than later how much CT you owe, which in turn allows you to budget for that final payment which becomes due within nine months and one day of your year end.

If you require any advice or help with any accounting or taxation issues please feel free to give us a call or drop us an email - our detail can be found in the members section of this website.

English Mutual Halesowen Adviser, Ian Welton’s CRAZY Iron Man Triathlon Challenge

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:07:54 +0000

Given the current economic climate, many working in the financial services industry find things increasingly challenging. Ian Welton Independent Mortgage and Insurance Advisers for Nicklins Independent financial service businesses English Mutual Halesowen and Midland Mortgage Advisers is certainly not frightened of any challenge.

On the 7th September Ian will be competing in the Ironman UK Triathlon to support charity fly 2 help in association with the English Mutual’s Wealth of Happiness Foundation. It is impossible to describe the immensity of the task that he undertakes, Ian likes to call it “killing yourself for charity”. Completed in the grounds of historic Sherbourne Castle in Dorset the Iron Man Triathlon includes a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycling race and 26.2 mile run. Ian a father of three completes 2 and half hours training each weekday before most of us even make it to work. This is just the basic training and when he gets the opportunity he can be found on 6 hours cycle stints throughout the countryside. He only takes Saturday’s off which he spends with family.

Nicklins will be giving their support asking staff to donate money on their forthcoming mufti day. If you would like to know more Ian has said up his own site www.justgiving.com/ianwelton

Alternatively e-mail Halesowen@english-mutual.co.uk or call 0121 585 0707

Full Story - www.nicklins.co.uk

Design Discount for Members

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Pragmatic Design is offering a huge 10% discount on all design work to Wolverhampton Business Network's members.

The discount applies to their first order, and covers the design portion of any work undertaken. So, whether it's a business card or a complete eCommerce website contact Pragmatic Design now by email at info@pragmaticdesign.co.uk or call 01902 58 10 12. Terms & Conditions apply - click for details.

How to thrive in a tough economic environment

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Business owners can take two differing views when the economy takes a downturn:

Category 1 - keep your head down and try and survive it.

Category 2 - see it as an opportunity to secure more business especially from Category 1!

Category 1 businesses will tend to cut down on supposedly “non-essential costs” such as marketing. They then bluster along watching the pennies in the hope they have a business left when the economy turns around.

Category 2 businesses continue to invest in their businesses to achieve growth at the expense of their Category 1 rivals.
Shaun Philpott, a Wolverhampton-based business advisor with Steps for Success commented: “Amongst the many local businesses I have been talking to in the last few months, I’ve become aware of 3 key questions that business owners ask me in the current environment:

How can I get more from my marketing budget?
How can I improve my conversion of leads into sales?
How can I improve my cash flow?

My answer is always the same – now is the time to invest in your business to find out how to overcome these issues. This will make your business thrive rather than leave you crying into your beer about the state of the economy. I want all my clients to be Category 2 businesses!”

Steps for Success, in association with Icon Business Solutions – a global network of business advisors, has developed a series of three workshops to address these frequently raised issues which will be running over the next few months. Shaun added “These workshops have been carefully designed to further educate business owners in these three areas. They also ensure they have a detailed plan of action on how to improve these areas within their business. Furthermore, each attendee receives a 1-2-1 session shortly after the workshop to ensure they are getting positive results and a significant return on their investment.”

For further information contact Shaun Philpott on 01902 500837 or email shaunphilpott@iconbusinesssolutions.com

FREE Business to Business networking event

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

FREE Business to Business networking event from Black County Chamber of Commerce.

Check out the Chamber on 16^th September 08 from 12pm to 2pm at Patshull Park Hotel, Patshull Road, Wolverhampton, WV6 7HR

Black Country Chamber of Commerce is all you need to know to help increase your profits, to save costs on business services and to resolve your business issues. If you wish to make new contacts and find out more about the benefits of being a member of our Chamber of Commerce, this is an event not to miss! It is an opportunity for you to meet the Chamber of Commerce, network and make new business contacts. A buffet lunch will be served. Please note this event is for non Chamber members only who have a business in the Black Country. Bring your business cards on the day.

For further information or to book, call 0845 8724 288

Internet Explorer 8 - Will your website survive?

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Internet Explorer 8 will be available later this year. But big changes mean that your website may suffer from the experience.

The problem stems from the way in which Internet Explorer, the world's most popular web browser, has historically handled web page code. In order to get a web page to display correctly, web site authors often had to "hack" the code- but with Internet Explorer 8, these "hacks" may cause unexpected results.

Nick MacKechnie, Microsoft's senior technical account manager states on his blog: "browsing [with IE8] may cause content written for previous versions of Internet Explorer to display differently than intended. This creates a call to action for site owners to ensure their content will continue to display seamlessly in Internet Explorer 8. "

Should you worry?

Websites written by Pragmatic Design have already been tested with a Beta (pre-release) version of Internet Explorer 8, and have nothing to worry about. We're also offering a "check and repair" service, so businesses can ensure that their website displays as intended, no matter what browser your customers are using.

For more information, contact Pragmatic Design on Wolverhampton 01902 58 10 12, or email info@pragmaticdesign.co.uk

Boom time for inkjet companies

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Two West Midlands businesses offering companies and householders quality inkjet and toner cartridge recycling, are finding they're suddenly in high demand - thanks to the pending recession and a report by boffins.

Cartridge World in Wolverhampton and Walsall are having a boom time after an independent report concluded their refilled printer cartridges were as good as the manufacturers' originals. They're even having to extend their free delivery service to cater for demand.

At the same time thousands of people are also looking for a better deal as the amount of ink and toner that many manufacturers put in their cartridges, shrinks.

The Walsall business in Stafford Street is jointly owned by Paul Tarnawskyj and Richard Williams. Richard also owns the Wolverhampton business, in Stafford Road, Oxley.

"Our refilled inkjet and toner cartridges go through rigorous testing before we hand them back to the customer," said Richard. "We clean them inside and out, check the ink heads and then refill them in a vaccuum machine that ensures there are no air bubbles. When we've finished with them they are as good as new but costing considerably less.

"But now we're both having to increase our delivery services, particularly to local businesses, while we're getting more people coming into our shops. People are looking for quality, but costing less, and they like our environmentally-friendly approach."

The recent independent report said the refill pigment ink in particular, made for the company in Germany, has light-fast qualities that are better than many manufacturers' originals.

Said Paul: "By re-using and thoroughly cleaning cartridges we are saving thousands going into landfill sites and doing a great service to the environment. We've always known we have good products, but there are many rogue suppliers of inkjet cartridges that have given the industry a bad name, while filling your own is messy, can lead to smudged work and is likely to make guarantees void.

"We're convenient, helpful and will even give people advice on what sort of printer they should buy, as many cheaper models are costly to run when it comes to ink. And our refills do not void the guarantee."

Info and free advice from Cartridge World Walsall on 01922 621222 or Wolverhampton on 01902 788240

How to spot rising stars in your company

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

A Trysull, Wolverhampton training company has launched a pioneering system for companies to spot rising stars among its less academic staff.

It is based on little known “emotional intelligence”, which questions the traditional methods of selecting potential leaders by their academic achievements, IQ and technical knowhow.

“We’re turning this thinking on its head,” said highly experienced leadership coach, Nicola Hughes. “In my experience too few of our academics actually accomplish anything worthwhile in their chosen careers, yet many of these smart graduates are put in top positions.”

She warned industry and commerce bosses in the West Midlands: "It's not how smart they are, but how they are smart that matters when it comes to leadership."

Nicola, head of Luminate Coaching, said she has seen many instances of educationally smart managers whose staff were totally turned off by everything they said. "They were unmotivated and bored; and unmotivated and bored staff are no good to any company that wants to go places," she said.

Nicola has now launched pioneering courses in "emotional intelligence" - teaching bosses how to promote staff through their achievements and ability, ignoring their very often brilliant academic record.

Luminate, have launched a series of talent developing courses for a well known building society and have introduced the principles of emotional intelligence to the influential Association of International Accountants.

The company is working with senior managers at the building society, to develop the skills of staff with leadership potential. "These are people who will take the company forward through their natural instincts to achieve and who are looked up to by their peers," said Nicola.

She continued: "We are defying traditional thinking which says that the acedemically bright are the natural leaders and we are finding a large number of organisations ready to agree with us, having found themselves with leaders who have not performed.

"I have been pleasantly surprised, however, at how local companies in particular, are open to new thinking. Their senior managers are getting new impetus from emotional intelligence and it is already identifying new leaders."

For more information, contact John Fisher PR on 01785 840978