The new minimum salary required for people wishing to come to the UK on a Skilled Worker visa has increased by 48% from £26,200 to £38,700. The rate is effective from 4 April. The government hopes this new minimum salary requirement will drive down immigration numbers and prevent the undercutting of British workers by employers
Companies House has started the phased roll out of its new powers to tackle fraud and improve the quality and reliability of its data. The new powers are part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), which received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. It aims to tackle economic crime, including fraud
Millions of employees now have the right to request flexible working to determine where and when they work. The new rights are part of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill, which came into effect on 6 April. Flexible working is a broad term and can relate to working hours or pattern including part-time, term-time, flexi-time,
The introduction of fixed recoverable costs (FRC) has been described as the biggest change to civil litigation for a decade. The FRC regime will attempt to fix the amount of legal costs that the successful party can claim from the unsuccessful party in litigation. The aim of the reform is to provide certainty to parties
Business owners, particularly in small businesses, can often wear too many hats. Whether it be as a shareholder, director and/or employee, each of these hats carries very different rights and responsibilities:- Shareholders: investors in the business and their relationship to each other is governed by the Companies Act and any shareholder agreement (if one is
Perhaps it was a slow news day but watching the news over breakfast this morning I was interested in an article concerning local residents who turned out in their hundreds to help thousands of frogs and toads cross a busy road! So what does this have to do with planning decisions for commercial properties? From
Jeremy Hunt delivered his Spring Budget on 6 March, and it will probably be his last major fiscal announcement ahead of this year’s anticipated general election. With a focus on reducing tax for the working population and helping parents, there were several announcements in the Budget that affect businesses and employees which I consider and
The number of compulsory company liquidations soared by 66% in the year to January, according to the latest figures from the Insolvency Service. The number of all company insolvencies was 5% higher than the number in January 2023. Of the 1,769 registered company insolvencies in January 2024: Nicky Fisher, President of R3, the UK’s insolvency
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued guidance for employers confirming that the menopause can be classed as a disability. The new document, entitled Menopause in the workplace: Guidance for employers, sets out an employer’s legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010. EHRC says many women experience negative impacts of menopausal symptoms in
The Government is planning to reintroduce fees for employment tribunal claims seven years after they were judged to be unlawful by the Supreme Court. The Ministry of Justice is now seeking views on the proposals in a consultation document, Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal The document says the Government has learned the lessons