Insurance experts from Toolbox by Admiral have revealed surprising business expenses that sole traders and self-employed tradespeople may be forgetting about or are simply unaware of. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will allow you to claim lots of expenses. While most business owners probably already know about many of them, like office supplies, tools, and even your business vehicles, there are many more obscure deductions that could potentially save the UK workforce hundreds of pounds. As a sole trader or self-employed tradesperson, knowing what you can and can’t claim as a business expense can be a learning curve. It might seem easier…
Author: sme-admin
Post-pandemic, we had the Great Resignation — the movement where hundreds of thousands of people changed or left their jobs. While the dust left in its wake continues to settle, 2023 is on the verge of yet another mass job movement. Here, Ross Slogrove, UK and Ireland country manager at business phone system provider Ringover, explores what’s causing the Great Resignation 2.0 and what this means for recruiters. Between July and September 2021 in the UK, over 400,000 workers left their jobs. By December 2021, vacancies reached a record high, with approximately 1.3 million positions available. More than two years…
UK business leaders have been urged to stay up to date with the latest fraud risks in order to protect their reputation and prevent potential financial losses. FDM Group, whose mission is to bring people and technology together, has revealed seven fraud risk trends so that businesses can keep pace with evolving fraud tactics, and enhance their fraud detection capabilities. Various types of fraud pose significant risks to UK businesses, including financial loss, reputational damage, legal consequences, regulatory non-compliance, and loss of customer trust. Fraudulent activities can also lead to direct monetary losses through theft, embezzlement, or fraudulent transactions. The…
Imposter syndrome – the internal psychological experience of feeling like a fraud, despite success that you might have achieved – is more widespread than you might think. Leading training and apprenticeships provider Executive Development Network, a HIT Training Ltd brand, is working with behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings to spotlight the prevalence of the condition impacting almost half of today’s workforce, and ask the question – should it be a diagnosable condition? Jo Hemmings says, “There are seven tell-tale signs of imposter syndrome, and research shows 43% of Britons display at least three out of the seven of these signs.” Jo explains, “You might have imposter syndrome…
A Hot Topic that’s been discussed recently on several webinars, and certainly with the Bonded Warehousekeepers Association (BWA) members, is the issue of due diligence within a supply chain. This is an issue that is also under review by HMRC and was emphasised in a recent meeting with them regarding their simplification and modernisation project. Due diligence is very much at the core of that project, so it is imperative that the warehouse industry addresses due diligence, understands due diligence and puts in place the appropriate measures and not just to “tick the box”. BWA Chairman, Clive Brady, recently spoke…
Mark Gray, UK & Ireland Manager at Universal Robots discusses the wider role of education in preparing for industry 5.0 in the UK, how sectors in tech – including robotics – can better attract young talent through working with educators and policy makers, and the role of apprenticeships and T-level qualifications. “For the thousands of young people who received their GCSE results last week, many will be determining their next steps – whether that involves stepping straight into the world of work, or pursuing further education as part of A level courses or apprenticeships. “In the UK, tech roles now account…
Rockinghorse Children’s Charity has an exciting line-up of events and needs individuals, groups, and teams to join them in raising vital funds for children across Sussex. As the official charity of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, they have supported babies, children, and young adults in Sussex for over 55 years. These upcoming events play a crucial role in the success and impact Rockinghorse has in the community. First in the line-up on 2 September is the Inflatable 5K at Goodwood Racecourse in Chichester. Participants can bounce, run, walk, and jump around the UK’s biggest and best inflatable course and tackle 32 gigantic…
Analysing datasets from Deloitte, IBISWorld and YouGov, findings by UK Virtual Business Assistant firm SpareMyTime, reveal that global spending on outsourcing could hit £571 billion by the end of the year, with nearly half (48%) of UK companies now outsourcing their work. These figures show a huge acceleration since the pandemic, growing 41% since 2019. Where, according to the data, in 2020 only a third of UK businesses expected to outsource more, then and in the future. UK businesses allocated £500 billion to outsourcing in 2022. This trend spanned across sectors, with IT outsourcing increasing 22% from 2019. Similarly, Business Process…
Kirk Vallis, Google’s Global Head of Creative Capability Development, is the latest thought leader and innovator to appear on The BounceBackability podcast. Kirk has spent the last 11 years at global tech giant Google – one of the top four companies on the planet. As well as developing innovation frameworks, he’s more importantly helped colleagues navigate the right behaviours, mindset and techniques to unlock creativity, fresh thinking and innovation. It’s an approach inherent to the firm’s culture and, as a result, its employees are happier and more motivated, loyal and productive – whilst its bottom line is boosted. Needless to say,…
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has become a top focus for many organisations as customer and shareholder demands for greater commitment grow, coupled with increasing regulatory expectation. With ESG now a strategic priority and not just an investment or marketing strategy, organisations are implementing these objectives across all business activities. Adding greater relevance to ESG context in particularly pertinent to anti-financial crime controls as there is a tightly woven relationship between the two: Environmental crimes – according to The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), environmental crimes like illegal logging, mining, land clearing, waste trafficking, forestry crime, and the illicit wildlife…