ACAS Advice: Retirement Process and the removal of the Default Retirement Age
The Default Retirement Age (DRA) changes from 6 April 2011
Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Default Retirement Age (DRA) is being phased out over a transitional period running until 30 September 2011. Details will be set out in Regulations coming into force on 6 April 2011.
The last day employees can be compulsorily retired using the DRA is 30 September 2011, so the last day to provide 6 months’ notice required by the DRA provisions is therefore the 30 March 2011.
Employers can still use the DRA between 30 March and before 6 April 2011, but if they do so they must use the short notice provisions, under which an employee could claim compensation (subject to a maximum of eight weeks’ wages).
Employers will not be able to issue new notifications of retirement using the DRA on or after 6 April 201
Read full article and download full ACAS Guide: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3203
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Google Changes Importance Of Business On The Net
Businesses looking for leads via search engines should be aware of the changes that Google has recently made says UK Business Advisors (UKBA). These changes affect how companies and their web sites are rated by Google which accounts for 87% of UK web searches.
Google makes on average around 400 changes to its method of indexing and ranking websites every year to provide higher quality results to its users. The most significant recent change is the increasing emphasis on search results tailored to every individual user, based on what they have searched for before, and their known location. Google is increasingly focusing on returning local results which increases the importance of an optimised business listing in Google Places (formerly Google maps).
Another major change Google made at the beginning of last year is to index Twitter and Facebook social media sites in near real-time. For certain combinations of words and phrases this displays Tweets and Facebook posts on page one. However once these news items have aged a few hours they gradually disappear from the search results.
Outdated and outmoded SEO techniques that used to work just a year ago can get a business website banned. When employing an SEO expert, a business needs to be convinced that they are fully aware of the latest ethical and legal techniques.
Greg Spence, a search engine specialist in UKBA advises, “It is important that if companies rely on search engine rankings they take advice from people who keep up to date with the latest Google changes. Things that worked a few years ago can now damage your ranking and completely new actions can have a major positive impact.”
For full details visit the UKBA website www.ukba.co.uk or contact Greg Spence at UKBA on 0333 444 8522.
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And the five worse countries in which to set up shop are…
Yemen- Cameroon
- Mali
- Ethiopia
- Zimbabwe
Source: http://realbusiness.co.uk/jason_hesse/ten_best_countries_to_be_an_entrepreneur
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Ten best countries to be an entrepreneur
Researchers at the Legatum Institute, a London think tank, have recently published their 2010 Prosperity Index, which ranks 110 countries’ happiness. As part of their research, Legatum also looked at other subsections, including entrepreneurship.
Here are the top ten best countries to become an entrepreneur:
- Denmark (happiness rank: 2)
- Sweden (6)
- United States (10)
- Finland (3)
- United Kingdom (13)
- Norway (1)
- Ireland (11)
- Singapore (17)
- Iceland (12)
- Canada (7)
Source: http://realbusiness.co.uk/jason_hesse/ten_best_countries_to_be_an_entrepreneur
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Legal aid: when to include your company registration number
“Do I need to include my company registration details on all emails?”
“There is a requirement for all companies to state their registered name in all ‘forms of its business correspondence and documentation’ (this is part of the Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008, section 6(1)(g)).
“The current guidance is that emails are a form of business correspondence. Best, and therefore safest, practice goes further. In reality businesses no longer write letters and the provisions that relate to the information to be included in a company’s business letters should be followed in relation to email correspondence.
Read more: http://realbusiness.co.uk/finance/legal_aid_when_to_include_your_company_registration_number
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Fuel costs are stalling business growth
Figures released at the end of last week revealed that the price of petrol is rising at the highest rate for ten years. Average prices between mid-December and the middle of this month increased from 122.14p per litre to 128.27p with diesel jumping from 126.19p to an average of 132.75p.
Fuel duty rise and the new VAT rate are partly to blame for the hike – they around 2.5p per litre at the pump.
If the economic recovery is to be placed firmly in the hands of the private sector, then this situation has to be addressed – and quickly.
Read full article: http://realbusiness.co.uk/charlie_mullins/fuel_costs_are_stalling_business_growth
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RBS Financial Briefing Jan 17th
Many of us use the New Year as an opportunity to change our behaviour. Yet 2011 didn’t herald a new approach to monetary policy from either the Bank of England or the European Central Bank (ECB).Full report: http://www.paulgreen.biz/EconomicReport17January2011.pdf
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Bank lending targets set to disappoint ministers
Britain’s biggest banks are set to increase the amount of money they lend to small businesses – but not by as much as the government had hoped.
The Coalition has been locked in a series of secret discussions with the country’s leading banks under the codename ‘Project Merlin’ for several weeks, and the talks are set to conclude imminently.
During the talks – which have involved HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds – the Government has pushed for the creation of a small business lending target, which will oblige Britain’s financial houses to furnish a specific sum for the country’s emerging firms.
It is believed the banks have agreed to lend up between £150m and £180m to small firms this year; this is a significant increase on the amount loaned in 2010, but far less than the £200 million the Treasury was hoping for.
Ministers had hoped that, by increasing the availability of funds for new and emerging enterprise, they would encourage a burgeoning economy built on entrepreneurial spirit – a vision which prime minister David Cameron has often discussed.
Read more: http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/bank-lending-targets-set-to-disappoint-ministers.html
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Inflation hits record level
According to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) report the Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual inflation, the government’s target measure, was 3.7% in December up from 3.3% in November, bringing inflation to its highest level since April last year.
Companies could be affected by the unexpected high inflation rate as it is likely to lead to workers’ demand for higher wages, economists have said, as the effects of the cutbacks and VAT increase are felt.
Analysts had predicted that CPI would rise by 1% in December and were surprised by the extent of the increase. Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, told The Guardian that December’s data was “horrible”.
Read full article: http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/inflation-hits-record-level.html
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The UK economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter
The UK economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2010, raising concerns about a sustainable recovery ? it expanded by 0.4%-0.5%, a slowdown on the latest official growth figure of 0.7% for Q3.
Source: British Chamber of Commerce
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