Category Archives: News

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a statement urging students and other summer workers to check that they are being paid the correct National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates.

In the 2020/21 tax year, HMRC helped over 150,000 workers across the UK to recover over £16 million remuneration that was due to them because incorrect NMW rates had been used.

Most workers should be paid the correct NMW and National Living Wage rates. This includes temporary seasonal staff on zero-hour and short-term contracts working in bars, hotels, shops and warehouses.

These workers have been reminded by HMRC that minimum wage rates are reviewed and updated at the end of every tax year. This could mean that many people...

The tax office is now open for claims from employees that have incurred work-related costs for the year to 5 April 2021 and have not been – and will not be – reimbursed by their employers.

How to make a claim – the DIY approach

You can claim online, by post or by phone.

This will involve completing application forms and you will need full details of money you have laid out in the tax year.

You can also claim for previous years within the permitted deadlines.

And if this process seems like too much trouble, we can help…

How much can you claim?

There are two choices. You can either gather all the receipts and other evidence to support your claim...

Inflation is a measure of how much the value of currency depreciates each year. For example, if prices for a loaf of bread rise by 3% in a year, you would have to earn that extra 3% to continue to purchase bread, so your extra earnings would have no extra value.

According to the Bank of England, average price inflation rose by an average of 5.2% a year between 1950 and 2020. £10 in your purse or wallet in 1950 would now need to be £350.42 to have the same purchasing power.

The process is pernicious. As prices increase there is a tendency to try and buy now before prices increase. This increase in demand can further...

Next week, many of the present lockdown regulations in England are being relaxed. But cautionary guidance has also been published. It recommends:

1. Meeting in well-ventilated areas where possible, such as outdoors or indoors with windows open.
2. Wearing a face covering where you meet people you do not normally meet in enclosed and crowded spaces.
3. Washing your hands with soap and water or using hand sanitiser regularly throughout the day.
4. Covering your nose and mouth when you cough and sneeze.
5. Staying at home if unwell, to reduce the risk of passing on other illnesses onto friends, family, colleagues, and others in your community.
6. Considering individual risks, such as clinical vulnerabilities and vaccination status.

If anything has been learned in the last eighteen months,...