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Practical employment law information to support your business, from Clover HR

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Establishing a successful recruitment process and clear written employment contracts for new employees can have a major impact on your business.

Every business needs to be aware of its obligations under minimum wage and equal pay laws, as well as recent pensions auto-enrolment changes.

You must comply with legal restrictions on employees' working hours and time off, or risk claims, enforcement action and even prosecution.

The right employment policies are an essential part of effective staff management. Make sure any policy is clear and well communicated to employees.

While sick employees need to be treated fairly, you need to ensure that 'sickness' is not being used as cover for unauthorised absence.

Most pregnant employees are entitled to maternity leave and maternity pay, while new fathers are entitled to paternity leave and paternity pay.

As well as undermining morale, illegal discrimination can lead to workplace grievances. Employee discrimination is covered by the Equality Act 2010.

Home, remote and lone workers are becoming increasingly commonplace. Key issues include communication and how to manage and motivate people remotely.

The right approach to consulting with and providing information to your employees can improve employee motivation and performance.

Disciplinary and grievance issues can be a major burden to employers. Putting in place and following the right procedures is essential.

Following the right dismissal and redundancy procedures helps protect your business and minimise the risk of a legal dispute at tribunal.

Employment tribunal claims are a worrying prospect for any employer. A tribunal case is a no-win situation – even if the claim is unjustified.

Deadline looms for registering as self-employed

2 October 2023

Anyone who has earned income as a self-employed worker in the 2022/23 tax year must register for Self Assessment by 5 October if they haven't done so already.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding anyone who is new to Self Assessment for the 2022/23 tax year that they must register online by 5 October 2023.

How to register as self-employed

You can register for Self Assessment on the GOV.UK website. Taxpayers that need to do this include anyone who has:

  • Worked on a freelance basis in the past tax year;
  • Set up a side hustle to earn money in addition to their PAYE job;
  • Starting renting out a property as a landlord.

In fact, if a taxpayer has any income that they have not already paid UK tax on, they need to register for Self Assessment on GOV.UK. They will then receive a Unique Taxpayer Reference, which they will need when completing their tax return. The deadline for taxpayers to file their tax return online and pay any tax owed for the 2022/23 tax year is 31 January 2024.

How to stop Self Assessment

If a worker thinks they no longer need to complete a Self Assessment tax return for the 2022/23 tax year, they should tell HMRC before the deadline on 31 January 2024 to avoid any penalties.

HMRC has a wide range of resources to help customers file a tax return, including a series of video tutorials on YouTube.

Written by Rachel Miller.

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