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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.

UK taxpayers urged to get on the HMRC app

4 November 2024

HMRC has launched a new advertising campaign promoting the app to coincide with Talk Money Week.

This Talk Money Week (4 - 8 November), taxpayers are being urged to "Do One Thing" and get on the HMRC app to save time and simplify managing their money and tax.

More than 1.7 million people are already using the HMRC app every month, which enables users to access services such as making a Child Benefit claim, finding your National Insurance number and a tax calculator to estimate your take-home pay.

Between July and September 2024, 711,382 new users downloaded the app, and there was a 39% increase in app activity compared to the same period last year - up from 20.93 million sessions to 29.22 million. And nearly £300 million has been paid to HMRC via the app so far this financial year.

HMRC is encouraging anyone who hasn’t yet downloaded the free and secure HMRC app, one of the UK’s top-rated finance apps, to do one thing and get on it today.

The most popular features used on the app between July and September this year were:

  • Check State Pension contributions - 1.9 million sessions
  • Manage Child Benefit - 1.6 million sessions
  • View annual tax summaries- 1.4 million sessions

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

"One of the main priorities for HMRC is improving its customer services and this incredibly useful and user-friendly app is a great example of how tax can be made much easier for people.

"Whether you’re a student looking for your National Insurance number or a new parent wanting to claim Child Benefit, the HMRC app has a range of tools for you, at your fingertips. I urge everyone to download it today."

The HMRC app is rated 4.7/5 and 4.8/5 respectively on the Google Play and Apple Store and ranks among both of their top ten finance apps.

HMRC has launched a new advertising campaign today aimed at 18-34-year-olds to "get on it" with the app, showcasing how it can help them remain in control of their tax affairs and finances amidst their busy daily lives. This includes an attention-grabbing new advert streaming on multiple video on demand channels that can also be viewed on the HMRC YouTube channel.

Written by Mike Sullivan, press support officer, HMRC.

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