Firms barred from speaking to lawyers before ‘workers’ rights police’ raid Regulation Bosses will be barred from seeking legal advice if the government’s new workers’ rights police choose to raid their company’s property unannounced, under new powers handed to it as part of Labour’s flagship employment rights overhaul. Fresh documents outlining the role of the Fair Work Agency reveal business will not be able to delay the [...]
Small businesses ‘dismayed’ at HMRC plan to tighten tax rules Tax Small businesses are “dismayed” at the prospect of tax rules being tightened under new proposals set out by HMRC. The rules, which are subject to a consultation, would require close companies, which are defined as firms controlled by five or fewer individuals, to provide HMRC with details of all transactions between the company and its [...]
‘What do they have to hide?’ Ministers must not scrap regulatory watchdog Opinion The Regulatory Policy Committee keeps a close eye on government red tape, and scrapping it would be a serious mistake – says Andrew Griffith. Red tape is strangling British business. A survey just out from the Federation of Small Businesses has found small firms and entrepreneurs collectively spend 379 million hours a year complying with [...]
‘Unprecedented’ number of small businesses expect to shrink or close down October 30, 2025 A record number of small businesses are expecting to shrink or close down in the next year, a leading industry group has warned, amid a “vicious” cycle of low growth and fears that next month’s Budget could cause more pain for businesses. Nearly one in three of the UK’s small businesses (30 per cent) expect [...]
Business leaders ramp up pre-Budget lobby efforts amid tax fears October 20, 2025 Business chiefs are ramping up efforts to sway Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of this year’s Budget as fears are mounting that fresh tax hikes could squeeze profits at firms up and down the UK. A series of letters written by heads of trade bodies have landed on the Chancellor’s desk over the last week, with [...]
‘Hard to accept’: Small firms round on energy intensive subsidies October 8, 2025 So-called standing charges are going up by as much as 94 per cent for all businesses bar the most energy intensive come April. Many are up in arms, writes Ali Lyon Even businesses like Michael Morris’s Beachcomber Amusements – a traditional arcade that treats guests in the small Fife town of Leven to games of [...]
Exclusive: Peter Kyle says Employment Rights critics ‘come from certain educational backgrounds’ October 2, 2025 Business secretary Peter Kyle has dismissed critics of the Employment Rights Bill as people on an “above average income” and those who have not had an “ordinary experience in the economy”. Labour’s workers’ rights package has faced staunch opposition from CEOs as well as top business groups including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and [...]
Labour warned Employment Rights Bill will damage jobs market September 17, 2025 Labour’s Employment Rights Bill must be changed immediately to prevent the UK’s jobs market crisis from worsening, top business groups have warned Peter Kyle in a last-ditch attempt to secure growth-focused changes. The government’s workers’ rights reforms have faced strong opposition from thousands of businesses across the UK, with bodies representing their interests claiming changes [...]
Rachel Reeves explores ‘pro-growth tax reforms’ to business rates September 11, 2025 Rachel Reeves will explore “fixing” cliff-edge business rates, which make small businesses pay higher taxes upon opening a second property, as part of reforms she has described as “pro-growth.” The Chancellor is reviewing changes to the small business rates relief, with a decision expected to be announced at the Autumn Budget on 26 November. Treasury [...]
Clock ticking on Making Tax Digital as HMRC struggles to win over SMEs September 4, 2025 With six months until nearly 800,000 self-employed people and landlords join Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax, HMRC is intensifying efforts to get more taxpayers to test the system. But the numbers so far paint a sobering picture of the challenge ahead for the agency. Data revealed that 2,400 users have joined HMRC’s beta [...]