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EQUAL PAY KIT TACKLES INEQUALITIES
NEW SYSTEM SPEEDS UP CUSTOMS CLEARANCES
PILOT SCHEME HELPS SMALL FIRMS COMPLY WITH HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS
ACTION ENERGY LOANS CUT SMALL BUSINESS BILLS
PRESS RELEASING YOUR POTENTIAL
COULD YOUR COMPANY BENEFIT FROM THE FLAT-RATE VAT SCHEME?
BIZTIPS: PREPARING A JOB AD
GET ENVIROWISE AND MINIMISE YOUR WASTE
BAGGING MORE BUSINESS WITH PLASTIC
EQUAL PAY KIT TACKLES INEQUALITIES
Equal pay is an important issue. No sensible employer wants to lose
good, trained staff over equal pay disputes or suffer the damaging
effects of an equal pay case. The new Equal Pay Review Kit could
help you identify and solve any problems
Despite 30 years of equal pay legislation and workforce changes
which have seen many more women at work, inequalities continue. On
average, full-time working women earn 18% less than their full-time
male colleagues.
Assessing gender pay gaps can be a minefield, but help is at hand.
The Equal Opportunities Commission have launched an Equal Pay Review
Kit to help small businesses review their pay systems, close any
gaps and stay on the right side of the sex discrimination laws.
The Kit is a user-friendly online tool which provides a clear, step-by-step
model of how to carry out a pay review to ensure your pay system
is fair. You can download your own copy from www.eoc.org.uk
It shows the five key steps to conducting a review. First, decide
the scope of your review and the information you need. Then identify
where male and female employees are doing equal work or equivalent
work of equal value.
Collect information on pay so you can spot any significant pay gaps
between men and women. If you do find gaps in pay, find out why the
gaps exist and consider if the differences are justified. If they
are unfair, develop an equal pay action plan to close the gaps. And
if you feel they are justified, review and monitor the situation
to make sure your pay system is and remains free from bias on the
basis of gender.
Having an equal pay policy brings lasting benefits. Fair pay motivates
your employees, creates good relationships at work and attracts good
recruits. Unfair pay creates resentment and discourages staff from
giving their best.
If you want to find out more about equal pay issues, the Equal Opportunities
Commission website — www.eoc.org.uk — has further information.
You can also download the Equal Pay Review Kit from the site.
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NEW SYSTEM SPEEDS UP CUSTOMS CLEARANCES
A new electronic system is being introduced to handle export clearance
through HM Customs & Excise. The New Export Scheme (NES) will
affect businesses of all sizes — so if you export, make sure
you understand the changes
The New Export Scheme (NES) is designed to speed up Customs clearance
for UK exporters. It will operate 24 hours a day and provides several
ways to make electronic Customs declarations, including email and
the Internet. The aim is to offer greater security, administrative
efficiency and quality of export evidence.
NES went live at the port of Dover in March. All other UK ports
went live on 28 October and all UK airports go live between now and
April next year — part of Customs’ commitment to providing
full electronic services by 2005. The system is controlled by the
CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight) computer system.
If you do export, you will almost certainly be using a freight agent
or employing someone to deal with your export declarations. However,
you should make sure they are registered with the system and fully
understand its requirements.
The new system allows you to make your own declarations, if you
prefer. You can enter the necessary information online and, if you
already have an Internet connection, you will not need to buy new
software.
You can also opt to make your declarations on paper, but you should
beware — because the information will have to be manually keyed
in by a Customs official — it could delay your export clearance
by up to a week.
You can apply to use NES by asking for an authorisation pack. Just
call the NES Helpline on 029 2038 6254/5 or write to the NES Project
Team, HM Customs & Excise, Portcullis House, 7th Floor South,
27 Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS2 6AL. Alternatively,
visit www.hmce.gov.uk/business/importing/newexpsys/nes.htm for further
information.
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PILOT SCHEME HELPS SMALL FIRMS COMPLY WITH HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS
Employers are legally obliged to have an effective health and safety
policy, but many small firms are wary of seeking advice from the
Health & Safety Executive (HSE). A pilot scheme, with cash incentives,
aims to make compliance easier
The Small Firms Assistance Scheme (SFAS) runs until May 2003 in
three regions — West Yorkshire, Essex and Devon and Cornwall.
If it is a success, the pilot scheme could be rolled-out nationwide.
This HSE initiative is being run by the Small Business Service and
Business Links because the HSE believe employers will be more willing
to seek advice through an intermediary.
Firms taking part receive 50% funding up to a maximum of £1,000.
They will also receive practical advice and training, or practical
on-site support from business mentors. The aim is to improve awareness
and understanding of health and safety risks — and to help
meet the Government’s new targets for improved safety at work.
You can take advantage of the scheme if you are based in one of
the pilot areas; have less than 10 employees and either an annual
turnover of under £4.5 million or an annual balance sheet of
less than £3.2 million.
The scheme is part of a wider HSE push to make it easier for small
firms to meet health and safety regulations. Another initiative is
the new Incident Contact Centre (ICC), which makes reporting incidents
far simpler.
Companies must report work-related deaths, major injuries and accidents
which cause an employee to be off work or unable to work normally
for more than three days. You can now report by phone – with
no form filling – or by using the RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries,
Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) website’s interactive
forms. You can also report by email, fax or post.
To report, call 0845 300 9923, visit www.riddor.gov.uk or write
to the ICC at the Caerphilly address below. You will be sent a copy
of the final incident/accident report for your files in every case,
proving you have met your statutory obligations.
To find out more about the Small Firms Assistance Scheme, call the
HSE InfoLine on 08701 545500 or write to HSE Information Services,
Caerphilly Park, Caerphilly, CF83 3GG.
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ACTION ENERGY LOANS CUT SMALL BUSINESS BILLS
Each year about £12 billion worth of energy is wasted in the
UK – and winter is the costliest time of all. The new Government-backed
Action Energy initiative is offering small and medium-sized businesses
free advice and practical help, which could slash energy bills by
up to 20%
Action Energy, run by the Carbon Trust, provides services ranging
from interest-free Energy Loans to free energy-saving starter packs
for small businesses. Similar loan schemes in Scotland and Northern
Ireland have already proved a success and these are now being extended
to England and Wales.
You can get your energy-saving programme off the ground almost immediately
by applying for a free review of your company’s energy use,
which may include a site visit from a local energy adviser.
Many simple energy-saving measures can be introduced at little or
no cost. However, some can involve spending money, and this has tended
to put off smaller companies. This is where the new £10 million
Energy Loans scheme can help, with interest-free loans of between £5,000
and £50,000.
Loans are available to companies with less than 250 employees and
an annual turnover of under £25 million. You must demonstrate
that your project will bring real energy savings. This could include
improving lighting, insulation, heater controls, hot water tank and
pipework insulation and heat recovery. The Helpline will tell you
how to apply for a loan — and you may even be offered a site
review.
The loans are repayable over four years — and Energy Action
says that in most cases your energy savings will offset the cost
of the loan repayments.
For further information, call the Action Energy’s Helpline
on 0800 58 57 94 or visit their website at www.actionenergy.org.uk Both provide free information and lots of practical advice. You can
also order the energy-saving starter packs by phone or online at
the Action Energy website.
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PRESS RELEASING YOUR POTENTIAL
Many small businesses cannot afford to spend vast amounts of money
promoting their business. This needn’t be a problem. With a
little time and a bit of imagination, you could create a press release
promoting your business
Many businesses fall into the trap of thinking that advertising
is the only way of promoting their business. This simply isn’t
true. Well-written press releases — published in the right
publications — can be a very cost effective method of promoting
your company to your target audience.
Start by examining your business to see if you have any newsworthy
PR opportunities that would interest current and target customers.
For example, the opening of new premises or the launch of a new product
or service.
Next, consider which publications are most likely to be interested
in your news and which publications your target audience read. It
is often easier to get coverage in your local press — and it
is good way of reaching a local audience — although specialist
or trade publications might be equally interested in your news.
Read through possible publications to see what kind of articles
they publish and the style in which they are written. Call the publication
and find out who you should send your press releases to and what
the deadline for copy is.
Writing your press release might seem daunting, but by following
a few simple rules you shouldn’t go far wrong. Keep your story
short with concise paragraphs that stick to the point. Give the piece
a headline that tells the story and summarise your story in the first
paragraph. Keep your language simple and avoid jargon. Use subsequent
paragraphs to fill the story out.
If possible, include a relevant picture and caption with your story.
Pictures help tell your story and can help make it stand out from
the crowd. Quotes can also help by adding a human voice. Add your
contact details to make it easy for the journalist to contact you.
Check the release for errors before submitting it and follow it up
with a phone call to make sure your piece has arrived.
If you don’t like the thought of writing the piece yourself,
consider inviting the journalist to your event, launch or opening.
The journalist can then write the story up. It is a good way of building
your relationship with the journalist and improves the chances of
future events or articles being publicised. For a few hundred pounds,
you could even consider paying a freelance writer or a PR agency
to write the article for you.
If your first press release is not published, don’t lose heart.
A sustained stream of releases over time increases your chances of
having a story published and has a good cumulative PR effect over
the long term.
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COULD YOUR COMPANY BENEFIT FROM THE FLAT-RATE VAT SCHEME?
The flat-rate VAT scheme offers an alternative to the normal transaction
based way of accounting VAT. It allows you to calculate your VAT
payment as a percentage of total turnover. So what are the advantages — and
the disadvantages, and would you be better off under the scheme?
The flat-rate VAT scheme (FRS) was introduced in last April’s
budget with the aim of simplifying the way small businesses account
for VAT so that they spend less time and money keeping conventional
VAT records.
The scheme is open to companies with an annual taxable turnover
of less than £100,000 and a total turnover of less than £125,000.
HM Customs & Excise believe that some companies using the FRS
together with annual accounting schemes can make significant savings.
But there are pitfalls.
With the standard VAT accounting scheme you identify the VAT on
each sale, record the value and VAT separately and pay VAT as an
output tax. The VAT and value of purchases is recorded in the same
way and the VAT reclaimed as an input tax.
Using the FRS, you record all business supplies and apply a flat-rate
percentage to the total every quarter. Rates depend on the type of
business. At the lowest end, traders in certain goods including children’s
clothing pay just 5%. The rate rises to 14.5% for companies like
IT consultancies.
You can claim back VAT on the purchase of capital assets worth £2,000
or more in the usual way — but not on purchases worth less
than £2,000. These are factored in as part of the lower rate
of VAT. So if you make a large number of purchases which are subject
to VAT, you could be paying more VAT not less.
To see if the FRS would benefit your company, examine your past
12 months’ VAT records. Calculate your total gross income and
apply the flat rate which applies to your business. You should also
consider how much time you think FRS might save in record-keeping — and
seek advice from your accountant.
Full details of the scheme are available online at www.hmce.gov.uk/forms/notices/733.htm
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BIZTIPS: PREPARING A JOB AD
1. Draw up a job description and person specification. Include the
key responsibilities and tasks of the role and the skills, knowledge
and traits you require from candidates. Break down the requirements
into those that are essential, those that are desirable and those
that can be learnt.
2. Put together your remuneration package. Consider what equivalent
full and part-time staff are paid, what the job is worth to you and
the market rate for that job in your industry and area.
3. Consider whether you should create an application form to help
you select candidates that meet your criteria.
4. Write your job ad. Include a brief description of your company,
the job and what you are looking for, details of the remuneration
package (if appropriate), what information candidates should send
to you — for example, a handwritten letter with a CV — your
contact details and the closing date for applications.
5. Ensure that your ad meets legal requirements and does not discriminate
against candidates on the grounds of gender, age, race, religion
or disability.
6. Advertise the job internally through your notice board, newsletter
or via your intranet.
7. Draw up a shortlist of suitable external places to advertise
your vacancy. Consider your local Jobcentre and papers, the national
press, online recruitment sites, graduate publications and your own
website.
8. Ask for a breakdown of costs and consider whether it is
worth paying for a larger ad or more prominent position. Try negotiating
a discount for repeat adverts, especially if you want to run the
ad for a number of days or weeks.
9. Place your advert.
10. Prepare for the responses. Draw up polite rejection letters
for unsuitable candidates, brief staff that will be involved in the
selection process and set aside time in your diary to go through
applications and to carry out interviews.
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GET ENVIROWISE AND MINIMISE YOUR WASTE
Adopting environmentally friendly policies not only helps improve
the environment, it can also save you and your company a great deal
of money in costs ranging from improving packaging to reducing water
consumption
The Government’s Envirowise programme has been providing free,
expert advice since 1994. In that time the agency has helped 70,000
UK companies save more than £80 million a year through waste
minimisation.
Envirowise provides a range of services including a Helpline, publications,
site visits, seminars, clubs and training workshops. Envirowise’s
independent advisers offer free, confidential fast-track visits and
these specialists can show you how you could save as much as £1,000
per employee.
The service is aimed specifically at companies with fewer than 250
employees. The expert carries out an on-site review, and evaluates
your company’s activities and the current costs of your company’s
waste. Avoidable waste is identified and you will be shown the best
way to save money.
The expert provides a baseline figure against which to measure improvements,
shows you where to focus your resources and assesses the potential
savings your company could make. Fast-track visits can be arranged
by calling the Envirowise Helpline on 0800 585794. The helpline can
also answer any questions you may have on good practice.
The Envirowise website has a wealth of user-friendly information
on environmental issues and offers a wide range of free publications
including the Good Practice Guide: (GG346) Engaging SMEs in environmental
improvement: a best practice guide for business support organisations.
Visit the Envirowise website at www.envirowise.gov.uk
Envirowise also runs a national network of waste minimisation clubs
which meet to share information. Their training breakfasts are also
popular because they are short, focused and local. The website carries
full details of clubs and seminars in your area.
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BAGGING MORE BUSINESS WITH PLASTIC
Accepting credit and debit cards isn’t only for retailers
as more and more businesses pay their bills with plastic. But how
does the system work? And what do you need to do to be able to accept
card payments?
Over the past ten years, the number of transactions settled using
plastic has quadrupled. And it’s not just retailers whose bank
balances are being oiled with cash acquired through plastic. Business-to-business
use is rising — more than a quarter of a million such payments
were put on cards each day last year. The Association for Payment
Clearing Services (APACS) forecast that by 2011 there will be over
500 million such transactions taking place annually.
Accepting cards as a means of payment has a number of benefits beyond
serving a growing need — firms that encourage payment by card
can reduce the number of businesses it has to offer credit terms,
and funds from a card purchase will generally clear after three working
days. Payment records are summarised on a monthly statement, which
helps with reconciliation.
However, there are some administrative elements and costs with accepting
cards. You will have to open a merchant account with an acquiring
bank, which acts as a middle-man between your bank and the cardholder’s
bank. There are 13 acquiring banks in the UK, and most are well-known
high street names. When processing a card payment, the acquiring
bank makes a request for the funds to the cardholder’s bank
and then transfers the money into your business account.
Businesses should be aware of the two kinds of card-based transaction; ‘card
present’ and ‘card not present’. Card present transactions — where
you can check the customer’s signature against the one on the
card — are usually guaranteed.
‘Card not present’ transactions, such as mail order,
Internet or telephone orders are more prone to fraud and some acquiring
banks insist that you hold a separate account for these sales. If
the sale is fraudulent, the acquiring bank will reclaim the value
of the transaction from your business (a ‘chargeback’).
In both cases, the acquiring bank charges a per-transaction fee
as well as taking a percentage of the transaction. The commissions
and fees are individually negotiated, based on projected card-based
turnover and average transaction values. You will also have to hire
a terminal to authorise transactions, which will need to be connected
to a phone line. It is a competitive sector, so you should shop around
as you don’t have to have an existing relationship with an
acquiring bank. Many trade associations offer specially-negotiated
deals for members.
For further information, visit www.apacs.org.uk or ask your bank
about its card merchant accounts.
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© Barlow
Andrews 2004