Latest news and industry insights

The 12% to 10% employees national insurance rate cut first announced in the Autumn Statement came into effect in January. This means that many employees will have seen a boost in their take home pay in their January pay packet.

Begbies Traynor, a firm of business rescue and recovery specialists, have published their latest Red Flag Alert based on financial data from the last quarter of 2023. It makes worrying reading as they estimate that more than 47,000 businesses in the UK are near collapse because of being in critical financial distress.

The Department for Business and Trade are making changes that will ban dripped fees, make fake reviews illegal, and make sure that price labelling on supermarket shelves is clearer.

The government has pledged £500,000 of funding to help facilitate agreements that will allow UK professionals to qualify more easily to provide services in foreign countries.

In recent weeks there has been a flurry of online activity discussing the new law that will require online marketplaces to report information about income made by their users to HMRC. The discussion has led to many people asking questions such as “Will I have to pay tax on the money I make from selling my old belongings on Vinted or eBay?”

The recent Post Office Horizon scandal, given further exposure by the related TV drama, provides a cautionary tale about the perils of overlooking the human impact of technology decisions.

The UK government has announced plans for expanding nuclear power in the UK. The Civil Nuclear Roadmap sets out how the UK will increase generation of nuclear-powered electricity so that by 2050 it is enough to provide a quarter of the UK's electricity needs.

Lord Bellamy, representing the UK, has now signed the 2019 Hague Convention, which the UK originally committed to joining in November 2023. Once ratified there is a wait of 12 months for the Convention to come into force in the UK, but at that point, it will apply to any judgments commenced after that date.

Innovate UK BridgeAI is funding an online training course to help businesses and organisations explore digital, data-driven and AI technologies.

Arculus Ltd, a cyber security consultancy, has been tasked by the UK government to lead a pilot project that is aimed at helping directors of UK organisations in managing their cyber security risks.

Coming into force from 1 January 2024, the Working Time Regulations, as amended by The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023, introduced reforms that simplify holiday pay and entitlements.

The government has announced new UK-wide plans designed to make it easier to recycle electrical goods.

This winter has been one of the mildest on record so far, but there is still time for a cold snap, and this often raises questions about whether it is too cold to work. In fact, this question is one of the most popular topics on the HSE website.

The government has set a pathway towards all new cars and vans being zero emission by 2035. This zero emission vehicle mandate became law on 3 January 2024.