Rural Business Category
-
Unite calls for action over Agricultural Wages Board
Britain's biggest trade union is furious with the Government for trying to scrap the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) with just four weeks of consultation. According to Unite, without the AWB to negotiate pay and fair housing, agricultural wages will fall to the lowest legal wage possible, as bad employers see this as the opportunity to cut pay and raise housing costs. Unite is therefore calling on minister to extend the consultation on the future of the AWB ...
-
Small firms unaware of major changes to PAYE
A quarter of small firms are not aware that major changes on payroll reporting to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are coming into force in just six months time. According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) a snap poll of 1,700 small firms found that only 16% were fully aware of the "Real Time Information" (RTI) programme they will need to use from 2013, as Universal Credit goes live. Shockingly, a quarter of respondents had never ...
-
SMEs still gloomy over economic recovery
The majority (60%) of Britain's small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are not confident that the economy will improve over the next year. According to the latest quarterly SME Risk Index from insurer, Zurich, anxiety at the current state of the economy is highest amongst SMEs in the construction industry (93%), closely followed by manufacturing businesses (88%) and retailers (85%). More than half of SMEs questioned feel that the current business environment is more risky than this time ...
-
Lemma Europe policyholders reassured by FSCS
UK customers of Lemma Europe Insurance Company, which has been declared in default, may receive assistance from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS says it is working closely with the firm's provisional liquidator in Gibraltar, Grant Thornton, to protect up to 7,000 UK policyholders who may be affected by the collapse. The insurer sold a variety of policies that could qualify for FSCS protection including: bloodstock; livestock; general public liability; UK employer's liability; general property; ...
-
Government reaffirms commitment to rural businesses
Rural England has apparently been given new powers to hold the Government to account on its promise to grow the rural economy and support thriving rural communities. The Rural Statement, launched by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson earlier this week, formalises the Government’s drive to help rural businesses overcome barriers to growth and make a sustainable contribution to economic recovery. Available on the Defra website, it sets out initiatives that are already making progress in this area alongside ...
-
Small business owners innovate to stay ahead
Small business owners are increasingly diversifying and innovating as they look to capitalise on various summer events in the UK and improve their bottom line, according to Aviva’s bi-annual SME Pulse survey. The research also reveals that one quarter of SMEs expect to enjoy a boost to their business from summer events and while businesses in London are most confident in this respect, SMEs in the Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East are similarly optimistic. However, there ...
