Hot Business News Today

Quarter of a million small businesses set to fold without more Covid help

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Over 250,000 small businesses are set to close this year without further Covid financial help, according to the latest FSB study.
Five per cent of small businesses surveyed said they do not expect to struggle on beyond 2021.
One in five small businesses made staff redundant between October and December last year. One in seven expect to do so before April.
>See also: Small business calls for multibillion-pound Covid-19 support package
The quarterly Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Small Business Index (SBI) showed confidence at second lowest ebb in report’s 10-year history.
And the cohort expecting profits to fall in the first quarter this year hit an all-time high, with exporters having to deal with EU red tape as the UK-EU trade deal shakes down.
Mike Cherry, chairman of the FSB, said that although small business has welcomed the Covid help lifelines thrown to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, the government must realise that the small community is wider than that.
Nothing has been done for company directors, the newly self-employed and those who do not use commercial premises, Mr Cherry said.
>See also: Which small businesses can stay open in national lockdown?
Last week, the FSB published a five-point plan

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Taxman gives self-employed more time to file your tax return

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
HMRC is giving the self-employed more time to file their tax return if they give Covid as an excuse for late filing.
This year, almost 12m self-employed people, those with second forms of income and landlords are due to file a personal tax return by the end of January.
Almost 5.5m of those 12m self-assessment taxpayers are yet to submit returns, with weeks to go before the deadline.
>See also: Prospect union calls for emergency help for excluded self-employed
However, the taxman is developing a simplified “Covid excuse” form that will allow the self-employed to miss the January 31 deadline for filing and paying tax.
It will allow those who say they have a reason for late filing due to the pandemic to avoid stiff penalties, with the Sunday Times quoting sources that HMRC is planning a “very lenient” attitude.
The decision will be a boost for millions of self-employed people who put money aside to pay income tax at the end of the year but have had to use their savings to stay afloat.
Freelancers’ incomes fell 30 per cent to record lows last year, according to the freelancer body IPSE. One in five self-employed people will have to

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Hot Business News Today

Zoom tips and techniques when doing video job interviews

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
These days, the telephone interview might not go far enough in finding candidates. As a result, many employers have been turning video platforms like Zoom.
The advantage to Zoom is that lots of people use it and know how it works. However, you miss out on certain upsides in a video interview that you would get in a face-to-face job interview, like reading social cues and body language.
To help you get the most of your Zoom job interviews, let’s take a look at what you need to do as an employer before, during and after the interview.
Before the interview
The first step is the all-important preparation you do when planning your interview.
Provide instructions for your candidate
As soon as you decide a date and time with the candidate, send them details of how to access the meeting. If you have several candidates or plan to recruit for multiple positions, a template is a wise idea. Tell them where they can download Zoom (if they don’t have it already), making sure you include the link to their meeting along with the password.
Give them a phone number in case there are any tech issues on the day. Schedule

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