Monthly Archives: November 2020

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City mayors warn of mental health pandemic among self-employed

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Three mayors of England’s biggest cities have written to Rishi Sunak calling him to help the 3m self-employed excluded from Covid business support.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram have urged the chancellor to help those who have fallen through the cracks of the self-employed income support scheme (SEISS).
Otherwise, warned Mr Burnham, England faces “a mental health pandemic on top of Covid”.
>See also: 1m self-employed face having to pay tax bill larger than what they earnt
It is estimated that 10 per cent of the UK workforce have found themselves excluded from Covid-19 support, according to pressure group ExcludedUK.
Mr Burhnam said: “We’re here together to send a message to the chancellor that it’s no exaggeration to say that jobs, homes and marriages are hanging in the balance … this is so wrong on so many levels”.
The Manchester mayor said the government’s cold shoulder for those who have just taken the plunge and gone self-employed, doing just what the government wants, sends the wrong message about becoming an entrepreneur.
Mr Burnham said that there were just days left to get the message across to the chancellor before his government spending

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Business expenses: don’t guess if you don’t know the answer

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Originally written by Dan Matthews on Small Business
Ask most people what they think is the biggest cost a business faces and they’ll tell you its salaries. But what about small businesses with perhaps just one or two staff members, or even sole traders with no employees at all?
According to official government data, of the six million UK business currently trading just 1.1 million are employers. The rest are operated by their owners, who usually pay themselves through company profits instead of via a salary.
In fact, for the vast majority of UK businesses, the biggest annual business expenses are much more likely to be tax liabilities and energy usage.
Research from Smart Energy GB, published in August, revealed that small businesses had on average around nine weeks of cash reserves before they would have to shut their doors. That’s despite more than half, or 56 per cent, admitting they would have greater control over their expenditure if they understood the business’ energy use more clearly.
If you are one of the 56 per cent, then it could be time to revisit your cost base and implement a new strategy. Tracking your spend is a vital component of healthy cashflow, which in turn is

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Non-essential retail and gyms to reopen next month under new tier rules

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Non-essential shops and gyms in England will be allowed to reopen in the run-up to Christmas under the new tier system.
However, pubs and restaurants in tier three can operate on a takeaway-only basis while pubs in tier two can reopen if they serve ‘substantial meals’.
Boris Johnson is to make an announcement on new COVID-19 tier rules later today. These will come into effect when lockdown lifts on December 3 and most regions are expected to be put under level two and three restrictions.
There is a hint of good news for hospitality. The 10pm curfew is expected to change to 11pm. Last orders will be called at 10pm, giving customers an hour to leave the premises.
Shops can reopen in all tiers, along with gyms and places of worship. Recreational sports will also be making a comeback.
Cinemas can open in tiers one and two while the ‘work from home where you can’ advice will remain across England.
It’ll be a three-tier system as before. Restrictions of each tier are laid out in the table below:

How the new lockdown rules will affect your small business  

Tier 1Tier 2Tier 3

Non-essential retail to reopenNon-essential retail to reopenNon-essential retail to reopen

All

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Rishi Sunak urged to help self-employed company directors

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Lobbyists, trade associations and experts have joined forces to urge Rishi Sunak to help company directors frozen out of government Covid-19 support.
A consortium of professional bodies has urged the chancellor to consider proposals for a “Directors Income Support Scheme” (DISS), which would mirror the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) under which sole traders can claim up to £2,500 per month.
This is a last-ditch attempt for the Treasury to change its mind before this week’s Spending Review.
>See also: When and where to apply for the new 80% self-employed grant
Until now the Treasury has balked at helping self-employed directors of limited companies who pay themselves in dividends, claiming it would be too difficult to separate company income from passive income, such as property and shares.
This is despite company directors paying themselves through through dividends being the standard accounting structure used by around 2m small UK limited companies, ranging from those with sole owner directors to micro businesses, which collectively employ 7.5m people.
Some see the Treasury’s mulishness as a disguised attack by HMRC on self-employed company directors, who often pay less into National Insurance and pay corporation tax instead of income tax.
It is estimated that around

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nDash Review – Is it Worth Joining this Platform as a Freelance Writer?

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For many freelance writers, finding clients can be the trickiest part of the job. Sure, there are job boards like ProBlogger and AFW, but pretty much every freelance writer in the world who isn’t booked out is also looking for a job there.   Not to mention, it can be quite the hunt to find opportunities that actually pay […]

The post nDash Review – Is it Worth Joining this Platform as a Freelance Writer? appeared first on The Work at Home Woman | Legit Work From Home Jobs.

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