The law on workplace pensions has changed. Every employer with at least one member of staff has new duties - enrolling those who are eligible into a workplace pension and to contribute towards it. This is called Auto Enrolment. Auto Enrolment has been introduced by the government so people save for a pension that will eventually top up the state pension. In the past many employees missed out on a valuable pension because their employer didn't offer them a pension, or they didn't apply to join the company pension scheme. Auto Enrolment changes this. It makes it compulsory for employers to automatically enrol their eligible employees into a pension scheme. The employer must also contribute. This also means that employees will be offered a benefit that will hopefully translate to increased employee commitment/motivation and lower staff turnover. Hefty fines apply to those who fail to comply with auto enrolment. Employers with more than 50 employees should already be up and … [Read more...]
Surprising results from SME survey
In a recent survey carried out by SGBA (Southern Group Business Advisors) amongst SMEs in the South of England some surprising information was gleaned. Firstly over 65% were optimistic about their business and its potential to grow with 58% of respondents saying that access to finance and the lack of skilled personnel were inhibitors to growth. When asked if, given appropriate support, would they consider exporting if they had not done so before, a surprising 67% said no. This is a key feature of the LEPs objectives -that is to increase exports. So from this survey they look like they will have an uphill, struggle to achieve this goal. More than half of all respondents did not have a business plan, nor did they have an environmental policy or energy and waste reduction plan. However interestingly the great majority stated that they would try to win business from the public sector (if they had not done so before) given appropriate support. This is a big change as previously many SMEs … [Read more...]
