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All businesses with an annual turnover of £100,000 will be required to file their VAT returns online as of 1st April 2010. They will also be required to make electronic payments in respect of any VAT due.

Businesses with an annual turnover of £100,000 as at 31st December last year should have received a letter from HMRC last month which would have explained that VAT returns would be online as of next month. The enclosed guide detailed the steps that all affected businesses would have to take to prepare for the changeover.

Although this change is currently only affecting companies with an annual turnover exceeding £100,000 it is expected that this will be rolled out to all VAT registered companies by 2012.

As for the companies who will be liable for VAT online services from April, there are some steps which they will need to take in preparation. First of all, the company will need to be registered for the VAT online service. You should receive an activation PIN by post within 7 days. To ensure you do not miss any deadlines you can also sign up to the free email reminder service. You should also speak to your accountant if he is the person usually responsible for filing your VAT return. It is also necessary to check your personal business processes to examine whether or not there is anything you need to adapt in light of these changes. You can also set up your preferred payment method when you register online, however, if you pay by cheque you will be required to order the HMRC Bank Giro slips for paying the cheques into participating banks.

As British society embraces the digital era and all that it encompasses, it would seem the employers are now set to follow suit by using social networking sites as a recruitment tool. Stephanie Lee from Intel disclosed her use of social networking sites to look for job candidates during a recent event hosted by the Association of Recruitment Consultancies. Lee actually stated that while there would still be a necessity for face to face interviews, money could be saved through recruiting on popular sites such as Twitter instead of the traditional job boards.

This approach is already being piloted by some organisations. Head of RBS recruitment, Mark Bainbridge said that they are set to launch a social media hub aimed at addressing their recruiting needs while this approach is already used by the Army and Microsoft for the majority of their recruitment.

However, while this may sound like an appealing alternative to the traditional recruitment process, the chairman of ARC, Adrian Marlowe, had some words of warning. He believes that the apparent advantages of social networking recruitment must be balanced against the legal and practical issues.

Mr Marlowe concluded: “While there is a rush to use social media, only time will tell if the advantages of instant communication and information that it offers really bring something to the table. Employer branding is different from recruitment, and agencies have developed sophisticated methods of assessing candidates which might not be apparent in hirings made purely on the basis of social networking. The new technology should be embraced but only with the knowledge of the potential dangers and costs involved.”

The Forum of Private Business has urged the government to think about the needs of smaller businesses when developing legislation. They have criticised current legislation for only considering big businesses. They have said that this often results in smaller businesses, with fewer employees, having difficulty competing with their larger counterparts.

Their comments were made in response to a government consultation. The ‘Thinking Business in Policy’ review aims to understand the effect of policy making on business. Amongst their other concerns, the FPB has highlighted the forthcoming Equality Bill as an area of immediate concern. The FPB believe that the government underestimate how much time is needed to fully comprehend new legislation before it can be implemented by firms. For example, the government have assessed that an SME should need only one hour to comprehend the disability discrimination section of the new act. However, the FPB believe that for a company with little experience in interpreting legislation, much more time will be required before the necessary changes can be made.

Matt Goodman, policy representative for FPB commented: “We believe that, through improved understanding of the nature of small businesses and by making much more accurate assessments of the implications of the legislation, decision-makers can make informed judgements about the advantages and disadvantages of policies. Policy-makers should also consider how their policies are going to boost the UK economy.”

He concluded: “It’s not enough simply to consider the social benefits of legislation without giving thought to the bigger picture. Many businesses feel they are often seen as those which should automatically pay for attempts at influencing social change.”

New data released shows that there are still a lack of job opportunities within investment banking as the sector struggles to regain public confidence.

Powerchex, a pre-employment screening firm, gathered the figures which show that stockbrokers and hedge funds have seen confidence slowly return but since the collapse of the Lehman Brothers, investment banking as a whole has suffered and, as a result, there are very little job opportunities for contract or permanent staff.

To gain this data, Powerchex made comparisons between the work opportunities between January last year and January this year. During this period recruitment for stockbrokers and hedge funds increased by 81% and 109% respectively. Investment Banks are actually planning to hire 60% less staff throughout 2010 than they did in 2009.

Powerchex also saw a decline in hiring between December 2009 and January 2010 with job opportunities for stockbrokers, hedge funds, investment managers and IT contractors slowing over this period. Firms continue their cautious approach as the economy continues to struggle to leave recession. As financial results are due in less than two months, the sector is waiting to learn of the official fall out from the economic downturn of the past twelve months during which time many UK businesses have failed thus having a detrimental effect on the economy.

Director of Powerchex, Alexandra Kelly, commented: “We have seen signs that the economy is on the up but firms are still being very cautious as many believe any recovery we may have seen is very fragile and could easily be knocked off course.”

The latest available figures show that the number of unemployed people in Britain has fallen once again. These figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that for the quarter ending in December unemployment stood at 2.46 million which was a decrease of 3,000 from the previous quarter. The rate of unemployment showed no change, staying at 7.8%. However, there was an increase in the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance which was up to 1.64 million – a rise of 23,500.

Chief economic adviser of thee Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Dr John Philpott said: “Today’s unemployment figures confirm that the UK jobs market is still in an extremely fragile state. New official estimates of ‘underemployment’ also show that the pain of the recession is much deeper than the headline numbers indicate. With a weak economic recovery set to result in further job losses in the coming months it is highly likely that the unemployment situation will get worse before it starts to get significantly better.”

Chief economist from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), David Kern, spoke to the Recruiter about these latest figures: “The economy is still very weak, and there is clearly no justification for an immediate tightening in monetary policy. The forthcoming Budget provides the Government with a perfect opportunity to introduce measures that will support businesses’ ability to increase employment – with particular emphasis on full-time jobs. It should start by scrapping the hike in employer National Insurance Contributions, planned for next year, and substitute it for a 1% rise in VAT.”

The recession has caused problems across industry over the past eighteen months. Not only have businesses been faced with the prospect of their own insolvency but they have also had to prepare for the prospects of their customers becoming insolvent and the subsequent knock-on effect on their finances.

Concept Information Technology, a recruiter for IT services, has spoken out about the steps they have taken to protect themselves against bad debt. They have admitted to using a debtor protection policy courtesy of Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance.

Concept have admitted that they are glad they took such a step as they have actually had to use the policy protection over the past couple of years. Back in 2008 one of their customers became insolvent. However, due to their protection policy they actually received payment within 30 days of the customer filing for administration.

Speaking to The Recruiter, managing director of Concept IT Chris Short, said: “Taking out a debtor protection policy has provided us with long-term peace of mind and has ensured that we’ve been safeguarded against bad debts. Knowing that our working capital is protected has enabled us to continue our growth strategy and expand our client base further without fear of future failures – something that has helped us to achieve record turnover despite the tough economic climate.”

Speaking for Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, client manager Alex Fiddian, commented: “It takes only one bad debt to significantly impact a business’ cash flow. We are seeing more and more of our customers use debtor protection policies as a safety net to protect themselves from defaults.”

Research conducted by Investec Specialist Private Bank and the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation has concluded that unfair business taxation and regulation is of the utmost concern to contractors, freelance consultants and entrepreneurs. Many believe that the existing taxation system could be overhauled to alleviate this burden. Only 17% of those surveyed believe that the current UK taxation system make the UK an attractive location to set up a business.

With regards to the current economic situation, 5% believe that it will be easier to access funding this year. Conversely 25% believe the lack of access to bank loans will have an adverse effect on business throughout 2010.

Commenting on their research, Investec’s Ed Cottrell commented that “there is considerable room for improvement in the overall regulatory and tax environment in the UK.”

Mr Cottrell also stated his belief that such changes “will be key to helping the country recover from the recession”.

Doug Richard, entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den star, believes that innovators would be more likely to succeed if unfair tax burdens were reduced and regulations were overhauled.

He said: “We are a nation that has everything it needs to capitalise on the opportunities of the 21st century. However, the government must unshackle the only means of increasing wealth and social mobility – the entrepreneurial culture.”

The current low interest rates could encourage entrepreneurs to approach banks seeking finance while the news that corporation tax for small businesses will stay at 21 per cent for the next financial year should be good news!

A Freedom of Information Act request has provided details of illegal workers who have been employed by government agencies since 2006. The data shows that ten foreign workers were actually employed by the UK Border Agency, the Home Office department responsible for vetting immigrants who come into the country. The Home Office itself also employed two illegal workers at their headquarters in Whitehall. In total, the figures showed that hundreds of illegal workers were employed at 54 NHS trusts and 34 local authorities across the country.

Of the twelve people employed by the Home Office, one was from Ghana and the other eleven were Nigerian. The ten workers at the UK Border Agency were cleaners while one person was employed as a security guard at Whitehall and the other illegal worker there held a chef position.

These twelve people have since been subject to investigation and action has been taken. Eight have been deported and three are currently detained pending appeal. Only one of the twelve has been granted permission to remain in the UK.

As this data was made public, Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling stated: “This is an absolute scandal. The Government has taken tough action against private companies over the employment of illegal immigrants, yet on this evidence it is quite clear the public sector has taken on bogus workers and escaped any form of censure.”

He concluded: “We have ministers constantly telling us they have got to grips with the chaos in our immigration system, yet the Home Office itself has been employing illegal workers. It is completely unacceptable and we need an urgent explanation from ministers.”

These figures will be a further blow to Home Secretary Alan Johnson who has already publicly condemned the government for its handling of immigration. Only last year Attorney Baroness Scotland was found to have employed a Tongan housekeeper who was not eligible to work in this country. She was subsequently fined £5000.

In total, 349 illegal immigrants were employed in public sector positions according to the figures released. The NHS employed four foreign nationals as doctors and 13 as nurses in their hospitals. Six people were employed in secondary schools as teachers and ten people were employed as care and social workers.

The Home Office responded to these figures via a spokesman who said: “The 12 illegal workers identified since 2006 were all sub-contractors, none of them were directly employed by the Home Office. It was our checks and the strict regime we operate on illegal working in the UK that brought these cases to light. We are doing more than ever before to crack down on illegal working, with raids taking place up and down the country every week, and thousands of rule breakers deported.”

These figures show that the employment of illegal workers continues to be a problem across all sectors. Crystal Umbrella recognises its responsibility to protect agencies and clients alike from the potential pitfalls. As such, we are investing heavily in UK Border Agency compliant registrations in order to have the most effective procedures and technologies in place as a pre-emptive measure.

New research has been conducted by the Confederation of British Industry which shows the effect that low trading forecasts has had on the spending plans of IT departments in the financial services industry. A decline in trading forecasts has resulted in the scaling back of planned IT spending.

Only a couple of months ago, the Confederation was reporting an increase in planned IT spending which had not been as positive since August 2008. In November their research showed that 7 per cent of financiers questioned were planning to purchase new IT equipment. The latest research, however, shows a negative response to spending cash on IT services and equipment.

This has been attributed to a predicted slump over the next three months and the after-effects of a very mild upturn over the previous three months which has been described as “disappointing”.

Chief economic adviser at the Confederation of British Industry, Ian McCafferty, commented: “The bounce in UK financial services activity over the past six months is not expected to last as we enter 2010.”

Mr McCafferty continued: “Firms see their business volumes falling back again, with no further improvement in profitability over the next three months.”

The financiers who took part in this latest survey also cited a reduction in the use of IT systems as a means of improving and growing their business, in comparison with the previous quarter, as a reason for the reduced spending plans.

However, on the whole most respondents did state an intention to continue to purchase software and hardware in the long term as part of their continued plan for growth particularly in insurance, banks and finance houses.

HMRC have set out fresh plans to uncover tax underpayments sector by sector. This new approach will begin with the medical sector. Medical professionals will have until 31st March this year to make a disclosure in return for a reduced penalty. Following this date, HMRC will investigate individuals based on the records they hold regarding their pay.

Those who do make a disclosure will have until 30^th June 2010 to pay all tax, interest and any penalties due. They can expect to receive a discounted penalty of ten per cent. Anyone not making a disclosure who is later found to have underpaid tax can expect to pay a penalty of 100% on top of the tax and interest owed.

Mike Wells, HMRC’s Director of Risk and Intelligence, said as he launched the campaign: “Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for people to come forward, make a full disclosure and benefit from the certainty of a reduced 10 per cent penalty that HMRC is making available to those who qualify for this opportunity.

He continued: “From April we will be using the information at our disposal to investigate medical professionals who have not declared their full income. I therefore strongly urge any in this group who think they may have outstanding tax liabilities on their income to get in touch with HMRC and get their tax affairs in order simply and on the best available terms.

Mr Wells concluded: “This is the first step in enabling those with undisclosed income or gains to avoid a full tax investigation together with much higher penalties. The message is clear: contact us before we contact you.”