Today we have an indication of just what those austerity measures will mean, with reports that around 100,000 public sector workers will be told that their jobs are at risk in the run-up to Christmas as councils, police forces and other public services seek to implement reduced budgets for the new financial year starting in April.
And the public sector jobs axe has already started swinging. According to yesterday’s unemployment statistics, the rise in the jobless total in the three months to October was due almost entirely to 33,000 jobs going in the public sector.
A week or so ago, the TUC warned that public sector cutbacks would hit women hardest. Women make up 65 per cent of the public sector workforce, it said – 68 per cent within councils – and as a result of jobs going due to spending being reined in, many thousands of women are likely to find themselves out of work.
They already seem to be suffering disproportionately. Yesterday’s jobless figures show that while male unemployment rose by 11,000 on the quarter, the number of unemployed women shot up by 24,000 in the same period to reach 1.04 million, the highest figure since the three months to May 1988.
Women make up half the national workforce but still face barriers in employment. Earlier this year, research by the Chartered Management Institute led it to warn that girls born in 2010 would probably have to work for around 40 years in what it calls “in the shadow of unequal pay”.
The recession and our halting steps towards recovery are touching on many aspects of our national life. But it would hardly be progress worthy of the 21st century if one scar left by this bruising journey – not to mention an enormous waste of talent – is that women find it increasingly difficult simply to go out to work.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
[ add comment ] ( 13 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 771 )Let’s say you are holding a late summer barbecue. The weather forecast looks good but, just in case of an unexpected downpour, you probably make some contingency plans – moving the barbecue into the garage, perhaps, or transferring the cooking to the kitchen.
Or you’ve given your favourite restaurant a call to book a table for Saturday night. It turns out there’s a big party coming in and you’re out of luck – so you switch to your second favourite place instead.
Life is full of occasions when, consciously or not, we have a Plan B in place for when things don’t quite work out as we’d hoped.
So some of us may find it more than a tad concerning that, according to the Daily Mail today, leaked information reveals that David Cameron rejected advice from Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell, Britain’s top civil servant, that the coalition government should draw up a Plan B in case the economy tips into recession next year.
On the one hand, you can admire Mr Cameron’s apparently rock solid confidence in the coalition’s economic strategy delivering the results the government is looking for.
On the other, you might think that, just in case the recovery falters, it would be a good idea to have a plan to fall back on, to avoid the coalition having to hastily cobble a strategy together without having thoroughly thought through its contents and consequences.
In reality, common sense suggests that it’s reasonably safe to assume that there are contingency plans tucked away somewhere in Whitehall for keeping the economy on track in a variety of circumstances. The alternative is a little too scary to contemplate for too long.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
[ add comment ] ( 8 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 809 )For the first time, the government has published next year’s Finance Bill in draft form, giving people time to comment on the proposals.
The chancellor has stated that the reason for doing this is to provide a more predictable and stable tax system, and to allow for greater scrutiny of the changes proposed.
The Finance Bill 2011 will also legislate for the annual changes in taxation rates that have already been announced.
Separate consultations have been launched for some measures where comments are specifically sought, although comments will be accepted on any of the proposals.
These are some of the more significant proposed changes:
Pensions
Obligation to purchase an annuity by 75 will be abolished, effective from April 2011. This should enable an individual with a lifetime pension income of at least £20,000 a year to draw down pension funds without any cap.
As previously announced, the annual allowance for pension contributions will be reduced from £255,000 to £50,000 from April 2011 and the lifetime allowance to £1.5million from April 2012.
Income Tax
Rates will remain at 20, 40 and 50 per cent, with the Personal Allowance set to increase to £7,475 for 2011/12, and the basic rate limit to be reduced to £35,000 for 2011/12.
Corporation Tax
Next stage in the series of ongoing reductions will be confirmed, taking the main rate from 27 per cent to 26 per cent from April 2012 and the small profits rate from 21 per cent to 20 per cent.
Associated companies
Rules on ‘associated companies’ – designed to prevent misuse of the small companies corporation tax rate – are being relaxed to only catch cases of ‘substantial commercial interdependence’.
Taxation of foreign branches
Further exemptions from the Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) regime are proposed, as well as a permanent election for all of its branches to be exempt from UK tax on the profits of its overseas branches.
Controlled foreign companies
There are various proposals for exemptions for companies for certain transactions with CFCs, with little connection to the UK.
Corporate capital gains
Following consultation on simplification of capital gains rules for groups of companies, it is proposed that where a company leaves a group as a result of a disposal of its shares, a degrouping charge will be taxed as additional proceeds for the disposal.
Corporate tax anti-avoidance rules
Study into perceived abuse set to be completed by 31 October 2011.
Disguised remuneration
Legislation to be introduced to ensure income tax and National Insurance are not avoided through the use of trusts or other similar vehicles.
Bank Levy
Levy will be 0.05 per cent from April 2011, rather than 0.04 per cent as previously announced, rising to 0.075 per cent in 2012.
Childcare
The level of tax relief on childcare vouchers and directly-provided childcare will be made the same for all taxpayers.
The obligation on employers to make childcare schemes available to all employees will be removed
Furnished Holiday Lettings Relief
Minimum lettings period to increase to 210 days a year, of which 105 are actually let, but relief will in future be available on homes throughout the European Economic Area.
HMRC powers
In April 2011, the government will introduce legislation to allow HMRC to obtain security from employers where PAYE is seriously at risk.
Comments on the draft legislation can be submitted until 9 February 2011. For more information see www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
[ add comment ] ( 7 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 774 )The Institute of Directors (IoD) has released its latest skills survey today and it makes for some worrying reading.
Highlights of the survey, if these rather gloomy statistics can be called that, include the fact that 23 per cent of IoD member organisations have vacancies that are proving hard to fill due to a lack of skilled applicants. Among the most difficult skills to source are technical, management and leadership and customer service skills.
A total of 47 per cent of directors surveyed said some of their employees lacked the skills needed to do their job to the required level, with management and leadership skills in particular need of improvement.
Most worryingly, 58 per cent of employers said skills gaps were holding back the growth of their firms, with increased workloads for other employees the most common problem.
As we have frequently heard, the government is looking to private enterprise to create the jobs that will be lost in the public sector over the coming months so the fact that skills gaps are creating such a significant brake on growth is particularly disturbing.
The IoD says that businesses are continuing to invest in training, despite the recession, and that the government needs to tackle the issues of excessive employment regulation and an uncompetitive tax system to release additional resources for private sector staff development.
With the government’s Growth Review currently exploring ways to break down the barriers that hold back private sector growth, the skills gap looks as though it should be close to the front of the queue when it comes to action.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
[ add comment ] ( 14 views ) | permalink |
( 3.1 / 722 )When the government announced plans in the summer to scrap the default retirement age (DRA), which allows employers to make workers retire at 65, the proposals drew a mixed reaction.
Age campaign group the Employers Forum on Age, welcomed the move, saying that employers had nothing to fear from the change, which would help make the most of an “age diverse workforce.”
But John Cridland, then deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), warned that the timetable for scrapping the DRA would give businesses little time to prepare.
Fast-forward a few months and today Mr Cridland, now the CBI’s director-general designate, is speaking out again.
Today he says that businesses value the skills, experience and loyalty that older workers bring while that a more active older population and pension shortfalls make it clear that people will want to keep working longer.
But – and it’s a big but – with just over three months to go before the DRA is axed in April, the government has so far failed to produce any guidance or draft regulations to clarify for employers or staff what the new legislative framework will look like.
Mr Cridland warns that “a legislative void is opening up” and calls for any changes to be delayed until April 2012 to address employers’ concerns, including a greater risk of tribunal claims. Meanwhile, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills says it will be publishing guidance shortly.
Few of us would disagree with the department’s view that people should not be prevented from working because they have reached a particular age.
At the same time, we probably also feel more than a little sympathy for the businesses who will be at the sharp end of implementing a pretty significant change in employment law – and with time ticking away until April, are probably wondering just how well prepared they are going to be able to be do just that.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
[ add comment ] ( 9 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 705 )
Random Entry
