Reminder of Statutory Sick Pay pay-back scheme

The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme for small and medium-sized businesses and employers, enables them to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19. The online service closed for new claims after 30 September 2021.
However, following the new Omicron wave, the online claims service is to be reintroduced from mid-January. The government announced before the Christmas break that firms will be re-eligible for the scheme from 21 December 2021 and will be
Points to consider when valuing goodwill

Valuing goodwill is a complex process and there are many different methods which can be used and that vary from industry to industry. Goodwill is a way of placing a monetary value on the business’s reputation and customer relationships. Or as HMRC say in their guidance, in accounting terms, purchased goodwill is the balancing figure between the purchase price of a business and the net value of the assets acquired.
HMRC’s approach to valuation of goodwill suggests that there should be no
New powers for Insolvency Service

The Insolvency Service is a government agency that provides services to those affected by financial distress or failure. The Insolvency Service operates as an executive agency of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The Insolvency Service has been granted new powers to investigate and disqualify company directors who abuse the company dissolution process. This extends investigatory powers to directors of dissolved companies and if misconduct is found, directors
Will you need to pay-back Child Benefits?

The High Income Child Benefit charge applies to taxpayers whose income exceeds £50,000 in a tax year and who are in receipt of child benefit. The charge claws back the financial benefit of receiving child benefit either by reducing or removing the benefit entirely.
If you or your partner have exceeded the £50,000 threshold for the first time during the last tax year (2020-21) then you must act. Where both partners have an income that exceeds £50,000, the charge applies to the partner with the
Self-certified sick notes

The statutory sick pay rules were temporarily amended on 17 December 2021. The amendment allows employees to self-certify for a period of 28 days, in place of the normal 7 days. This measure has been put in place to help free up capacity in the NHS and allow GPs to spend more time focusing on the coronavirus booster rollout as well as other impacts brought on by the latest Omicron fuelled coronavirus wave.
The arrangements will remain in place for all absences that begin on or before 26 January
Beware online sales scams

A new government press release has been issued reminding the public that online sales scams continue to be a major issue. In fact, 2021 saw a record number of cyber-attacks and online scams.
Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime, has revealed that almost 100,000 people in the UK have fallen victim to online shopping fraud in the past 13 months. This has seen over £60 million being reported lost.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is encouraging people to