I am back on the block after a few days of annual leave. During this brief absence it feels like that the fabric of the UK has altered a little.
We have we seen the return of large-scale riots to the main city-centres of the UK. If you were caught up in this you have our deepest sympathy. The short-term impact to those businesses impacted may be very significant indeed. However, a possible silver-lining for the wider economy could be that the medium-term impact overall could be positive, as there will clearly be lots of corrective work to be undertaken which may help boost the economy towards the end of the year.
Away from the riots, the financial markets have been in turmoil. The FTSE (and indeed other financial indices) have taken a hell of a hammering following the US playing silly b’s with major financial decisions, and then getting downgraded as an investment risk also. In addition, large EU economies are shuddering under the weight of debt, and in the UK growth forecasts are down and inflation is up.
All pretty serious stuff as I am sure you will agree.
Against this background I feel slightly foolish highlighting a couple of changes to the world of employee benefits. Whilst not in the same ‘news’ league, these changes may be significant alterations for some employers.
The two areas of change are:
- Guidance from HMRC as to how VAT should be treated on Salary Sacrifice schemes (this follows the European Courts decision on this last year)
- A proposed change to auto-enrolment dates (for some) employers
Both of these issues may have some possible implications for our readership. I have decided to place posts on each of these subjects separately in the hours that follow. I hope that will make it a little easier to absorb this information.
Best regards
Steve
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