Communication

There have been many changes to employment law and regulations in the last few years. A key area is the freedom or lack of freedom to make an individual redundant. An employee’s employment can be terminated at any time but unless the redundancy is fair an Employment Tribunal may find the employer guilty of unfair dismissal.

Trusts are a long established mechanism which allow individuals to benefit from the assets whilst others (the trustees) have the legal ownership and day to day control over the assets. A trust can be extremely flexible and have an existence totally independent of the person who established it and those who benefit from it.

The ‘IR35’ rules are designed to prevent the avoidance of tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) through the use of personal service companies and partnerships. The rules do not stop individuals selling their services through either their own personal companies or a partnership. However, they do seek to remove any possible tax advantages from doing so.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaced the existing Data Protection Act and applies from 25 May 2018. The GDPR requires all organisations that deal with individuals living in a EU member state to protect the personal information belonging to those individuals and to have verified proof of such protection. Failure to comply with the regulation will result in significant fines.

It is often considered an honour to act as a trustee for a charity and an opportunity to give something back to the community. However, becoming a trustee involves a certain commitment and level of responsibility which should not be underestimated. Whether you are already a trustee for a charity, be it a local project or a household name, or are thinking of becoming involved, there are a number of responsibilities that being a trustee places upon you.

The position of director brings both rewards and responsibilities upon an individual. Whether you are appointed to the Board of the company you work for or you are involved in establishing a new business and take on the role of director you will feel a sense of achievement. However the office of director should not be accepted lightly. It carries with it a number of duties and responsibilities. We summarise these complex provisions below.