British Gas Business Caps Charges Owed By Small Businesses
British Gas Business (BGB) says it will no longer hit small businesses with large backdated energy bills and instead will cap charges owed to just one year.
Small businesses have frequently been hit with huge bills for uncollected utility charges going back up to six years. Businesses have complained about this process for some time and British Gas Business is now leading the industry by announcing a cap on unpaid charges.
Back in April Utility Exchange reported that Consumer Focus had warned that small businesses face shock energy bills because energy providers were able to back date bills by up to six years.
British Gas Business says it will cap unpaid charges owed by small businesses to one year, phased in over the next three years. There will be a cap of three years in 2012 which will fall to one year in 2014.
After complaints by small businesses Ofgem told the energy industry to draft new proposals in response to complaints and BGB came up with this proposal.
British Gas Business however says it sends out over 10,000 bills every month to small businesses that have not paid enough over the previous 15 months.
The decision by BGB to cap unpaid charges at one year comes as they begin the roll-out of smart meters to small businesses. These will provide more accurate business electricity and gas bills. British Gas intends to install 100,000 in 2012 giving an installed capacity of 300,000.
It’s largely the installation of smart meters which is highlighting past billing errors and meaning business electricity suppliers and gas suppliers no longer have to rely on estimated bills.
Small businesses have been hit hard by rising business electricity prices and gas costs so this decision by British Gas to cap unpaid charges will bring them some relief. The BGB proposal will affect tens of thousands of small businesses.
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Staff Scared To Call In Sick Despite Swine Flu Risk
Even though there have been reports that swine flu is on the charge again it’s been suggested that most workers are too worried about their jobs to call in sick, reports smallbusiness.co.uk.
In a survey by Simplyhealth over 50% of employees said they were working through their illnesses. Around a fifth said they didn’t think they would be believed if they phoned in sick which is why they went into work.
Those working in retail, leisure and catering were the most reluctant to call in sick while employees in the financial services sector were found to be the most likely to take days off sick.
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Midland’s Small Businesses Optimistic
A survey by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) has revealed that many small businesses in the Midlands are optimistic about the future and are looking forward to things improving, reports thisisbusiness-eastmidlands.co.uk.
The survey found that over a third of small businesses in the Midlands were expecting an improvement in trade over the forthcoming year. In fact as many as 19% were already reporting increased orders and sales.
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Postal Strike Hits Small Businesses
Small business owners in London are worried that they may go bust as the result of the postal strike, reports BBC News Online. Many business owners are unable to send goods or bills because of the strike which is continuing.
A spokesman for the Royal Mail said they were “concerned” about the effect of the strikes which have been taking place since the middle of June.
One small business owner who runs an internet based business said she’d had to refund customers money as orders hadn’t been delivered.
A spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses said the timing was not good as “businesses are just beginning to pick up”.
Meanwhile a spokesman for the Communication Worker’s Union (CWU) said the strike action was a last resort but that “some of Royal Mail’s plans would be of detriment to small businesses”.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8277206.stm
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Universities And Businesses Should Work Together
Research from the CBI Higher Education Task Force says that businesses need to work more closely with universities, reports smallbusiness.co.uk.
The task force suggests businesses sponsor students who are studying courses such as science and technology. They also suggest businesses provide more opportunities for internships and provide financial support to new graduates.
The director-general of the CBI says that “businesses should engage more with universities, both financially and intellectually.” He says they should help in the design of courses and even pay for courses which would be of benefit to the current and future workforce.
Universities are being asked to make cuts by the government which means they will have to look for other sources of income and help with financing courses. Smallbusiness.co.uk also reports that while the number of undergraduates has increased since 1997 by 35%, the number of students studying science courses has dropped by 20% since 1999.
It’s important that businesses and universities discuss what skills they are looking for within the workforce and then work together to develop courses which satisfy that skill shortage.
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New Holiday/Sickness Law Could Hurt Small Businesses
The Federation of Small Businesses has condemned the introduction of a new law which will allow workers who fall sick while they are on holiday to claim extra time off as compensation, reports The Daily Mail.
Employers say the law will be open to abuse by staff who just want extra holidays. The Federation of Small Businesses said the EU ruling which will apply in British courts immediately, could have huge impact on small businesses at a time when small businesses are struggling.
The Confederation of British Industry said that to allow staff to reclassify their holiday as sick leave was open to abuse and a Tory Europe spokesman said they couldn’t see how the system would be policed.
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Small Businesses Plan To Grow
A survey by Barclays has revealed that even though the outlook is still not bright nearly half of the small businesses questioned said they intended to expand over the twelve months, reports thisismoney.co.uk.
Barclays surveyed 3,000 small businesses and found that almost half were planning to expand over the next year while a third of businesses were expecting to consolidate their position rather than downsizing.
However, a spokesman for the Forum of Private Business warns that businesses must be realistic saying there’s still problems with lending and suggesting that businesses have contingency plans.
Source and further details: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/work/small-business/article.html?in_article_id=490386&in_page_id=53946&ito=1565
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The EASIER Way To Go Green
The University of Hertfordshire has launched a project offering advice to Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) on how to go green, reports eco-echo.com. The Easier (Environmental Advice for SME’s in the Eastern Region) project is funded by both the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA). The project will help SME’s in the East of England reduce their carbon emissions, become more energy efficient and as a result increase their competitiveness.
SME’s in the region will get 14 days of environmental consultancy which will be paid for by the EASIER project. It’s hoped that businesses will be able to reduce their carbon emissions by 10-20% with the help of the EASIER project.
Source: eco-echo.com
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Businesses Face Increase In Business Tax Rates
The telegraph.co.uk reports that the Valuation Office Agency is due to release details of increases in business tax rates at the end of September. However, a Government consultation on how to phase in the increases is due to close a week before on the 23rd September.
The Conservatives say this is unfair as businesses can’t comment on increases until they have been published. In 2005, when rates were last recalculated, businesses were given a month to comment on how they should be phased in.
When new rental valuations are introduced next year, thousands of businesses could face increased tax bills. It’s especially important for small businesses to know about new business rates as it’s a major part of their cost. The Conservative shadow communities minister said small businesses should be treated better than this and wonders why the details are not being released in time.
Source and further details: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6127324/Justine-Greening-businesses-kept-in-dark-about-important-tax-changes.html
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Lack of Support for small firms
Research carried out exclusively for Financial Mail by accountancy firm Tenon indicates that numerous small business owners feel like they have been let down by the Government who they think has done very little or nothing in the way of supporting small firms during the recession.
Less than 10% of those questioned believe that the Government has done enough to support small business whilst they are at their most vulnerable, commenting that big companies have the ‘muscle’ to effect change, whereas smaller firms do not.
Chief Executive of Tenon Group, Andy Raynor reported that Britain’s entrepreneurs fundamentally feel let down by the Government, as initiatives which have been implemented over the past 12 months have been ineffective and poorly conceived, and in the majority of cases have actually hindered the people they were supposed to help.
However, despite the perceived lack of help, it would appear that confidence is returning amongst entrepreneurs, where a fifth of those questioned are expecting demand for products and services to rise by as much as 10% in three months while a further 11% are expecting demand to rise by more than 10% for the same period.
Supporting this evidence is the rise in the number of firms that are planning to increase spending on capitol investments where the figures have gone up from 11% to 19% compared to three months ago.
EnterpriseZone, Mail on Sunday (30.08.09)