According to government sources if you work a five day week, you are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year. This is known as our statutory or annual leave entitlement.

At first sight, 5.6 weeks looks to be an odd number of days, but it refers to a normal working week of five days. Accordingly, the 5.6 weeks translates to 28 working days.

Interestingly, an employer can include bank holidays as part of your annual leave entitlement.

What about part-timers?

Part-time workers are still entitled to 5.6 weeks, but this will be reduced to reflect the number of days a week that they work. For example, if you work a three day week you would be entitled to at least 16.8 days leave in a year (3 x 5.6).

What if I work 6 days a week?

The goal posts to not shift if you work more than 5 days a week. The statutory limit of 28 days still applies.

These paid leave entitlements apply to “workers”. A person is defined as a worker if:

• they have a contract or other arrangement to do work or services personally for a reward (your contract doesn’t have to be written),
• their reward is for money or a benefit in kind, for example the promise of a contract or future work,
• they only have a limited right to send someone else to do the work (subcontract),
• they have to turn up for work even if they don’t want to,
• their employer has to have work for them to do as long as the contract or arrangement lasts,
• they aren’t doing the work as part of their own limited company in an arrangement where the ‘employer’ is actually a customer or client.

A final definition. An employee is a worker with an employment contract. This contract may define other benefits that are not available to worker with no employment contract.

As we take steps to disentangle ourselves from the EU and make our mark in the wider global economy this may be a good time to consider any brand recognition marks you may be using and give serious consideration to getting them registered.

There is a formal registration process linked to the gov.uk website, see https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/apply

A summary of what you can and cannot register are set out below:

Your trade mark must be unique. It can include:

• words
• sounds
• logos
• colours
• a combination of any of these

Your trade mark cannot:

• be offensive, for example contain swear words or pornographic images
• describe the goods or services it will relate to, for example the word ‘cotton’ cannot be a trade mark for a cotton textile company
• be misleading, for example use the word ‘organic’ for goods that are not organic
• be a 3-dimensional shape associated with your trade mark, for example use the shape of an egg for eggs
• be too common and non-distinctive, for example be a simple statement like ‘we lead the way’
• look too similar to state symbols like flags or hallmarks, based on World Intellectual Property Organization guidelines

It is advisable to search the trade marks’ database before you send your application to check if anyone has already registered an identical or similar trade mark for the same or similar goods or services.

You can ask the holder of an existing trade mark for permission to register yours. They must give you a ‘letter of consent’ – you must send this letter with your application.

1 March 2019 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 May 2018.

2 March 2019 – Self assessment tax for 2017/18 paid after this date will incur a 5% surcharge.

19 March 2019 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 March 2019. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 March 2019)

19 March 2019 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 March 2019.

19 March 2019 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 March 2019 is payable by today.

1 April 2019 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 30 June 2018.

19 April 2019 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 April 2019. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 April 2019)

19 April 2019 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 April 2019.

From April 2019, minimum pay rates will increase as set out below.

• National Living Wage (NLW) rates for workers aged 25 and over – from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour.
• National Minimum Wage rates:
  • workers aged 21–24 — from £7.38 to £7.70 per hour
  • workers aged 18–20 — from £5.90 to £6.15 per hour
  • workers aged 16–18 — from £4.20 to £4.35 per hour
  • apprentice rate — from £3.70 to £3.90 per hour.

The accommodation offset rate will rise to £7.55.

This should mean that a full-time worker aged 25 and over on the NLW will receive an annual pay increase of £690.

Employers are reminded that these rates are not optional. HMRC police the National Minimum Wage and NLW regulations and employers found to be in breach will be subject to penalties and have to repay any arrears to affected employees.

As we have mentioned before in this newsletter, VAT returns filed for periods commencing on or after 1 April 2019, may need to be filed using the new Making Tax Digital (MTD) protocols. The new filing obligations will apply to VAT registered businesses with turnover above the current VAT registration limit, £85,000.

To comply with MTD firms will need to file their returns – for periods commencing on or after 1 April 2019 – using software that can link with HMRC’s MTD servers.

Readers affected, and who have not yet considered their options, should take advice, and quickly. We can offer advice on the use of appropriate software, but time is running out. Avoid last minute challenges and call now to discuss your options.