Recent employment figures suggest that the number of people on UK payrolls is continuing to fall.

That does not necessarily mean your business should reduce its workforce. However, it does provide a useful reminder to look at one of the largest costs faced by many businesses.

The important question is not whether other employers are recruiting or reducing staff. It is whether your current workforce is right for your business.

Look beyond the monthly payroll

Start by considering what has happened to employment costs over the past couple of years.

Pay rises are only part of the picture. Employer’s National Insurance, pension contributions, benefits, training and other employment costs all contribute to the real cost of employing someone.

Compare this with what is happening to turnover, gross profit and productivity.

For example, if staffing costs have increased by 10%, but turnover has increased by only 3%, it is worth investigating why.

There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation, particularly if you have recruited ahead of anticipated growth. But it is better to understand the figures than simply allow costs to increase unnoticed.

Should every vacancy be replaced?

When someone leaves, there can be an automatic assumption that a replacement is needed.

Before recruiting, consider whether the job still needs to exist in exactly the same form.

Could responsibilities be reorganised? Could repetitive administrative work be automated? Has technology changed the amount or type of work required?

Conversely, be careful about delaying recruitment purely to save money. Existing employees working excessive hours can lead to falling productivity, poor customer service and eventually the loss of good staff.

Model the cost before deciding

Recruitment decisions should form part of your financial planning.

If you are considering employing an additional person, calculate the full annual cost and estimate the additional sales, capacity or efficiency that the appointment needs to generate.

The same principle applies if you are considering reducing staffing levels. A reduction in payroll costs may look attractive, but not if it prevents the business from delivering work or growing sales.

Use your figures to make the decision

Your accounting records contain much of the information needed to undertake this review.

Comparing staffing costs with turnover and gross profit over time can reveal trends that are difficult to spot when looking only at the bank balance or monthly payroll.

If your staffing requirements are changing, talk to us before making significant decisions. We can help you examine the numbers, model alternative scenarios and understand the financial implications before you commit.

Many successful small businesses have one person at their centre.

The owner knows the customers, agrees prices, deals with suppliers, manages the bank account, supervises employees and makes most of the important decisions. Often, this is one of the reasons the business has succeeded.

But it can also become a weakness.

If too much depends on one person, the business may struggle to grow and could face serious problems if the owner is unexpectedly unavailable.

Look at what depends on you

A useful exercise is to imagine that you could not work for the next four weeks.

What would happen?

Could someone else prepare quotations, authorise payments, deal with important customers or make purchasing decisions? Would employees know what needed to be done without continually contacting you?

The answers can identify areas where the business is particularly dependent on you.

This does not mean handing over control. It means creating a business that can function without requiring your involvement in every decision.

Introduce systems gradually

Start with activities that happen regularly.

Documenting important procedures, allocating responsibilities and giving employees appropriate authority can gradually reduce dependency on the owner.

Technology can also help. Good accounting, customer management and workflow systems make information available to other people rather than leaving it in the owner’s head.

The objective should be to make the business easier to manage rather than introduce unnecessary bureaucracy.

Measure what is happening

One reason owners are reluctant to delegate is the fear of losing control.

Good management information can help.

Regular information about sales, margins, cash flow, costs and other key performance indicators allows you to see what is happening without personally supervising every activity.

This can become increasingly important as a business grows.

Think about the eventual value of the business

Owner dependency can also affect what happens when you eventually want to sell.

A purchaser may be reluctant to pay a substantial price for a business if important customer relationships, knowledge and decision-making disappear when the owner leaves.

Reducing owner dependency is therefore not simply about making life easier today. It can help create a stronger and potentially more valuable business for the future.

If your business depends heavily on you, consider discussing the issue with us. The financial information we already prepare may help identify where greater delegation, better systems and improved management information could make a difference.

Running a limited company brings with it a considerable amount of administration. The government is now considering whether some of the UK’s corporate reporting requirements can be simplified.

A consultation launched in September 2026 looks at modernising corporate reporting, reducing duplication and making reporting requirements more proportionate.

For smaller businesses in particular, the proposals could eventually be significant.

Reducing the burden on growing businesses

One issue being considered is whether the current reporting framework creates unnecessary barriers as businesses grow.

Companies can face additional accounting, reporting and audit requirements as they pass particular size thresholds. Although these requirements may be appropriate for larger organisations, the government is considering whether the system could be made simpler and more proportionate.

Among the possibilities under consideration are changes affecting the reporting requirements of small and medium-sized companies and the circumstances in which companies require an audit.

Moving further towards digital reporting

The consultation also considers greater use of digital reporting and communications.

Most businesses already maintain at least some of their accounting records electronically, while communication with shareholders, customers and advisers is increasingly digital.

The government is considering whether company reporting requirements should better reflect the way modern businesses actually operate, including greater use of electronic communications.

Wider changes are being considered

The review extends beyond the preparation and filing of annual accounts.

The consultation considers financial and non-financial reporting, corporate governance and remuneration reporting.

Potentially more fundamental changes are also being examined, including whether the existing rules surrounding distributable profits and capital maintenance remain appropriate.

Changes in these areas could eventually affect decisions made by directors about dividends and the financial position of their companies.

Nothing has changed yet

Importantly, these are proposals rather than new rules.

The consultation is open until 30 November 2026. Businesses therefore do not need to change their accounting or company reporting procedures at this stage.

Nevertheless, the consultation provides a useful indication of the government’s direction of travel. The objective is to make corporate reporting simpler, more digital and more proportionate while retaining appropriate safeguards for shareholders, creditors and others relying on company information.

We will monitor the proposals and keep clients informed of changes that could affect their businesses.

In the meantime, directors should continue to comply with the existing accounting, filing and audit requirements applying to their companies.

Landlords in England need to be aware of updated Right to Rent guidance taking effect from 1 October 2026.

The Right to Rent scheme requires landlords and letting agents to check that prospective adult tenants have the legal right to occupy privately rented residential property in England. Getting the procedure right is important because landlords can face penalties where accommodation is let to someone who does not have a Right to Rent.

Digital checks are increasingly important

The updated Home Office guidance reflects the continuing move towards digital evidence of immigration status.

Depending upon the prospective tenant’s circumstances, a Right to Rent check may involve the Home Office online service, an eVisa, an approved identity service provider or, in some circumstances, checking acceptable original documents.

Landlords should not assume that the same method will be appropriate for every prospective tenant.

Avoiding discrimination

The updated guidance also emphasises that landlords and letting agents must conduct Right to Rent checks fairly.

A prospective tenant should not be treated less favourably because of the way in which they are able to demonstrate their Right to Rent. Similarly, someone with a time-limited immigration status should not automatically be regarded less favourably simply because a further check may eventually be necessary.

This is important when establishing procedures for selecting tenants. Right to Rent checks should form part of a consistent process applied to all prospective adult occupiers.

Keep evidence of the checks

Correctly undertaking the prescribed checks can provide a landlord with a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if it subsequently emerges that a tenant did not have the necessary Right to Rent.

Landlords should therefore retain the required evidence of checks and make a note of any date on which a follow-up check will be required.

Where a letting agent carries out checks, landlords should make sure there is a clear written agreement establishing responsibility for compliance.

Review procedures before 1 October

Landlords managing their own properties should review their tenant onboarding procedures before the new guidance takes effect.

Those using letting agents may also want to confirm that their agent is ready for the changes and understands who is responsible for carrying out and recording the checks.

The Right to Rent scheme applies to residential property in England. Different arrangements apply elsewhere in the UK.

Landlords already face a growing range of tax and regulatory responsibilities. If you are uncertain about your property business’s tax, accounting or record-keeping obligations, please speak to us.

The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey has confirmed, in a video message, that the next UK Budget will take place on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. Details of all the Budget announcements will be made on a special section of the GOV.UK website which will be updated following completion of the Chancellor’s first Budget speech in October.

HM Treasury is inviting written representations for the Autumn Budget 2025 from individuals, interest groups, MPs and organisations. Submissions should propose evidence-based policy ideas or comment on existing policies, with clear rationale, costs, benefits and deliverability. The deadline for submissions is 23:59 on Wednesday, 9 September 2026.

The Budget will be published alongside the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This forecast will be in addition to that published for the Spring Statement and fulfil the obligation for the OBR to produce at least two forecasts in a financial year, as is required by legislation.

The OBR has executive responsibility for producing the official UK economic and fiscal forecasts, evaluating the government’s performance against its fiscal targets, assessing the sustainability of and risks to the public finances and scrutinising government tax and welfare spending.