Pro Installer February 2015 - Issue 23 | Page 47

47 PRO INSTALLER FEBRUARY 2015 PRO BUSINESS @proinstaller1 Women win the battle of the taxes Women are more likely than men to send in their tax return on time, a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) analysis has revealed. For every 10,000 tax returns received last year by HMRC from men, 394 were after the relevant deadline; 31 October for paper submissions and 31 January for online returns. This compares to 358 late returns for every 10,000 received from women. As well as a gender gap, HMRC’s analysis showed a significant difference in filing behaviour between age ranges. People aged 18 to 20 were the worst offenders, with 1,085 in every 10,000 filing late. At the other end of the scale, those aged 65 or over were the most punctual, with only 155 out of every 10,000 missing the deadline. HMRC’s analysis found that the older you are, the more likely you are to send in your tax return on time. In terms of differences between workers in different industries, those in the agriculture, fishing and forestry industry are the star performers, with just 109 in every 10,000 filing late returns. Lawyers and accountants came second (219 late filers per 10,000), with health and social workers (262 per 10,000) in third place. Workers in the information and communication industries fared the worst (390 per 10,000), with administrative and support services not far behind (388 per 10,000) and the construction industry the next worst performing sector (352 per 10,000). Across the United Kingdom, taxpayers in Northern Ireland were the most punctual (301 per 10,000), followed by those in Wales (346 per 10,000), England (374 per 10,000) and Scotland (391 per 10,000). The figure for the United Kingdom as a whole was 372 late filers per 10,000. Within the English regions, South West taxpayers were the least likely to miss the deadline (299 per 10,000), followed by the East Midlands (324 per 10,000), Yorkshire and the Humber (337 per 10,000) and the West Midlands (344 per 10,000). By some distance, the worst-performing region was London (512 per 10,000), followed by taxpayers in the North East (380 per 10,000), North West (369 per 10,000), South East (355 per 10,000) and the East of England (346 per 10,000). Help and advice on filing your return is available from the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns Do you agree with the HMRC? Why not tell us your experience’s at Twitter @ProInstaller1 or contact madelaine@ clearview-uk.com Small Businesses paying for “Worthless” Legal fees Thousands of small businesses throughout the UK are paying premiums for legal fees insurance that is largely worthless. Many small firms take out insurance against the costs of fighting claims at Employment Tribunals, some as standalone policies and some as “add ons” to employer liability or other policies. Insurance companies have always written these policies on the basis that they will only cover claims that have more than a 51% prospect of being successfully defended or where their own advisors have approved the employers actions prior to the event, cases where they assess the employer has acted incorrectly will not be covered. Premiums for this type of insurance before August 2013 were set to reflect the large number of ill-conceived or totally spurious Employment Tribunal claims filed by disgruntled employees. However, the rules for bringing claims to Employment Tribunals changed in 2013. It is now a requirement not only for ex-employees to go through Acas Early Conciliation before they can lodge a claim; they must also pay a fee of up to £250 when they file the claim and a further £950 before there is a hearing. The effect this has had on the number of claims being lodged has been dramat- ic; the overall number of claims has fallen by 79%. Peter Abraham of human resource compliance advisers HR4UK (www.hr4uk.com) said: “The reduction in the number of claims means the risk for an employer who has attempted to comply with the law, of being taken to an Employment Tribunal, for a misconceived claim is now much lower than it was. “What’s more, because there are now costs to the employee of bringing a claim, only cases where the claimant is likely to succeed are being pursued. These are the very cases that the insurance companies believe show the employer has less than a 51% chance of success and they are therefore much more likely to refuse cover. “These two factors together mean that businesses are paying for insurance which is of dubious benefit. Insurers have generally not significantly, if at all, reduced their premiums. They are creaming in profits on this area of business, especially as many small businesses simply renew a policy without reviewing its costs and benefits.” Until recently, as part of its services, HR4UK offered a complimentary insurance to clients covering the costs of fighting Employment Tribunal claims. Due to the changes that have taken place they are no longer doing so, saying that they see insufficient benefit to their clients in such insurance. Instead they are providing free representation in Acas Early Conciliation negotiations and Employment Tribunals using their own expert team of employment lawyers and barristers. What is far more beneficial to their clients is that they will represent them regardless of the c