17 May 2022
Latest NHBF update – 17 May 2022
This week's update covers:
- Queen Speech 2022: What it means for the Hair & Beauty industries
- Low Pay Commission wages survey – your views please
- Low Pay Commission regional visits
- Levelling up panel discussion
- GDP falls in March amid record trade deficit
- T Level webinars
- Ban on exclusivity clauses for low-paid workers
- VAT penalties and charges guidance
Queen Speech 2022: What it means for the Hair & Beauty industries
HRH, the Prince of Wales, represented the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament on May 10, 2022, signalling the start of the parliamentary year. It was only the third time in the Queen's 70-year reign that she did not open a session of Parliament.
The Government writes the Queen's Speech. It lays out the Government's agenda for the new session of Parliament. The Government's proposed legislation for the new parliamentary sessions includes 38 bills ranging from tackling climate change to levelling up.
Low Pay Commission wages survey – your views please
The Low Pay Commission is the body which makes recommendations to the government about future increases to the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage. As you know, the most recent increases took effect in April, despite serious cost pressures on business.
If you have employees or apprentices, we want to know if and how this will affect your business and what effect future rises might have.
Your views are crucial in helping give a clear picture of our sector. We will use your response to supplement a recent skills survey and our quarterly state of the industry surveys:
Your responses are strictly confidential.
The survey will take less than 5 minutes to complete and closes on Wed 25 May at 5pm.
Low Pay Commission regional visits
To find out more about how the minimum wage has affected businesses, the Low Pay Commission will be visiting regions across the UK. If any Members are interested in speaking to the commissioners at any of the following locations, please get in touch with the NHBF enquiries team at enquiries@nhbf.co.uk
15-16 June Conwy and Llandudno
6-7 July Hastings and Rother
3-4 August Derry
Levelling up panel discussion
The Secretary of State recently hosted a panel event on the role of businesses in Levelling Up, with panellists including Dr Helen Turner (Midlands Innovation), Dr Susie Mitchell (Glasgow City of Science and Innovation) and Tristia Harrison (TalkTalk).
The panel answered questions from viewers including on how industrial areas can transition to net zero, attracting private investment into regions and overcoming existing barriers to productivity. The full discussion is available to view on YouTube.
GDP falls in March amid record trade deficit
ONS figures show that GDP fell 0.1% in March and the UK's trade deficit, at £25.2 billion, is at its greatest since records began.
T Level webinars
The Department for Education is holding a series of webinars for employers on how T Levels can help their business, with
How might industry placements work for your legal, finance and accounting roles? on 18 May; Choosing and building a strong relationship with a T Level provider on 24 May; and The role of the line manager and mentor - hosting young people in the workplace on 31 May.
Ban on exclusivity clauses for low-paid workers
Exclusivity clauses banning workers from working for multiple employers will no longer be allowed on "contracts where the guaranteed weekly income is on or below the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 a week", the Government has said. The clauses have been banned for people on zero hours contracts since 2015.
VAT penalties and charges guidance
HMRC has published guidance on the upcoming changes to VAT penalties and VAT interest charges, which will cover VAT periods starting on or after 1 January 2023.
From 1 January 2023, HMRC will charge late payment interest from the day your payment is overdue to the day your payment is made in full.
Late payment interest is calculated as the Bank of England base rate plus 2.5%.