Business Update May 2007

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Doing your bit "Supporting charities and getting actively involved in the local community is a rewarding experience for businesses, regardless of their size," stresses Susan Hinchcliffe, regeneration and ...Tax breaks for green vehicles According to the Energy Saving Trust, annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from UK road transport have doubled to 38.5 million tonnes since 1970. The Government is hoping to cut this figure by ...Rules for online trading The ease with which you can start trading online means that what begins as a way of shifting unsold stock or making pin money can quickly become a main source of income. But sidestepping the ...Profiting from service providers Employing an external service provider can be the most cost-efficient way to deal with many of the processes that underpin your business. Most businesses rely on other firms for a wide range of ...Q&A: Local networking Heather White (HW), director of networking consultancy The Magic of Networking, tells Tom Whitney how networking locally can help you develop your business.Why should I network locally?HW: It keeps ...10 ways to... spring clean your business Review your business plan. Be honest - are you on track to meet your targets? Consult with peers or a business mentor and update the plan with realistic objectives for the coming year. Are you ...New Pension Regulator's guide on inducements to transfer out of final-salary schemes The Pensions Regulator has published a guide to help employers, trustees and scheme members to work out and understand the implications of inducements to employees to transfer out of defined-benefit ...New bank holiday for workers in Scotland Businesses with workers in Scotland need to be aware of an additional bank holiday created by an Act of the Scottish Parliament. The St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007 designates 30 ...Case law: confidentiality and non-competition clauses Employers will be encouraged by a recent decision upholding a confidentiality agreement and non-competition clause contained in an employee's contract of employment. The employee left a company ...Case law: ownership of invention created by employee The position of employers has been strengthened by a recent decision concerning the ownership of an invention created by an employee. The employee in this case, who worked for an investment ...Case law: multiple comparators in equal pay claim A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) allowed an employee to compare herself with more than one fellow worker ('comparator') in an equal pay claim, making it even more important ...Case law: part-time workers and bank holidays Employers will welcome a recent decision concerning a part-time worker's entitlement to be paid in lieu of working on bank holiday Mondays. In this case, an employee worked on Tuesdays, ...Case law: monitoring of employee's communications infringes human rights Businesses must have clear policies in place to regulate any necessary monitoring of their employees' telephone, email and other communications at work, following a recent decision of the European ...Case law: anonymity of witnesses in disciplinary proceedings A recent decision offers useful guidance on the ability - or otherwise - of an employer to preserve the anonymity of an employee who provides evidence as part of a grievance ...New website launched to help you manage work-related driving Businesses should have a 'driving for work' policy, and help is at hand in the form of a new website launched by the Department for Transport (DfT). The Driving for Work website has three main ...A member of my team has handed in their notice... Staff turnover is a fact of life for any business, and even your most dedicated employee will want to move on to a fresh challenge eventually. It might be a surprise when a key member of your team ...Case study: How supporting charity has strengthened my business THE ISSUE: The mutual benefits of giving to good causesTHE SOLUTION: "I set up Happy Computers in 1990 with the aim of making a positive impact through everything the firm does. We're in ...