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3 Business Considerations You Must Plan For

Monday 28 December 2015

6 minute read

By Thrive HQ

Although you might have already prepared for or implemented the below three major HR and business changes, coming to all businesses, as law, soon, we thought it best to remind you of them.

Following on from the Summer Budget 2015 on Wednesday 8th July 2015 there were a number of new changes announced which will impact businesses in 2016.

Below are the main three changes to business legislation, which might be interesting for you as an employer or an employee...

National Living Wage 

From April 2016 the government will introduce a new mandatory National Living Wage for workers aged 25.

  • The National Living Wage will be £7.20, a £910 increase in earnings per annum for a full-time worker on the current National Minimum Wage.
  • The National Minimum Wage will continue to apply to those aged 21 - 24 years old. 
  • The government's objective is to have the National Minimum Wage of over £9 by 2020. 

More information on the National Living Wage.

Workplace Pension

The new State Pension will be a regular payment from the government that you can claim if you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.

  • The full new State Pension will be no less than £151.25 per week.
  • Your National Insurance record is used to calculate your new State Pension.
  • You’ll usually need 10 qualifying years to get any new State Pension.
  • You may have to pay tax on your State Pension.
  • If you reach State Pension age before 6 April 2016, you’ll get the State Pension under the current scheme instead.

More information on the Workplace Pension.

Dividend Allowance

From April 2016 the Dividend Tax Credit will be replaced by a new tax-free Dividend Allowance.

  • The Dividend Allowance means that you won’t have to pay tax on the first £5,000 of your dividend income, no matter what non-dividend income you have.
  • The allowance is available to anyone who has dividend income.
  • Headline rates of dividend tax are also changing.

 

You’ll pay tax on any dividends you receive over £5,000 at the following rates:

  • 7.5% on dividend income within the basic rate band
  • 32.5% on dividend income within the higher rate band
  • 38.1% on dividend income within the additional rate band

More information on the Dividend Allowance.

What's next?

Now you are prepared for 2016 and some of the official changes it may hold for you! If you are looking to 'Integrate Marketing Automation Software into Your Content Marketing Strategy in 2016' keep your eyes on your email inbox for our upcoming blog!

If you're looking to embark on a website build project, whether it's completely from scratch or a site refresh, our ebook will give you the knowledge to make your project as stress-free as possible.

The Website Design Handbook for Businesses

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