Creative HEAD UK January 2019

#BusinessEdit
VAT RETURNS
REMINDER FOR MTD
ARE YOU VAT-registered? If so, changes
to VAT returns are on the way. From
1 April 2019 if your salon is VAT-registered
you will have to keep your VAT business
records digitally and send in your VAT
returns using Making Tax Digital (MTD)
compatible software. This also applies if
you use the VAT Flat Rate Scheme.
If you already use software you need to
check if it’s MTD compliant. Hilary Hall,
NHF/NBF chief executive, says: “There
has been talk of delaying MTD for VAT
for another year, but you still need to be
prepared. Now is a good time to research
MTD-compliant software or talk to an
accountant or bookkeeper. The changes
will be more significant for salons who use
spreadsheets to prepare their information
and then type in their figures as this will
no longer be allowed under MTD.”
APPRENTICESHIP
RATES SET TO
BE SCRAPPED?
APPRENTICESHIP PAY RATES should be
scrapped in the long-term and replaced with
age-related National Minimum Wage rates, says
the influential Education Select Committee.
But NHF/NBF chief executive Hilary Hall has
warned against any such move: “Scrapping the
apprenticeship pay rates would have a massive
impact on the hairdressing industry, which is
one of the biggest employers of apprentices.
Apprentices would become unaffordable while
the competition for qualified and experienced
hairdressers would further intensify.”
UK HAIR AND BEAUTY
CONTINUES TO EXPAND
THE LATEST INDUSTRY statistics from the NHF/NBF have revealed the
number of hairdressing, barbering and beauty businesses across the UK
has gone up by 2 per cent to 42,370. “Salons and barber shops contribute
almost £7.5 billion to the UK economy, up from £7bn,” says NHF/NBF chief
executive, Hilary Hall. “More than half of hair and beauty businesses have an
annual turnover of under £99,000, while a third have a turnover of between
£100,000 and £199,000.” The stats also show a 26 per cent drop in the number
of people starting hairdressing and barbering apprenticeships in England in
2017/18 compared with 2016/17. “This is almost certainly due to the changes
to the new Trailblazer apprenticeship standards and changes to funding,
which we have campaigned hard against,” adds Hilary. Hair and beauty
salons are showing growth, but those offering hairdressing only are starting
to decline, with 217 more closing than opening in the past year.
Employers must prep for
triennial pension review
MOST SALONS BELIEVE their responsibilities are to manage pension
contributions for their eligible staff, to enrol new team members and remove
team members who leave. But three years after going live with pensions
auto-enrolment there’s a new hurdle for employers to jump over – the
‘triennial review’. Used to describe compulsory pensions re-enrolment for
some staff every three years, this review applies to all pension schemes and
employers can be fined if they don’t comply. The three-yearly pensions reenrolment
process typically means re-enrolling people who have previously
opted out of their employer’s pension scheme. This is intended to encourage
employees to think again about saving into a pension, but it does mean more
work for employers, warns the NHF/NBF. Employers have to choose a date on
which to assess all their staff to decide whether or not they meet the criteria
and therefore need to be re-enrolled. The date must fall within a six-month
window, from three months before to three months after the three-year
anniversary of their original staging date. Employers must keep a record of
assessments and need to write to staff within six weeks of re-enrolment.
22 CREATIVE HEAD