Mike Cherry

Nearly 60% of Business Owners Are Worried Brexit Will Damage Their Recruitment Plans

Nearly 60% of Business Owners Are Worried Brexit Will Damage Their Recruitment Plans

Shane Donnelly April 25, 2017 News

59% of UK small businesses are worried that immigration rules post-Brexit will damage their ability to recruit suitable staff, according to a report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The What Small Firms Want From Brexit report, which surveyed 1,236 FSB members, revealed that 56% of ‘EU-employers’ are worried about any changes to current employment legislation whatsoever – with 13% even considering moving their operations abroad or shutting their doors altogether. With regards current staff, 72% of respondents said they recruited said employees while they were already in the UK, while 95% have no experience in the current “points-based “system for obtaining work permits for non-EU citizens. In its recommendation to the government, the FSB urged Theresa May to g... »

Government Policies Still Leaving Business Owners Waiting To Be Paid

Shane Donnelly November 18, 2016 News

Five years’ worth of government policies have done nothing to help tackle the issues of late payments, according to The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Their report, Time to Act: The economic impact of poor payment practice, revealed that 30% of all small business payments are now late – compared to just 28% in 2011. 37% of all enterprises have run into cashflow difficulties at one stage in their life time, with 30% forced to use an overdraft - while 20% admit not receiving money owed on time has affected their profits. More worryingly for business owners, late payments can almost act as a death knell. It’s estimated 50,000 ‘business deaths’ could have been avoided in 2014, if payments had been made on time and as promised – adding an extra £2.5bn to the UK economy. Mike Cherry... »

Watch Out for The Small Print! Businesses Lose Billions for Failing to Spot Terms and Conditions

Watch Out for The Small Print! Businesses Lose Billions for Failing to Spot Terms and Conditions

Shane Donnelly August 22, 2016 News

UK small businesses have lost nearly £4bn in the last three years due to dodgy contracts with large suppliers, according to new research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The FSB’s latest report Treating Smaller Businesses Like Consumers – Unfair Contract Terms’ revealed that 2.8 million small enterprises have been victims of underhandedness by suppliers, with 75% of those affected being hit at least twice in the past three years. Suppliers failing to make auto-rollover clauses clear up front (24%) was the biggest gripe of business owners, followed by lengthy notice periods (22%), high early termination fees (20%) and concealed details in the small print (20%). When placed in such a situation, 40% of small firms said they felt ‘powerless’ to do anything about the unfair contra... »

Regional Businesses Outlive London Enterprises

Shane Donnelly August 1, 2016 News

Regional businesses are outliving their London counterparts with just 33% of small enterprises from the nation’s capital reaching their fifth birthday, according to a report by eBay UK. Based on figures from the Office of National Statistics, the survey revealed that the South West region has the healthiest survival rate for small firms with 45% still active past the five-year mark compared to 44% in the East of England and 42% in Scotland, while the national business survival-rate after five years sits at 42%. When broken down into local authorities, businesses founded in the Shetland Islands (56%) were found to be the ‘most resilient’ followed by Melton (53%) and Purbeck (53%) yet no area in London featured in the top 10 areas for top survival-rates – suggesting regional businesses are m... »