by Sophie Hutchings

There have been several changes to rules and regulations in the Spring Budget 2024 that small business owners should be aware of and understand how they will affect their business. All changes in this list apply across the UK unless otherwise stated.

1 January 2024: Reporting rules for digital platforms

This new piece of legislation comes as part of the government’s efforts to clampdown on tax evasion, digital platforms such as Amazon, Airbnb, Etsy, Vinted and Uber that are used by individuals to sell goods or services will be now required to report information to HM Revenue & Customs about the income of sellers using the platform.

Platforms that fit this, must provide a copy of the information to the taxpayer to help them comply with tax obligations. Businesses that have earned more than £1,000 from trading as self-employed in the last tax year must register for Self-Assessment and submit a tax return.

Online marketplaces will not be asked to share data about sellers who make fewer than 30 transactions or £1,735 a year.

What it means for you – if you’ve got a side hustle selling on Etsy, it’s probably worth having a chat with an accountant about whether or not you need to register for Self-Assessment and avoid potential fines!

2 January 2024: 15 hours per week of free childcare

As confirmed in the Spring Budget 2023, free childcare will be extended to all children over 9 months. This applies to working parents who earn over £8,670 but under £100,00 per year.

• From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds can access 15 hours per week for childcare.
• From September 2024, working parents of children aged between 9 months and 3 years can access 15 hours per week.
• From September 2025, working parents of children aged 9 months and 3 years will be able to access 30 hours per week.

30 April 2024: Rules on food imports from EU to the UK

This new piece of legislation outlines the new rules in regards of physical checks and the importation of medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high-risk food (and feed) of non-animal origin from the EU.

UK importers of food, plants and plant products from the EU may now have to pay fees of up to £145.

4 March 2024: Changes to UK company law

The government’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act introduces several changes to company law that are designed to prevent organised criminals and fraud.

What is the government planning to introduce from 4 March?:

• greater powers to query information and request supporting evidence
• stronger checks on company names
• new rules for registered office addresses
• a requirement for all companies to supply a registered email address
• a requirement for all companies to confirm they’re forming the company for a lawful purpose when they incorporate, and to confirm its intended future activities will be lawful on their confirmation
• the ability to annotate the register when information appears confusing or misleading
• taking steps to clean up the register, using data matching to identify and remove inaccurate information.
• sharing data with other government departments and law enforcement agencies

What it means for you – You can no longer use a PO box address as your company’s registered address. You will also have to provide a registered email address. This is the start of the biggest changes to company law since the Companies Act (2006), and there are more changes coming!

1 April 2024: National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage

• The National Living Wage will increase from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour with the minimum age to qualify from 23 to 21.
• For 18-20-year-olds, the national minimum wage will increase to £8.60 per hour, a £1.11 hourly rise on the 2023 rate.
• The rate for 16-17-year-olds and apprentices will be increased by £1.12 to £6.40.

1 April 2024: Increase in VAT threshold

The threshold at which small businesses must register to pay valued added tax (VAT) will be increased from £85,000 to £90,000.

The VAT de-registration threshold will increase from £83,000 to £88,000. This means that if your VAT sales drop below that level you can de-register.

1 April 2024: Business rates relief extended in (England)

The UK government’s 75% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses has been extended from 1 April 2024 until 31 March 2025. The relief applies up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business.

6 April 2024: National insurance cuts

As announced in the 2024 Spring Budget, the main rate Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for the self-employed will be cut by 2p from April 2024, reducing the rate from 9% to 6%.

The main rate of employee National Insurance will decrease by 2p from 10% to 8% from 6 April 2024.

6 April 2024: Class 2 National Insurance Contributions abolished

Self-employed people with profits above £12,570 no longer required to pay Class 2 NICs, but continue to receive access to contributory benefits including the state pension.

6 April 2024: Reduction in dividend tax allowance

For 2024/25, the tax-free allowance under which no tax is payable on dividends will be reduced from £1,000 to £500.

What it means for you – Dividends aren’t as tax efficient as they used to be! However, in most cases they are still more tax efficient than a salary increase for owner directors.

6 April 2024: Reduction in capital gains tax allowance

For 2024/25, the tax-free allowance under which no tax is payable on capital gains will be reduced from £6,000 to £3,000.

6 April 2024: Flexible working changes (England, Scotland and Wales)

New regulations mean that employees have the right to request flexible working from the first day of a new job. Flexible working would include requesting to work from home.

Employees can make two flexible working requests in a 12-month period and reduce the maximum time an employer can take to decide on a flexible working request from three months to two months.

6 April 2024: Carer’s leave (England, Scotland and Wales)

The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 (Commencement) Regulations 2023 gives employees caring for a dependant with a long-term care need the statutory entitlement to one week of flexible unpaid leave per year, this right applies from the first day of employment.

6 April 2024: Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act (England, Scotland and Wales)

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 extends redundancy rights, so they apply:

• from the point an employee informs their employer they are pregnant
• until 18 months after the expected week of childbirth, the child’s birth date, or date of adoption, for employees returning from maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave.

This means that during this period, employees who fall into these categories have the right to be offered suitable alternative employment in a redundancy situation.

6 April 2024: Change to paternity leave

The change, which applies to fathers of a child who is due after 6 April 2024, or placed for an adoption on or after 6 April, can take paternity leave as a single period of one or two weeks, or as two separate periods of a week each.

Leave must finish within 52 weeks of the birth (or due date, if the baby is early), or within 52 weeks of the child’s adoption.

1 May 2024: Increase to Companies House fees

Companies House fees will increase following a review of the costs incurred by implementing the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. Various fees will increase including:

• Incorporating a limited company online: £12 to £50
• Registering a community interest company online: £27 to £65
• Incorporating a limited company by post: £40 to £71
• Changing a limited company name: £8 to £20

4 June: Customs Declaration Service

Businesses must submit all export declarations through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) by 4 June. It replaces the Customs Handling Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system. Businesses with customs agents should ensure their agent is ready to use CDS. Those without a customs agent should make their own declarations using software that works with CDS.

September 2024: Workers’ right to request predictable working pattern

The change in the Act provides a new statutory right for workers, including agency workers, to request a more predictable working pattern including the times they work or the length of contract. Once a request has been made, the employer must offer a decision within 1 month.

1 October 2024: Fair distribution of tips to staff

The Tipping Act, will make it illegal for businesses to hold back service charges from their employees, ensuring staff receive all of the tips they have earned.

A code of practice published by the government has outlined that employers must:

• pass on all tips and service charges to workers without deductions, except in very limited scenarios, such as deduction of income tax.
• ensure that tips are distributed in a fair and transparent manner.
• have regard to the code of practice on fairness and transparency of tip distribution when they are distributing or influencing the distribution of tips.
• maintain a written policy on how tips are dealt with at their place of business, and ensure this policy is made available to all their workers.
• maintain a record of all tips paid at their place of business and their allocation and distribution between each worker, to which workers have the right to request access. The code of practice will be statutory and have legal effect, meaning it can be introduced as evidence in an employment tribunal.

October 2024: Duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment of employees

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act make employers liable for harassment of their employees by third parties (such as customers or clients) and introduces a specific duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of staff.