UK SMEs are now more likely to accept excuses from late paying customers than before the recession hit meaning that many could be suffering with poor cash flow. This finding was as a result of an independently commissioned survey by positivecollections.co.uk, the online debt recovery service for businesses and consumers.
More than 260 business professionals across [...]

Confidence among the business services sector has improved slightly during Q2, despite the fact that output has declined over the quarter and the industry is performing well below levels seen before the recession, according to the latest Business Factors Index from Bibby Financial Services.
March saw a period of considerable growth in the business services sector, [...]

The CBI has commented on the Government’s announcement that the Equalities Act will be introduced from October. The CBI is the UK’s leading business organisation, speaking for some 240,000 businesses that together employ around a third of the private sector workforce.
Katja Hall, CBI Director of HR policy, said: “The Equality Act should in many [...]

Perceptions of male bias in the workplace are much greater among employees in small businesses than in the working population as a whole, according to new findings.
The research, which forms part of IFF Research’s Attitudes to Work study, shows while 10% of employees believe that men are treated better than women at work, this figure [...]

A new Five Point Plan has been announced by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), in a bid to create and retain jobs in a difficult economic climate.
Investment in training and apprenticeships, simplifying legislation and promoting part-time working are just some of the areas that have been highlighted as important by the FSB.
FSB national chairman, [...]

Red tape puts small companies off recruiting more employees, new research has claimed.
A report commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) suggests that while the sector is growing the number of workers it employs has fallen.
The study claims that increased regulation could be the cause of this, with just one in five of firms [...]

Small firms which offer on-the-job training are aiding in creating a skilled workforce but are not rewarded for doing so.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) advised official qualifications should be given to these firms and their employees as the training is currently unrecognised.
A survey from the organisation found learning by doing is the most popular [...]

A debate will be held at the London Stock Exchange this month to discuss two human resource (HR) approaches to employee money problems. The event, hosted by finance company AXA, will include a debate on whether the financial situation of an employee is the responsibility of the employer or not.Speakers for the Federation of Small [...]

Government efforts to cut red tape for businesses have not gone far enough and many firms are still grappling with burdensome regulations, it has been claimed.According to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), just one per cent of businesses believe regulation has become less time consuming over the last year.Some 40 per cent [...]

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on the government to reduce the burden of regulation on smaller companies ahead of the introduction of new worker training rights.Last month, Skills Secretary John Denham published a consultation into proposals which would give employees the right to request time off for training.While the FSB has acknowledged [...]