Continuing our series on state pensions, the state second pension is in addition to the basic state pension. S2P is also funded out of national insurance contributions but these will vary according to how much you earn.

Anyone earning between £3,900 and £10,800 initially, will be treated as if they earn £10,800. The S2P enables workers on low and moderate incomes to build up a larger pension than they would under SERPS. This will also benefit company directors who choose to pay themselves a low salary and those with interrupted work records e.g. parents of young children and disabled. 

Around 18 million people will benefit from the S2P, people earning less than £11,600 a year will earn around twice as much from S2P as they would from SERPS.

Contracts of employment

Many employers are still unaware of the fact that under the Employment Act 2002, they are legally bound to provide all employees with a written contract of employment even if they only have one employee.  

Failure to comply will result in compensation to the employee equivalent to a maximum of 4 weeks' pay.  

The author of this article Robin Nye is happy for you to contact him about your own employment contracts and as a special offer for our clients Robin is happy to give a free assessment of your contract documentation. Please email robin.nye@barncourt.org.uk if you are interested.

Strategic planning Seminar

We would like to thank those that attended the seminar last Wednesday. We hope you got a lot out of it and it made you think about what you want from your business.

If you couldn’t attend the seminar but would like information on our strategic planning days please email Cheryl@stephen-hill.co.uk

Quote of the week

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together"

Vincent Van Gogh