Working-From-Home

Do you work from home?

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Do you work from home?

Do you have adequate insurance?

Climate change is increasing the likelihood and intensity of natural disasters such as floods, wildfires and hurricanes.

Last December, the UK Environment Agency updated its National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA), showing current and future flood risk from rivers, the sea and surface water for England.

It used its own data alongside that of local authorities and climate data from the Met Office.

The new NaFRA data shows as many as 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water, and with climate change this could increase to around eight million by 2050.

If you can’t afford to suffer damage to your business from increased risks of flooding it might be wise to check that you are adequately insured.

 

Energy-Bills

Good news on energy bills is coming hopefully

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Good news on energy bills is coming hopefully

If you work from home and have been facing higher costs there may be some relief in sight.

Energy bills are forecast fall by 9% from July – equivalent to £166 for the average household annual bill – after warm weather and trade tariff uncertainty triggered a decline in wholesale gas prices.

The price cap on how much suppliers can charge for gas and electricity will fall to the equivalent of £1,683 a year for the typical household, according to the leading forecaster Cornwall Insight, down from the £1,849 a year level set in April.

The energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, sets a price cap on household energy bills every quarter by using a formula that tracks wholesale energy prices, as well as providers’ network costs. The cap reflects the average annual dual-fuel bill for about 29m households and will take effect from July until the end of September.

Wholesale energy prices have fallen in recent weeks, driven by US trade tariffs and the impact of above average temperatures, which has reduced demand expectations and taken some pressure off prices in the short term, Cornwall Insight found.

Analysts at the consultancy now expect there to be a “very slight fall” in the price cap in October, followed by another decline in January 2026.

Tech-Support

How careful are you with your tech?

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How careful are you with your tech?

According to a poll of 1,000 SME owners commissioned by Samsung, businesses are losing an average of 98 hours annually due to technical issues, which translates to 12 working days.

The survey revealed that nearly a third of respondents struggle with slow internet, while another third face problems with outdated laptops.

The research indicates that 67% of SMEs have had to cancel important meetings due to tech failures, and 59% feel their devices often let them down.

Furthermore, 67% believe productivity could increase by nearly 40% with better technology.

This emphasises the point that as a SMA it is crucial to have tech support you can trst.

Why not talk to Ross-IT to see if we can help?

Lets-Get-Started

Start-ups facing overseas threats

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Start-ups facing overseas threats

The UK is at risk of becoming an “incubator economy” as tech start-ups are increasingly being acquired by international competitors, warns Universities UK.

If you already have a business in the UK and were thinking of expanding overseas it seems now is not a good time.

The analysis by Universities UK (UUK) predicts that with adequate support, around 27,000 new start-ups could emerge by 2028, generating a turnover of approximately £10.8bn.

Also City forecasters have revised their inflation expectations upwards while cutting growth forecasts for the UK economy. The average GDP growth forecast for this year has been lowered to just 1%, down from 1.1% in February. The OECD has also reduced its 2025 growth forecast from 1.7% to 1.4%.

So it’s steady as she goes for the time being but it remains to be seen what Rachel Reeves Spring statement says later this week.

National-Insurance-Records

Ensure you get your full state pension

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A looming deadline for people to plug gaps in their National Insurance record, to ensure they get the full state pension, has been softened.

Concerns over a rush of last-minute enquiries mean anyone who requests a call back from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on the issue will not be regarded as having missed the 5 April deadline.

People can currently make voluntary extra contributions to plug National Insurance gaps back to 2006.

But, after April’s deadline, this will be limited to the previous six years only.

Some people may have spaces in their National Insurance record if, for example, they have lived abroad or taken time off for caring responsibilities.

A spokesman for the DWP said an online tool would mean that people would be able to make top-up payments after the 5 April deadline, provided they complete the call-back request form ahead of that date.

Beware-Online-Recruitment-Scams

Beware online recruitment scams

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Beware online recruitment scams

With more than 100 job applications submitted per second on LinkedIn, scammers are increasingly targeting jobseekers with fake job opportunities. Indeed, according to research from security firm NordLayer, nearly two-thirds of British users have been targeted.

And the fake job ads aren’t by any means restricted to LinkedIn, with scammers also exploiting other genuine, reputable job websites, as well as targeting university students directly by email.

The scams work in two main ways.

“You get a job offer with some basic information that sounds very interesting, and there is a link where they say that if I click, I’ll see a presentation with details of the organisation and the job role,” says Jedrzej Pyzik, a recruitment consultant at financial recruitment firm fTeam.

“Then, after clicking through the link, there’s usually some kind of landing page where they require you to download something and log in and give personal details – this is the most common one I’ve come across.”

Another frequent scam is to ask “successful” job applicants to hand over money upfront, with a promise that they’ll be paid back – commonly known as an advance fee scam. They may be told that this will cover training, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks into their criminal record, travel fees such as visas, or equipment needed for the job. However, if a cheque ever arrives to cover these costs, it bounces.

So if you are recruiting only use trusted sources to find candidates.

Using-AI-to-make-meetings-more-bareable

Using AI to make meetings more bearable

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Using AI to make meetings more bearable

According to research 72% of meetings are ineffective and Elon Musk once said that “excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time”.

Your brain activity drops when you have a Zoom meeting, says a report, external by researchers at Yale University in the US, and the UK’s University College London.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Using AI can make a big difference.

Here’s how.

Rapidly expanding functions already include the AI transcribing the meeting for you, suggesting questions you might want to ask, summarising the meeting in point form, reminding you of who else is present,

Husayn Kassai is the founder of London-based start-up Quench AI, which makes AI-powered training software.

He predicts that in the future “everyone in the workforce will have some sort of AI coach accompanying them” to meetings.

It is claimed that Copilot is already having “a pretty significant impact” on people’s video meetings. “People are able to summarise meetings four times faster.”

One of the most common ways that you can use AI is to ask it what questions you should ask in a meeting. That will speed things up and help people stick to the point.

Working-from-home-debate

The work from home debate drags on

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The work from home debate drags on

Former retail boss of Marks and Spencer and Asda has fired off his own salvo in the return to office/ work from home debate.

Lord Rose argued: “”We have regressed in this country in terms of working practices, productivity and in terms of the country’s wellbeing, I think, by 20 years in the last four.”

Amazon, Boots and JP Morgan are just some of the businesses who now require their head office staff to be in every day.

The shift to working from home has transformed local economies. Industry estimates indicate that vacant office space has nearly doubled since the pandemic, a quarter of dry-cleaning businesses have shut down, and the number of golf games played during the working week has risen 350% – suggesting some people are mixing work and pleasure.

Lord Ross said in a BBC Panorama interview that working from home is creating a generation who are “not doing proper work”,

There is no doubt that working remotely require self discipline and commitment, but there are plenty of people who are self employed and working from home on their own businesses who do just that.

How do ou feel about the issue?

Let us know in the comments.

Inflation-Rising

Winter cold, heating bills and your business

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Winter cold, heating bills and your business.

Given the currently still increasing UK inflation rate, the latest UK budget has put even more pressure on businesses, with changes to the living wage, a reduced energy price cap, increased to employers’ NI contributions adding to the pressure on businesses.

the path of inflation going forward is unusually uncertain and Bank of England officials, who decide whether to raise or cut interest rates, are divided.

Four of the nine-strong Monetary Policy committee on Tuesday said it was not clear whether prices rises will accelerate or slow in the coming months. Much depends, as numerous members of the Bank of England have suggested, on the pass through of Budget measures into prices and wages.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey reiterated earlier in the week that future interest rate falls would be “gradual”.

But concentrating on productivity for yourself or employees is even harder when you are cold.

Is adequate heating something you can’t afford to restrict if you want to keep your business productive?

 

Good-Night-Sleep

A Good Night’s Sleep is essential

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A Good Night’s Sleep is essential

There is always too much to think about and to do when you’re a small trader  running your own business, so a good night’s sleep is essential.

But too many of us find ourselves lying in bed wakeful with so many thoughts running through our heads.

Almost three quarters of people in the UK (71%) don’t get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night, according to a study, external last year by insurance group Direct Line. It found that one in seven were getting less than five hours.

Sleep issues can be caused by a wide variety of factors, including stress, shift work and caffeine or alcohol consumption.

A lack of sleep plays a role in high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and even mental health problems, according to the UK Health Security Agency, external (which was previously called Public Health England).

And that spills over to the economy. One report says that sleep deprivation costs the UK up to £40bn a year in lost productivity., external

So what can you do to ensure you get a good rest so your brain is firing on all cylinders during the working day?

Rather than sleeping pills why not try the phenomenon of sleep stories – which are soothing tales provided via apps and podcasts.

Try a google to find out more.