Spudulike collapses leaving all 300 staff redundant

Spudulike, the baked potato chain, has collapsed leaving all 298 staff redundant and facing the agony of submitting claims for lost wages.

Administrators confirmed in a statement on Monday that all 37 of the Spudulike group’s outlets and head office were shut on Friday after a last ditch sale of the business fell through.

It marks the latest casual dining business to fold following a torrid time for the sector which, like wider high street retail, has been battling a toxic cocktail of weaker consumer demand at a time of higher costs.

It has seen the likes of Jamie’s Italian be declared insolvent, while others to find trouble and close restaurants have included Prezzo and Carluccio’s.

Spudulike is understood to have been in distress for some time and had sought a controversial Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in a bid to secure rent cuts from landlords.They opposed the plan due to the scale of the reductions being sought.

Joint administrator Neil Bennett, from the business services firm Leonard Curtis, said: “We are very disappointed with the outcome after working for several weeks firstly preparing a CVA proposal, which was rejected by the group’s creditors, and subsequently pursuing the sale of all or part of the group’s business and assets with a number of prospective purchasers.

“Sadly a sale of the business and assets of the group on a going concern basis did not prove possible, following the last minute withdrawal of an offer that was close to completion.”

He added: “We are now focusing on seeking any interest in the group’s remaining assets whilst managing the impact of the closures on former employees.”

It has been reported that staff are owed at least two weeks’ wages – with some left even further out of pocket.

Mr Bennett later said: “All employees will be able to make claims for their wage arrears, together with accrued holiday pay, statutory notice pay and redundancy pay, from the government’s Redundancy Payment Service.

“We are currently working towards finalising the employee arrears information so that our instructed agents, Evolve IS, can prepare the employee claim calculations and circulate them to employees and the Redundancy Payment Service, helping them prepare and submit claims for any arrears of wages, statutory notice entitlement and redundancy pay.”

Effective ways to manage the cashflow of your business

Cash is a fundamental element of the management of a business, it is the financial pillar that keeps it in balance at the risk of seeing it languish under the weight of bankruptcy.

It deserves to be managed with attention and a lot of professionalism. How to get there? Here are some tips for managing the cash flow of your business.

What is cash and why manage it?

It is the capital available to a company to use for its needs. Cash allows the company to use its financial resources, but it often happens that some companies go through difficulties that do not allow them to have sufficient financial resources. In this case, the company is unable to finance some of its investments which can have serious incidents on it. This lack of availability can force it to close its doors, hence the need to manage cash well.

Good cash management enables the company to avoid cases of default and save money, like services such as pay calculator take home can serve you well for manages your cash flow. It also allows the company to grow the surplus through long-term investment.

How to manage the cash flow of your company?

Since the company’s survival depends on its cash flow, here are some tips that will help you manage it well.

Negotiate bank loans

Certainly, these rates and interest rates can weigh on the company, but it is always good to start an activity by using a bank for a loan to finance equipment, premises, stocks. To qualify for this credit, you must be a competent entrepreneur, stand up to the competition and have a viable business.

Using an indicator, build your cash flow

Enter your opening balance and any financial movements you make monthly. You will have the opportunity to appreciate, to comb through your cash, and even to anticipate some problems. Similarly, it is important to keep track of incoming and outgoing payments made during the month.

Maintain good relationships (trust) with your customers and suppliers

This in order to bring more money into your coffers . Offer discounts to customers who pay their bills instantly and request an extension within the timeframe for paying your bills to your suppliers . Once this period has been granted, pay cash and meet immediately. Likewise, do not be afraid to be hard on bad payers when it comes to recovering your debts.

Make your operations simple by avoiding enough waste

It’s a good idea to increase production and make your business profitable, but watch out for overproduction, bottlenecks and other waste that can lead you to bankruptcy. Have your employees participate in the growth of your business. 

Finally, finding the right balance to manage your business cash flow is a top priority for longevity and success.

2020 foresight for employers

There are several practical steps which businesses should be taking now to prepare themselves for important changes to employment law which will take effect on 6 April 2020.

Statements of written particulars

The obligation for employers to give written statements of employment particulars will be changed in three key ways. The right will be extended to cover workers as well as employees. The statement will have to be issued on or before the first day of employment, rather than within two months after employment starting. It will need to cover additional information, such as probationary periods, benefits and how any variable working hours are decided.

Businesses should review their template contracts for employees and casual staff in preparation for taking on new joiners. They should assess which benefits will need inclusion as contractual benefits. They will need to determine how to articulate their flexible working patterns, for example covering shift workers or staff on zero hours contracts, in the contracts.

New rules for calculating holiday pay

Currently holiday pay for employees with variable pay is calculated by looking at the pay received during the previous 12 weeks. This reference period will be changed to 52 weeks, or the total length of employment if the employee has been employed for less than 52 weeks. The reason for this change is to ensure that holiday pay reflects the employee’s normal remuneration, and to remove anomalies in holiday pay calculations depending on the particular time that holiday is taken.

This change will affect employees who do not have normal working hours, and those who have normal working hours, but their remuneration varies with the amount of work done, or the time the work is done – which includes employees who are regularly paid overtime or sales-based commission.

Employers will need to ensure that their payroll systems are brought up to speed with the new reference period for calculating holiday pay, liaising as appropriate with their external payroll providers. They should assess whether this change to the calculation of holiday pay will have an impact on the annual costs of paying holiday pay, for example if staff typically take their paid holiday during quieter periods of the year when there is little paid overtime. They should also plan how and when to introduce this change, for example whether to implement this change from the start of their next holiday year rather than when the law changes in April 2020. It will also be a good opportunity to review variable pay arrangements across the business and to check which elements ought to be included in holiday pay calculations in order to comply with the Working Time Regulations.

Changes to the tax treatment of off-payroll working

From 6 April 2020, changes to tax legislation regulating off-payroll working (known as IR35) also come into effect. These new rules will require larger private sector businesses to deduct income tax and National Insurance contributions via payroll from fees for services paid to a personal service company (PSC) in cases of “disguised employment”. These are where the business determines that the individual performing the services would be regarded as their employee for tax purposes if they were engaged directly and not through their PSC.

The reforms will require the client company to determine the correct position for each engagement and notify the other parties involved. The client company will also need to review its determination, if this is challenged by the individuals, or their PSC. These reforms are already in place in the public sector.

Companies should firstly check whether they will be in scope of the IR35 changes. The changes will not apply to a company which falls within the definition of a ‘small company’ under the Companies Act 2006.

They then need to undertake a comprehensive audit of all their off-payroll working arrangements. This will require a factual investigation looking at the specific working practices on the ground, as well as a review of the relevant contractual documents. The Government’s online CEST tool can be used to assist. This audit process should be started as soon as possible, to allow time to reflect on the outcomes of the audits, to obtain any necessary legal advice and to discuss the results with each PSC.

Businesses should also consider the potential for wider implications of their IR35 determination. Strictly speaking the legal test for deciding employment status for tax purposes is distinct from the similar tests for employment law purposes, however relevant factors which are considered substantially overlap. If the individual should be taxed as an employee, there is a strong chance that they could be considered as an employee or a worker for employment law purposes. This may lead to expectations from the individual that they should receive associated statutory entitlements such as paid holiday and sick pay.

In addition to the provisions highlighted above, there are further changes which will come into play from 2020 onwards. With this volume of change, preparation will be key, if businesses want to be in shape before the changes take effect and they want to minimise the financial impact of those.

Rhona Darbyshire, Partner and Head of the employment team at Cripps Pemberton Greenish

Unite calls off Heathrow strikes set for busiest two days of the year

Strikes by 4,000 Heathrow airport workers on Friday and Saturday have been called off so they can vote on a new pay offer.

The strikes would have hit flights on one of the busiest weekends of the summer.

The Unite union said it would not give details of the offer until members had considered it.

Two more 48-hour strikes from 5 August and 23 August are currently still on the cards.

Earlier in July, Heathrow staff rejected an 18-month pay rise offer averaging 2.7%.

At the time, the union said the workers were angry over pay rates, including different pay rates for the same job.

There was also disquiet over the pay package of airport boss John Holland-Kaye, who got £4.2m in 2018, up from £2.1m in 2017, mainly thanks to a long-term bonus scheme.

Separately, on Tuesday British Airways lost a legal bid to stop its pilots from going on strike over pay in the summer holiday season, but said it planned to appeal against the decision.

The pilots’ union has yet to set any dates for industrial action.