10 minute read
Legal: New rules for freelancers come into force
Paddy Eaton: Key deals
Firm oversees games service sale
Law firm DWF, which has an office in Birmingham, has advised an Irish-based video games services company Keywords Studios plc on two acquisitions.
Keywords has bought games developer Climax Studios for £43m and acquired an 85 per cent interest in similar firm Tantalus Media. Climax is a UK company and Tantalus is based in Australia. These acquisitions join a list of dozens of companies bought by Keywords since 2014.
The firm was founded by exMicrosoft employee Giorgio Guastalla in 1998, in Leopardstown, and first became involved in the video game industry in 2004.
It was after the firm floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 2014 that it embarked on a strategy of expansion by acquisition.
The latest transaction follows others in the past six months, including Jinglebell Communications SRL (Italy), a provider of audio recording, music production and sound design services to the video games and advertising industries, and Indigo Pearl Ltd (UK), a full-service PR agency specialising in the video games sector, on which DWF also advised.
DWF’s corporate teams in the UK, Australia and Italy acted for Keywords on the two latest deals, led by London corporate partner Paddy Eaton.
He said: “We are hugely proud of our work with Keywords Studios, using our global platform to support such a dynamic business with its international growth.
“We look forward to seeing these businesses flourish as part of the Keywords family.”
Andrew Kennedy, head of legal at Keywords, said: “We were very pleased with the support provided by Paddy and the rest of the DWF team on these transactions and we look forward to working with them again as we continue to deliver on our growth strategy.”
A Birmingham employment law specialist has warned that giving employees the ‘right to disconnect’ could have a negative impact on flexible working policies.
Eileen Schofield, of Schofield and Associates and vice-president of the Greater Birmingham Transatlantic Chamber of Commerce, believes that implementing the right to disconnect would mean some of the flexible working benefits could be lost.
The right to disconnect has been enshrined in law in Ireland, and means that employees have the right to switch off from work outside of their normal hours, which includes responding to emails and other digital communications.
Ms Schofield (pictured) said that calls for a similar clause to be inserted in a forthcoming bill in the UK –the Employment Bill –have gained momentum, but this could potentially have a detrimental impact on future flexible working polices.
She said: “The principle of the right to disconnect is good and I believe that the UK should follow in Ireland’s footsteps - however, the timing needs to be right to work effectively. The pandemic has allowed companies and employees to realise the benefits of truly flexible working hours, which supports colleagues working around their home responsibilities. “While some staff have benefited from this flexibility, clearly others have struggled to truly switch off after work. “The right to disconnect is the right of an employee to not routinely perform work outside normal working hours –however, over the last 12 months not everyone has worked ‘normal hours’. “The challenge with applying a right to disconnect just now is that employees are becoming accustomed to choosing different working hours every day, but the right to disconnect is likely to mean that this total flexibility will not be completely viable.
“In my view, any such change as part of the Employment Bill should be deferred until at least late 2022 to allow employers and employees to determine the ‘new normal’ for their business.”
Warning as new rules for freelancers come into force
A Midlands employment lawyer has warned businesses across the region that sweeping changes to rules on using contractors or freelancers have now come into force.
The warning is from Sally Morris, partner and head of employment at Worcestershire law firm Mfg Solicitors, after the so-called IR35 changes came into effect last month.
The new rules see employers of medium and large businesses having responsibility for determining whether a contractor is ‘inside’ or ‘outside’ the business, either in the public or private sector.
These rules have been introduced by HMRC to crackdown on what it sees as people avoiding national insurance and income tax by supplying their services through personal service companies.
The issue has been rumbling on for years, and is widely seen to be aimed at well-heeled celebrities, such as footballers, TV presenters and actors.
Eamonn Holmes, Lorraine Kelly and Gary Lineker are among those caught up in the row.
According to the ‘Financial Times’, a tax tribunal last month heard that ‘Match of the Day’ presenter Lineker allegedly owed the taxman £4.9m after passing himself off as a freelancer, even though he was ‘effectively employed’ by the BBC.
The case is ongoing, and it should be pointed out that the taxman has already lost a number of these tribunals, with one organisation, ContractorCalculator, reportedly calling the Lineker situation ‘grossly unfair’.
Ms Morris said: “I am concerned that many businesses here in the Midlands are unaware of the seriousness and complexity of the new rules which came into force on 6 April. But they are here now and here to stay.
“In many ways the rules are an unfair burden on businesses who rely on using specialist contractors as from now a number of liabilities pass over to them. This includes them having to determine the status of the contractor for tax purposes and being responsible for issues such as National Insurance contributions and employment taxes if the contractor is a deemed employee.
“It’s an issue many don’t need but must understand if they are to stay on the right side of the new rules in relation to engagements with existing and new contractors. Those who don’t risk impact on their finances and their reputation.”
Ms Morris added that small businesses in the private sector are currently not subject to the same obligations but still have to comply with certain guidelines and conditions set out by HMRC in relation to IR35.
The new rules could rake in as much as £1.3bn in 2023/24, according to Mfg.
Sally Morris: New rules are an ‘unfair burden’
Switching off might impact flexibility
Prepare for the cost of redundancies
Smaller businesses looking to reduce their workforces should urgently prepare for the costs of redundancies, following changes to the coronavirus job retention scheme made late last year.
That’s the warning from human resources experts The HR Dept, which provides human resources advice and support for more than 6,500 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) across the UK and Ireland.
Rule changes last December mean that furlough grants can no longer be used to contribute towards notice pay, something that HR Dept believes many smaller businesses will be unaware of.
The firm believes this will prove a major challenge for some small businesses, many of which are struggling to survive this crisis, once the furlough period comes to an end in September.
HR Dept director Sara Abbott said: “Last year, employers could use the furlough grant to cover the redundancy notice period, topping up the remaining 20 per cent to full pay.
“Employers might not realise that this 80 per cent contribution towards notice can’t happen again. As things stand, changes in furlough rules mean that the employer will not be able to use the furlough grant and will need to pay the notice in full, without government support.
“Other employers may not understand employees’ statutory rights to notice periods, or age factoring when considering redundancy pay.
“In any case, employers need to be aware of these issues and start preparing now.
“Particularly where the employees facing redundancy have long service – this is likely, as they are the most experienced and will have been the most expensive to make redundant last year and remain on furlough – the coming costs could well push businesses under.”
To avoid this, the HR Dept is calling for a further change to the rules to allow the furlough grant to once again be used to contribute towards notice pay again, as was the situation last year.
Ms Abbott said: “If the furlough grants could be put towards notice pay again, employers could potentially start the redundancy process now. Then, if the situation proves less dire than expected, they simply retain the employee and stop the notice period – at no additional cost to the business or the taxpayer. If the redundancy still needs to take place, much of the notice pay cost has already been absorbed.
“It wouldn’t cost the Government any extra. However, with the reality of redundancies rapidly approaching, this measure would let small businesses take those decisions now, so we can avoid a mass of insolvencies further down the line.”
Sara Abbott: Government should reverse furlough regulation changes
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You have a Business, but do you have a Lasting Power of Attorney?
Ian Bond
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) appoint people to make decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself. These decisions can be in relation to financial or healthbased affairs.
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decisions for reasons such as incapacity, illness or being away on holiday. Your nominated attorney(s) would be able to pay wages, fulfil orders, sign documents and more.
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Without having your affairs in order, an application to the Court of Protection may be needed to appoint a deputy instead.
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