With everyone still reeling from the recent election and the unexpected situation that the country finds itself in, how are North East businesses going to fair? We've rounded up the most prominent policies from the Conservative manifesto that could affect businesses.
Please note; the policies below did not feature in the Queen's speech. However, some of these policies may still be implemented.
Corporation Tax
One of the most highly cited promises that the Conservatives made during the election campaign is to decrease corporation tax. They have pledged to decrease it to 17% by 2020, in the hope that it will bring trade and investment to the county in the wake of Brexit.
Corporate Pay Transparency
The Conservatives want more transparency over the pay differences between the chief executive and everyone below them in the company hierarchy. Their policy on corporate pay transparency will require businesses to publish the ratio between the lowest and highest paid employees.
As part of their plan to reduce the gender pay gap, the Conservatives are also looking for businesses employing over 250 people to provide more data on the pay difference between male and female workers. Both of these apply to listed companies only.
Employee representation in boardrooms
The government is planning to introduce a policy which would require businesses to guarantee worker representation on their boards. The Conservatives are hoping that this will benefit lower-ranking employees, and improve workers rights within businesses. This applies to listed companies only.
Immigration Tax
As part of their plan to reduce immigration, the Conservatives are planning to increase the Immigration Skills Charge to £2000 which could affect SMEs hiring employees from outside the EU. They intend to bring this policy into effect by 2022.
The Immigration Skills Charge must be paid by organisations for each non-EU worker they hire, if the employee works for the company for over 6 months. The charge is less for small enterprises and charities. There are some exceptions to this tax, which you can find out more about here.
National Insurance Holiday
The Conservatives have pledged to give year-long National Insurance holidays to businesses who hire ex-convicts, people with disabilities and those with mental health problems. It could also apply to those who have been unemployed for over a year, and those who have recently left the armed forces. However, it's currently unclear how this policy would be implemented.
Find out more about the Conservative policies that could affect your business here
