World leaders pledge to clean up corruption
Editor | 20 May 2016
Anti-corruption
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London housing
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David Cameron
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Nigeria
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Tax havens.

An anti-corruption summit held in London last week reached several key agreements to help tackle worldwide corruption.

The summit will have important consequences for big companies hiding their money in certain tax havens and on the UK property market, where foreign companies will be forced to declare their interests in any property owned.

The summit made headline news for the wrong reasons before it had even started. Thanks to a blunder from David Cameron, the summit gained more press coverage than it otherwise might have received. 

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Spotlight on NHS agency staff
Editor | 10 May 2016
agency workers
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nhs
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Healthcare sector
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Junior doctors
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Flexible labour force.

With the population growing and deficits getting bigger at many hospitals up and down the country, all have been told to keep an eye on costs.

Guidance released last year asked hospitals to watch their staffing levels and extend the life of machinery and equipment

But one of the biggest targets in the cost saving exercise has been agency staff.

The spiralling cost of employing agency staff, which is set to cost the NHS £4bn this year, is one of the biggest reasons for the £2.2bn overspend. 

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Umbrella.co.uk launches new logo and strapline
Editor | 5 May 2016
umbrella
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accountancy
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insolvency
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taxation
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payroll
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cloudaccounting

Umbrella.co.uk have today launched our new Umbrella Logo with the strapline:

account | consult | reward

This change has been made to reflect that we offer more than just a contractor umbrella company or limited company accountancy services to contractors and freelancers.

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The Great Umbrella Bake Off 2016 begins!
Editor | 20 May 2016
bake off
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umbrella
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accountants
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baking
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flower cake

The Great Umbrella Bake Off 2016 begins! Umbrella Accountants will be battling it out with their baking skills.

This week Sarah Smith’s Glitter ball and edible flower chocolate fudge cake has set the baking bar high!

We have 20 staff taking part so expect more than a bakers dozen of delicious cakes over the coming months! To make sure everyone in the department takes part they have the motto “No Bakey, No Cakey!”

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HMRC error in travel and subsistence bill
Editor | 6 May 2016
Travel and Subsistence
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hmrc
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self employed

HMRC has been forced to issue revised guidance to contractors engaged through employment intermediaries after it made a drafting error in the travel and subsistence rules. 

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SMMT warns against overloading vans as their UK total reaches 4 million
Editor | 5 May 2016
van leasing
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umbrella
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contractor cars

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has warned that van drivers overloading their vehicles could be negating safety technology advances in the commercial vehicle sector. During 2015, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) weighed 2,381 vans and found that 88.5% were overloaded compared to 84% the previous year.

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