Remember new October legislation, says ACCA

Date: 16th September 2008

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have been reminded of forthcoming legislation which takes effect from October 1st.

The advance warning has come from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), which has said that small businesses should prepare themselves for the impending changes.

Some of the major alterations will come under company law, such as the new minimum age for company directors being set at 16 and limited companies will now no longer be able to act as the sole director for another limited company.

Importantly, the standard rate of national minimum wage will rise to £5.73 per hour, with increases to £4.77 and £3.53 per hour for 18 to 21 and 16 to 17 year olds respectively.

There will also be substantial changes to consumer credit, with all businesses licensed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) soon being required to provide borrowers with much more information about their accounts.

Research last month found that over a third of SMEs were unaware of the impending rise in the national minimum wage rate.