NHBF business update –Tuesday 11 June 2024

NHBF 2024 Annual General Meeting

The 82^nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Monday 1 July 2024 at 2pm at National Hair & Beauty Federation, One Abbey Court, Fraser Road, Priory Business Park, Bedford, MK44 3WH. 

Members are welcome to attend the AGM – please notify enquiries@nhbf.co.uk if you wish to attend. Only Members will be admitted.

Members are asked to look out for your email or letter with your link to cast your vote online.  Your vote counts!

To view the agenda and relevant documents please go to:  https://www.nhbf.co.uk/documents/nhbf-agm-2024/

Euro 2024 work sweepstake rules 

The UEFA EURO 2024 final tournament is scheduled to take place from 14 June to 14 July 2024. The host, Germany, will kick off the tournament against Scotland this Friday. England’s first game against Serbia takes place on Sunday 16th June.

Many businesses may plan to organise a company sweepstakes to raise money for good causes, or just for fun, as part of the tournament. You can run a lottery, raffle, tombola, or sweepstake with people you work with without needing a license. This type of activity is known as a work lottery.

To comply with gambling laws, everyone who is taking part in a work lottery must work at the same physical location, such as a salon or barbershop. It's not permissible to run a work lottery across multiple sites or through email or phone. You can only sell tickets to anyone who is present on the premises.

Read for full information.

Low Emission Zone Retrofit Fund 

Scottish micro businesses and sole traders that operate non-compliant vehicles in a planned low emission zone (LEZ) may be eligible for funding to install a solution approved by the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme. These solutions will prolong the vehicle's life and improve its emission standards, allowing it to enter an LEZ. The fund will help applicants avoid LEZ penalties and improve local air quality.

Find out more.

New phishing scam impersonating HMRC

Small business owners are warned to be on the lookout for scammers impersonating HMRC on social media such as X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook to gain access to confidential information like personal details and bank account information.  HMRC said that it will never ask for any confidential information through social media channels and to report any suspicious activity to HMRC and Action Fraud.

Campaigning for you on wages 

The NHBF submitted a detailed report to the Low Pay Commission on 7 June. The Low Pay Commission is an independent body that advises the government on wage rates. The NHBF response was based on data and input from members and sector businesses through the State of the Industry survey. It also considered views and opinions from the NHBF Policy Advisory Board, which is made up of members.

Rising wages have affected sector businesses over the last year, and as a result, recruitment intentions for both staff and apprentices have remained low. The affordability of apprentices is a major concern for small and micro businesses.

The NHBF response calls for caution and recommends that future wage rises to be balanced by targeted support from the government, such as employer support and apprenticeship incentives. NHBF will be presenting oral evidence to the Low Pay Commission in July, and NHBF members will participate in further regional visits to share their views in Wolverhampton following visits to Portsmouth and Dover.

Low pay commission UK visits 2024

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) is an independent statutory Non-Departmental Public Body set up under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 to advise the Government on the National Minimum Wage (NMW).

They are on the lookout for companies that might be interested in speaking to the commissioners about the impact of minimum wages on their business.  From 1 April 2024, the minimum has increased to £11.44 for those over 21-year-olds which is nearly a 10% increase from last year.  There are also adjustments for other age groups as shown in the link here.

How will the latest announcement affect your business planning?  How would you respond to the rising NMW?  LPC is also interested in talking to companies that are trying to raise their productivity, to showcase their learning journeys in their communication platforms.  The oral evidence given by the companies will be collated along with the research statistics for LPC to make their yearly recommendations to the government about the minimum wage.

If you would like to speak to the LPC Commissioners and bring up issues pertinent to your sector, please refer to the table of visits below and contact Rosina Robson from the NHBF.

Visits Schedule