With the UK due to leave the EU on 29 March, 2019 looks set to be a busy year of changing legal horizons. At Sparqa Legal, we are constantly reviewing our content to keep it up-to-date with legal developments as and when they happen.
Looking ahead to the first half of 2019, here are some key legal developments for your diary:
14 January 2019
- New Trade Marks Regulations will mean, among other changes, that you will not always need to provide a visual representation of your trade mark (eg a graphic or drawing) when you apply to register it in the UK. You will instead be able to file your mark in other electronic formats, including MP3 or MP4, making it easier to register marks incorporating sounds and smells etc.
29 March 2019
- The UK is currently due to leave the EU at 11pm.
April 2019
- There will be increases in statutory sick pay, maternity pay and other family-related statutory pay rates for eligible members of your staff.
1 April 2019
- The National Minimum Wage rates will increase, with the rate for workers aged 25 and over increasing to £8.21 per hour.
- VAT-registered businesses with a taxable turnover of more than £85,000 will be required to use HMRC’s Making Tax Digital service to keep their records digitally. They will also be required to use specific software to submit their VAT returns to HMRC.
6 April 2019
- Employers will be required to provide payslips to all workers (eg casual workers), not just employees. Payslips will need to include additional information where workers’ pay varies according to the number of hours they have worked.
14 June 2019
- New advertising rules come into force to ban the depiction of harmful gender stereotypes in adverts.
We’ll be updating our content to reflect these developments and many more.
Sparqa Legal provides guidance, templates and checklists for your business to help you navigate your business’s legal issues. For more information visit www.sparqa.com.