Weathering Welfare Reform

Social housing is dependent on rental income to remain financially viable. Much of this income is currently dependent on Housing Benefit. The imminent changes are expected to have significant implications for housing providers and their tenants. In principle, the public, those providing support to vulnerable groups and housing providers understand the need for welfare reform, with the true aim being to provide assistance to help people back to work and stability.

Despite the Government's commitment to exclude single people under 35 who fall within specified vulnerable groups, from the full impact of the benefit cap, by committing to pay the one bedroom rate rather than the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR); there will undoubtedly be a significant impact on many households and particularly young people under 35 and care-leavers. Households, already severely stretched and increasingly dependent on charities and food banks, will struggle and there is a real risk of more people becoming homeless or falling below the poverty line.

Manchester Homelessness Fund

In his first few days in office, the newly elected major of Manchester Andy Burnham has launched a fund in a bid to tackle the growing issue of homelessness in the city.

Homelessness has been a growing issue in Manchester over the last few years with the number of people living on the streets quadrupling since 2010. According to a Manchester Evening News article, published in January, rough sleeping in Manchester has increased a massive 41% in the last year alone with at least 189 people sleeping on the streets in Greater Manchester.

Duty Bound to Report Payment Practices: Larger Companies and LLPs Take Note

The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 have very recently come into force. These regulations impose new duties for qualifying large companies and LLPs to comply with. Such qualifying companies must now publish a report detailing their payment practices in relation to “relevant” contracts. This information includes the company’s standard payment terms and periods, and any details of where these may vary. In addition, the report calls for details of payment performance – specifically the amount of days before payment is made, and details of how many payments are made over a period and when..

Forbes’ Housing & Regeneration Workshops - 27 & 28 June, Manchester

Forbes’ Housing & Regeneration specialists have put together a programme of free workshops which run during the CIH Housing 2017 conference. The workshops are listed below and more information is available via the links.

To book your place please click on the session you would like to attend and complete the online booking form.

 Location : 2 minutes’ walk from Manchester Central

Questions our Employment & HR department have been asked this month

Q. We have a Consultant whom works 4 days a week on a variety of projects. In light of the recent cases about self-employed status, is the Consultant self-employed?

A. Whether or not the Consultant will be self-employed will depend on a number of factors. Principally, a key factor is whether the Consultant considers that they are self-employed. This may be evidenced by the existence of a limited company in which they invoice through. If the Consultant considers that they are self-employed and understands the nature of being self-employed, then there is arguably less risk of any claim being brought. The large number of cases which have been brought (such as Uber, Autoclenz and CitySprint) have been on grounds of the enforcement of rights which workers are afforded. They have been successful, as the Tribunal has been reluctant to accept the presence of clauses within contracts which purport to demonstrate that the individual is self-employed, when reality suggests otherwise.