Business basics — answers to your common retail problems

Dismissal of a disabled staff member
Question I recently appointed a young man with a physical disability to join my small team. Despite warnings he is constantly late and on some days fails to turn up at all. Taking his disability into account I have held back from sacking him, but I feel I need to take action for the sake of my business. How should I go about this?

Answer Employers with less than fifteen staff are now no longer exempt from legislation that protects disabled employees.

Previously, you could have dismissed this person for his failure to turn up on time, but now this could get you into trouble. Irrespective of his length of service, the worker will be able to claim discrimination if he can show that termination of his services was for a reason connected with the disability. Compensation for disability discrimination can be unlimited — it is frequently in excess of £100,000.

A tribunal will not be lenient for a smaller firm, since the amount of compensation is based on the injustice suffered by the claimant, rather than the employer’s ability to pay.

Professional advice should be sought from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service

VAT on entertainment
Question Last year I threw a staff party on a narrow boat to improve morale. This token of thanks improved things no end and I intend to make it a regular event. Can I claim back the VAT element of the expense.

Answer You may have to argue this out a bit, but a tribunal has declared that entertainment provided by a company to its employees “in order to maintain and improve staff relations” is for business purposes, so you can recover the VAT.

Problems may arise if you also invite guests, (eg, spouses) because the cost of entertaining these is non-deductible. If in doubt, check with your local VAT office.

Storing insurance certificates
Question How long must I keep certificates of employer’s liability insurance for? I have some relating to staff who have left or retired and I want to be rid of them.

Answer If the certificates expired before 1 January 1999, you can throw them away. You must keep copies of all later certificates for a minimum of 40 years. This is because claims for illness or diseases caused by past employment can be made many years after the health problem was caused.