The anticipated impact of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
July 14th 2015
David Le, Corporate and Commercial Solicitor, Genus Law
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 received Royal Assent on 26 March 2015 and makes significant changes to UK company law. Despite its name, the Act affects businesses of all sizes and is designed to increase transparency in the ownership and control of companies. It also aims to enhance the UK’s credentials as a trusted place to do business.
In the first of a series of articles, David Le, Corporate & Commercial Solicitor at Genus Law provides a snapshot of the corporate changes that will be implemented over the next 12 months.
The first set of changes due to take effect in October 2015 mean that:
– new directors will no longer need to consent to act as a director when notifying Companies House. Instead, the company will need to confirm that the director has consented to their appointment and Companies House will verify this;
– directors’ dates of birth will no longer be displayed at Companies House in full moving forwards;
– companies must have authority to use an address as their registered office and the Registrar of Companies will have powers to remedy the situation where they do not; and
– the process for striking a company off the register will be accelerated.
January 2016 will see the introduction of the most significant change to corporate procedures – the PSC Register. This will be filed with Companies
House and will contain details of any person that holds more than 25% of the shares or voting rights in a company, has control of a majority of its board of directors or can exercise significant influence or control over the company. It is vital that the UK is, and is seen to be, an open and trusted place to invest and do business and the government believes that knowing who ultimately owns and controls our companies will contribute to that objective. The intention is that the PSC Register will be publicly available from April 2016.
Further changes are due to be implemented in April 2016 which include:
– the prohibition of directors that are companies as opposed to individuals;
– amendments to how annual returns and statements of capital are filed at Companies House;
– the option to have statutory registers maintained on the public register at Companies House;
– new regulations in relation the disqualification of directors; and
– requirements to report on payment practices in the company.
This list of changes to corporate procedures, however, is by no means exhaustive and guidance is still in the process of being drafted. Whilst the Act is intended to provide clarity and increase transparency in the ownership and control of companies, it is likely that it will leave business owners across the UK with a list of potentially mundane and time-consuming tasks to ensure compliance. Companies should prepare themselves now by getting accustomed with the implementation phases and taking all necessary measures to ensure that they are in a position to comply.
At Genus Law, we provide a high quality and cost-effective company secretarial service to help you prepare for these impending changes and to take all necessary measures to ensure that you comply with the new regulations. Our fixed fees allow us to meet your needs for a transparent cost and we can remove the hassle, leaving you to concentrate on managing your business.
