I attended the first in a series of business start-up taster workshops run by Leeds City council on Monday. The meeting offered 6 speakers, with support and information for those interested in starting up their own business. I found that I had already passed through this stage as most of the information provided I had already learned, but the speaker from HMRC was quite helpful.

The most interesting thing I learned was that an employee benefits from their employer paying National Insurance contributions of 13.8% when they earn £144.01/week  but the employer does not have to pay National Insurance contributions (at 12%) until they earn £146.01/week. Therefore there is a sweet spot of earning £145/week when the employee gets the contributions from their employer, but doesn’t pay them themself. I’m not sure whether the amount of NIS contributions really makes any difference at all in the light of the recent announcment of a fixed rate state pension.

Here is the agenda for these meetings…with a link below:

1. An overview of business support within Leeds –  Leeds City Council
2. How to access, Business and Patent Information Services  – Library Business Services
3. Business advice and guidance  – Leeds Chamber
4. Making Tax & Book keeping less painful  – HMRC – Business Education & Support Team
5. Maximising your marketing ability  – Chartered Institute of Marketing
6. Are you eligible for the  Enterprise Allowance scheme? – Job Centre Plus
7. Networking (between speakers and attendees)

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Events/Pages/business-start-up-taster-workshop.aspx