DOING BUSINESS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Storbritanniens godt 63 millioner indbyggere og den store og åbne økonomi byder på et stort potentiale
for danske virksomheder som ønsker at etablere eller udvide sine eksportaktiviteter til et af Danmarks allerstørste nærmarkeder. Landets geografiske placering og de mange ligheder mellem det danske og det
britiske marked betyder endvidere at danske virksomheder har gode forudsætninger for at lykkedes på
markedet.
De mange ligheder til trods er der dog stadig forskelle mellem landende, og denne pjece har til formål at
oplyse om relevante forhold for både virksomheder og danskere i Storbritannien. Pjecen er udarbejdet af
Miller Rosenfalk Advokater (erhvervsret), Krogh & Partners (skat), Danske Bank (eksport finansiering), DSV
(logistik), Cintra (arbejdsmarked) og Den Danske Ambassade i London (forretningskultur).
Erhvervsret.
Af Miller Rosenfalck.
Juridisk tradition m.v
Engelsk ret er baseret på en anden retstradition end den danske; Common law. To af hovedforskellene er,
at der er færre udfyldende retsregler og at en sælger ikke har nogen loyal oplysningspligt. Konsekvenserne
heraf er dels at alt skal med i kontrakten (dette gælder også for ansættelseskontrakter), hvorfor denne
bliver væsentlig længere end hvad vi er vant til i Danmark, dels at der bruges mange resourcer på at undersøge forholdene (due diligence) inden, at der indgåes en bindende aftale. Køber tag dig i agt!
Selskaber m.v.
Der er to hovedformer af selskaber med begrænset ansvar; henholdsvis ”Private Limited Company” (ofte
forkortet ”LTD”) og ”Public Limited Company” (”PLC”). Kapitalkravene for et LTD er lave, typisk £1!, mens
et PLC skal have minimum £50.000. Et LTD er meget simplere at administere, mens et PLC er underlagt
strengere krav om offentlighed og regulering på en række områder. Alene et PLC har adgang til at sælge
sine ejerandele til offentligheden til såkaldte ”listed” eller ”quoted” priser.
KONTAKT
Miller Rosenfalck
T: +44 (0)20 7553 9930
E: [email protected]
W: www.millerrosenfalck.com
Aylesbury House
17-18 Aylesbury Street
London EC1R 0DB
Agenter og forhandlere
Hvorvidt man ønsker at hyre en agent eller forhandler til at markedsføre ens produkter eller ydelser i Storbritannien beror på en konkret vurdering af dels ens egen virksomheds forhold, dels det lokale markedssegment i Storbritannien. Såfremt man antager en agent, vil forholdet være omfattet af EUs direktiv om
handelsagenter m.v., hvorfor der også i Storbritannien vil være en række præceptive regler på området
vedrørende opsigelser, kompensation m.v. Hvis man antager en forhandler, er der generel kontraksfrihed
på området. I begge tilfælde anbefales det, at man benytter en skræddersyet, gennemarbejdet kontrakt til
at regulere forholdet.
Ansættelsesret
Det engelske arbejdsmarked lægger i høj grad vægt på aftalefrihed og domstolene tager udgangspunkt i at
ansættelseskontrakten indeholder parternes fulde aftale og forudsætninger. Domstolene blander sig som
udgangspunkt kun i selve ordlyden af kontrakten, hvis denne ikke sikrer den ansattes minimumsrettigheder. Ansættelseskontrakten udgør arbejdsgivers eneste mulighed for at minimere risikoen for tvister i relation til kontraktforholdet. Den ansattes ret til ikke at blive usagligt afskediget samt ikke at blive urimeligt
behandlet (diskrimination) er i højsædet som følge af omfattende procedureregler i forbindelse med afskedigelser.
KONTAKT
Miller Rosenfalck
T: +44 (0)20 7553 9930
E: [email protected]
W: www.millerrosenfalck.com
Aylesbury House
17-18 Aylesbury Street
London EC1R 0DB
Personal taxation/Corporation Taxation/VAT.
Af Krogh & Partners
An important part of doing business in the UK is to consider personal taxation, corporation
taxation and VAT. The areas are complex and professional advice should always be obtained
to avoid common pitfalls and misunderstandings. Below you will find a brief introduction to
these areas.
Personal taxation
As the main rule a UK resident individual is subject to UK income tax and capital gains tax on his worldwide income and gains. A non-UK resident individual is by contrast only subject to UK income tax on income arising from sources in the UK.
Individuals resident in the UK but domiciled outside the UK are taxable on most kinds of overseas income
and capital gains only to the extent of the amount being remitted to the UK if the remittance basis of taxation is chosen. Specific rules apply to individuals once these individuals have remained residents in the
UK, but domiciled outside the UK for more than seven years.
As can been seen from the above an individual’s exposure to UK tax is dependent on whether the individual’s tax status is determined as resident or domiciled. The taxable income for each fiscal year for an individual is calculated by aggregating income from the various sources with deduction being made for allowable items and personal allowances. The balance remaining is subject to tax.
The fiscal year for individuals runs from 6 April to 5 April.
For the fiscal year 2013/14 the personal allowance is GBP 9,440 and the basic rate is 20% for income between 0 and GBP 32,010. Income over GBP 32,010 until GBP GBP 150,000 is taxed at 40%. Income above
GBP 150,000 is taxed at 45%. Individuals with total income exceeding GBP 100,000 will have their personal
allowance reduced.
KONTAKT
Krogh & Partners Limited
T: +44 20 7256 8800
E: [email protected]
W: www.kroghandpartners.com
823 Salisbury House
29 Finsbury Circus
London EC2M 5QQ
Corporation taxation
Any profit generated in a UK company will be subject to UK
corporation taxation. In the following paragraph some
main guidelines of the taxation of UK Companies are explained.
UK corporation tax is levied on the worldwide income of companies incorporated in the UK.
Accounting profit is used as the base figure for calculating the tax liability. However, various
adjustments are made to this figure in order to arrive at the taxable profit ie. depreciation of fixed assets/
capital allowances and entertainment.
Every company liable to corporation tax is required, for every accounting year, to submit to the UK Tax
Authorities a set of accounts comprising of a profit and loss account and balance sheet and a computation
of the taxable income. Further a corporation tax return needs to be prepared and submitted. The financial
year for corporate tax purposes runs from 1 April to 31 March. Corporation tax rates are fixed by reference to the financial year ending 31 March and for year ended 31 March 2014 the main rate is 23% and for
small companies 20%.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
Value Added Tax is a sales tax levied on a wide range of goods and services. VAT is generally chargeable at
a flat rate, currently 20%. Certain items, primarily necessities such as food and personal transport are zero
rated with a VAT rate of 0%.
Any business entity with UK taxable supplies above a certain value (currently GBP 79,000 per year) is required to register for VAT. There are severe penalties for failure to register.
Once a company is registered for VAT periodic VAT Returns must be prepared and submitted to the UK
Authorities.
KONTAKT
Krogh & Partners Limited
T: +44 20 7256 8800
E: [email protected]
W: www.kroghandpartners.com
823 Salisbury House
29 Finsbury Circus
London EC2M 5QQ
Export Financing - Danske Bank
What does your business expect from a modern international bank?
Danske Bank Group, headquartered in Copenhagen, is the largest bank in Denmark and one of the leading
financial enterprises in northern Europe. It offers a full range of banking services, with an emphasis on retail banking. Danske Bank is divided into three business units – Personal Banking, Business Banking and
Corporates & Institutions – all of which span the entirety of the Group’s geographical markets.
Our passion for innovation enables us to offer groundbreaking technology including smart-phone and tablet banking. With our unique one-point-of-entry setup, you can do your business banking in several countries by one single login. We believe that this unique setup, is one of the reasons why, Danske Bank has
been voted Best Cash Management Bank in the Nordic Region.
Danske Bank London Branch was established in 1983 to support Nordic corporations in the UK. Since then,
our operations have expanded significantly, and today we offer a broad range of products and services to
our corporate and institutional client base throughout Europe. Our personal banking clients benefit from
our wide range of financial products and services, and our highly qualified advisers and experts provide
personal advisory services customised to clients’ individual needs.
KONTAKT
Danske Bank
London Branch
75 King William Street
London EC4N 7DT
T: +44 (0)20 7410 8000
Kontaktperson: Kenneth Kragh, Relationship Manager
W: www.danskebank.com/london
Logistics - DSV
In the UK, DSV operates from 29 locations and manages additional activities inhouse at various premises.
Whether you are looking to move a small urgent package or an entire plant, require storage or a 2 man
home delivery service, 1500+ DSV employees provide the local knowledge and expertise to ensure your
requirements are met on time, every time.
KONTAKT
DSV
T: +44 0844 880 0844
E:
W: www.uk.dsv.com
Scandinavia House
Parkeston
Harwich
Essex CO12 4QG
The UK Labour Market.
Af Cintra.
The Labour Market
The labour market in the UK can provide a rich source of knowledge and expertise, however there are many considerations to bear in mind when sourcing and managing a UK workforce.
Remuneration and expected benefits in the UK can vary tremendously, depending on the region and sector in which the company operates. Salary levels in the capitol are typically 20-40% higher than in the rest
of the country.
Contracts of employment are usually very detailed and will cover specific additional entitlements and/or
conditions for each employee. This will also typically incorporate a code of behaviour expected by the employee, including dress code.
Usual business hours for organisations in the UK are Monday to Friday, 9am – 5.30pm. Roles below a managerial level will typically be remunerated for working outside of these core hours. Flexible working is on
the increase but is still not widely implemented in practice.
Legal obligations
As an employer in the UK, you have a number of legal obligations to do with paying your employees. Pay
As You Earn, National Insurance Contributions and Workplace Pensions are the three main areas to be
aware of:
Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
PAYE is the system that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) uses to collect Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) from employees (including directors of limited companies). The tax and NICs is deducted throughout the tax year based on the employees' earnings and then paid to HMRC.
You must send PAYE returns electronically to HMRC each time you pay your employees as part of your
routine payroll processes. These returns must include details of all employees' pay, tax and deductions.
You must do this by sending a Full Payment Submission (FPS) on or before each payday, either by using
commercial payroll software or HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools. All employees must be included on your FPS, no
KONTAKT
Cintra HR & Payroll Services
T: +44 0191 478 7000
E: [email protected]
W: www.cintra.co.uk
Computer House
353 High Street
Gateshead
Tyne & Wear NE8 1ET
National Insurance Contributions (NICs)
As an employer, you pay NICs on the earnings you provide to or for the benefit of employees
earning above a certain threshold. NICs are calculated and deducted through the PAYE system when you operate your payroll and must be recorded on the Full Payment Submission
(FPS) and paid to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Workplace Pensions
All employers will have to provide workers with a workplace pension scheme by law over the next few years. The biggest employers started doing this in October 2012. This is called ‘automatic enrolment’. When
your business must start doing this (called a ‘staging date’) depends on how many people you have on
your payroll. By the staging date, businesses must be in a position to offer workers a workplace pension
scheme. You must enrol into the scheme all workers who: are aged between 22 and the State Pension
age; earn at least £9,440 a year; and work in the UK. You must make an employer’s contribution to the
pension scheme for those workers. The Pensions Regulator has more information for employers about
automatic enrolment.
Practical Considerations
In order to pay an employee, first of all you must register with HMRC for a tax reference. There are three
ways in which this can be done:

The company can be registered as a legal entity in the UK;

The company can have an Agent in the UK;

Direct Payment Scheme: where the employee is responsible for paying the tax direct. This is the
most infrequently used option.
KONTAKT
Cintra HR & Payroll Services
T: +44 0191 478 7000
E: [email protected]
W: www.cintra.co.uk
Computer House
353 High Street
Gateshead
Tyne & Wear NE8 1ET
Employer’s responsibilities
An employer has five key responsibilities:

Payment of tax and National Insurance;

Real Time Information (RTI) reporting to HMRC;

Attachment of earnings (e.g. Child Support Agency, Student Loan);

Workplace pension;

Issuing a pay statement.
The tax rate is variable, depending on the annual salary of the employee. A basic personal allowance of
£9,440 can be earned without incurring any tax. The basic rate of tax is 20%, which is payable on earnings up to £32,010. If earnings exceed this amount, the tax rate increases to 40%. Earnings over
£150,001 are taxed at 45%. These figures are current for the 2013/14 tax year.
As well as calculating and deducting employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs), the employer
must also pay a National Insurance Contribution for each employee, for which the current rate is 13.8%.
By law, every pay period you must issue a pay statement which gives your employee a record of pay and
deductions, including:

'gross pay' - before the deduction of tax or National Insurance contributions (NICs) and any other
deductions;

employee's Class 1 NICs deducted;

tax deducted.
Depending on the employee's circumstances you may also need to include other payments and deductions on their payslip. At the end of each tax year you must also give each employee who was working for
you on the last day of the tax year a form P60 end-of-year certificate. Form P60 provides a summary of
the employee's total pay and tax/NICs deductions for the year. You must give this to your employee by
31 May.
Employees are also entitled to certain statutory benefits which, if applicable, must be administered and
recorded through payroll, such as SMP (Maternity pay), SPP (Paternity pay), SAP (Adoption Pay)
and SSP
(Sick Pay).
KONTAKT
Cintra HR & Payroll Services
T: +44 0191 478 7000
E: [email protected]
W: www.cintra.co.uk
Computer House
353 High Street
Gateshead
Tyne & Wear NE8 1ET
Business Culture.
Af Den Danske Ambassade i London
Nabolandet Storbritannien byder kun på få og små barrierer af kulturel karakter for danskere,
der ønsker at begå sig på markedet. Men der kan alligevel være en række forhold hvor det er
værd at holde sig for øje at praksis og kutyme er anderledes i UK end i Danmark.
I ambassadens arbejde med danske firmaer har vi fået en vis fornemmelse for hvad der typisk overrasker
– og til tider frustrerer – danske virksomheder, når de først går i gang med det britiske marked.
Et gennemgående tema er at man skal forvente at bruge mere tid og flere kræfter på at få britiske beslutningstagere i tale, end man er vant til fra Danmark. Dette er en kombination af britiske virksomheder ofte
vægrer sig ved at udlevere navne på deres medarbejdere, en større magtdistance, som betyder at henvendelser ofte skal gå gennem en personal assistant (sekretær) og at det i Storbritannien ikke bliver anset for at være et særligt alvorligt brud på god tone ikke at reagere på henvendelser før man bliver rykket.
Når kontakt så er etableret kan man så opleve, at beslutningsprocessen – f.eks. for om et samarbejde
skal etableres – også kan være længere end forventet. Dette er igen bla. et udtryk for den større magtdistance, som gør at færre beslutninger i virksomheden er lagt ned til mellemledere.
Af mere takt- og tonemæssig karakter, er det værd at være opmærksom, på at briterne oftest lægger
mere vægt på at inkludere et element af small talk i et forretningsmøde; og de fleste tilfælde møder op
til disse mere konservativt klædt end normen er i Danmark. I det hele taget er høflighed en meget central
del af det britiske værdisæt – faktisk i en sådan grad at det til tider kan være vanskeligt for en dansker at
opdage at kunden/den potentielle samarbejdspartner har sagt nej, fordi det for den britiske samtalepartner er vigtigere at bevare den gode stemning under mødet.
Yderligere læsning:
Fish can’t see water, Kai Hammerich og Richard D Lewis
Watching the English: the hidden rules of English behaviour, Kate Fox
KONTAKT
Handelsafdelingen, Den Danske Ambassade i London
Kontaktperson: Helle Sejersen Myrthue
T: +44 (0)20 7333 0200
E: [email protected]
W: www.storbritannien.um.dk
55 Sloane Street,
London SW1X 9SR