October

Welcome to our first audio newsletter. In this programme, we're at the Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie Renewables Conference in Edinburgh looking at the onshore wind industry. We'll also hear from George Stevenson of our Family Business Solutions on why an outside adviser can make a huge difference to family businesses. We'll be asking, in the month where a tanker of shale gas sailed up the River Forth despite fracking being banned in Scotland, what happens when business profits seem to be in conflict with the public interest. We'll also hear how identity fraud is increasing, why parents of premature born babies are lobbying for changes to the law around maternity leave and who thousands of people are seeing their financial reputation damaged by court judgments they didn't know they had.

There are around 60,000 family businesses in Scotland, creating around 45% of the country’s GDP. But conversations that begin around the boardroom table often continue around the dinner table and that can put pressure on the family and the business. That’s when a Family Business Solutions adviser can help. George Stevenson is one of our consultants and knows first hand what happens when family and business collide.

Now, are you an ethical person? most of us can answer yes, but what’s more difficult to agree on is what we mean by ethical. This year Apple were in the news after the EU found they hadn’t paid nearly enough tax on their European profits. In October the company INEOS imported a tanker full of shale gas to their refinery at Grangemouth, despite the extraction process being currently banned in Scotland. Starbucks has made headlines for paying a relatively modest amount of corporation tax, while on the other hand Scottish sandwich chain Social Bite gives all of its profits to charity. So can you aspire to be both ethical and profitable? We put that question to Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie Chief Executive Liam Entwhistle.

A brief roundup of some of the legal news stories making the news in recent weeks. In this bulletin, we'll hear how a ruling on UBER drivers has an impact on self employed workers, how expectant parents are seeking a law change around how maternity leave is affected by premature babies and some simple measures to help protect yourself from a reported rise in identify theft.