Mull and Iona Chamber of Commerce – A NEW BEGINNING.
The Chamber has a vital role to play in the promotion, representation and support of businesses of all kinds on Mull and Iona. In presenting a strong and unified voice in support of island business we work to represent your best interests at all levels of government. We want to build on that key role as the advocate for business on Mull and Iona by bringing some really tangible benefits to you, our members.
We’re proposing that from this membership year (beginning May 1st) we will become affiliated to the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, which will give us access to the full range of services provided by the Glasgow Chamber. The full package of membership benefits that will be available to every member is as follows:
Legal Advice Scheme
Legal advice helpline covering a multitude of business issues. Backed by
£65,000 legal fees insurance cover.
Business Information.
BSI
Publications - 10% discount to members, Credit
Checks and Credit Control
Business Training
Business Skills Courses, Management Development Programmes, Customised Training
and our popular series of short, sharp 'How To ... ...' Workshops.
Cost Saving Affinity Schemes
Exclusive to Members –
saving you money on health
care, discounted
AA membership, legal advice scheme.
Events and Seminars
Business-focused and Networking Events - various exciting venues and topics
covering Breakfasts, Lunches and Evenings; The Glasgow Business Awards; Annual
Golf Tournament; Business Information Seminars; Policy and Issues business
engagement 'Glasgow Talks ...' events.
Publications
Bi-monthly edition of the Chamber’s business magazine - Glasgow Business - with
relevant business issues and articles.
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Desk Diary and Directory with membership listing -
for members.
Scottish Chambers of Commerce National Directory containing around 8000 company
names with up to three free entries for your company.
Export Documentation
Certificates of Origin, Invoices, International Import Certificates, EUR1 and
ATR Movement Certificates and Carnets.
You can visit the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce website here: www.glasgowchamberonline.org to see the full details of the benefits package. Key among them is the LEGAL FEES INSURANCE COVER. Your business will have access to up to £65,000 worth of professional fees each year to cover:
· Employment Disputes – The cost of defending actions brought by employees including unfair dismissal & discrimination claims.
· Employment Awards – Covers the employment tribunal compensation award in the event of failure in your employment representation.
· Prosecution Defence – Cost of defending a prosecution for an offence relating to your business activities including the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.
· Tax, VAT, PAYE and NIC Investigations – Cover is provided to pay professional fees resulting from in depth investigations.
· License Protection – Where your business is dependent on holding a statutory license in order to trade, cover is provided for appeal costs where the license is at threat.
· Data Protection Act – Cost of defending civil proceedings bought against your business under the Data Protection Act.
· Property Legal Protection – Enables your business to pursue legal rights arising from negligent acts of others affecting your property.
· Landlord Disputes – Representing your interests in disputes with landlords over the business lease or tenancy agreement.
Several of our members have experienced the horror of a tax investigation – often instigated at random by Inland Revenue. Such investigations can incur huge costs in both legal fees and accountancy work, and are becoming more regular. One of our members has experience of being the subject of an Inland Revenue investigation, and despite being found completely innocent, was left with a £16,000 accountant’s bill for proving it! The Chamber’s insurance cover will give you the peace of mind that should the same happen to you, you will be covered for these expenses.
In addition to this, the cover also includes your expenses in relation to employment tribunals, landlord disputes, licence protection and more. Getting this cover through the buying power of Chamber membership is much cheaper than purchasing directly from in insurance company – tax investigation cover alone can cost £160 on the open market, without all the additional legal cover we can offer.
We also plan to take on a CHAMBER DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, so that instead of relying on the time of volunteers, we have someone able to actively work to promote the interests of our members.
These changes to the Chamber will bring huge benefits to our members. The legal cover alone would give any business owner great peace of mind that legal disputes and tax investigations will not land you with a huge accountancy bill, and at a cost that is far less than you would pay from an insurance company.
In order to gain access to the benefits package of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, we will have to pay a fee on behalf of every member. This will result in a rise in the membership fee charged to you. The new fee structure will be as follows:
Number Of People Working In The Business Membership fee
1 to 3 £85.00 per business
4 plus £95.00 per business
This is a significant rise over the current subscription fee, but the benefits gained are so great that it represents fantastic value for money. To put the fee level in context, the membership fee charged by the Glasgow Chamber itself starts at £146 for a sole trader, going up to £208 for a small business of 5 or less employees.
Considering the legal fees insurance cover alone, there is an instant saving to you of £65 - £75.
We are able to give you all the benefits of membership of the Glasgow Chamber low cost insurance cover and all those other benefits listed above, but at a MUCH LOWER COST THAN A BUSINESS IN GLASGOW HAS TO PAY!!