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SME

There is no universally accepted definition of a “small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).

However, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BIS) and the European Union (EU) define a small enterprise as one with fewer than 50 employees and a medium-sized enterprise as one with at least 50 but fewer than 250 employees.

Large enterprises have 250 or more employees.


    • HR software
    • Payroll software
    • Latest News

    Small business HR: top tips for people and payroll (webinar)

    by Lindsay Clark [email protected] 27 Feb 2020
    by Lindsay Clark [email protected] 27 Feb 2020

    ON-DEMAND | People are a small organisation’s most important asset, but are firms getting the most from their ...

    • Apprenticeships
    • Early careers
    • Latest News

    Apprenticeship providers turn SMEs away due to levy fund shortage

    by Ashleigh Webber 9 Aug 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 9 Aug 2019

    A shortage of apprenticeship funding means that a quarter of smaller firms have been turned away by training providers, while...

    • Apprenticeships
    • Latest News
    • Productivity

    MPs urge radical improvements in apprenticeships

    by Adam McCulloch 22 May 2019
    by Adam McCulloch 22 May 2019

    MPs have strongly criticised the government’s apprenticeship programme, in particular its focus on higher level placements and failure to meet the needs of smaller employers.

    • Sexual harassment
    • Bullying and harassment
    • Latest News

    Could #MeToo clauses for start-ups put a stop to harassment?

    by David Greenhalgh 5 Apr 2019
    by David Greenhalgh 5 Apr 2019

    Investors in start-ups are putting young companies under increased scrutiny to ensure they have a clean record on sexual harassment....

    • Apprenticeships
    • Latest News
    • SME

    £400m apprenticeship levy underspend revealed

    by Adam McCulloch 4 Mar 2019
    by Adam McCulloch 4 Mar 2019

    Only £268m was spent by levy-paying employers on apprentices in the programme's first year of operation, 2017-18. This equated to just 13% of the Treasury's £2.01bn apprenticeships budget and contributed to a £400m underspend.

    • Apprenticeships
    • Latest News
    • SME

    Criticism of levy mounts as Apprenticeship Week kicks off

    by Adam McCulloch 4 Mar 2019
    by Adam McCulloch 4 Mar 2019

    Training providers air criticism of the government's apprenticeship levy as surveys reveal the extent of ignorance over the scheme.

    • Apprenticeships
    • Early careers
    • SME

    Will the apprenticeship levy mean smaller businesses lose out?

    by Jo Faragher 10 Mar 2017
    by Jo Faragher 10 Mar 2017

    It is the Government’s flagship policy to fix the UK’s skills problem, a well-intentioned “tax” on employers to raise £3...

    • HR strategy
    • Leadership
    • SME

    Will better access to HR support improve management at SMEs?

    by Jo Faragher 28 Jan 2016
    by Jo Faragher 28 Jan 2016

    A new initiative from the CIPD aims to push HR consulting and advice as high up the agenda for small...

    • Shared parental leave
    • SME

    Small businesses unprepared for shared parental leave

    by Rob Moss 20 Mar 2015
    by Rob Moss 20 Mar 2015

    Many small businesses are unprepared for shared parental leave and do not expect their staff to want to take it,...

    • Latest News
    • Pay & benefits
    • SME

    Small businesses’ RTI start date postponed

    by David Challinor 20 Mar 2013
    by David Challinor 20 Mar 2013

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has given small businesses a temporary exemption from real time information (RTI) payroll requirements ahead...

    • Apprenticeships
    • Latest News
    • Learning & development

    Government to simplify apprenticeships for SMEs

    by Laura Chamberlain 29 Aug 2012
    by Laura Chamberlain 29 Aug 2012

    The Government has announced a raft of measures to challenge the “outdated view” of apprenticeships among small businesses to encourage...

    • Latest News
    • Learning & development
    • SME

    Cost is biggest barrier to training in small businesses

    by Laura Chamberlain 17 Aug 2012
    by Laura Chamberlain 17 Aug 2012

    Small businesses cite cost as the main obstacle to providing training for their employees, with many opting for lower-cost training...

    • Auto-enrolment
    • Latest News
    • Pay & benefits

    Government confirms pensions auto-enrolment timetable for small businesses

    by Laura Chamberlain 16 Jul 2012
    by Laura Chamberlain 16 Jul 2012

    Businesses with fewer than 50 workers will not have to auto-enrol their employees into workplace pension schemes before June 2015,...

    • HR strategy
    • Recruitment & retention
    • SME

    How SMEs can gain an advantage in recruitment

    by Norman Burden 31 May 2012
    by Norman Burden 31 May 2012

    Recruiting in the “noughties” was tough; it was a decade in which we were all obsessed by “Generation Y” that was...

    • Employment law
    • Dismissal
    • SME

    No-fault dismissals are not the solution to underperformance

    by Professor Cary Cooper 25 May 2012
    by Professor Cary Cooper 25 May 2012

    Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, considers the Beecroft Report’s recommendations on addressing employee underperformance.There...

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