The franchise sector is an important contributor to the Irish economy both in terms of the employment it creates and the wealth it generates. The growth in the franchise sector in Ireland looks set to increase through new franchisees setting up their own businesses, through existing indigenous businesses using the franchise model for expansion and through new non-Irish franchises entering the market due to our strong domestic economy.

Business Format Franchising is a business method in which the franchisor (developer) grants to the franchisee (investor) the right to run a business selling a product or providing a service under the franchisor’s business format and identified by the franchisor’s trademark or brand. This includes a format for the conduct of the business, a management system for operating the business and a shared trade identity.

Franchising is a comprehensive business relationship whose four essential elements ensure a better success rate than starting a non-franchised business. These are:

Travel insurance can seem like a boring and unnecessary item on your pre-travel to do list – why spend money protecting yourself against a holiday disaster which may never happen? However, expensive holiday disasters, such as cancellation, medical emergencies or lost possessions, can strike at any time, whether you’re popping over to Europe for a long weekend or travelling the world for two years.

The main items covered by travel insurance are:

• Cancellation Cover
• Emergency Medical Expenses and Repatriation – NOTE There are many travel medical plans available that include Covid related medical expenses. But since not all do, it’s important to verify Covid coverage before buying a plan if it’s a priority for you.
• Personal Possessions, Travel Documents and Gadgets.
• Activity Cover - Some travel medical insurance policies won’t cover expenses that resulted from activities such as mountain climbing, skydiving or parasailing.

Revenue has introduced concessions for income tax & corporation tax for employees of Ukrainian employers required to work from Ireland because of the ongoing war in Ukraine for the 2022 tax year. Irish-based employees of Ukrainian employers will not be liable to Irish income tax & USC on Ukrainian employment income that is attributable to the performance of duties in Ireland. The Ukrainian employers will not be required to operate the PAYE system on such employment income. The concession relates solely to employment income that is paid to the Irish-based employees by their Ukrainian employer.

The concessionary treatment will apply for the tax year 2022 where:

• The employee would have performed his/her employment duties in Ukraine but for the war they are unable to, and
• The employee remains subject to Ukrainian income tax on his/her employment income

​The corporation tax concession will disregard the presence of employees, directors, service providers and agents who have come to Ireland because of the war. Revenue may request documentary evidence relating to the reallocation of the individual to Ireland, e.g. a record of the arrival dates to Ireland.

​The war in Ukraine has added greatly to inflationary pressures this year, with further very sharp increases in energy and other commodity prices. CPI rates reached 8.5% in the US and 8.1% in the Eurozone in May and hit double-digit levels in some economies. The Bank of England is forecasting that inflation in the UK will rise above 11% in the final quarter of this year. Growth, though, is clearly weakening, making central banks task more difficult as they will want to try and avoid pushing their economies into recession as they tighten policy.

A first time Statutory Sick Pay entitlement for all employees moved closer to enactment with the announcement recently, by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD, that the Government has approved the publication of the General Scheme of the Sick Leave Bill 2022.

The Bill legislates for a statutory sick pay scheme for all employees, phased in over a four-year period. The new scheme will start with three days per year once the Bill is enacted, rising to five days in 2024, seven days in 2025, and ten days in 2026. The timeline has shifted slightly since the Government first announced details of the proposed scheme last year when it said there would be 10 days of sick leave by 2025.