NFRC has collaborated with legal protection provider, ARAG, to offer NFRC members, most of whom are SMEs, a free helpline covering legal, tax and HR issues.

The legal advice helpline will be available to all members of NFRC from today (Thursday, 10 March 2022). It will be open from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday for tax enquiries and any calls about the law in the UK and the EU.

Experienced advisors can support members on a whole range of complex legal matters in plain language. The advisors have particular experience in employment law, regulation, personal injury, property, contract disputes and consumer law, amongst many other areas.

The helpline will also cover tax matters, including self-assessment, PAYE, corporation tax, VAT, stamp duty, capital gains and any other aspect of UK taxation.

There is also a confidential counselling helpline available to member companies and any employees that can be used for support and advice on any personal matter, such as financial stress, bereavement or depression.

Members of NFRC will also have access to a range of useful business, HR and legal templates to use for their business, such as employee handbooks and debt collection letters.

Members can access the helplines and documentation through the Members Area of the NFRC website.

Commenting on the new helpline, NFRC’s Head of Membership Services Carol Ray said:

“Most roofing contractors don’t have in-house HR consultants, lawyers or accountants, and therefore have to rely on expensive advice from third parties. Through our new partnership with ARAG, this should no longer be the case for NFRC members, who will now have completely free access to legal and tax specialists, who are just a phone call away.

“Paperwork is the last thing a busy roofing contractor wants to be thinking about, so we have tried to make this easier by offering a whole host of templates for our members to use. Both the helplines and templates could save companies thousands of pounds not to mention the benefits in terms of time gained and reduced stress. This is yet another benefit of being a member of NFRC.”

Matt Warren, UK Sales Manager at ARAG, added:

“ARAG specialises in making legal matters easier and more affordable for small businesses to handle, in a way that is easy for them to access. Our qualified and experienced legal advisors take thousands of calls every month, giving advice and reassurance, so business owners can get on with running their business.”