The NMW will rise to £5.73 an hour for adult workers aged 22 and above and to £4.77 for workers aged 18 to 21. The rate for those under 18, but above compulsory school age, rises to £3.53 an hour.

Employees who wish to exercise their right to additional maternity leave or adoption leave will have the same non-pay contractual benefits as during their ordinary maternity adoption leave.

New regulations will set out how to calculate the cash value of a pension when a member of an occupational pension scheme wants to transfer.

Consumers will have a seven-day cooling-off period and cancellation rights for contracts made in any location away from the trader's normal place of business. The rules also set in place protection for payments made for work carried out during this period.

Private and non-traded public companies will only be required to provide the names of shareholders, not their addresses. Traded public companies are required to provide names and addresses for those holding at least 5% of any share class.

New rules will unify previous regulations to specify the information that incorporated companies must include on all business documentation.

Under another requirement, companies must respond within five days to written requests for information about inspecting company records.

Private companies will have the option of reducing the amount of their share capital by special resolution supported by a solvency statement made by the directors.

Under the Companies Act 2006, private companies will have the right to provide financial assistance to acquire their own shares.

All companies will have to have at least one director who is at least 16 years old.

LLPs will be brought in line with the lighter regulation provisions that are already in force for other companies.

Employers will be able to display ELCI certificates electronically if the employees covered by the insurance have reasonable access to them.

Changes to the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 - also known as CHIP - will make certain adjustments for classifying, packaging and labelling certain hazardous chemicals

New rules will modernise and replace certain processes and administrative requirements applying to trade marks and trade mark applications.

A new three-tiered system of trade controls will affect small and medium-sized businesses who have UK persons involved in the extra-territorial trading of small arms, man portable air defence systems (MANPADs) and cluster munitions.

All estate agents in the UK engaged in residential estate agency work will be required to join an approved redress scheme dealing with complaints about the buying and selling of residential property.

The temporary exemption from regulation of buy-to-let lending meeting specified criteria is expected to become a permanent one.

If your business provides debt administration or credit information services, you must be licensed if you wish to continue to provide such services after 1 October 2008.

Those in the aquaculture production sector, including suppliers of aquatic animals, will have to be authorised by the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) of the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.

New rules will require that manufacturers of cigarettes and other smoking products - e.g. hand-rolling tobacco, pipe tobacco and cigars - introduce picture warnings on all tobacco packs.