Do I need to disclose the Average Number of Employees if they are NIL?

Yes.

The Companies Act s411 (3) & (4) states:

(3) The average number required by subsection (1)(a) or (b) is determined by dividing the relevant annual number by the number of months in the financial year.

(4) The relevant annual number is determined by ascertaining for each month in the financial year—

(a) for the purposes of subsection (1)(a), the number of persons employed under contracts of service by the company in that month (whether throughout the month or not);

The term ‘under contracts of service’ is not defined within the Companies Act and there are differing opinions on who can be presumed to be an employee under this term.

However, should you conclude that the average number is NIL e.g. there are no employees, this should be disclosed to confirm that fact.

Please note: You should contact your supervisory body for advice if you’re not sure who to include within your calculation(s) of the average number of employees.

Within TaxCalc Accounts Production, to disclose NIL employees within the ‘Average number of employees’ note go to Notes > Edit Notes > Average Number of Employees and simply enter ‘0’ within the CY field (the PY total can be entered in the previous year).