THE Wetherspoons 12-day beer festival will be back with a bang tomorrow with some ales selling for less than £2 a pint.

The famous pub chain will be selling a range of 30 different real ales including five from overseas brewers from October 9 to October 20.

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The festival will offer punters the chance to sample beers from Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the USA.

The event will take place across 809 UK Wetherspoons pubs.

Pints will be available for £2.29 on average, and as cheap as £1.79.

Spoon fans can try three beers for the price of one, with the chance to buy 3 third-of-a-pint tasters for the cost of a single pint.

The menu includes a range of unusual flavoured ales such as mango, chocolate and banoffee pie.

And the festival range is extended to include vegan and vegetarian options, as well as gluten-free options which can be found using the allergen information screen in pubs or via the app or website.

The deal includes beers which have never been available in Wetherspoons before so you are guaranteed to try something new.

Marketing manager Jen Swindells said: “The festival is a great celebration of real ale.

“It will allow us to showcase a selection of superb beers, including those from brewers as far afield as Japan and New Zealand, as well as those closer to home, over a 12-day period.

“All of the beers will be available at great value-for-money prices.”

While the pints could be selling for as cheap as £1.79 in some pubs, keep in mind that menu prices vary based on location.

Below is a full list of real ales which will be available at the festival:

• Siren Mesmerist (Siren Craft Brew) 3.4% ABV
• Conwy Born to be Mild (Conwy Brewery) 3.8% ABV
• Hogs Back Notorious P.I.G (Hogs Back Brewery) 3.8% ABV
• Adnams T Drop (Adnams Brewery) 4.0% ABV
• Red Racer Session (Central City Brewery, British Colombia, Canada) 4.0% ABV
• Windsor and Eton Canberra (Windsor and Eton Brewery) 4.0% ABV
• Batemans Salem Session IPA (Batemans Brewery) 4.1% ABV
• Hook Norton Tower Ale (Hook Norton Brewery) 4.2% ABV
• Townshend Dinner Ale (Townshend Brewery, Tasman, New Zealand) 4.2% ABV
• Ishii Orihime Pale Ale (Ishii Brewing, Tochigi, Japan) 4.3% ABV
• Evan Evans Wild Coast (Evan Evans Brewery) 4.4% ABV
• Fyne Ales Sun Lounger (Fyne Ales) 4.4% ABV
• Greene King Blood Hound (Greene King Brewery) 4.4% ABV
• Loch Lomond The Gloaming (Loch Lomond Brewery) 4.4% ABV
• Brewster’s Sailing By (Brewster’s Brewery) 4.5% ABV
• Rudgate Mango in the Night (Rudgate Brewery) 4.5% ABV
• Maxim Banoffee Pie Golden Ale (Maxim Brewery) 4.6% ABV
• Titanic Sapphire Spoon (Titanic Brewery) 4.7% ABV
• Lancaster Hop Storm (Lancaster Brewery) 4.8% ABV
• St Austell Fresh Pot (St Austell Brewery) 4.8% ABV
• Elgood’s North Brink Porter (Elgood’s Brewery) 5.0% ABV
• Exmoor Phoenix (Exmoor Ales) 5.0% ABV
• Shepherd Neame Cold Snap (Shepherd Neame Brewery) 5.0% ABV
• Thornbridge Coltrane (Thornbridge Brewery) 5.0% ABV
• Urban South Who Dat (Urban South Brewery, Louisiana, USA) 5.0% ABV
• Salopian Disintegration (Salopian Brewery) 5.1% ABV
• Oakham Sunset (Oakham Ales) 5.3% ABV
• Yazoo All Dog Alert (Yazoo Brewing, Tennessee, USA) 5.5% ABV
• Burning Sky Aurora (Burning Sky Brewery) 5.6% ABV
• Innis and Gunn Caribbean Rum Cask (Innis and Gunn Brewery) 6.8% ABV

Order your pint of choosing either at the bar or via the mobile app, which is available to download via the App Store.

We recommend you browse the festival magazine before your arrival via the app or website to check your local prices.

The magazine also details the origins of the beers and their flavour profiles.

For example, the Japanese Ishii “Orihime” Pale Ale is from Tochigi, and has a “citrusy, fruity hop character”.

And the Canadian Central City “Red Racer” Amber Ale is from British Colombia and has “a good balance of bitterness and malt flavours”.

While the mysterious Maxim “Banoffee Pie” Golden Ale is from Durham, and is described as “dessert in a glass”.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

“Money is an emotional lightning rod”, TFP Financial Planning director, head of growth and financial planner Dan Haylett has claimed.

Speaking at Money Marketing Interactive in London today (8 October), Haylett explained how his wife had inherited her mother’s Tesco shares worth £15,000 when she passed away.

However, that money is still in his wife’s bank account and she cannot bring herself to spend it because of the emotional attachment.

Haylett added that human beings in general “do not like numbers but stories and that is why he feels “cashflow planning does not work”.

He takes a similar ethos when explaining retirement to clients and said asking how much a person wishes to save for retirement is the wrong question.

Haylett said that when he asks this question to clients, they always respond with a figure that is double with what they have saved.

“As human beings we are wired for the journey, not the end destination,” he added.

Speaking on the same panel, Clarus Wealth director and financial planner Simon Roughsedge said part of the job is to “hold a mirror up and challenge our clients”.

Often the client would say how much they want to save for retirement, but then spend a decent amount a month on something non essential, he added.

Roughsedge added that it is important to be “empathetic and not sympathetic” when talking to clients.

Octopus Money CEO Ruth Handcock said that people are wrong when they say advice cannot be mass marketed.

Handcock said when the firm goes into offices and ask employees if they want any advice, around 40% of the team will respond and say, “yes I do”.

She added that advice really works for people when you combine “emotion with administrative support”.

TENS of thousands of struggling energy customers can have their bills wiped and get a host of energy-saving gadgets this winter.

EDF Energy, one of the country’s largest energy firms, will offer fresh support to those facing fuel poverty this winter.

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The supplier will invest £29 million in a range of initiatives, including debt matching and write offs, as well as providing free energy-saving gadgets.

Debt matching allows struggling customers to get part of their balance wiped.

For instance, if a customer pays £100, EDF Energy will pay off £100, too, effectively wiping half the amount owed and getting them back on track sooner.

British Gas also offers a similar scheme for hard-up customers.

EDF could also write off debts completely on a case-by-case basis.

Other customers could be offered free energy-saving gadgets if they contact the supplier as well.

To get the support you’ll first be referred to one of EDF’s charity partners: Citizens Advice Plymouth, Income Max, and Charis Grants.

Last winter, EDF helped 65,000 customers with support, including debt advice, Income maximisation, energy efficiency advice, debt clearance and financial assistance payments.

Its Warm Winter shop also helped 1,000 customers with electric goods such as kettles, air fryers and slow cookers.

To be eligible, a customer must be fuel poor or at risk of fuel poverty and have known vulnerabilities in the household.

EDF says its team will identify eligible customers and refer them for extra support from Income Max and Plymouth Citizens Advice.

These partner firms will then recommend customers and support them with an application for debt relief.

EDF says that any decision is made based on many factors, including the value of debt, its age, and customers’ repayment behaviour.

Philippe Commaret, managing director of customers at EDF, said: “Whilst the Ofgem price cap has reduced in three of the last four quarters, an October rise of 10% will have a significant impact on those who are already struggling. 

“We are doing all we can to reduce bills, however, to make a real long-term difference, we believe a social tariff is still needed.

“Only through meaningful Government and industry-wide intervention, paired with better data matching, such as a single cross-sector Priority Services Register, will affordability improve for those most in need.”

To find out more about the help, visit edfenergy.com/about/support-for-customers.

What should I do if I fall into debt?

You should contact your supplier as early as possible to let them know if you’re struggling.

Energy debts are priority debts, which means there can be more severe consequences to not paying than with other types of debt.

Failing to engage with your supplier about your debt could also see them apply for a court warrant to forcibly install a prepayment meter in your home.

Once you’ve contacted your supplier about your debt problems, ask for an affordable repayment plan.

Your supplier should work with you to figure out a sensible amount you can pay towards your debts each month.

Your supplier may also allow you to apply for an energy grant.

These could be delivered as energy credits to help cover your debt, or your supplier might agree to wipe your outstanding balance.

Ask your supplier what’s on offer and how to apply.

If your business relies heavily on self-employed advisers, now might be a good time to start looking at alternative business models

The recent news of ex-rugby player Stuart Barnes, who lost an IR35 battle against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), leaving him with a £700,000 tax bill, made me think about the use of self-employed contracts in the adviser sector.

In response to the story, former financial planner Dave Robinson wrote on LinkedIn:

“Very interesting. I wonder how many self-employed financial adviser contracts would pass the test on this latest interpretation? And how many self-employed advisers are there? Surely, given the state of the public purse, it can’t be long before HMRC starts having a closer look.”

Self-employed advisers have an uphill struggle from the outset

As an employment lawyer working within financial services, the prevalence of self-employed advisers has always made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

It’s a model that is frequently used. Indeed, we regularly draft self-employed adviser agreements, advising on the employment status risks for employment and tax purposes, including IR35.

When looking at the test of employment status, self-employed advisers have an uphill struggle from the outset. There is normally a consultancy agreement in place which requires the adviser to provide services personally to a firm in return for remuneration.

In an industry built on relationships, it’s unlikely a client would accept any old person turning up to give them advice. It’s unlikely a firm would be happy with this arrangement either.

Control is also a problem. In a regulated industry where a firm’s own compliance with its regulatory obligations depends on its workforce complying with the Financial Conduct Authority’s requirements and its own polices and procedures, the “”what, when, where and how” boxes must be ticked.

As an employment lawyer working within financial services, the prevalence of self-employed advisers has always made me feel slightly uncomfortable

So, with mutuality of obligation, personal service and substitution and control out of the window – what next?

Well, it’s not all bad news. The self-employed adviser can normally carry out the work when they like and, because most are pay-away arrangements, there is no set amount of work required or fixed remuneration – you only get paid for work you do.

But despite these factors, it still feels like there could be a bit of a hill to climb.

There remains a question that could push the adviser over the self-employed line – is the self-employed adviser in business on their account?

In many situations, this is the case. Self-employed advisers who have their own book of business bring it to the firm with them and can take it when they leave.

Ownership of clients and a degree of financial risk taken by the self-employed adviser certainly helps with the employment status analysis.

It feels like only a matter of time until HMRC decides to shift its focus away from the world of sport and media to the financial services sector

However, matters aren’t always this straightforward and the firm may need to have some level of client ownership and protection to sufficiently protect its business.

With this in mind, a firm will need to carefully consider and balance the employment status risk against the risk to its business if it doesn’t have post-termination protections in place, such as restrictive covenants, which would protect its confidential information and client relationships if the self-employed adviser were to leave.

All that said, being “in business on your account” didn’t end up helping Barnes, with the Upper Tribunal drilling into other factors such as the right to provide a substitute, exclusivity and lack of financial risk.

It feels like only a matter of time until HMRC decides to shift its focus away from the world of sport and media to the financial services sector. If your business relies heavily on self-employed advisers, now might be a good time to start looking at alternative business models.

Claire Holland is a partner at Foot Anstey