What are the benefits to being employed?

Many people like the attraction of being their own boss and being able to run their own company. But with this comes a lot of responsibility and pressure and for some this is enough to put them off. When you are employed you will often be on a lower hourly wage than if you were self employed but will also not have to worry about doing tax returns, not getting sick or holiday pay and having to find your own work. As an employee this stress and hassle is taken away from you and you will usually have a lot more benefits. Employed people are often guaranteed a basic salary every week or month whereas when you are self employed you could find yourself with little or no work one month and still have all your bills to pay.

If you claim tax credits or any help from your local council, then you will be expected to constantly report certain changes relating to your self employed business, your working hours and income. This alone can be a big challenge and often people can easily make a mistake in this, costing them hundreds or thousands of pounds.

There are advantages and disadvantages to being employed and being self employed but it needs to be a case of assessing your current situation and finding out which suits you best.

 

 

 

Asking for a promotion at work

As an employee, there are often times when you feel that you want a new challenge or are simply not happy in your current position. Rather than looking for a new employer you may wish to explore internal vacancies. If an internal job vacancies has come up that you wish to go for then you need to ensure that you are fully prepared for the interview which you will most likely have to attend. Many companies advertise jobs internal prior to advertising to the public so if you are looking to move up the ladder within the business, then this could be a great opportunity and mean that you are in competition with a lot less people.

Firstly you need to consider if you have all the qualifications and / or experience that they require. If not, then this does not necessarily mean that you will not be able to apply for the job, just that you will need to explain why you think you are capable of doing it and what experience you have that will help you.

You need to make sure that you have shown your capabilities and trustworthiness in your previous role as employers are unlikely to offer a new vacancy to an employee that has not been very reliable.

Working for minimum wage

Most of us have to work unfortunately just to stay alive, but for many of us we may actually find ourselves worse off in work than out of it! This surely is a fact that should not exsist but sadly, this is often the case. With the way the benefits system works it is no wonder many people chose to stay at home rather than go out to work and find a career.

Many people earn just too much money to allow them any help with childcare costs or rent / mortgage and therefore have to struggle day to day even if they are working full time. Many people that struggle he most are people that are on the minimum wage or pretty close to it.  If you are a mother or father wishing to return to work after the birth of a child and are considering full time nursery care then you have to consider the fees compared to the actual earnings you will be taking home. Did you know that putting a child in nursery full time every day can cost over £800 per month, often making minimum wage jobs seem pretty pointless.

You should consider the benefits of working other than the money though when making your decision such as the satisfaction you might get from it and the social aspects as well as how it may help your future career choices.

 

Recruitment process for taking on new staff

As a business owner you, there may come a time when you need to take on extra staff. In order to do this you will need to go through the recruitment process.  Not all companies use the same methods for recruiting staff as some companies choose to advertise and carry out the recruiting process themselves. Other businesses chose to outsource all or part of the recruitment process to an agency.  Obviously it is more costly using a recruitment agency but it can take a lot of the stress out of the process and can save time. It may also mean that you reach more potential employee’s giving you a larger choice when it comes to making your selection for interviews.

Most recruitment agencies will vet all applicants first and even conduct a mini interview over the phone to see if they are suitable. If they feel they are, they will then contact their client and ask if they would like to invite them in for an interview. A recruitment agency will usually charge the client a set fee or a percentage of the salary when finding permanent members of staff and will take a cut of the employees wage if they are finding them temporary work.

 

Cutting down on recruitment costs

If you have a business then you may be aware of how quickly recruitment cots can start to spiral. Many recruitment agencies will charge a fee based on the salary of the job which can often be approximately 10%. This is a huge upfront cost for any business to make but if often a way of recruiting staff without having to take on too much of the stress yourself.

Recently there have been a number of alternative options opening up to employers that are said to save them in recruitment costs.

Some companies now offer a fixed rate for advertising a job for you. They will often do this by advertising on the jobs boards and then collecting CV’s and applications from those viewing them. Unlike other recruitment agencies, you may find that they do not call candidates that they have on their books or they do not always do a preliminary interview, but this is why they are able to save you money. A typical recruitment agency will often charge about 10% of a salary of £25000, costing the employer £2500. The new types of fixed fee recruitment will usually charge anything from £200-£1000 (depending on what services they are including) make you a massive saving.