There are many times when it may be suitable and reasonable to ask for a pay rise at work. This can come about for many reasons such as end of a trial period, increase in work load, additional qualifications gained or simply because you feel you are adding more to the business than you did previously.

Many people get very nervous about asking for an increase in their salary, but the truth is that if you have a valid reason why, you should not be anxious about asking. Unfortunately some employers will not offer you a pay rise and therefore it is up to you to ask. Before you do this you should make a note of what you would like to achieve in terms of salary and / or benefits and reasons why you believe you should be entitled to these. If you can, be specific, give your employer examples of how you have helped the company gain business or gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Working on supply basis has over the years proven to be a great option for thousands of teachers throughout the UK. The number of supply teacher jobs in Solihull has been on the rise and there are good reasons as to why this is increasingly becoming a good option for career teachers. Supply teachers are always on demand as they help schools fill the gaps left by teachers who are out of their classrooms for a number of reasons. With a number of schools and colleges in Solihull, there are many teaching opportunities which you can benefit from and this kind of an arrangement brings you amazing benefits worth considering.

Why teaching on supply basis is beneficial

Pursuing your teaching career on supply basis offers you a number of advantages. Below are some of these benefits for your consideration: (more…)

Where to go for employment rights and advice

There is often a time in your life when an issue may arise at work that does not seem to have been sorted out correctly between you and your employer. It may be that you are at the point of having to take it further or possibly that you are just after a bit of advice and want to find out the law regarding a particular situation.

There are many places that offer free and impartial advice to employers and employee’s. If the matter is regarding tax, maternity or sick pay you may find it best to contact HMRC directly to discuss what should be happening. They may then refer you on to an independent company who will help you through the process of sorting out an employment related dispute. Many websites offer advice on legal issues in employment, but you should always be aware that there are sites that may give false or out of date advice.

Unemployment levels have been one of the most talked about topics in the employment industry over recent years. Following the recession, unemployment levels rose to over 2.68 million which was the highest they have been since 1993. This caused wide spread panic and was a massive strain on the benefits system. Since then, the government have been trying to encourage employers and employees to try and make it easier for the public to become employed. They have offered grants to businesses to take on new employees, offered further education and on the job training packages and lowered benefits to make it more appealing for people to return to work.

Since these changes, the unemployment levels have been dropping and in August 2014 it dropped down to 1.97 million, the first time it has been below 2 million since 2008.

The statistics are obviously going in the right direction, and this is encouraging news. It will be great to see what the next quarter brings.

One of the hardest decisions a new parent faces is if/when to return to work. This can raise all kinds of feeling of guilt about not being there for your child or guilt that you’re ready for life to return to some form of normality again after maternity leave.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed and caught up in the financial implications of a higher income verses less benefit support but many women are choosing to return to work regardless of this to further their career and establish a working routine again after so much time away from the work place. Many women worry that the longer they stay away from work the more they will be penalised when it comes to promotions or pay rises and with one in seven women after maternity leave being made redundant it’s important that you know your maternity employment rights.

So when the time come to make that vital decision it really does pay to do your research so you know exactly what you can expect from your employer to ensure the transition from maternity leave to full or part time employment is as smooth and stress free as possible.

Salary sacrifice schemes are becoming more and more popular amongst employers and employees. The scheme allows the employee to sacrifice part of his or her’s salary (classed as cash benefit) in return for a non cash benefit.

Typically types of salary sacrifice non cash benefits include additional employer pension contributions and childcare vouchers. Salary sacrifice arrangements are also possible for company cars, cycle-to-work schemes, parking at or near the workplace, and work-related training.

The idea is that these benefits reduce the amount of tax you and your employer pay by allowing you not to be taxed on the part of your salary that you sacrifice. For this reason, salary sacrifice can only be used for certain tax free items.

If you are looking at doing this then you should consider the negative effects it may have on your financial situation. Your P60 will show that you have earned your salary less the part you have sacrificed therefore getting a mortgage or a loan could prove difficult.

Over the past ten years the amount of new houses that have been built has risen at its fastest past. This is partly due to the increased need for further homes due to the growing population of the UK along with many investors buying land during the recession and building new properties on them. The increase in house building has seen employment levels raise considerably, which is great.

Although this growth has seen a massive rise in the levels of employment in this sector, it has also seen a rise in the cost of construction as many suppliers have massively increased their prices of materials. There is some careful consideration that needs to take place, as if building houses just becomes too costly for most of us, then we will see a decline in the housing market again which will in turn affect levels of employment. This is something none of us want to see, but hopefully over time the costs vs. the benefits will even out.

Recent studies have been carried out to find out what currently are the top five best paid jobs in Scotland. With the worse of the recession over, people are again starting to consider changing jobs and professions, as previously many members of staff had to stay in jobs that they were not happy with or where they were being under paid, for the fear of not getting anything else.

A company called S1Jobs called out the survey studying the highest paid industries and trends that have appear in 2014. The research was carried out on the average salaries for non-management positions. The report seems to show that the Oil and Gas industry is the top earning sector closely followed by IT and Telecommunications, Financial Services and Investments, Engineering and lastly Procurement. From previous studies carried out, we can see that the Oil and Gas and IT & Telecommunications industries have shown extensive growth year upon year.

Looking for a job can be quite a long process and you want to try and find the position that is most suited to the type of place and industry you want to work in. If you have a bit of time to search around then I strongly recommend viewing as many different advertising boards online or offline as possible, as it may be the one you miss has that perfect job waiting for you. Searching for a job online could not be easier. There are hundreds if not thousands of job agencies out there that will help you through the whole employment process. If you would rather not register with an agency then you can chose to browse the jobs boards and individual company sites for suitable positions. These jobs boards are often updated hourly so remember to check back a few times throughout the day if you are really keen on landing that all important career.

Many people are now choosing to become self employed. This can happen for a number of reasons from someone having a great idea that they want to explore to a mother returning to work but wanting to stay at home. Sometimes people find themselves out of a job, and whilst they are looking for full time employed work, take to doing some work on their own. Often when people do this they find that they enjoy it so much that they do not want to go back to having an employer. There are pros and cons about both types of employment, but what attracts many people to becoming self employed is the flexibility it gives them to manage their own work load in a way that they are comfortable with. You will need to be able to be strict with yourself and allocate a certain amount of time each day or week to fit all your work in and also need to think about how you are going market what you do.