What is salary sacrifice?

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.

Employment in the housing industry

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.

Top five paid jobs in Scotland 2014

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.

Where to look for job posts and vacancies

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.

Benefits of been self employed

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.

Are you being taxed the right amount on your salary

In April 2014 the tax allowance for an individual when up to £10,000 per year. This means that you can earn up to that amount every year without having to pay any tax. Anything you earn over the £10k you will be taxed a percentage of. If you are unsure as to whether your tax is correct there are a few simply checks you can make. Check the tax code on your wage slip, for the majority of this it is 100L unless you are receiving benefits in kind. There are also many free salary calculators out there that will work out your Tax and NI off your salary.

When it comes to self employed, the tax allowance for an individual is the same amount, ten thousand pounds per annum. This figure is based on the profit you make in the year, not the turnover. Many self employed people do not pay tax in the first year as this is when they are building up the business. With self employment you are also allowed to deduct any business expenses from your turnover thus reducing the profit you are making.

Benefits of being employed

There are of course the obvious benefits to being employed as to not working, but what about compared to being self employed? When you are self employed you often do not have regular work guaranteed each month and if you do often it is not agreed under a contract, as if your were employed by the company. The benefits of being an employee can make many people oft to not venture in to becoming their own boss.

A guaranteed income is y far the biggest reason people chose employed jobs, knowing what money they have coming in every month is a must for many family and individuals. There are also other benefits such as sick pay, holiday pay and the chance to progress in your career without having to take unpaid time off work to do so. Many employers will send their staff on training courses or even put them through a degree, which if you had to do on your own would be very costly.

Is job satisfaction important?

Recent surveys show that less than half of us are satisfied in our job. This is a sad statistic but with the lack of jobs being an issue of the last few years, some people are scared to jump ship fearing they will end up jobless. There are two types of job satisfaction which are;

Intrinsic job satisfaction – when the employee considers only the kind of work they do, the tasks that make up the job.

Extrinsic job satisfaction – when the employee considers the conditions of work, such as their pay, co-workers, and supervisor/ management.

It may be that you are only dissatisfied with one of the above, in which case you may find that changes can be made to turn that around. The main thing to do if you really lack job satisfaction is talk to your manager. Before you do make a list of items you want to discuss and preferable outcomes for each.

Are you due a pay rise at work

Asking for an increase in your wage can be very intimidating for some people, the truth is if you deserve one then why should you be worried about asking.

There are some questions that you should consider when asking for a pay rise. You need to establish how you can justify that you deserve it. Have you recently won the company more work or do you generally excel with your customer service and people have commented on the way you handle issues well? Have you been with the company a while and feel that you are a valued reliable member of the team and wish to have a rise to commend you on that or maybe you were on a probationary period and have now been offered a permanent position? If you answer yes to these types of questions then it may be that your employer would agree.

How many recruitment companies should you register with?

Can you ever register with too many recruitment agencies when looking for a job? Really the more you register with the higher your chance of finding a job but be aware that most are highly proactive and you may find that you are bombarded with calls and emails regarding posts that they believe you may be interested in.

Be aware that some agencies also contact you regarding a position that is not actually being advertised through them and many employers will only advertise their jobs direct as to avoid big recruitment fees that some agencies charge. Register with a few to start with and see how it goes, if you are not happy with the results you are getting register with a few more at a time. Do not just sit back though and expect a job to land in your lap, you should also be looking on local jobs boards and newspapers for the job you wish to apply for.