Go directly to gaol do not pass go do not collect £200

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Go directly to gaol do not pass go do not collect £200

 

Calls for senior bankers to face the threat of gaol if they are involved in the collapse of the bank or serious irregularities  are all well and good and in principal I approve of the action in its broadest sense.

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I am concerned, however, that only one section of industry has been singled out for such a hard punishment. We must look at all areas of business and not just banking, surely if a major insurance company or oil company’s board members behaved in a similar reckless manner that put the entire company at risk shouldn’t they suffer the same punishment? (more…)

: employment,FSA,government,Local government,News,Politics,Regulatory authority

Breakfast and eggs

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Breakfast

As a child I was never allowed out of the house until I had eaten breakfast, a ritual that I still adhere to. An article in the paper has now confirmed that, and I hate to admit this, my mother was right in insisting we never skipped breakfast and that it is the most important meal of the day.

It appears that all those people who leap out of bed, shower and run for the train without eating something are more likely to suffer an energy shortage mid-morning losing on average 82 minutes per day in productivity levels; not to mention the amount of sugary snacks and sweet drinks that are subsequently used to replenish energy levels, which does nothing for the waist line.

Is it really that difficult to get up a few minutes earlier in order to have a light breakfast before running off to work, like any engine the body requires fuel to get moving and a 10 minute sit down to eat and look at the paper will also help to ease the stress of traveling to work.

How many of you skip breakfast for the sake of 10 minutes more under the duvet?

: career,Commuting,News

British workers losing out to migrants – OECD

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In its International Migrant Outlook Report 2013 the OECD has found that migrants have a distinct advantage over native workers which might explain why so much of the conversation you hear around you is not English.
There are approximately the same number of native workers employed as a decade ago despite a significant increase in the workforce over that period suggesting that almost all newly created jobs have gone to foreigners.
Clearly native born Britons are now at a disadvantage because of the foreign competition, something that is unlikely to change because employers have found that immigrants tend to be more reliable, have a better work ethic, are often far better educated AND are prepared to undertake menial low-paid roles without complaint.
The Government is being urged to look at the impact of migration on the country as a whole though what they might be able to do about it is debateable.
So for all its back to work and make work pay initiatives the Government faces an uphill struggle to in any way reform the benefits culture particularly as any new legislation is likely to fall foul of Human Rights or EU legislation.

: Uncategorized

Pensioners are the new targets for hatred

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Pensioners are the new targets for hatred

Cuts cuts and more cuts, the government has to save money so that it can fritter it all away on something else and as usual they will look at the easy target. Currently we have Mr Balls, not known for his business acumen, saying that a cap should be put on pensioners “benefits” and pension; what a pity that no government has ever put a cap on the amount of money many pensioners and the so called “Baby boomer generation” have paid to the state in their working life.

I would like to remind government and opposition that the baby boomer generation have probably worked paid tax and national insurance for around 50 years, many like myself started work at 16, never claimed a penny in unemployment benefit, rarely visit a doctor, use private dental care, sent our kids to private school and purchased our own house without any assistance from state or parents. (more…)

: age discrimination,age discrimination,over 50,pensions

B Grade managers do not employ A grade staff

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B Grade managers do not employ A grade staff

Is your company really hiring the best high achieving individuals? How many times do we hear that the a really high achieving individual has been rejected for a position for a flimsy excuse; “we didn’t see him fitting in”, “not quite the experience we are after”, “over qualified” plus numerous others, really what the rejecting manager means is “they are better than me and might put my job at risk”.

It is a short sighted or scared manager that cannot see the advantage of employing the best possible person for a job, even if they do know more about the job in hand. A good manager should be able to recognise an individual’s talents and direct them by good management to the benefit of the company as a whole thus allowing the manager to get the credit for a well-managed successful team. (more…)

: career,employment,Interview,Recruitment,Redundant personal,Unemployed

Unproductive time? Reintroduce tea breaks.

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Unproductive time? Reintroduce tea breaks.

Employees are at their most unproductive at 2.55pm; it is at this time that their concentration to work drops and they will sit there daydreaming, checking social media or planning their evening’s entertainment. It is at this time that energy levels take a dip leaving many craving for that chocolate bar or a caffeine fix, which does nothing to help the waistline or the good health of the worker.

Is this sudden lack of energy caused by the worker sitting for too long at their desk without a break, or perhaps is it lack of or too big a lunch or alcohol at lunch time. Whatever the cause if energy levels drop creating a lack of concentration then it must follow that the chances of an error occurring must simultaneously increase. (more…)

: employment,News

Are you paid what you are worth?

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Are you paid what you are worth?

Rather an opening question as there are 2 sides to the question, one is what are you worth and the other being what do you think your true value is to your employer; the answers may be wildly different.

The fact is that a job in a smaller organisation is normally lower paid than a similar title in a larger organisation. Take a compliance managers role in a small third world bank in London, the pay should be around £70k; while the a similar titled positioned at a large US investment bank will be more than £200k. Granted the roles are considerably different as is the size of area and responsibility being covered, however the penalties for failure to do your job right are the same.

Within a smaller organisation all positions have a broader area of knowledge and experience, as you will be expected to cover other positions when staff are sick or on holiday, the chance of having an assistant or PA are probably nil leaving you to do all the work yourself. While in a larger institution you will have assistants and or a PA to help you, however this then makes you a manager as well, which is an added burden. (more…)

: career,Wages

We work 150 days a year just to cover taxes

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Apparently today is Tax Freedom Day, the point at which employees start to earn money for themselves rather than the taxman. The calculation takes into account all taxes, not just those on your payslip and totals 41% real taxation.
High taxation offers little incentive for people to better themselves, after all bridge the basic rate tax band and you can see 61% lost to tax.
Low tax economies have been proven by economists to be better environments for growth,( it is the basis of capitalism), so it is right to try to reduce this burden.
Too much of the UK economy is based upon benefits, grants and other incentives which distort investment and waste taxpayers money. Let’s concentrate on getting value from Government spending, not high speed rail links or vanity projects but ones which offer real benefits.

: Uncategorized

Is data quality hindering your SEPA project?

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Achieving SEPA compliance in time for the February 2013 deadline is proving a challenge for many companies, particularly those with legacy accounting systems which may not have the necessary format fields and XML functionality demanded by the new SEPA payments.
Others are experiencing problems with the quality of data they hold. Some is obsolete, a duplicate or held in multiple places in unsuitable formats.
Why not combine your SEPA project with a data cleansing and quality programme for minimal extra cost?
For more details give us a call.

: Uncategorized

A view on the High Street

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A view on the High Street

We are constantly being informed that the High Street as we know it is in decline or in some cases moribund. At the same time people, especially in smaller towns and villages, are complaining that they no longer have a butcher, greengrocer, baker, fishmonger, bookshop or other traditional shop, while at the same time every high street seems to have been transformed into a beauty parlour with numerous hair dressers, nail shops, or sun tan parlours interspersed with charity shops, eateries or the low class pound shops.

This decline has even come to the notice of government who appointed Mary Portas to look into how High Streets can be revitalised. Not an easy task for any one and made even more difficult if we look at the reasons for the decline in your high street.

Ask the man in the street and many will state one of 3 reasons, normally starting with parking; “we can’t park without getting a ticket”, “parking is too expensive” or “we park free at Bluewater/Lakeside etc”. Else they will blame high rents and greedy landlords who over charge the poor shopkeeper. Finally shoppers now like the convenience of shopping under cover away from the vagaries of the British weather and motor vehicles; people like to walk in the dry, clean, safe, traffic free shopping centres and not along long wet high streets strewn with litter and difficult to cross roads. All three are contributory factors in the decline; but let’s look at possible causes for the decline. (more…)

: government,High Streets,Local government,News
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