High Income Child Benefit Charge What you need to know

High Income Child Benefit Charge What you need to know by Amber Rolfe Worried how your salary could affect your Child Benefit claims?  If you claim Child Benefit, or you’re about to make a claim, it’s important to be aware of the High Income Child Benefit Charge. This is required to be paid if you or your partner earn over £50,000 and you’ll need to let HMRC know.We spoke to HMRC, to find out everything you need to know about the High Income Child Benefit Charge, and their advice on how to ensure you’re paying the right amount:Am I eligible to receive Child Benefit?You’ll get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for a child who is under the age of 16, or under the age of 20 if they remain in education or training.Child Benefit is paid at a weekly rate of £20.70 for the first child and £13.70 for each additional child. You’ll receive it every 4 weeks.Only one person can claim per child.How can I claim child benefit?If you haven’t filled in a Child Benefit form, make sure you do as soon as possible.You’ll also need to get in touch with HMRC if your circumstances change, or if you need to add a child to an existing claim.HMRC can backdate your claim by three months, and completing the form can help protect your State Pension, as you will get National Insurance credits?until your child turns 12.If you’ve taken a break from work to look after your child, or don’t earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions, Child Benefit can also help you qualify for these credits.Fill out a child benefit formWhat is the high income child benefit charge?  The ‘High Income Child Benefit Charge’ (HICBC) is a tax charge which applies to anyone with an income over £50,000, who claims Child Benefit or whose partner claims it.Pension contributions and payments to charities are not included in your income, but your salary and taxable benefits-in-kind (such as a company car) are.How much is the HICBC?  The tax is 1% of Child Benefit for each £100 of income over £50,000. If your income is over £60 ,000 the total HICBC will be equal to the Child Benefit you receive.Even if you do have to pay the charge, you could still be better off by claiming Child Benefit.To work out how much you may have to pay, use the Child Benefit tax calculator.?Example:You and your partner have two children and get £1,788.80 a year in Child Benefit payments. You are employed and your income is £55,000 a year after pension deductions.Your partner stays at home to care for your two children.The Child Benefit tax calculator confirms your HICBC is £894.40 which equates to 50% of the Child Benefit you receive.To ensure your partner receives the associated National Insurance credits to protect their State Pension, they make the claim themselves.What do I need to do?  There are a few steps you will have to take to pay the HICBC:Check your annual income either on your P60 or through your personal tax accountUse the child benefit tax calculatorNotify HMRC and register for Self-Assessment by 5th October. Yo u only need to register for Self-Assessment onceComplete a Self-Assessment tax return by 31st January, and pay what you owe each yearCan I opt out?If you don’t want to pay the HICBC, you can opt out of claiming Child Benefit payments. This means you won’t have to pay the charge but you’ll still protect your State Pension.For more information, read HMRC’s advice on how to stop getting Child Benefit.How do I find out if I’m affected by the HICBC?You can find out if you’re affected by the HICBC by looking into your personal finances.If you have a partner, their income should also be taken into account, and the highest earner will be eligible to pay the charge even if the other partner is the person claiming Child Benefit and receiving the payments.If you don’t know your partner’s income, you can contact HMRC to find out who’s the highest earner.Want to find out more?  To find out more about the High Income Child Benefit Charge, visit the HMRC website.You can also con tact them directly to ask any questions you may have, report changes, or send a general enquiry about your Child Benefit.*All information was correct at the time of writing. Please visit https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit for more details.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the

Test Your ATS Is It Helping or Hindering Recruitment

Test Your ATS Is It Helping or Hindering Recruitment This post is sponsored by Lever, a new breed of applicant tracking system that emphasizes speed, collaboration and building candidate relationships. Great news! Youve been given the green light on all those grand hiring plans.  Before you start  hunting hot talent, you need to give your software  a  real  health check. A user-friendly yet sophisticated  applicant tracking system is where your success can start.  Take a good look at that ATS of yours, is it helping or hindering your recruitment efforts? Your ATS should promote internal collaboration, save you loads of time  and give candidates a frustration-free  experience. With technology moving at lightning fast speed, it pays to keep up with the times.  If your ATS isnt  capable of these  7 things, its time to shop around: 1.  Syncing centralisation All recruitment data should be stored in one place, with  all recruitment activity  driven out of the one system. Forget cross-checking multiple calendars, directories and  databases, your ATS should be updated in real time by multiple users and promotes information sharing among decision makers.  The best systems complement centralisation  with  instant messaging, to allow for  quick and easy commentary and communication. As we know, time kills deals! 2. Sourcing  referrals The best recruitment occurs when everyone within the company is committed to talent attraction. Your ATS should allow  all staff members to access open vacancies, and follow simple steps  to  pass on job leads to their wider network. Good people tend to know good people, so you should be making the most of your 2nd-degree connections! The best ATS will also make sourcing candidates easier, using a browser  extension to import contacts from social site and CV databases, without the manual labour! 3. Interviews feedback Your ATS should take care of scheduling interviews for you, matching candidate preferences with available time slots. Exit  arduous admin, and enter  clever  automation.  Your ATS should also facilitate the taking of feedback, making it easier for hiring managers and interviewers to  record and measure  skills and performance. Creating custom scorecards allows benchmarking and comparison between candidates, helping you translate  those  sloppy scribbles on the side of a CV into useful comments. 4. Tracking following up Just because  a candidate  isnt  the right  fit for your current vacancy doesnt mean they wont be exactly the person youre looking for  in a couple of  months time. Its important to keep tabs on passive candidates and unsuccessful applicants who have the potential to become employees down the track.  Dont undo all your hard recruitment work by letting them slip through the cracks.  Your ATS should make it easy for you to set reminders for  yourself so you dont have to scribble follow-up notes in your diary. Levers snooze capability allows you to  postpone action on a candidate to a later date, so you dont forget about them. 5. Saving searching When a new vacancy opens up, you shouldnt have to start your search from scratch. An  ATS that builds detailed candidate profiles becomes an invaluable database of future prospects a goldmine of warm leads, acting more like a CRM.  Your software should allow you to perform advanced, specific searches that yield high-quality  results, to save you sorting through hundreds of resumes. 6. User-friendly navigation There is nothing more frustrating than filling out a  confusing application form full of blank fields and generic drop-down options that arent applicable to you. Needless to say, your candidates dont want to be clicking through 70 pages of blandness, only to have the system crash on page 68. Your ATS should offer a streamlined application process, that is easy to use. Likewise, if you want existing staff members to adopt a collaborative approach to recruitment,  you need a system that is straight forward, self-explanatory and efficient. 7. Top-notch reporting Brilliant recruitment takes time and effort. Companies that understand the value of having good people take talent attraction and retention seriously, and constantly work at their strategy. Your ATS should have a sound reporting function that allows measurement  of all recruitment  activity. TAKE ACTION How did your ATS perform? Anything less than 7 out of 7 isnt worth your time or money. Invest in something that makes recruitment  exciting  and manageable! About the author: Leela Srinivasan is  Levers Chief Marketing Officer. Check out their website to learn  how your recruitment processes could be transformed.

Test Your ATS Is It Helping or Hindering Recruitment

Test Your ATS Is It Helping or Hindering Recruitment This post is sponsored by Lever, a new breed of applicant tracking system that emphasizes speed, collaboration and building candidate relationships. Great news! Youve been given the green light on all those grand hiring plans.  Before you start  hunting hot talent, you need to give your software  a  real  health check. A user-friendly yet sophisticated  applicant tracking system is where your success can start.  Take a good look at that ATS of yours, is it helping or hindering your recruitment efforts? Your ATS should promote internal collaboration, save you loads of time  and give candidates a frustration-free  experience. With technology moving at lightning fast speed, it pays to keep up with the times.  If your ATS isnt  capable of these  7 things, its time to shop around: 1.  Syncing centralisation All recruitment data should be stored in one place, with  all recruitment activity  driven out of the one system. Forget cross-checking multiple calendars, directories and  databases, your ATS should be updated in real time by multiple users and promotes information sharing among decision makers.  The best systems complement centralisation  with  instant messaging, to allow for  quick and easy commentary and communication. As we know, time kills deals! 2. Sourcing  referrals The best recruitment occurs when everyone within the company is committed to talent attraction. Your ATS should allow  all staff members to access open vacancies, and follow simple steps  to  pass on job leads to their wider network. Good people tend to know good people, so you should be making the most of your 2nd-degree connections! The best ATS will also make sourcing candidates easier, using a browser  extension to import contacts from social site and CV databases, without the manual labour! 3. Interviews feedback Your ATS should take care of scheduling interviews for you, matching candidate preferences with available time slots. Exit  arduous admin, and enter  clever  automation.  Your ATS should also facilitate the taking of feedback, making it easier for hiring managers and interviewers to  record and measure  skills and performance. Creating custom scorecards allows benchmarking and comparison between candidates, helping you translate  those  sloppy scribbles on the side of a CV into useful comments. 4. Tracking following up Just because  a candidate  isnt  the right  fit for your current vacancy doesnt mean they wont be exactly the person youre looking for  in a couple of  months time. Its important to keep tabs on passive candidates and unsuccessful applicants who have the potential to become employees down the track.  Dont undo all your hard recruitment work by letting them slip through the cracks.  Your ATS should make it easy for you to set reminders for  yourself so you dont have to scribble follow-up notes in your diary. Levers snooze capability allows you to  postpone action on a candidate to a later date, so you dont forget about them. 5. Saving searching When a new vacancy opens up, you shouldnt have to start your search from scratch. An  ATS that builds detailed candidate profiles becomes an invaluable database of future prospects a goldmine of warm leads, acting more like a CRM.  Your software should allow you to perform advanced, specific searches that yield high-quality  results, to save you sorting through hundreds of resumes. 6. User-friendly navigation There is nothing more frustrating than filling out a  confusing application form full of blank fields and generic drop-down options that arent applicable to you. Needless to say, your candidates dont want to be clicking through 70 pages of blandness, only to have the system crash on page 68. Your ATS should offer a streamlined application process, that is easy to use. Likewise, if you want existing staff members to adopt a collaborative approach to recruitment,  you need a system that is straight forward, self-explanatory and efficient. 7. Top-notch reporting Brilliant recruitment takes time and effort. Companies that understand the value of having good people take talent attraction and retention seriously, and constantly work at their strategy. Your ATS should have a sound reporting function that allows measurement  of all recruitment  activity. TAKE ACTION How did your ATS perform? Anything less than 7 out of 7 isnt worth your time or money. Invest in something that makes recruitment  exciting  and manageable! About the author: Leela Srinivasan is  Levers Chief Marketing Officer. Check out their website to learn  how your recruitment processes could be transformed.

What to Consider for Your Businesss First Office Space - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

What to Consider for Your Businesss First Office Space - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career No matter what business youre in, choosing a first-rate office is important. When your work location allows you to focus on tasks, meet clients with confidence, and project a professional image all at the same time, its easier to achieve results that can help you take your business up a notch. However, choosing an office isnt just a matter of taking the nearest available real estate space. Many factors need to be considered for your property investment to pay off and lower the chances youll pick a space that doesnt fit your needs to a T. For that, you can refer to the tips below. Plan Your Business Needs to the Last Detail By knowing your business needs inside and out, you can narrow down your office space options in no time. Before you decide to bring your business to the nearest center of entrepreneurial activity, ask these questions first: What are the tools, equipment and peripherals you need, at the least? How many employees do you have, if any? How much space do you need to accommodate your equipment and employees? What other amenities, other than the bare essentials, should the office be able to accommodate? Does the office have a space where you can meet clients and other visitors? Is the office conducive to work? Is it free of noise, glare and unpleasant smells? If not, what can you do to make it better? Do you foresee having to expand your space? If so, when do you expect it to happen? Can you afford to pay for the office, regardless of your level of income and expenses? Your benchmark value should be the difference between your lowest projected income and highest projected expenses. Is the location as accessible as possible for you, your employees, your partner companies and your target clients/customers? If its challenging to answer these questions at the moment, try to visualize what your business will be like once its up and running. After all, a TD Bank survey says that 76 percent of business owners credit their success to the use of visualization techniques. One technique you can use is the mind map. Essentially, the mind map starts with one central idea that branches out into several interrelated ideas. For example, you can write the word business on a board, encircle it, draw lines emanating from the circle connected to phrases like location, employees and equipment and so on and so forth. The idea is to make a clear yet comprehensive visual model that helps you pin down every possible consideration for choosing an office space. Mobilize Your Real Estate Team ASAP Of course, purchasing office space isnt like plucking SPAM off a Wal-Mart shelf and checking out with the cashier. You have documents to prepare, papers to sign and landlords to negotiate with. It can be hard to handle all this, unless you have a team of experts to help you. In particular, a real estate broker who specializes in corporate properties can be invaluable. Because they have a thorough understanding of your business needs, brokers can connect you with the owners of properties most suitable to your needs. Plus, if youre lucky to land a tenant broker, you can cut back on costs since those types of brokers are typically compensated by landlords. Youll also need a lawyer whos experienced with real estate matters. A lawyer can help you iron out any kinks in your lease contract, and ensure that the terms and conditions are as favorable to you as possible. Speaking of which … Consider Leasing Unless you have millions of dollars in extra cash, it wouldnt be practical to purchase your own property outright. Thats why most startup owners prefer to lease instead. Aside from lower upfront expenses, leasing also lightens the pressure to compensate for your property investment ASAP. The cost of an upfront purchase can take at least seven years to recoup, while a lease contract can last from two to three years. Essentially, leases grant you more flexibility in case your business grows faster or slower than anticipated. Lease payments can also be used as tax deductions, which translates to lower expenses during the life of your business. Be aware that there are different types of leases you can take advantage of, as follows: Net Lease. Aside from your monthly rent, you also pay a portion of expenses such as taxes, insurance and maintenance. Double Net Lease. Your lease is equal to the sum of your rent, taxes and insurance. Triple Net Lease. Your lease is equal to the sum of your rent, taxes, insurance and maintenance. Gross/Fully Serviced/Fixed Lease. Your landlord pays most or all of your operating expenses, though a portion of these may be passed on to you as a load factor. Again, be sure to consult a lawyer for any vaguely worded provisions in your lease. These contracts are often skewed heavily in the landlord’s favor, so its important every term and condition is clear to you. Consider Shared Office Spaces You dont have to shoulder the lease by yourself. If there are other tenants who lease the same office space, you can divvy up your expenses with them. And if those tenants are engaged in businesses complementary to yours, you can also establish strategic partnerships that will benefit everyone involved. Have a Backup Plan Its possible that, even after careful consideration, your choice of office space may not be the best one after all. To offset any frustrations you might have with that arrangement, choose up to five possible offices that meet most or all of your criteria. Any more than five and youll end up with what is known as analysis paralysis, or the inability to make decisions due to the overabundance of choices. With these tips, you should be able to construct a general plan for choosing an ideal office space.

Is CEOs Disease Really a Good Thing for Your Business or Career!

Is CEOs Disease Really a Good Thing for Your Business or Career! I was watching a great Ted Talk given my Cameron Herhold (former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK) last night which mentioned that many successful CEOs and Entrepreneurs have bi-polar disorder (manic depression).   In fact,   this phenomenon is so common that many business writers bloggers refer to it as CEOs disease.   This whole idea really surprised me, so I dug a little deeper to find out who has it and how theyve managed to accomplish so much despite their condition. An article by Richard Elsberry says that bi-polar disorder was common among some of the most creative people in history including: Ernest Hemingway, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Mark Twain, Paul Gauguin, George Handel, Gustav Mahler, Cole Porter, and Winston Churchill. Other articles I found claim that Steve Jobs, Ted Turner,  Bill Liechtenstein, and all 3 founders of Netscape show signs or were properly diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. Mr. Herhold suggests in one of his articles that Bipolar Disorder helps people run successful companies because, in their highest moments they dare to dream, and in their lowest moments they confront the most bleak and problematic parts of the company instead of avoiding them. Tim Ferriss (author of The Four Hour Work Week) writes about CEOs Disease on his blog in an article called, Harnessing Entrepreneurial Manic-Depression: Making the Rollercoaster Work for You.   He even showed a transition curve (shown above) and suggests actions to take (and not to take) while in different stages of the mania curve.   For example, if youre feeling manic dont do anything with the budget or money- you wont spend wisely.   If youre feeling down, make projections, plan the budget because youll be cautious.   If youre in a state of serious identity crisis, Tim recommends cleaning out cabinets or going for a walk- anything simple to get out of your rut. Does your boss or CEO seem to have some of the symptoms of Manic Depression/Bi-Polar disorder?   How do you deal with it?   Do you think Steve Jobs was bi-polar?   How do you think it helped him create so many products that changed peoples lives? Do you think the association of CEOs, creative geniuses and successful entrepreneurs will help lift the social stigma of manic depression and bi-polar disorder?

5 Helpful Tips to Consider when Working with a Long-Term Disability CareerMetis.com

5 Helpful Tips to Consider when Working with a Long-Term Disabilityâ€" CareerMetis.com Original Image Source â€" Depositphotos.comHaving a long-term disability can prevent you from doing things you used to be able to or things that you would love to do.However, it doesn’t necessarily have to stop you from having a career.In this post, we offer 5 tips to hopefully make work actually work for you when you have a long-term disability.1) Consider the type of work you are doingevalevalWhen we are about to leave school or college, we seem to spend an eternity deciding what our dream jobis and our route to getting there. Unfortunately, things happen and our dreams can’t always become reality. That doesn’t mean that you have to give up the chance of having great job satisfaction and a decent salary.However, it is a fact that there are some types of work simply not suited to those who have specific disabilities. This is why we recommend researching the type of work you’d like to do and see whether it suits you and your needs first.In fact, why not enquire within local c ompanies about the possibility of doing a trial shift? This would be a fantastic way of discovering how it affects you and your health, both physical and mental.2) Consider a part time positionWhen you are feeling ready to start work again or you are changing the type of work you do, it is easy to get carried away. The chances are that ‘normality’ once involved working full time, whether you enjoyed it or not. The tendency is to want to resume full time working, perhaps too soon.Consider a part time position first. Your health ought to be your top priority and you will burn out quickly if you take on too much. It may be possible to have flexible working where you can do some of your tasks at home in your own time.3) Ask for a risk assessment to be carried outThere may be areas of the work you’re doing, which pose danger for you and possibly others. Prior to starting a new job, and if circumstances change, ask your employer to carry out a risk assessment.This not only helps the m to identify potential problems, it also shows proactivity on your part: a characteristic deemed vital in many jobs. There may be modifications, which could make your life easier and the job more straightforward for you.4) Seek advice from a professionalevalMany attorneys consider long-term disabilityas the reason behind many workplace incidents.Discrimination can occur and, if you have gone through the proper channels, it is certainly worth seeking professional advice. Sometimes, claims on insurance can be denied for unfathomable reasons and, once again, getting help from those in the know is imperative.eval5) Make friendsPeople often say that the workplace isn’t somewhere you ought to make friends.However, this need not always be the case. In fact, if you need a little more support, friends will help you out.evalEnsuring you have people you can call upon, for example, if something isn’t quite right or there is a task you are unable to complete, can help to alleviate any stres s or worries you may have.

How to Use Indeed.com for Your Job Search - Part 2 - CareerAlley

How to Use Indeed.com for Your Job Search - Part 2 - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. In Part 1 (How to Use Indeed.com for Your Job Search Part 1) we covered how to sign-up, setup, find jobs and automate Indeed.com for your job search. Part 2 covers how to apply for a job on Indeed and what happens next. Its one thing to spend time looking for a job and its another to actually apply for a job that matches your experience. Indeed.com makes it easy to apply, but there are a few things you will want to consider before applying. What to consider before applying: Age of the Post: Remember from Part 1, try to keep you applications to jobs that have been posted 7 days or less (3 or less is ideal). On some of the listings (when you look at the details) it shows the number of applications to date. If that number is say, greater than 50, I would hesitate to send yours as well. Private versus Public: We touched on this briefly yesterday but it is worth a revisit. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH if you employer does not know you are looking for a job then KEEP YOUR PROFILE PRIVATE! If it is public, anyone can find you on Indeed.com. Give it a try, use search for resumes, use the advanced search and enter the name of your current or previous employer. It will list everyone at that company who has a resume posted. If you are unemployed or dont care if your employer knows, then make your profile public. On to Part 2 How to apply on Indeed.com: Find a Job Posting: Once youve setup your searches (see Find Jobs from Part 1), you are ready to narrow the field and apply. Take look at the left sidebar and determine you should (or want to) narrow the search. If you are like most people, you will have several searches that are focused on different aspects of your experience. You can also refine your search using Advanced at the top of the page to the right of the Find Jobs button. Select a job posting that looks interesting and looks like it might be a good fit for you. Click on the job. Depending on whether it is a company sponsored ad, recruiter ad or an Indeed.com ad, you will get different screens. Read the job description and requirements. Still want to apply? Read on. What happens next depends on how the job was posted. In all cases, the application process should be similar. Applying for a Job: This is the time consuming piece as you will need to create a user name / password for many postings. In some cases the apply button will take you directly to the companys site. Most companies require that you create a user id (but not all). Follow the instructions. Some apply buttons will take you to third party software (the most common is Taleo). Again, you will be asked to login or to create an account. If the job was posted by a recruiter, you will generally find yourself on their site. Specifics vary from recruiter to recruiter but the rule of thumb is that you will need to create a user name / password The good news is that if you are applying to a company (or recruiter) where youve already setup a profile, most of the information will be pre-populated for you. Managing Your Applications and More:Once youve been on the job hunt for awhile (unless you land quickly), you can easily start to lose track of the jobs youve applied for and who you applied with. The good news is that Indeed.com helps you track your applications. From Find Jobs, click your email address in the top right hand corner and select my.indeed. Manage your searches From here you can track and manage your searches. You will see a list of all of your latest searches. You can easily re-run them from this menu by just clicking on the search. You can also easily remove them with (you guessed it) the remove link at the end of each line. Manage Your Applications From the My Jobs tab, you can see both jobs you viewed and jobs you applied for. You have the option to view, remove or add/change notes. Alerts As mentioned in Part 1, alerts allow you to get daily or weekly results against your searches (only the ones you pick). You can manage your alerts from this tab. Resume Last, but not least, is the tab which has your resume. You can change, add or delete resumes from this tab. You now have all you need to quickly leverage [easyazon_link asin=1607741709 locale=US new_window=default nofollow=default tag=caree07-20 add_to_cart=default cloaking=default localization=default popups=yes]Indeed.com[/easyazon_link]! We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey

Do You Want A Job Or A Career

Do You Want A Job Or A Career That may sound like a dumb question, but it really is one designed to make you think. A job gives you a paycheck to be able to do things like buy groceries, pay bills, and support your childs activities. That is not a bad reason to have a job. In fact, Id say it is the only reason to have a job. If you need money, get a job. Right? But a career is different. Two people can be working side by side at the same task in the same workplace and one will have a job while the other has a career. One is focused on the paycheck, the other is focused on the future. If you are taking the time to improve your skills, paying attention to more than your job description, and getting ready for the next opportunity, then you have a career. Improve your skills by learning to do things that intimidate you a little bit. Read more. Write more. Take some classes or tutorials about using software that might be helpful. Learn to do your job and be open to learning how to do any other jobs around you. Pay attention to more than your job description by noticing how things happen. Whats involved with getting the product to the shelves or the service to the customer? How is this business managed? What other businesses feed into it or support it? Expanding your perspective opens your eyes to networking possibilities and possible career paths. Get ready for the next opportunity by keeping your resume up to date and looking for ways to stay current with the job market. Seek out an executive resume writer to help bring your resume current. The Job Search Resources  page has a lot of ideas here. It may say Job in the title, but it says Career in the result. The difference between a job and a career is the attitude you have about your long-range plans.