Job Changes no Longer Seen as Negative by Employers

Traditionally it has been considered by employers that holding a position long term is something to be looked upon as positive in terms of a CV.

However, with today’s job market having become more fluid, it appears that the old concept of a ‘career for life’ could well be somewhat outdated.

Edology, a leading e-learning organisation, undertook a survey of 1,000 employers with a view to discovering whether there has been a shift in attitude around the subject of job changes. The survey revealed that, in actual fact, job hopping could be classed as a good career move with 82 per cent of employers stating that they would be willing to take someone on who had switched jobs within the last six months.

Perceptions Around Regular Job Changes have Shifted

This would suggest that general perceptions around regular job changes have shifted from negative to positive. In fact, 51 per cent of employers surveyed believed that people switching careers tended to have a higher degree of motivation.

Founder and CEO of Target Internet, Daniel Rowles, is in agreement, saying, “The fresh perspective of someone from a totally different industry often ends up providing a greater benefit than the relevant skills of someone who’s done the advertised role before.

“In this age of exponential change, every candidate will require ongoing training to stay up-to-speed. With careerists arguably losing their skills advantage, and job roles becoming more creative and strategic, career changers are starting to look like the smartest hires.”

63 per cent of employers believe that changing jobs could be beneficial to a career and 53 per cent say it helps aid personal development.

Dr Jeremy C Bradley, executive director at Edology, has this to say: “Until recently, job hopping was considered career suicide, but things have changed. As job longevity becomes a thing of the past, employers and recruiters are beginning to have a different outlook on job hopping, as our research confirms.”

So, if as an employer you have been concerned about taking someone on who has a career history of job hopping, or who has recently switched roles, it could be time to look on it as a positive rather than a negative.

Tax Exempt Bonuses Could Boost Staff Morale

A survey of 1,500 UK workers and business leaders has revealed that an increasing number of UK businesses would like to regularly reward their staff with bonuses, but feel they are being held back by budgets.

The survey, conducted by One4all Rewards with a view to raising awareness of HMRCs Trivial Benefits Allowance, uncovered that 83 per cent of British business leaders would like to give their employees regular bonuses and rewards so as to boost productivity, morale, loyalty and motivation. However, 53 per cent of them said they do not currently do so because the business does not have sufficient budget available.

Businesses can now benefit from HMRC tax exemptions

In April 2016, HMRC altered the workplace benefits rules, allowing businesses to benefit from the exemption and reducing National Insurance contribution and tax charges. However, 90 per cent of businesses are missing out.

With 48 per cent of workers saying that their morale would be lifted by receiving even just a small bonus, 35 per cent stating that they would feel more loyal and 31 per cent saying they would be better motivated, it really does demonstrate the importance for employers of making use of these tax exempt bonuses. In addition, the fact that 62 per cent of workers reported that rewards such as gift vouchers or experiences would have a significant impact upon their attitude towards work, certainly backs this up.

Bonuses and rewards appreciated by staff

The survey also revealed that 47 per cent of UK workers would appreciate a non-performance related reward or bonus at Christmas and 32 per cent would like to receive a bonus following a busy time at work. 26 per cent would appreciate a birthday bonus.

Alan Smith is UK managing director of One4all Rewards. He comments, “There is lots of potential for British businesses to offer non-performance related benefits to their staff under the latest HMRC changes to the workplace benefits rule.

“The changes to the workplace benefits rule have been introduced to help businesses similar to those we surveyed, who have limited budgets to reward their employees.

“We can see from the research that only a small proportion of businesses are currently making use of the tax exemption on trivial benefits, however, 11 per cent of UK bosses are intending to make use of the tax exemption before the end of their tax year.”

If you are considering giving your workforce bonuses or rewards, be sure to discuss it with your bookkeepers to ensure you are keeping within the tax exempt limits.

How to Protect Yourself as a Director or Company Officer

Under the Companies Act 2006, directors and company officers are subject to over 200 areas of statutory liability. A breach of any legislation has the potential to lead to civil or even criminal charges. Directors and officers of companies can be held personally liable for these charges and could face significant fines and possible custodial sentences.

Regulatory compliance is an ever-growing challenge, and the powers of regulatory bodies are becoming increasingly onerous. Risks are also apparent in the workplace in the form of employees who are these days well aware of their rights and do not hold back in taking action where they feel those rights have been violated.

Keeping your head above water amidst all this is an exceptional challenge for any business owner, particularly when the business is a smaller one that doesn’t have its own in-house legal department.

Personal Risks for Company Directors and Officers

Directors and officers face a raft of personal risks. These include health and safety failings; employee claims; data protection breaches; advertising standards violations and company activity irregularities.

In some cases, convicted directors can face sentences of between two and ten years as well as being banned from running a company for up to 15 years.

Thankfully there is a way to protect yourself from these risks if you are a company director or officer.

How to Protect Yourself from Personal Risk as a Company Director or Officer

If an investigation is launched against your company you will obviously need to put up a solid defence. The legal costs involved in this can run into tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds, even if the outcome is favourable. This will obviously put a significant strain on both company and personal finances.

The way to protect against this risk is by taking out a Directors and Officers Liability insurance policy, also known as D&O insurance.

These policies take away the financial risks faced by directors and officers, protecting them in the event of claims or allegations needing to be defended.

D&O insurance provides cover for key officers and directors of a business, protecting them by covering legal defence costs in cases of regulatory inquiries; environmental mismanagement investigations; employee claims; licensing breach actions, corporate manslaughter allegations and more.

Most directors and officers taking up new positions have an expectation for such cover to be in place to protect them in their new role. This cover is not expensive and premiums are based on a sliding scale according to turnover.

If you think in terms of the potential costs involved in NOT having the cover, it has to be considered a wise move.