Income levies, tax credits, and public holidays

Written By David Nixon – Accounts & Payroll Administrator, Priority Placements

I moved from England and started working in Ireland for the first time last year. I started by temping for Priority Placements and I had to deal with the issue of tax credits. Now I actually work for priority placements and I have helped people apply for tax credits and more recently I have had to try and explain the income levy. Hopefully the following will be beneficial to you:

Tax Credits and emergency tax.

A common problem people tend to have when starting a new job is that they are being emergency taxed. Most people bring there P45 from there old job and expect that to stop them from being emergency taxed. However this doesn’t always prove to be the case and you end up being emergency taxed; the best way to prevent this is to apply for your tax credits from the revenue office as soon as possible. Once you start working for a new company ask your employer for their tax registration number and call the revenue office with this number and your PPS number. They should then be able to help you and should be able to send you your new tax credit certificate. Once you receive it if you drop a copy off to your new employer you should be taken off of emergency tax.

Income Levy.

Also on the 1st January 2009 the government introduced a 1% income levy. The levy is payable on gross income before any relief for any capital allowances, losses or pension contribution. This levy is payable on salaries earning up to €100,000.00 p.a. if you earn over €100,101.00 p.a. then you will have to pay a 2% levy and if you earn over €250,120 p.a. you will have to pay a 3% income levy.

However the following exemptions do apply:

· Where an individual's income for a year does not exceed €18,304 p.a.
· for over 65’s where their annual income does not exceed €20,000 p.a. for a single individual or €40,000 p.a. for a married couple
· If you hold a Full Medical card
· Social Welfare payments are also excluded from the income levy

And finally something everyone wants to know, how many public holidays are there and when are they. There are nine public holidays in Ireland and they are:

Thursday, 1st January
Tuesday, 17th March
Monday, 13th April
Monday, 4th May
Monday, 1st June
Monday, 3rd August
Monday, 26th October
Friday, 25th December
Saturday, 26th December

For more information regarding tax credits and the income levy is available at http://www.revenue.ie/en/index.html

Top Three Tips To Maximise a Temporary Worker in an Economic Recession
Written By Aaron Wills – Senior Recruiter at Parker Bridge Auckland, New Zealand (an affiliate of Priority Placements). Aaron has over five & half years’ recruitment experience. He joined Priority Placements (originally named Parker Bridge Ireland) in Dublin and experienced in the same year the Dot Com bubble bursting, September 11 and the impact of a foot & mouth scare on the Irish Economy. Aaron is currently working in Parker Bridge Auckland. Below are some key tips he has learnt and would like to share with Line Managers for your consideration when you are recruiting financial/administrative/IT staff for long and short term temporary assignments:


With the market as it is we are focused on getting back to basics to make the recruitment process easy for you. Here are a few tips to help you get what you need from a temporary worker.

Tip 1: Identify the problem you are trying to solve. Get specific and clarify what you want your temporary worker to do. One way we can achieve this is by having a discovery meeting where we discuss the role and gain as much information as possible. For example, assessing what the temp will be doing on a typical day.

This can benefit you as it enables us to get the correct match. Identifying whether parts of the role can be downgraded or if in fact the role actually requires a more senior person with the right experience may enable you to save time and money.

Tip 2: Identify the hardest part of the role. This helps us focus on finding a candidate who has the skills to deal with this issue, which saves you training time and therefore money. Candidates are able to use skills learnt in other temp roles to become effective in your role faster.

For example, often clients what candidates with the ability to talk to non-accounting managers (sales, warehouse or engineering managers) to get information to meet accounting deadlines in a friendly and proactive way.

Tip 3: Looking at projects & system improvements. Improving a workflow process for paying an invoice or improving your financial accounting system, can add real time savings and benefits to a finance function. Looking at duplication in your current process will give you an idea of where you can make these savings.

Three ways to get the most from a temporary worker are:
· to use them as the change agent, that being they can be the outside person who can ask the ‘why is it done this way’ type of questions
· to bring in specialist skills
· to back full a role and reward a staff member by having them do the project role

Bonus Idea: Try a working interview. These work by us arranging with you for the person to work for you for a day as a working interview. This saves you having to go through the interview process and enables you to see how they can do the role. Using our temporary employment arrangements eliminates most of the risk of taking on the wrong person.

Interview Testing - do you really have the skill set?

Probably one of the worst and best things I ever did was start a career in recruitment in the recession of the early 90’s when I went to London. The 80’s boom ended and consultants were leaving the industry in droves. They had made their money in the “easy” market and found it too hard so moved on. It was very tough then and it is tough now. What I learned from that experience has stood me in good stead over the years. As there were so few jobs you had to fight hard to get the offer. When you started your job you had to make it work and you worked hard to achieve the right results. Leaving was not an option. The great thing was you appreciated the outcomes and never took them for granted.

I would consider myself to be a loyal individual and indeed have been amazed at how candidates have been happy to move jobs at such a high frequency in the last number of years in a good market. There was more choice I guess and the idea of a higher salary is always an incentive. Candidates were confident and believed they were capable of doing the job. But in moving so quickly from 1 job to another they are diluting their skill set and employers have found that now when they are recruiting their preference is to take the time out and question and potentially test individuals applying for the job. Employers are now already asking why candidates have moved from one job to the next. They want stability and they want candidates who really do understand the basics of their skills. Clients are providing testing almost from the outset. If you know your line of expertise then this should not pose a problem because the testing tends to be quite general. If you are attending an interview through an agency your consultant can advise you on what preparation you need to do in advance. If you are attending an interview directly then it is recommended that you research for similar style testing. Check in advance what kind of test it will be. The internet or a library is a good place to start and then practice. Most of us are naturally nervous when it comes to any kind of testing regardless of how well we know our area of expertise so my advice is to research and practice. So when you go in to do the test at least you feel you have made some effort to prepare and hopefully that will calm the nerves.

Some clients not only test at the outset prior to interview or any offer but also 3 months in to the job itself. If this test/assessment is not passed then the position will be terminated. So when you decide to apply for a position make sure you are confident that you can demonstrate in an interview situation by providing examples or communicating clearly that you can do the job efficiently and effectively. Whilst we all desire a challenge lets make sure we are not taking on more than we bargained for.

It's Good to Talk

Verbal Communication, Written Communication or No Communication?

Talking on the telephone is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some people go out of their way to avoid being on the phone and I am not talking about mobiles. Most age groups are very comfortable with their mobile and we can all hear them talking cheerfully and loudly stately “I’m on the train” or just simply talking loudly into their mobile regardless of whether they need to or not. Yet when it comes to the work environment we all see to have lost our sense of natural communication via the phone. Is it because the phone is a lot larger than a mobile? Does it size make us feel we can not bear lifting the handle like we are suddenly suffering from some kind of phobia?

Or is it is simply because it is so much handier to let the phone slide towards voicemail and hide behind email responses if of course we do get around to responding. It is understandable not to want or to have to respond to an unwarranted email or call but if you have engaged a professional (a recruitment consultant for example or an expert to provide advice) then you should not spend the next while avoiding them. Take a deep breath and respond. It’s not that hard just answer the phone and simply give an honest and candid response. It takes seconds and the person at the other end will be satisfied to a certain degree. If you seriously believe that ignoring calls and emails from people who genuinely take their jobs seriously but unfortunately depend on communication as a big part of their job then you have most probably should not be in the job you are in or maybe that particular part of the job should be someone else’s. The penalty is they will keep ringing or emailing and no one wants that.

The biggest stress factor for recruiters is getting hold of candidates that have registered looking for work or some clients who have requested us to locate candidates on their behalf. An enormous amount of time is wasted just because some one can’t be “bothered” (I use this term loosely but to some consultants it exactly how it is) to respond. Is it a power trip, are they simply too busy or maybe they seriously believe the consultant doesn’t warrant a response even though that consultant may have spent hours working on a position for them and is simply looking for feedback on their work or in some cases to give feedback. I am just referring to a good consultant here. The one that if the contact took the time to get to know they might actually save themselves a lot of time and heartache.

No communication is usually the cause of most problems and it’s no different when it comes to recruitment no matter which side of the table you are sitting at. It’s amazing how relieved/motivated some one can be once a verbal conversation has occurred. So come on let’s start communicating with each other. As BT say “It’s good to talk”.

Reasons for Leaving your Job

Some times as a recruiter when asking a potential candidate what is their reason for leaving their current job they cry back to you and say “but I haven’t left yet”. This naturally is a concern for the recruiter as they want the potential candidate to be clear about why they are thinking of leaving and this reason or reasons should be well thought out. No one wants a candidate who is unsure. Indeed if you are not sure why you are leaving then why are you leaving? Worse case scenario is you could find yourself in a similar position and unhappier.

There are many different reasons why people choose to leave their current employer and even though you might think that the obvious reason is money this is actually far down the list of reasons. Location is by far the biggest reason as most of us want to avoid the congestion of traffic and the long travel home. Other reasons will involve the “glass ceiling” situation where there is no more room to develop further; recently qualified and want to make that career advancement at that point in time; starting to take further studies and want the experience to complement them. When studying for professional accountancy examinations again be clear about which course and why you are taking it. A client recently commented that he wanted a candidate who studied CIMA because he believed that the CIMA candidate knew exactly why he was studying CIMA and what career path he intended to follow.

If the reason for leaving is genuinely negative the candidate should rethink the situation here and how he should explain it without making it a big issue. Make sure good references are available to the next employer as no one wants to take on “baggage”. It's important to leave on a good note regardless.

If the reason for leaving is the next step then make sure you as the candidate have thought through all the reasons why you have the capability and skill set to this promotion. You may also need to explain why your current company is not in a position to offer this promotion to you.

Finally never walk out on a job just because you have had enough. It doesn’t bode well for your next opportunity.

Prepared to be interviewed in a downturn market

July 2008

Prepare to be interviewed in a downturn market

There’s a lot of doom and gloom in the media. Politicians are sending out conflicting messages as to weather Ireland is in a recession or not. Bottom line is though employers are reviewing costs, salaries are frozen or cut (Lisney’s cut their salaries by 10%), if an employee leaves they are not necessarily being replaced. In some sectors like legal, conveyance lawyers are being let go but it’s not all bad news there are employers looking to recruit new staff due to expansion (yes some companies are expanding) and/or replacing staff that have moved on.

What potential candidates need to think about is exactly what is it they really want when they are looking for a new position. They should also prepare themselves well for the actual interview. The market has turned and it is now the employers market in a lot of cases. Candidates want a good environment, challenging role, great benefits, training, good salary with regular reviews, communication, recognition & progression. The Employer wants an experienced and responsible candidate, someone who adds value, excellent attitude, enthusiastic, and committed, stable, reliable and uses initiative.

Candidates will find there is a lot more competition for roles and employers will be a lot more choosey as to who they will take on. For the candidate preparation is the key. Here is a short list of the basics you should have thought about in advance of the interview:

- Research the company. The internet is the obvious starting point but if you are going through an agency your consultant will have a lot more “inside” and relevant information so listen closely. Be warned knowledge about the company is important and it often a question that is asked by the potential employer.
- Dress well. Wear a suit. Employers have rejected candidates who do not make the appropriate effort here.
- Be on time. Work out your journey. If you are very early go somewhere and have a coffee and only arrive no later than 10 minutes before hand.
- Have a list of questions that you want to ask. Do not say “I think you have covered everything”.
- Think about what questions you might be asked.
- Know your strengths, weaknesses and achievements.

Remember the employer wants someone he can rely on and if you really want the job you have got to demonstrate and convince home that he can.

See www.priorityplacements.ie for more information on interview preparation.

Job Hunter or Career Seeker?

June 2008

Job Hunter or Career Seeker

Which are you? I think most of us have realised that the “job for life” has gone or at least slowly slipping away. How great does the idea seem now when women who worked in the civil service had to give up their job as soon as they married. To an extent it was ok then as men were given good benefits and generally a nice pension to live off on retirement. Not the case these days as both men and women work hard to earn a good standard of living and in some situations not a sign of a pension. Property is the new pension.

So getting back to the question, job hunter or career seeker? What’s the difference? The difference is the job hunter simply wants a job to pay the bills and have his/her “beer” money at the end of the week. The career seeker genuinely wants to progress. They usually try to improve their education in order to enhance their prospects and look for jobs that offer progression and training. Unfortunately sometimes the job hunter thinks he is the career person, convinces himself and everyone around him that this is where he wants to be. He comes on board and is enthusiastic in the first month or two whilst getting to grips with the new job and getting on side with his fellow workers but then he realises that it is starting to get a bit harder. He actually has to work for his wage. His experience is not as strong as he stated in his interview. His bosses have expectations of him. It all is getting a bit too difficult so to deal with the problem he has found himself in, so he deals with it by creating a negative atmosphere around him, gets some similar minded individuals on board with him. Sick leave occurs or days of unexplained absences. Then he resigns. The longevity of this person is anywhere between 6 months to 16 months. It is highly likely that this pattern will continue for some years.

What the job hunter should realise is that it is ok not to want the “big career”. There is a good choice of jobs in the market. Consider doing temporary or fixed term contracts instead of making a commitment to a permanent role. Not everybody knows what they want to do when they leave full time education. If you want a career make sure you have set objectives in place. Make sure you are in a position to make a commitment to achieving that goal. It’s an important decision so take a bit of time to think about what you want and what is available. Get advice. Your career is not achieved in a 14 month stint. Lawyers, Accountants, Doctors for example spend years studying and working in training roles before they qualify. It takes time and determination. Unless we win the lotto or come into money most of us will be working for at least 40 years. Don’t waste time in a role that might jeopardise the chance of a better position through poor performance and attitude.

Most employers want their staff to stay for a good number of years where they can progress them – each gaining what they need to make either their career successful or the company doing well. Take time to think about your next job. Be honest about your circumstances and capabilities. You never know you might actually find what you are looking for!