TAKE INSPIRATION speaks with employment lawyer, Dale Langley

What does Dale Langley & Co do?

We are a small firm of lawyers set up mainly to assist employees facing issues like redundancy and other employment issues, working with the client to resolve the situation as cost-effectively as possible but without compromising the standard of work.

What were you doing before becoming your own boss?
I worked for two large City law firms for fifteen years too long…however I have to admit the experience of looking at things from the other side is very useful to me now.

What are your plans for the business in 2009?
There is a lot of pressure to expand the business, and we are often approached by those seeking a merger, but our main aim is to stay “niche” with gentle and controlled organic growth over the next year.

What one general employment legal advice or tip do you have to offer to those who are facing redundancy and negotiating their package?
Sorry this is going to sound like a plug, but the best advice is to take a little advice early on rather than a lot, later on! Until you have advice – try to listen and take notes only.

What is the one thing you could not live without in your daily routine?
I could list so many, but the truth is you can pretty well live without most of them if you have to. Probably the best tool for our business is currently e-mail, and I guess I would now miss that more than most. In fact when a client is not on e-mail everything takes much longer!

Christine speaks to Dale Langley at Dale Langley & Co. | Employment Solicitors

TAKE INSPIRATION speaks with Chartered Accountant - David Beckman

Q. What does the company do?

We help to make businesses more profitable and life less taxing. We stand alongside our clients and help them in all aspects of running their business, whether it be preparing VAT returns, bookkeeping issues, dealing with final statutory accounts, submitting company tax returns, payroll or personal tax returns. Throughout this process, we advise businesses on how to maximise their profits and pay the least amount of company or personal tax using all legitimate means.

Q. What were you doing before becoming your own boss?

I worked for an international tax practice before joining a small partnership as partner designate. Three years after becoming a partner there I set up my own business as I was fed up doing all the work for the senior partner who insisted on taking the lion's share of the profits and retaining control.

Q. What are your plans for the business for 2009?

To continue our growth and to continue improving our internal systems so that we deliver quality service and advice to our clients each and every time, no matter how big or small our client is, and offer extremely good value for money.

Q. What one tax advice or tip would you give to those thinking of starting their own business?

Get the structure right at the outset as this can save a huge amount of tax. For example, to trade as limited company, rather than as a sole trader, and pay low salary and high dividends can save £2,368 of tax.

Q. What is the one thing you cannot live without?

My children

Christine speaks with David at David Beckman & Co Ltd | Chartered Accountants & Chartered Tax Advisers

To-Do Checklist Following Redundancy

It's a stressful time losing your job and the last thing you may be thinking of is organising your paperwork before your employment officially terminates. If you decide to leave the company and take your package, these are some things to check off your list of to-do's before leaving the firm. It's a good idea to photocopy all important documents such as the ones listed below so you have records of everything.

You will find it is more difficult when you've returned your blackberry, your staff pass, and lose access to internal telephone numbers to track these items down afterwards. So I've created this check-list that I hope all my online readers find useful. Please add to this list by posting your comments online.

Check-list of To-Do's
Contact your HR department and make sure your address & contact telephone no. is up to date for the following. Do not expect HR to update this information themselves. Always ask for direct telephone numbers to each department.
-Pension account
-Executive Share Ownership Plan
-Payroll slips

Documents you need from HR
-Your P45 form (you'll need this for your Tax Return)
-Your P60 form (you'll need this for your Tax Return)
-Have your outplacement consultancy services package be sent to you (if applicable)
-Ask for a breakdown of how your redundancy package was calculated
-Ask for any holiday pay that may be owed to you
-Find out the termination date of your health & other staff benefits
-A copy of your compromising agreement to seek independent legal advice

Useful links:
Directgov
Redundancy Help
Redundancy Expert

Redundancy: Job Seeker's Allowance

As they say, "Time is money!" The longer you take to look for employment or figure out what you want to do following redundancy - the longer your income is interrupted. Although each individual's entitlement to Job Seeker's allowance can be different, it's a good idea to contact your local JobCentre Plus branch to understand your rights and entitlement (if any). With unemployment currently at 2 million and still rising, you can only imagine how long it would take to process your claim. So speak to someone at JobCentre Plus and understand your options and see if it's worth submitting a claim for job seekers' allowance. If your claim is successful, you will receive £60 in job seeker's allowance per week. When I was made redundant, it took me a little while to find that I possibly could be entitled to job seeker's allowance. I simply did not know about this government service. Although my claim was turned down because my package exceeded their criteria and my combined household income was high, I'm glad I explored my options. You could be missing out on money you may potentially be entitled to. So know your rights! Visit your local JobCentre Plus branch and see if you are entitled to compensation. Every penny helps!

Jobcentre Plus

Dealing With Redundancy: more useful links

Some of you have personally written to me for more useful links relating to redundancy. A lot of you have found the following sites to be useful when dealing with redundancy. If you have used other sites that helped you, please post the links online to share with all our online readers. Thank you.

Careers Advice
TheSite
Directgov
Redundancy Expert

Expand Your Professional Network Online

Are you looking in all the right places for your next job? Perhaps you may consider joining a professional network such as LinkedIn. You can search for specific forums, groups or associations that closely relate to your area of expertise.

Research suggests that we are all connected to each other within 6 degrees of separation. This means, you may be able to find the right connection to your next job from your existing network or within the next 6 levels of your extended network. 6 out of 10 jobs are not advertised according to a research done by the University of Dublin. Further research from this study also indicated that more than 25% of people who find jobs through networking receive the referral from someone they meet once a year or less! This is great news because it means if one individual has 100 personal contacts in his or her network, he or she can potentially connect to over 1 million professionals by connecting with someone who knows someone else and so on.

By joining social and professional networks, you can be tapping into hidden job markets and increase your success rate of getting employed.

LinkedIn
Women in Banking and Finance
Association of International Property Professionals

Have you had success with similar online networks? What have you tried that is working for you and getting you interviews? Please post your comments below.