Author: James

Bacs enables accounts departments to run more efficiently

Bacs payments have been around for a long time and bacs software has become a key part of the process of transferring money between accounts. Bacs stands for Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services, although this full name is little used now. The acronym, like the Bacs process, is a lot more convenient. The Bankers’ Automated Clearing Service was conceived and developed in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s by a man called Denis Gladwell. Since then it has proved extremely popular as a method of making payments and managing accounts both with commercial organisations and with the wider public.

One of the main boons of using Bacs is that there is a lot less paper to worry about and to keep track of when you are attempting to transfer money between bank accounts. It is efficient and straightforward. These attributes have made it a tremendously convenient means of settling invoices, paying salaries and paying the other sundry expenses that are a normal part of business life. It has also very much reduced the need to store large sums of cash to meet future expenses claims and has also greatly reduced the amount of time that a firm’s staff have to spend tracking down and storing the paper documents necessary to carry-out their transactions at the bank. This makes for a much happier and more productive workforce, because people are able to get on with other more interesting tasks to develop and improve the business.

Nowadays, many people in accounts departments make relatively few trips to banks and the same is increasingly true for individual customers. A substantial proportion of banking these days is done online. Using your knowledge of key details of your account (such as the account number and the sort code) and remembering passwords and security information enables people to conduct their banking business over the internet. This means that they are able to access their account information twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week from the comfort of their favourite armchair in their living room if they so wish. This means that bacs payments can now be planned and arranged much more easily. It should, however, be remembered that the bacs system does not make payments instantly, but normally takes three working days.

Bacs payments were an excellent invention and bacs software enables these transactions to be processed smoothly and securely. Bacs may one day be superseded by another invention, but members of accounts and finance departments will always be grateful to Denis Gladwell.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Using CIS payroll to make payments easier

Working as a contractor can be tough at times.  Some contractors who work like this find that the busy schedule of a contractor leaves little time to handle the administrative tasks that come with it.  If this sounds like you, singing up with a contractor umbrella may be the best option for you, giving you security and the peace of mind of knowing that your payments are in order.  In addition, you may want to consider a cis payroll service, which enables you to receive your payments in the easiest way possible.  Payroll services like these are ideal because they are specifically used by established contractors, sub-contractors, sole traders and partnerships.

What is usually referred to as CIS stands simply for the Construction Industry Scheme.  It generally applies to contractors and subcontractors who are in mainstream construction work.  Essentially what happens is, under the scheme a separate company takes on the role of the contractor by fulfilling all the administrative tasks associated with the job.  HM Revenue and Customs designed the scheme, and those who wish to sign up will need to first visit the HM Revenue and Customs website in order to be given a Unique Taxpayer Reference Number, without which you cannot participate in the scheme. There is no long term commitment involved in signing up; while some contractors need a contractor umbrella for a few weeks, others will use their services for a number of years.

Once you have your Unique Taxpayer Reference number, you will be identifiable on the revenue and customs system.  The next steps are to send the number, as well as your name and National Insurance number, to the company you want to register with.  The tax rate on those with a UTR is 20%, but 30% for those without it.  Finding work and sorting out rates is still up to the individual contractor, as is the end-of-year expenses list.  By filling in a list at the end of the year of all the expenses incurred throughout the year, you can offset these against your tax rate.

Those working in the construction industry may wish to register with a contractor umbrella for a number of reasons.  For many, the simple time-saving element of being on the cis payroll makes it worth signing up. If you don’t have to go through paperwork to make sure you get paid, you might be able to fit in a trip to the playground with the children, or another pint at the pub.  Payroll services are there for you to make the most of – it’s up to you to go ahead and do it.

Please visit http://www.liquidfriday.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Document processing can increase your staffs morale

There are a great number of systems that are used for running a successful office and they will vary according to the size and nature of the firm. One of the main organisational facilities which all offices must have, however, is a system that allows rapid and simple document management. This can include document processing and invoice processing and a lot of other systems can be added to increase the efficiency with which the office staff work and to cut-down the incidence of annoying human errors that are inescapable in any firm. However many systems an office manager decides to implement within the business the main facility which is needed is document management – this is what much of running an office boils down to.

Nowadays, the filing and managing of documents regularly all takes place on a computer. This way of working has numerous advantages. Not only can different members of staff access shared documents and spreadsheets, but it is now also standard practice for staff to remotely access their work computer and continue to work on important documents despite being away from their desk, perhaps while travelling, or perhaps looking after a sick child or infant at home. When members of staff are able to store and edit documents jointly it increases the efficiency with which they are able to work and to collaborate. This in turn has a very positive effect on team morale within the office.

One of the greatest advantages of using a computer system to manage your documents is that files can be searched for individually, for example, by date, by title, by author, or by keyword. This again speeds up the working process and allows employees to make better use of their time for the benefit of the business. It also means that the wrong (perhaps outdated) file is less likely to be used at critical points in the business cycle because a properly organised system for managing documents can easily be used to replace documents and files as and when they are superseded.

There are many advantages to a document management system, from more efficient document processing to more accurate invoice processing. It can even help to reduce the carbon footprint of your business. In the current climate, when office space is at a premium and office overheads are high, using a computer-based system to manage and process documents makes a lot of sense. It is no wonder that they are increasingly popular across a wide range of businesses.

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Social worker jobs: a brief job description

Those employed in social work jobs work with people who have been socially excluded, or coping with a crisis in their lives.  Rather than providing long term support, social services jobs are designed to enable service users to help themselves.  They would typically act as guides, advocates or critical friends in order to achieve this aim.  Those who are thinking about social worker jobs will need strong social skills, but also the ability to remain unbiased and keep an open mind in difficult situations.

Social workers may be required to be involved in a variety of settings, depending on the needs of individual service users.  Typical places might be the service user’s home, schools, hospitals, and other public sector organisations.  Social workers need to be able to work independently but should not expect to be unsupported.  Once qualified, social work professionals are generally supported by social work assistants.  Health and social care staff are also likely to work closely with those in social worker jobs.  Recent government health legislation focusing on the integration of these sectors means that professionals in these sectors often work in multidisciplinary teams.

The majority of social work jobs will involve working with young people and their families, so a willingness to help this group is important in this sector.  Social workers may also work with young offenders, those with mental health conditions, school non-attenders, drug and alcohol abusers, people with learning and physical disabilities, and the elderly.

Tasks can vary widely, from practical one-to-one help to looking after the wider organisation of the lives of vulnerable people.  As with many jobs, paperwork is a necessity in social services jobs.  Social workers will have to spend a sizeable amount of time undertaking and writing up assessments, often together with with medical and other professionals.  A lot of their time will be spent conducting interviews with service users and their families, to ensure they keep on top of their situation.  This will often lead to a need for social workers offering information and counselling support.  There is an active decision making element to social work jobs, in that social workers organise and manage packages of support to enable service users to lead the fullest lives possible.  Liaising with other agencies is an important part of the job, and recommendations will sometimes have to be made.  social worker jobs also demand that professionals keen accurate records of their work, and are sometimes called upon to give evidence in court.

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Why I opted for internship jobs after finishing university

I always knew it was going to happen, but somehow it still surprised me when it did.  In my third year at university, talk turned to graduate jobs, and I realised that I was going to have to make some plans for my life.  Unlike some of my friends, who had spent their summers in internship jobs with a view to getting on a graduate scheme at a big organisation, I had decided to journey to far flung corners of the world during my breaks from university, teaching English in Asia and South America.  This left me feeling rather like a blank canvas, which I tried to see as a positive thing, and so I set about trying to think about what kind of positions might be fitting for me.

The first thing I did was to make an appointment at my university careers service.  The problem with this, though, was that they had a wealth of information about how to get graduate jobs in your chosen area, if you had worked out what that was.   The staff there seemed a little fed up of confused finalists expecting them to provide answers to all the tough questions in their lives. It was apparent that I was going to have to do a little more thinking by myself before I could enlist the help of somebody who didn’t know me.

I decided to start scanning all the job adverts printed in newspapers, to get a better idea of opportunities that were available.  Part of my job search involved expanding my outlook to get a better sense of potential career ideas, beyond the classic graduate scheme jobs and ‘professions’, which I didn’t think were for me.  From scanning a large number of these I managed to get a good grasp of the kind of roles that interested me and their requirements.

I could see that the kind of jobs I was interested in were mainly in the charity sector, but most of the jobs advertised required that applicants needed to have a demonstrable interest in the charity sector and some work experience.  I was concerned that this might be difficult for me to illustrate, so I decided to apply for internship jobs and work experience in the charities that I was interested in.  I was offered a couple of placements at medium sized UK charities.  After working as an assistant at both of these for a couple of weeks, I was convinced that this was the kind of thing I wanted to be doing. After a few weeks, I had a phone call from somebody I had worked with at one of the charities, saying that there was a vacancy that they would like me to fill. I was pleased that I hadn’t gone for a graduate scheme like most of my friends, and the graduate jobs market had not been quite as much of a nightmare as I had expected!

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Glass louvres provide the ultimate in practicality with good looks

As awareness of environmentally sound architecture increases and government regulations pertaining to the energy output of buildings become increasingly strict, many architectural features such as the brise soleil and external louvres have become commonplace, even if many people are unaware of their function. Many may assume that the aluminium curtains, glass louvres and sails which are increasingly an element of modern buildings, are just a design feature whereas their impact is far more than just decorative.

Given the popularity of programmes such as Grand Designs, the concept of passive solar heating and the use of increased levels of insulation to reduce heating outlay is now quite familiar. On the other hand, the opposite effect, passive cooling, is rarely considered, even though it is a technique which was used by the Ancient Egyptians! Less thought is also given, outside design circles at least, to maximising the use of natural light in new buildings, thus reducing electrical costs. Solutions that work with the sun to provide maximum natural lighting without glare and overheating are also still a quite novel concept.

However, the odd metal protrusions that stick out of many new buildings these days looking oddly like an over-sized set of IKEA kitchen shelves can assist with both cooling and lighting problems and numerous other more discreet design features, for instance glass louvres, are also providing more than just a visual function.

The term ‘brise soleil’ which, roughly translated from the French means ‘sun break’, refers in architectural terms to any permanent external structure which helps to stop the sun shining directly into a building. A few avant-garde architects have even built such a function into the main fabric of the building, such as Le Corbusier who created distinctive simply patterned concrete walls. More often, a structure made of a different material is used, such as steel or aluminium louvres. These can be angled to enable a building with a sizeable glass façade to be protected from overheating during the summer when the sun is at a higher angle while allowing the intake of light and warmth from the sun during the winter months when the light comes in  from a much lower angle.

The best firms are able to create detailed analyses of either existing buildings or the plans for new projects. These map out the angle of the sun during different times of the year and make suggestions based on these calculations for appropriate sun-shading. Maple Sunscreening, for example, is a company which regularly advises architects and engineers on how to use features such as brise soleils and glass louvres to meet standards for CO2 emissions and combines advice on internal sun-screening with suggestions for outdoor screening such as external louvres to create an overall scheme which maximises long term reductions in the final building’s energy costs.

Please visit http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Phono stage is important for good LP sound reproduction

For the committed audiophile, especially those dedicated to listening to recordings of early 20th century musicians whose recordings may solely be available on vinyl, the shiny silver micro CD system in the corner of most modern living-rooms, possibly purchased at an out of town supermarket, is an anathema. Suggesting they listen to CDs on an audio system without phono amp or phono preamp, is like asking Raymond Blanc to subsist on a diet of Pot Noodles. In pursuit of the perfect, most authentic sound, these connoisseurs will spend much time and money on the perfect phono stage while the rest of the world looks on bewildered at their use of a so-called obsolete technology.

Although these days only a minority of people under the age of thirty will have bought a record in their time, the ability to record and reproduce sound was so revolutionary that they remained in popular use in one form or another across a whole century from the 1890s right up to the early 1990s.  Once cheap CD players became as affordable as turntables, digital music reproduction became king, but the enthusiasm of those dedicated to ‘genuine’ music recordings is such that the technology behind and the market for turntables, phono stages and cartridges continues to develop at the top end of the audio system market.

Indeed, many purists continue to use vinyl only, maintaining that digital music systems – CDs, and MP3 downloads – give a clinical and processed sound that is inferior to the records of times gone by. Others may want to continue listening to their record collection without shelling out large amounts of money to purchase duplicates in digital format – and, in any case, many albums may simply not be available on CD. The evolution of music storage has also seen an evolution in marketing and corporate strategy, and smaller parties are not economically worth updating. Consequently, vinyl editions of these artists are unique and irreplaceable.

This does not mean that vinyl cannot be combined with state-of-the-art modern sound equipment, though. You can keep the best of both worlds, linking your turntable to amplifier and speakers via a phono stage. The job of a phono pre-amp is to amplify the signal from your turntable to make it useful to the main amp; thus a phono amp is an indispensable component of listening to your old LPs on modern equipment, helping to keep the past alive without sanitising it with the vagaries of the new digital technology.

Please visit http://www.whestaudio.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Allied health jobs – it’s all about working together

It is easy to think of health care professionals as coming in just two guises – doctors or nurses. But, today’s healthcare requires levels of specialisation in so many varying) fields that patient care is now provided by a whole raft of different specialists, often known as allied health professionals. Commonly, the allied health professions cover all those diagnostic, technical and therapeutic roles which are not performed by doctors or nurses. allied health jobs can be found in fields as varied as dentistry and cardiology, elderly care and music therapy. Jobs in radiography, jobs in occupational therapy; the list is extensive, with each person playing a vital part in a multidisciplinary team.

It is also a misconception that allied health professionals only undertake work delegated by medical consultants. In fact AHPs have their own case-loads, decide on their own professional diagnoses and assessments of the patient’s needs and often meet with patients alone, making it of the utmost importance that they possess exemplary patient care skills.

Some AHPs will spend almost all of their time in a highly medicalised environment, for example theatre practitioners or those with jobs in radiography. Many other allied health jobs, for example music or play therapists are in a very different setting, showing the scope of opportunities in the allied health professions.

Given the broad range of specialisms in healthcare, it is unsurprising that different levels of qualification are needed for each role and different levels of specialisation and responsibility are also an option in most areas. With seniority, many allied health positions provide the additional opportunity of managing a team of specialist practitioners.

It is a well-known fact that the NHS is Britain’s biggest employer and AHPs make up around 60% of that work force. As well as looking for permanent jobs by the traditional method, AHPs also have a range of other options open to them. An entire industry has grown up around the recruitment of these indispensable members of the health care team. Agencies specialising in the allied health professions can locate locum positions and temporary cover options as well as finding permanent opportunities in both the NHS and private practice.  Agencies can be a valuable way of saving time when looking for allied health jobs, especially when considering work with a number of Primary Care Trusts as they gather a number of opportunities in one place. Their web-sites usually provide search options making job-hunting much simpler, so for instance, if a candidate is looking for jobs in radiography in East London, they are not obliged to trawl through jobs in occupational therapy or jobs in Glasgow. Some agencies will also know of openings which are not being publicised anywhere else so it can be worth contacting them, even if you are fairly sure of where you wish to work.

Please visit http://www.abouthealthprofessionals.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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Rugged PC can be the only option for those working in demanding environments

Largely, computers cannot withstand any conditions beyond the ambient air conditioned atmosphere of the average office.  Spill a drop of water on your computer or subject it to excessive heat, and the chances are you will be staring at a blank screen and swearing at your machine fairly swiftly.  Those who expect their computers to stand up to more testing conditions will need to look for a rugged pc or a rugged transport PC.  These are specifically designed to be operated in harsh environments such as extreme temperatures or wet and dusty conditions.  The alternative to using a rugged embedded PC is to use a regular machine that has been upgraded for this kind of use.  However, these are usually inferior substitutes, as machines specifically designed to be put under pressure will always be stronger models.

There is sometimes confusion between rugged and ‘hardened’ computers, which share the same design robustness.  The two terms can be interchangeable, but the term hardened is often applied to computers which can withstand even harsher conditions than a rugged PC.  These computers are available in many different forms, from laptops and desktop units to specially designed models.  The kinds of design features that define a ruggedised pc would probably render a standard office system non-functional after a certain amount of time.

Vehicle environments such as utility trucks are particularly suitable for this kind of machine, as the vibration and jolts that are often unavoidable would cause certain failure in most portable computer systems.  Rugged laptops, notebooks and tablets are made of magnesium alloy metals which are designed to be 20 times stronger than the plastic which is used on commercial laptops.  The hard disk drive, which is usually particularly valuable to the user, are mounted with foam or reinforcing material to ensure that that will be able to withstand vibrations.
Those considering purchasing a rugged pc would be well advised to do some research first, as this is a fast-moving industry where new models are released frequently.  Trade magazines and websites will be able to advise you on which rugged embedded PC or rugged transport PC is worthy of your investment.  Durability is perhaps the most important consideration in this kind of purchase, as anyone investing in this kind of computer will be sorey disappointed if it fails to stand up to the kind of pressure it is expected to be able to cope with.

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Hotel jobs Dubai attract the best staff

When working in the catering, hotel, and hospitality sector you can come into contact with an exceptionally large number of nationalities and cultural backgrounds. This diversity of experience may in fact be one of the first factors which interests people in working in the melting pot of the hospitality industry. With this in mind, it is no surprise that numerous people are now searching for work abroad and finding highly paid hotel jobs Gulf and hospitality jobs Singapore appealing, at least for a little while in their careers. Since the market for luxury hotels is largely driven by the rich, it is no surprise that hotel jobs dubai is another area of the world where the appetite for first-rate hospitality staff is rapidly increasing.

The hospitality industry has a great variety of working environments within it. The sector is often summed-up as being those businesses which provide food, beverages and/or accommodation services, for example: restaurants, pubs, hotels, and contract catering amongst others. And the jobs that you might find yourself employed in in this industry are also quite varied, ranging from chef work to management and financial roles. Event organisation is also closely associated with this sector. According to the British Hospitality Association’s Trends and Statistics 2008 circa 60 per cent of conferences and events take place in hotels. The number of graduate roles in companies within the hospitality industry is also increasing as the sector expands.

Many professions within the industry are suited to people looking for flexible or part-time work and it is true that there is a high level of staff turnover. This cuts both ways of course and means that there is near constant recruitment and a high level of early responsibility. It is also true that if you are an experienced and skilled worker in the industry then you will be very sought after by many of the bigger players in the industry. If this sounds like you, and you have a desire to expand your CV at the same time as widening your horizons, then the growing hospitality industry in thriving cities like Singapore and Dubai could be for you.

If you are looking to make a career in the hospitality industry then it is well worth checking out these overseas hospitality jobs. Singapore, for example has a flourishing tourist industry and its hotels are often recruiting staff. Another promising city for hotel jobs, Dubai can similarly offer an international feel and good wages. Wherever you are looking for hotel jobs, Gulf States, Europe, or in America, there is probably an opening for you if you look hard enough.

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