Employment law was first really established in the UK during the industrial revolution over one hundred years ago. Originally it was designed to ensure employers didn’t take advantage of employees and ensured safer working conditions. Today employment law is a little more complicated. You’ve got to juggle between what’s actually illegal, what’s simply your company’s red tape and what’s just frowned upon.  In an age where no win no fee has become a common phrase and no one thinks twice about instigating a lawsuit it’s essential that everyone knows their basic employment rights.

Employment law is a set of laws and regulations set by the government. They will cover all aspects of working life from the hours you’re legally allowed to work, to discrimination, your wages and overtime and everything in between. If an employee is found to be breaking these laws they could find themselves not only out of a job but they could also face criminal charges. If an employer was found to have broken these laws they’re likely to find themselves on the wrong end of a law suit and also up on criminal charges.

The tricky thing about employment law is that it will differ from country to country and it’s also being constantly updated.

One of the most basic elements of employment law is your pay. If you are over the age of 16 the government states the minimum amount you should get paid. For workers aged 21 and over this is currently £5.80 per hour which will increase to £5.93 as of October 2010.

As well as a basic minimum level of pay you’re also entitled to a minimum amount of time off each year. A UK worker who works full time is currently entitled to 5.6 weeks of holiday each year. However your employer can stipulate that this time includes standard bank holidays.

Your working week cannot consist of any more that 48 hours unless you chose to work extra. This rule applies to most workers in most industries but some emergency services and those who work at sea may not be covered by this law. This is not compulsory and you can opt out and work longer if you wish but your employer is not allowed to insist on this.

Another common factor in employment law is sick leave. The UK policy for taking time off work if you’re sick has changed recently. Instead of being issued with a sick note a doctor would now issue a fit note. A fit note would either state you’re not fit for work or it would state you may be fit for work. If you may be fit for work it would state a list of duties you may still be able to do with your sickness or condition. The purpose of this is to ensure people who are able to do some form of work are able to. This only applies if you’ve been sick for more than seven days.

When it comes to checking your employment rights at work the best place to check is going to be your employment contract which will clearly state your rights. If you’re still unsure the Directgov or the ACAS website will be able to clear anything up for you.

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Today’s guest blog post is from DownEast Home & Clothing. They talk about how to dress to impress at your next job interview.

Job interviews can be incredibly stressful as they can mean the difference between getting hired and not getting hired. Obviously, you will want to give yourself every possible advantage for landing the job. The way you dress can affect you more than you know. After all, an employer can only go off of one sheet of paper with your resume on it and 30 minutes of an in-person interview in order to make the decision. That’s why it’s essential to make an excellent first impression as that’s something you can never do over again.

The first rule of thumb is to dress in modest clothing. Low cut tops and tight-fitted clothing is inappropriate for any work situation. After all, if one cannot dress in a professional manner, it is incredibly hard to believe one can act in a professional manner.  Keep the clothing modest and let your work experience and charisma get the job for you.

A great guideline to think about regarding the level of formal wear would be to dress one step above that which would be required for the job. For instance, if the job is manual labor in which a jump suit or old, battered clothing would be worn, it’s appropriate to show up in a polo t-shirt and jeans. If the job is in a casual, laid back office environment in which polo t-shirts are everyday wear, the interview clothing should be a button up shirt and tie or skirt and blouse and so forth. Always try to dress one level higher than what the job would regularly call for.

Above all, be sure that your clothing is low-key, neat and clean. No wild colors or lavish jewelry is necessary. Dark, conservative clothes are considered more professional looking than brightly colored, loud clothing. Avoid having wrinkles or stains, too. It’s also best to cover tattoos if you have them. Something else to consider would be the many accessories people tend to carry. IPods, cell phones and a soda are fine for the waiting room, but keep them out of the interview.

It’s always good to remember the following: time is money. If your potential employer is willing to take the time to interview you, this means that he or she is seriously considering you already. According to your resume and references, you have all the tools available at your disposal in order to do the job well. The entire purpose of the interview is to get a feel for your personality and your sense of professionalism. So dress modestly, act professionally and have confidence that you have all the qualifications necessary in order to land the job.

He is looking for a replacement that is adept at technology, new media, and business management in general.

The position is a full-time gig with well-paying salary and full benefits.

The office is in Coral Gables, Florida.

Speaking both English and Spanish is a must. Knowing Portugese is an added bonus.

Please send your resumes to amagnani@hbo-la.com and/or pconway@hbo-la.com for consideration.

When you send it, please tell them that Logan sent you.

So You’re Passed the Start-up Phase! Now What!?

Starting a new business requires time and attention to details to get things set up to operate. You have to pretty much promise your life, soul and unborn child to your newly budding business. The initial phase of getting administrative operations in order can vary widely for each business, but once things are in place, the business is officially ready to open and begin making a profit.

You can (almost) breathe a sigh of relief at this point, but in order to ensure the business runs without incident, it’s good to have a few safeguard systems in place to keep things organized.

Sales and Marketing

A solid plan for sales and marketing is necessary because it can make or break any business- no matter how new or established you are. Implementing a good marketing system or CRM for the business helps ensure you make contacts and follow leads. You also need to make sure you’re adapting and changing as new technologies come out. Some companies have been denying themselves the social media boat and have been suffering miserably trying to get back on track because they don’t know how to utilize it or understand why they should monitor social metrics.

A sales and marketing team can consist of one person or twenty people. If there is a solid marketing and sales plan installed during or right after the startup phase, the business has a guideline to go by to ensure the staff follow the plan for success and not failure.

Guard Confidential Materials

During the start-up phase of a business, there are contracts and agreements to review and sign. These may contain confidential information about the company’s operations. Contracts and other sensitive information outline payment agreements, financial arrangements between parties, and other things that are relative to the business’ setup. Since initial business setups can change multiple times, you need to properly remove irrelevant material from the business’ files.

This information in the wrong hands can be detrimental; therefore, it’s important to safely discard anything you won’t use again. To do this, the business can use encrypted documents and file shredders to ensure confidentiality in the unlikely event that some shady person dips their hands in your security pot.

Secure Email Systems

Most companies use the Internet for at least a small portion of their businesses. If the right systems aren’t in place, it leaves room for hackers and other shady people to infiltrate and steal files and emails. Having a good email hosting system can help avoid this and ensure the software and updates are current. Email services vary in the benefits and features offered to customers. To ensure the business is getting exactly what it needs to operate, it needs to review what works best for the company and have the email hosting service implement the procedures that will directly benefit the company.

Efficient Human Resources

Having a knowledgeable and skilled staff is… well…. you can’t really have a business with them. You need to have each department of the business adequately staffed with people who can efficiently and effectively run each phase of business- from administration to sales.

Whether the staff is on-site or virtual, it’s important to have the right employees to make sure things operate smoothly. There will likely be employee carry-overs from the start-up phase, so adding to this core group of people will help to ensure a solid pool of qualified individuals that can handle whatever is thrown their way.

After you pass the start-up phase in a business, it’s time to implement the things that will help your company operate productively so you can (hopefully) focus on making it profitable. The above things will help to make sure success happens by helping you manage all areas of the business without wanting to throw yourself off a cliff.

Selena Narayanasamy loves everything technology, productivity, blogging, social media, caffeine and being sarcastic. You can find her blogging on her social/tech site, Esvienne, or listen to her musings on Twitter – @SelenaVidya.

Are you planning on graduating with a degree in Business or Finance but are worried about finding a job after you graduate? Times are tough, but once you find a job in this field, you will have a career that is stable with a good income. If you are looking for a specialization for your Business degree, Finance should be the way to go. It is clear to see that these are the Finance related jobs are the most promising and popular among Business Degree holders at this time. Below you will find three different Business Finance careers that are still running at full speed ahead in 2010.

1. Accountants and Auditors:
Accounts and Auditors examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records for the purpose of giving advice or preparing statements. Mean annual wage for this occupation in 2009 was $67,430. According to the U.S. BLS, Accounting/Tax Preparation/Bookkeeping/Payroll Services have the highest level of employment in this occupation, which the Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) is the top paying industry within this occupation with an annual mean wage of $88,190. The District of Columbia has the highest concentration of workers in this occupation, while New Year is the top paying state, coming in with a mean wage of $84,280. Choose from one of the following Accounting degree types to start on the road to your career today; certificate diploma, associates degree, bachelors degree, masters degree and doctorate degree.

2. Financial Analysts:

As a Financial Analyst, your job is to help people decide how to invest their money. In this profession, you can work for a variety of places, such as banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and securities firms. They often meet with company officials to learn more about the firms in which they want to invest. According to the U.S. BLS, the median annual salary for a Financial Analyst was $73,150 in May 2008, double the national median wage. While the salary is high, don’t think that the schooling to be in this profession is easy. Most financial analysts have a bachelors or masters degree in business, accounting, statistics, or finance. Once a degree is earned, a lot of Financial Analysts also obtain professional licenses and certifications needed.

3. Personal Financial Advisors:

As defined by the U.S. BLS, Personal financial advisors evaluate the financial needs of individuals and assist them with investments, tax laws, and insurance decisions. Advisors help their clients identify and plan for short-term and long-term goals. About 29% of these advisors are self- employed and need to find their own customers while the other 71% work at a firm of some sort. To be a Personal Financial Advisor, you should have a bachelors degree and have strong math, analytical and interpersonal skills. In May 2008, the median annual salary for this position was $69,050.

Kathy St. George is an education specialist for 866MyMajor, a free college guide for students looking for the best program and school to fit their needs.

1. Don’t have your own personal office. You’re a member of the company, right? It has become common practice for business leaders and CEOs of today to work in a cubicle alongside everyone else. This elevates productivity and heightens confidence levels around the office.
2. If you do need your own office, take off the door. Nothing is too private and confidential to not be shared with the entire company. If te opposite is the case, you might be running a sketchy and questionable business (That’s another issue altogether). Not having a door to interfere with direct communication from the rest of your employees not only holds you more accountable to what’s going on out on the floor, but allows you to be more readily available to the people that work for you.
3. If you can’t remove the door, just always leave it open. Employees get anxious and worrisome when a boss calls an employee into their personal office. “Are they in trouble? What are they going to know that I don’t know?” This isn’t very good for morale.
4. If you can’t do any of the above, make sure others are present during private meetings. This is overlooked too often. As a boss, it’s inappropriate and dangerous to hold a meeting with a female employee privately in your office. No matter the gender and no matter the topic of discussion, it’s always best to invite fellow Executives and employees into the meeting. That way, there’s never any question as to what took place behind closed doors.

(Today’s post is from Alpena (@MarlonPowell on Twitter). In this post, she enlightens you on valuing and attempting to sell your business.)

Selling a business is a smart exit tactic for business owners. When a firm is not making any profit or there are no successors who want to carry on the business, then business owners plan to sell the company.

Tips to Sell Your Business

The following tips can help you sell your business successfully:

• Sell at the right time: One of the most common reasons for selling a business is that a business owner becomes ill or gets too old to run it. It will be immensely difficult for you to handle the additional tension of selling a company in those circumstances. Also, the prospective buyer will make use of your circumstances as leverage against you. Therefore, the correct time to sell your business is when you’re healthy and have a successful business.

• Be clear about what you’re selling: Prior to selling a business, you should evaluate what the assets of the business are and determine what you are selling. You should decide what physical assets you are selling and what other assets you need to sell. Selling a business often involves assets like goodwill, trademarks or client lists, and physical assets. However, the value of these assets will depend on their quality.

• Determine your business value: Your business is worth as much as it will obtain in the marketplace. The trick is to determine the right selling price of the business. There are different business valuation methods such as asset-based approaches, earning value approaches and market value approaches. Apart from these methods, economic trends and the current market should also be taken into account.

• Get professional help while selling a business: You can hire a professional valuator to find out what your business is worth. You can also hire a commercial realtor or business broker to help you in finding and dealing with potential purchasers of your business. A lawyer can draw up the documents needed to sell your business.

Business Valuations

Business valuation is the process of determining the value of a business. As it has been already said, there are 3 types of business valuation methods – asset-based approaches, earning value approaches and market value approaches.

1. Asset-based approaches: This business valuation method sums up all the investments in the business. Asset-based approach can be done on a going concern or on a liquidation basis. Going concern asset-based approaches records the business total value of its assets and deducts the value of its liabilities. A liquidation asset-based approach figure out the total cash that would be obtained if all assets were sold and liabilities paid off.
2. Market value approaches: This business valuation method tries to find out the value of your business by comparing your business to similar businesses that have been sold recently.
3. Earning value approaches: This method is based on the idea that a business’s true value lies in its capacity to generate wealth in the future. The most common method considered is the Capitalizing Past Earning method.

The earning value approach is the most well known business valuation method. However, a combination of business valuation methods will be the best way to put a selling price.

Alpena is associated with many business & finance sites making regular contributions and providing advice to them. Not only has she made notable contributions to the industry, she has also written articles for different business & finance websites. Please follow her on Twitter.

But you need to be too.

What happens when someone is completely satisfied?…

They stop trying.

Whenever an inchworm climbs a surface such as a tree or a wall, it’s genetic makeup forces the little guy to use it’s entire body to garner enough power to move forward. However, as soon as it advances a few inches upward, gravity forces it to slide back down an inch.

While the inchworm is still netting an inch of progress with every tiring attempt, you can imagine how taxing a simple walk up a tree can be for it. Needless to say, the inchworm never stops moving and is always embarking on some sort of new journey, overcoming all of the struggles along the way.

As an entrepreneur, it would be easy to get frustrated when all of your attempts at success knocked you back a few inches. It’s having the positive attitude to appreciate the few inches you moved forward, and forgetting about the setbacks that will allow you to reach your destination in the future.

In the end, the inchworm gets to turn into a beautiful butterfly and fly effortlessly throughout Earth’s entire landscape. What could be a better reward than that?