Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Michael (Micksa) Slade wrote: But there are other advantages. For example you can set up a bank account under the company's name. Can't do that under a sole trader. I'm sure there are other little things that I don't know about too. Are you sure? I expect that you are correct, semantically. However this isn't necessarily as bad as could be read from your comments. We had a bank account under the name of Paul Fenwick trading as Perl Training Australia for some years. I regularly banked cheques to Perl Training Australia into that account without any comment from the bank employees. All the best, J -- (`-''-/).___..--''`-._ | Jacinta Richardson | `6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`) | Perl Training Australia| (_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-' | +61 3 9354 6001| _..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,' | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | (il),-'' (li),' ((!.-' | www.perltraining.com.au | -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Jacinta Richardson wrote: Rev Simon Rumble wrote: This one time, at band camp, Jacinta Richardson wrote: For what it's worth we probably spend about 3 hours a month (maximum) entering invoices and receipts into our accounting package, about 2 minutes a quarter doing our BAS and maybe 1 hour a year doing the tax return. That sounds doable. What accounting package, if you don't mind? We use gnucash, but SQL Ledger ( http://www.sql-ledger.org/ ) has been getting press. We were toying with the idea of moving over, but we haven't yet. So you're running a Pty Ltd company on gnucash. Cool, I was wondering if it could handle it. But how much work did it take to get it to cooperate? I imagine the basics are there (you still have the same basic types of accounts, no matter what you're doing), but how much of the work does it do for you? Like, can it calculate employee witholding? Company tax? CGT? etc. Mick. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Ben Donohue wrote: Hi Simon, Ive been both a contractor and also permanent staff on and off for many years... There is a good reason to get a PTY Limited company in that is says LIMITED. In short it means that if you do something WRONG they can only sue the COMPANY for every cent it has. Leaving YOU with your house and car and other possessions intact. Being sued is a risk but it depends on what you're doing. If you're just writing web scripts for a tiny company or something, there's not much they can sue you for. It gets interesting when you put yourself in a position where you could potentially destroy valuable data, bring down income-generating live systems etc. Also, simply by earning plenty of money you place yourself at rick of being sued, because you have money. Remember that lawsuits generally happen because the person suing wants to scam money out of the person being sued, rather than because a wrong needs to be righted. You can take out insurance (professional indemnity and public liability are the common ones, AIUI) and this will protect you from most things. If you work under a limited company then you are personally protected from MOST things you would otherwise not be protected from as an unlimited (sole trader/partnership etc) company, but you might want to take out insurance under your company name anyway to protect *it*. Talk to an insurance broker, they can give you the details if you're interested. The figures vary, but for example I asked for a quote on PI and PL for what is essentially selling my own time as a developer/sysadmin and it came to roughly $200/month. I have a number for at least one insurance broker, let me know if you want it. Um, so yeah, sometimes setting up a Pty Ltd can be simpler :) But there are other advantages. For example you can set up a bank account under the company's name. Can't do that under a sole trader. I'm sure there are other little things that I don't know about too. Also the 80/20 rule don't worry about it. The tax office only gets upset when you try to defraud it of tax. If you pay your correct amount of tax then the tax office does not care at all about how many contracts you have. I had one and only one contract with a government dept for 8 years and no problem. I paid the correct amount of tax. It may well happen that you get a good client for a year or so. What is the tax dept. going to do? Say get a job elsewhere? No. Pay the right tax and you won't hear a word. Are you trying to claim rent or electricity, for example? The 80/20 rule just means there are certain things you can't claim and other benefits you don't get. And there are other rules which give you the same benefits anyway. I'm sure there is a way to start a Pty Ltd company and work without payment for 12 months or more. Many companies start without making money as soon as they start :) But, IANAL and IANAA, yadda yadda yadda :) Mick. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Scott wrote: On Friday 22 September 2006 13:33, Adam Kennedy wrote: What I would look out for is recruiting firms. I had one that placed me once, into a job I wasn't particularly suited to. They took 15% from the employer for that. Some time after I was chatting with them and they said "oh, if we'd known you were a networking person we could have got you a lot more" -- ie, they hadn't even read my CV for their 15% and they were really working for the employer, not for me. One of the Perl maintainers did an analysis of this situation a few years ago. His conclusion was that their intrinsic interests don't belong with either party. They don't work for the companies, and they don't work for the people they find jobs for. The remuneration structure of the industry means they work only for themselves, and the situation is set up for them to abuse both sides and use every trick they can to do so. Recruiting Firms do try to keep both parties Happy!! It is important for us to place people in jobs that : 1 - They are capable of doing!! 2 - That they enjoy doing!! 3 - In a Place they want to work For the Client we Try to Match 1 - The Skill they ask for 2 - A Reliable Person 3 - At a Remuneration Level they can afford!! [snip] Okay, thankyou for the marketing spiel. I've been dealing with recruiters for the past few weeks. Now I'm going to vent. I somewhat disagree with Adam, I think there is *some* incentive for recruiters to work in the interests of their clients (to get repeat business and earn a reputation), but really that's it. Recruiters are people hoarders and glorified resume databases. Because of the nature of most contracts the employees and candidates get the smelly end of the stick. *Some* recruiters simply ask for a percentage on the employee's salary so that's not so bad, but others are more secretive and try to maximise their cut by being a "mediator" for negotiation between candidate and client. They have no time for candidates that are too assertive about their abilities - a person who won't negotiate their rate is harder to get in and thus less worth their time. They also have no time for candidates that are going for a few jobs at once for similar reasons. They're uptight and on edge because of their job and all this gets let out on candidates because it's the *companies* that pay. They'll try all sorts of bullshit on candidates to get them to take the job for less or whatever to get their cut, and generally give them no respect. The only candidates that get mentioned to clients are those that have "x years using skill y" on their resumes, because that's all recruiters have time to discover - general talent, resourcefulness and initiative and so on are deplorably overlooked. But I agree with Adam to this extent: the end result of this is that companies will have a lot of trouble getting the really *good* people out of recruiters, because these people won't go anywhere near recruiters for the reasons stated above. It makes a commodity market out of the labor market, which it really isn't. To summarise, recruiters suck. Mick. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Hi All, And while we are bitching about recruiters... What is the worst cut you have seen in the industry? For those people who don't deal with recruiters much there are two ways they get their money. The first is a one off cost to the employing company as a percentage of the yearly salary The second is a additional hourly rate added to your hourly rate which is then charged to the employing company. My worst are: 1) Paying a cut off the top to an agent (type 2) and then finding he charged the employing company a one off charge (type 1). Essentially he was double dipping. 2) Over 20% increase above my hourly rate charged to an employer. 3) A agent who convinced me to work on a daily rate while charging at a hourly rate. My overtime went into his pocket. Needless to say once these contracts were finished I moved. Making a point to the employer on why you are leaving and making sure they are aware that you stuck around to finish the project can mean repeat business after the contract with the recruiters expires. But NOT all recruiters have questionable morals. One in particular was happy with what was a mutually acceptable rate. The relationship lasted about 2 1/2 years, with multiple contract renewals, before she moved on. Mark (No I'm not bitter, just wiser and less trusting) On Mon, 2006-10-02 at 12:22 +1000, Michael (Micksa) Slade wrote: Scott wrote: On Friday 22 September 2006 13:33, Adam Kennedy wrote: What I would look out for is recruiting firms. I had one that placed me once, into a job I wasn't particularly suited to. They took 15% from the employer for that. Some time after I was chatting with them and they said oh, if we'd known you were a networking person we could have got you a lot more -- ie, they hadn't even read my CV for their 15% and they were really working for the employer, not for me. One of the Perl maintainers did an analysis of this situation a few years ago. His conclusion was that their intrinsic interests don't belong with either party. They don't work for the companies, and they don't work for the people they find jobs for. The remuneration structure of the industry means they work only for themselves, and the situation is set up for them to abuse both sides and use every trick they can to do so. Recruiting Firms do try to keep both parties Happy!! It is important for us to place people in jobs that : 1 - They are capable of doing!! 2 - That they enjoy doing!! 3 - In a Place they want to work For the Client we Try to Match 1 - The Skill they ask for 2 - A Reliable Person 3 - At a Remuneration Level they can afford!! [snip] Okay, thankyou for the marketing spiel. I've been dealing with recruiters for the past few weeks. Now I'm going to vent. I somewhat disagree with Adam, I think there is *some* incentive for recruiters to work in the interests of their clients (to get repeat business and earn a reputation), but really that's it. Recruiters are people hoarders and glorified resume databases. Because of the nature of most contracts the employees and candidates get the smelly end of the stick. *Some* recruiters simply ask for a percentage on the employee's salary so that's not so bad, but others are more secretive and try to maximise their cut by being a mediator for negotiation between candidate and client. They have no time for candidates that are too assertive about their abilities - a person who won't negotiate their rate is harder to get in and thus less worth their time. They also have no time for candidates that are going for a few jobs at once for similar reasons. They're uptight and on edge because of their job and all this gets let out on candidates because it's the *companies* that pay. They'll try all sorts of bullshit on candidates to get them to take the job for less or whatever to get their cut, and generally give them no respect. The only candidates that get mentioned to clients are those that have x years using skill y on their resumes, because that's all recruiters have time to discover - general talent, resourcefulness and initiative and so on are deplorably overlooked. But I agree with Adam to this extent: the end result of this is that companies will have a lot of trouble getting the really *good* people out of recruiters, because these people won't go anywhere near recruiters for the reasons stated above. It makes a commodity market out of the labor market, which it really isn't. To summarise, recruiters suck. Mick. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On Wed, 2006-09-27 at 14:54 +1000, Howard Lowndes wrote: Gavin Carr wrote: On Wed, Sep 27, 2006 at 12:28:16PM +1000, Jacinta Richardson wrote: Rev Simon Rumble wrote: That sounds doable. What accounting package, if you don't mind? We use gnucash, but SQL Ledger ( http://www.sql-ledger.org/ ) has been getting press. We were toying with the idea of moving over, but we haven't yet. I'm a SQL Ledger user too, but there's been an interesting fork in the project in the last month to six weeks, due to the perceived lack of openness and responsiveness of SQL Ledger's author. So you might want to check out http://www.ledgersmb.org/ as well if you're considering moving. This is both an interesting and concerning twist that I was not aware of. Do you have any further info other than the link? There was a lot of gnashing of teeth about a perceived security hole in SQL-Ledger. Two guys posted notice of the hole but the author did not appear to do anything about it, so a couple of weeks ago they decided to write their own fix and fork. The author of SQL-Ledger basically writes the entire package on his own under GPL and sells support and documentation to make money. He is very active developing SQL-Ledger, but I have to say that he has very poor human communication skills. It will be very interesting to see if the fork has legs. So far I'm sticking to the SQL-Ledger version, but there is some very interesting chatter on the ledgersmb mailing list, so it will be a space worth watching. I guess it's a classic GPL fork situation. Cheers, Gavin -- Howard. LANNet Computing Associates - Your Linux people http://lannetlinux.com When you want a computer system that works, just choose Linux; When you want a computer system that works, just, choose Microsoft. -- Flatter government, not fatter government; abolish the Australian states. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Dazza has raised some good points, but also a few on which my experience differs. Be aware that I'm based in Victoria, so it's possible that the laws are sufficiently different between these two states to account for the difference. DaZZa wrote: Maintaining a pty ltd {I.E. acn} company is expensive. You're up for a minimum of around $2000 a year in accountant fees, fees maintain the company name, annual returns etc. You don't HAVE to do it this way - but a lot fo contracting agencies still insist on it. I don't deal with contracting agencies, but there's no way that Perl Training Australia pays that much in accountant fees, company name and annual returns. We pay ASIC their yearly fee (about $216 if I remember correctly) and whoever manages business names their fee every 2 or 3 years (about $50). We do our own tax returns (they're easier to do than the personal returns once you've read through the handbook a few times) and our own BAS. We tried the accountant thing, but found we wanted to be more in control of our business, and they weren't earning their money. If you choose to run as a company I do suggest getting an accountant to set up the business for you though. It'll probably cost you $2500, and they'll quote you $2000 a year for the above stuff; but be aware that if you're happy to keep accurate financial records (record your receipts etc) then you should be able to do everything else yourself. For what it's worth we probably spend about 3 hours a month (maximum) entering invoices and receipts into our accounting package, about 2 minutes a quarter doing our BAS and maybe 1 hour a year doing the tax return. You've also got to consider that you have to run your own superannuation if you decide to go down the company route - and you do NOT want to fall behind or neglect it - APRA/Tax are ruthless about chasing super input - more so than chasing tax. At least in Victoria this isn't quite so. We use the super funds that our employees were already signed up with, and just deposit the money every quarter. If you're keeping good records of the salaries paid out then it's not too hard to make sure that the super goes out when it needs to. Running your own super fund (if you have to/choose to go down that route definitely requires an accountant however. The best advice I can give is find a damn good accountant - because you're going to need one. I agree with this entirely. Whether you use the services of an accountant for all of your business needs, or whether you do some things yourself; you should definitely be friends with an accountant so that you can get them to sanity check anything if you're concerned. They're also really good at helping you decide if a company or trust or sole trader is the best option for you. Talk to an accountant. Perl Training Australia ran as a sole trader for several years and we had no troubles whatsoever with either our consulting or training offerings. Getting a business name isn't hard; so make sure you get one if you do go down the sole trader route (it's easier, cheaper and easily converts into a company later). All the best, Jacinta -- (`-''-/).___..--''`-._ | Jacinta Richardson | `6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`) | Perl Training Australia| (_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-' | +61 3 9354 6001| _..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,' | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | (il),-'' (li),' ((!.-' | www.perltraining.com.au | -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
This one time, at band camp, Jacinta Richardson wrote: For what it's worth we probably spend about 3 hours a month (maximum) entering invoices and receipts into our accounting package, about 2 minutes a quarter doing our BAS and maybe 1 hour a year doing the tax return. That sounds doable. What accounting package, if you don't mind? At least in Victoria this isn't quite so. We use the super funds that our employees were already signed up with, and just deposit the money every quarter. If you're keeping good records of the salaries paid out then it's not too hard to make sure that the super goes out when it needs to. Running your own super fund (if you have to/choose to go down that route definitely requires an accountant however. Yeah I think that's national. It only pays to have your own if you've got a buttload of money in the fund. I agree with this entirely. Whether you use the services of an accountant for all of your business needs, or whether you do some things yourself; you should definitely be friends with an accountant so that you can get them to sanity check anything if you're concerned. They're also really good at helping you decide if a company or trust or sole trader is the best option for you. Talk to an accountant. I'm seeing an accountant tomorrow. And I sign the contract for the job tomorrow too :) Thanks for the info everyone! -- Rev Simon Rumble [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.rumble.net The Tourist Engineer Just because you're on holiday, doesn't mean you're not a geek. http://engineer.openguides.org/ Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal - Martin Luther King, Jr. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Rev Simon Rumble wrote: This one time, at band camp, Jacinta Richardson wrote: For what it's worth we probably spend about 3 hours a month (maximum) entering invoices and receipts into our accounting package, about 2 minutes a quarter doing our BAS and maybe 1 hour a year doing the tax return. That sounds doable. What accounting package, if you don't mind? We use gnucash, but SQL Ledger ( http://www.sql-ledger.org/ ) has been getting press. We were toying with the idea of moving over, but we haven't yet. All the best, J -- (`-''-/).___..--''`-._ | Jacinta Richardson | `6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`) | Perl Training Australia| (_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-' | +61 3 9354 6001| _..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,' | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | (il),-'' (li),' ((!.-' | www.perltraining.com.au | -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On Wed, 2006-09-27 at 12:28 +1000, Jacinta Richardson wrote: Rev Simon Rumble wrote: This one time, at band camp, Jacinta Richardson wrote: For what it's worth we probably spend about 3 hours a month (maximum) entering invoices and receipts into our accounting package, about 2 minutes a quarter doing our BAS and maybe 1 hour a year doing the tax return. That sounds doable. What accounting package, if you don't mind? We use gnucash, but SQL Ledger ( http://www.sql-ledger.org/ ) has been getting press. We were toying with the idea of moving over, but we haven't yet. I've been using SQL Ledger for some years with general success. However sometimes I think folks get carried away with accounting packages. A carefully constructed spreadsheet may be all that's needed for a one person operation. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
There is a good reason to get a PTY Limited company in that is says LIMITED. In short it means that if you do something WRONG they can only sue the COMPANY for every cent it has. Leaving YOU with your house and car and other possessions intact. If you only have a business name and you do something WRONG then they can not only sue every cent from your BUSINESS but ALSO every cent YOU own INCLUDING your house and car and other possessions. We are not talking about deliberate wrongdoing here just stuffing up. So it's more expensive for a PTY Limited company but you have that protection. The company is treated like an individual and the company cops the flack. Not you. Your choice. Is it worth the risk in these litigious days? Doesn't professional insurance cover and Director liability blur the line so that for small operations Sole Trader business option is appropriate and for larger operations Company option is appropriate? -- Joey -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On Wed, Sep 27, 2006 at 12:28:16PM +1000, Jacinta Richardson wrote: Rev Simon Rumble wrote: That sounds doable. What accounting package, if you don't mind? We use gnucash, but SQL Ledger ( http://www.sql-ledger.org/ ) has been getting press. We were toying with the idea of moving over, but we haven't yet. I'm a SQL Ledger user too, but there's been an interesting fork in the project in the last month to six weeks, due to the perceived lack of openness and responsiveness of SQL Ledger's author. So you might want to check out http://www.ledgersmb.org/ as well if you're considering moving. Cheers, Gavin -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On Sat, 2006-09-23 at 09:06 +1000, SkoZombie wrote: though, these days, lawyers claim against both company *and* director personaly... and, win... I'm presently faced with exactly this situation. I've asked four lawyers and a barister and so far got 5 opinions, all heavily qualified - eg I think xyz, but then again, and in case maybe but maybe not. Wouldn't you love to see the kind of program a lawyer would write? I'm not sure I would rely on Pty Ltd to save your bacon. IANAL etc etc (then again, why would I want to be?) I'm not a lawyer, but, I think, in case of 'one person company' some of the argument to justify it is, well, that it is 'one person company' did I say I'm not a lawyer ? I work a bit in the mining industry, where you do from time to time get a fatality, and desperate insurance firms/lawyers look for anyone to blame and sue, so I've talked to the directors of the company and picked up a bit of their strategies. If you think you're exposed to claims, the first step is to start a P/L. This separates your personal liability from that of your company (ie, what you do for work). Director's liability, from what I can work out, is pretty well limited to their function as a director, not a worker. A director is liable for OHS stuff, ensuring the company isn't trading insolvent, etc. Just because you deleted a client's database that wasn't backed up, doesn't mean that they can sue you through directors liability. The other key arse covering exercise is getting Public Indemnity insurance. While different companies will require you to have different amounts, $5Mil is probably the smallest amount you should get. Personally, I don't have PI cover. I am included on the policy of companies I do relatively 'high risk' work for, and all my other work is programming for clients whom I have a good, ongoing relationship. So a P/L company structure gives me enough protection. You've got to be able to sleep at night, do as much as you feel you should, and get some professional advice as to your potential exposure. -Andrew -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 17:04:48 +1000 david [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Sat, 2006-09-23 at 09:06 +1000, SkoZombie wrote: though, these days, lawyers claim against both company *and* director personaly... and, win... I'm presently faced with exactly this situation. I've asked four lawyers and a barister and so far got 5 opinions, all heavily qualified - eg I think xyz, but then again, and in case maybe but maybe not. Wouldn't you love to see the kind of program a lawyer would write? I'm not sure I would rely on Pty Ltd to save your bacon. IANAL etc etc (then again, why would I want to be?) Well, on the one hand :-) SNIP -- Alan L Tyreehttp://www2.austlii.edu.au/~alan Tel: +61 2 4782 2670Mobile: +61 427 486 206 Fax: +61 2 4782 7092FWD: 615662 -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
The benefit of the Pty Ltd company is the limited liability. Limited to the share capital you put into it ($1 shelf company), not everything that you own and earn. and a slightly better tax rate depending what you earn, maybe some more deductions for tax, but offset with higher administrative/compliance costs and greater complexity/paperwork. Ken Jeff Waugh wrote: quote who=Tim Lloyd Hardware you can probably depreciate personally anyway. The big benefit is writing off travel/home office expenses. You definitely don't need a Pty Ltd to claim for business related expenses! - Jeff -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On Thu, September 21, 2006 9:00 pm, Ken Wilson wrote: The benefit of the Pty Ltd company is the limited liability. Limited to the share capital you put into it ($1 shelf company), not everything that you own and earn. yes. though, these days, lawyers claim against both company *and* director personaly... and, win... I'm not a lawyer, but, I think, in case of 'one person company' some of the argument to justify it is, well, that it is 'one person company' did I say I'm not a lawyer ? -- Voytek -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On Friday 22 September 2006 13:33, Adam Kennedy wrote: What I would look out for is recruiting firms. I had one that placed me once, into a job I wasn't particularly suited to. They took 15% from the employer for that. Some time after I was chatting with them and they said oh, if we'd known you were a networking person we could have got you a lot more -- ie, they hadn't even read my CV for their 15% and they were really working for the employer, not for me. One of the Perl maintainers did an analysis of this situation a few years ago. His conclusion was that their intrinsic interests don't belong with either party. They don't work for the companies, and they don't work for the people they find jobs for. The remuneration structure of the industry means they work only for themselves, and the situation is set up for them to abuse both sides and use every trick they can to do so. Recruiting Firms do try to keep both parties Happy!! It is important for us to place people in jobs that : 1 - They are capable of doing!! 2 - That they enjoy doing!! 3 - In a Place they want to work For the Client we Try to Match 1 - The Skill they ask for 2 - A Reliable Person 3 - At a Remuneration Level they can afford!! If the Recruiter you are using does not try to place you in roles you want to be doing, then go to a different agency. If you are doing jobs that you don't like then you as the candidate need to be more discriminating as to the roles you accept. As the candidate you have the choice, to accept or decline an assignment, if it does not suit you. Most decent agencies will do there best to keep the candidates happy as possible because it is difficult to recruit Good People, if you piss off your candidates you have no people to offer for roles from your clients, if you piss off the client no roles for the candidates. Have to try to keep both sides happy. Those agencies that have been long established, WILL listen to what you want, and try to keep you happy, (and well paid). I regards to the contracting and setting up a company, you may find it difficult to get assignments in the larger organisation or through an agency if you are a sole trader, as workers comp and insurances get a bit dicey. If you are getting your own clients then they will be wanting to see all your insurances up front, especially Workers Comp, if you are working from their premises, on a regular basis and could be deemed an employee under the workers compensation act. Other things to do Register at more than one agency if you want to be able to discriminate more, talk to your consultant about the type of assignments you want, prefer, skills you have and want to develop. It is important to communicate with your consultant to get the Jobs you want!!. (as you may have guessed I do recruiting, not in IT at present but the rules are the same no matter what industry) -- Beam Me Up Scotty!! - Never Said Scott -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
though, these days, lawyers claim against both company *and* director personaly... and, win... I'm not a lawyer, but, I think, in case of 'one person company' some of the argument to justify it is, well, that it is 'one person company' did I say I'm not a lawyer ? I work a bit in the mining industry, where you do from time to time get a fatality, and desperate insurance firms/lawyers look for anyone to blame and sue, so I've talked to the directors of the company and picked up a bit of their strategies. If you think you're exposed to claims, the first step is to start a P/L. This separates your personal liability from that of your company (ie, what you do for work). Director's liability, from what I can work out, is pretty well limited to their function as a director, not a worker. A director is liable for OHS stuff, ensuring the company isn't trading insolvent, etc. Just because you deleted a client's database that wasn't backed up, doesn't mean that they can sue you through directors liability. The other key arse covering exercise is getting Public Indemnity insurance. While different companies will require you to have different amounts, $5Mil is probably the smallest amount you should get. Personally, I don't have PI cover. I am included on the policy of companies I do relatively 'high risk' work for, and all my other work is programming for clients whom I have a good, ongoing relationship. So a P/L company structure gives me enough protection. You've got to be able to sleep at night, do as much as you feel you should, and get some professional advice as to your potential exposure. -Andrew -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
The remuneration structure of the industry means they work only for themselves, and the situation is set up for them to abuse both sides and use every trick they can to do so. Recruiting Firms do try to keep both parties Happy!! It is important for us to place people in jobs that : 1 - They are capable of doing!! 2 - That they enjoy doing!! 3 - In a Place they want to work For the Client we Try to Match 1 - The Skill they ask for 2 - A Reliable Person 3 - At a Remuneration Level they can afford!! (snip) (as you may have guessed I do recruiting, not in IT at present but the rules are the same no matter what industry) But that wasn't what I said Scott. The problem is that, regardless of the intent of any single person or company, the way in which the industry is structured economically does not provide any across-the-board economic incentive for the industry to act in the best interests of either the company or the staff member, which leaves the industry open to all manner of shoddy practises. As I understand it, it makes no difference to your income whether you place someone good or bad at the job, or you do it in a day or a month. So apart from long term reputation, what incentive is there to place the best person? Is that going to matter to a single employee in a large recruitment firm who themself has no interest in the long term reputation of the company? Adam K -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
If you do something malicious as a director then they can get behind the company and sue the Directors for their houses. But this has to be proven. If you are just incompetent or unfortunate then it's pretty much only the company that cops it. IANAL but that has been my official advice. Also if you are going to get a PTY Limited company or even a business name then it's also a good idea to get a domain name to match. You may want it one day... Ben Voytek Eymont wrote: On Thu, September 21, 2006 9:00 pm, Ken Wilson wrote: The benefit of the Pty Ltd company is the limited liability. Limited to the share capital you put into it ($1 shelf company), not everything that you own and earn. yes. though, these days, lawyers claim against both company *and* director personaly... and, win... I'm not a lawyer, but, I think, in case of 'one person company' some of the argument to justify it is, well, that it is 'one person company' did I say I'm not a lawyer ? -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
[SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Hi folks. I'm about to start contracting and it seems it's a lot more efficient to have things wrapped into a company. I've been looking around and seeing stuff about the 80/20 rule and the like, which determines whether you can apply company tax instead of personal income tax, and other stuff. So does anyone out there have any (IANAA) advice on such things? Any recommendations of accountants to get advice from? Ideally accountants who can deal with free-software ledger systems... Oh and yes, those of you wondering, I'm back in Sydney. -- Rev Simon Rumble [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.rumble.net The Tourist Engineer Geeks need vacations too. http://engineer.openguides.org/ If Jesus saves, why is he always asking for money? - landoverbaptist.com -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On 9/21/06, Rev Simon Rumble [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi folks. I'm about to start contracting and it seems it's a lot more efficient to have things wrapped into a company. I've been looking around and seeing stuff about the 80/20 rule and the like, which determines whether you can apply company tax instead of personal income tax, and other stuff. So does anyone out there have any (IANAA) advice on such things? Any recommendations of accountants to get advice from? Ideally accountants who can deal with free-software ledger systems... IANAA, but I've been there. Maintaining a pty ltd {I.E. acn} company is expensive. You're up for a minimum of around $2000 a year in accountant fees, fees maintain the company name, annual returns etc. You don't HAVE to do it this way - but a lot fo contracting agencies still insist on it. You can go down the ARBN route - I have no idea what that costs. You can check out the hoops you need to jump through here http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic_infoco.nsf/byheadline/Starting+a+company+or+business?openDocument You've also got to consider that you have to run your own superannuation if you decide to go down the company route - and you do NOT want to fall behind or neglect it - APRA/Tax are ruthless about chasing super input - more so than chasing tax. Of course, this means another lot of accountant fees, as the super fund has to be audited every year and have its own tax return. This is on top of the company tax - from memory, I was paying about $2000 a year for the company tax matters, and probably $2500 a year for the super fund tax matters, as they were more complex. The rules for contracting have moved on from the old days of the 80/20 rule, especially with the current government focus on outsourcing/contracting, but the basic rule of thumb is - if you're expecting a contract to last more than 12 months, you could be in trouble with the tax office. Note that I said COULD - it usually comes down to individual determinations. If the company who is employing you can provide proof you are a genuine contractor, not a backdoor employee, then the tax office will overlook it - but it can be a nasty route to prove. The best advice I can give is find a damn good accountant - because you're going to need one. The rules are horrendous, and change each and every single year. There are advantages - you can buy a lot of business related stuff and pay for it pre-tax - saving you loads in tax - but you have to be careful that the stuff is related to the industry you're in, or genuinely necessary for your business. Again - talk to an accountant about stuff you can do - for example, if you work from home, determine a percentage of your rent/mortgage that is used by your business {space, time, electricity etc} and pay for that from the business, pre-tax. Did I mention you should talk to an accountant? :-) OK, enough off-topic wafle. Talk to an accountant, OK? DaZZa -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
quote who=Rev Simon Rumble I'm about to start contracting and it seems it's a lot more efficient to have things wrapped into a company. Not sure it's worth it for a small operation (sole trader or partners); you can just get an ABN and get going. - Jeff -- linux.conf.au 2007: Sydney, Australia http://lca2007.linux.org.au/ MySQL supporters are like people who believe that the moon landings were a hoax. No matter what contrary information they're confronted with, they still consider MySQL to be the best. - ttfkam -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Hi Simon, Ive been both a contractor and also permanent staff on and off for many years... There is a good reason to get a PTY Limited company in that is says LIMITED. In short it means that if you do something WRONG they can only sue the COMPANY for every cent it has. Leaving YOU with your house and car and other possessions intact. If you only have a business name and you do something WRONG then they can not only sue every cent from your BUSINESS but ALSO every cent YOU own INCLUDING your house and car and other possessions. We are not talking about deliberate wrongdoing here just stuffing up. So it's more expensive for a PTY Limited company but you have that protection. The company is treated like an individual and the company cops the flack. Not you. Your choice. Is it worth the risk in these litigious days? Also the 80/20 rule don't worry about it. The tax office only gets upset when you try to defraud it of tax. If you pay your correct amount of tax then the tax office does not care at all about how many contracts you have. I had one and only one contract with a government dept for 8 years and no problem. I paid the correct amount of tax. It may well happen that you get a good client for a year or so. What is the tax dept. going to do? Say get a job elsewhere? No. Pay the right tax and you won't hear a word. Contact me off-list for a couple of accountants you can choose from. Hope you'll like doing BAS statements! Ben Rev Simon Rumble wrote: Hi folks. I'm about to start contracting and it seems it's a lot more efficient to have things wrapped into a company. I've been looking around and seeing stuff about the 80/20 rule and the like, which determines whether you can apply company tax instead of personal income tax, and other stuff. So does anyone out there have any (IANAA) advice on such things? Any recommendations of accountants to get advice from? Ideally accountants who can deal with free-software ledger systems... Oh and yes, those of you wondering, I'm back in Sydney. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Rev Simon Rumble wrote: Hi folks. I'm about to start contracting and it seems it's a lot more efficient to have things wrapped into a company. I've been looking around and seeing stuff about the 80/20 rule and the like, which determines whether you can apply company tax instead of personal income tax, and other stuff. So does anyone out there have any (IANAA) advice on such things? Any recommendations of accountants to get advice from? Ideally accountants who can deal with free-software ledger systems... Oh and yes, those of you wondering, I'm back in Sydney. Unless you have a really good reason, don't do it. There are plenty of costs associated with your own company (super, public liability, accountant, etc.). Unless you can genuinely make write offs then there is precious little benefit and you are going to have to pay tax on your profits at some stage. Hardware you can probably depreciate personally anyway. The big benefit is writing off travel/home office expenses. But, if you can't prove that you are servicing a number of clients then you /could/ get stung by the tax people. Best off to work through an agency and let them fight your battles for you. Incidentally, I am intending to return to contracting next year and that is what I will be doing! -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
quote who=Tim Lloyd Hardware you can probably depreciate personally anyway. The big benefit is writing off travel/home office expenses. You definitely don't need a Pty Ltd to claim for business related expenses! - Jeff -- linux.conf.au 2007: Sydney, Australia http://lca2007.linux.org.au/ Do you know what [television news ownership] means to me? It gives me the political muscle I need. - Kerry Packer -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Rev Simon Rumble wrote: Hi folks. I'm about to start contracting and it seems it's a lot more efficient to have things wrapped into a company. I've been looking around and seeing stuff about the 80/20 rule and the like, which determines whether you can apply company tax instead of personal income tax, and other stuff. So does anyone out there have any (IANAA) advice on such things? Any recommendations of accountants to get advice from? Ideally accountants who can deal with free-software ledger systems... Oh and yes, those of you wondering, I'm back in Sydney. Do give a contrary point of view to a few others, I think doing the company typically _is_ worthwhile, overall. If you shop around for accountants and are willing to do most of the book-keeping stuff yourself, costs can be kept pretty modest in my experience - I pay $1000 pa all up for accounting and company fees etc. On the benefits side you get limited liability protection, and if you do have multiple clients (or can stay on the right side of the ATO via the various 80/20 type tests) then you can retain earnings in the company taxed at 30% max. That's not as big a deal as it was before the last round of tax threshold changes, but it still can be useful, depending on how much money you make. As others have mentioned, super is an issue as well, but I actually like the control DIY-super allows, for all the costs and admin overheads. Lots of trade-offs, of course, but I'm very happy as a P/L. Cheers, Gavin -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On Thu, 21 Sep 2006 18:25:10 +1000 DaZZa [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 9/21/06, Rev Simon Rumble [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi folks. I'm about to start contracting and it seems it's a lot more efficient to have things wrapped into a company. I've been looking around and seeing stuff about the 80/20 rule and the like, which determines whether you can apply company tax instead of personal income tax, and other stuff. So does anyone out there have any (IANAA) advice on such things? Any recommendations of accountants to get advice from? Ideally accountants who can deal with free-software ledger systems... IANAA, but I've been there. SNIP There are advantages - you can buy a lot of business related stuff and pay for it pre-tax - saving you loads in tax - but you have to be careful that the stuff is related to the industry you're in, or genuinely necessary for your business. Again - talk to an accountant about stuff you can do - for example, if you work from home, determine a percentage of your rent/mortgage that is used by your business {space, time, electricity etc} and pay for that from the business, pre-tax. Caution on claiming the home office - It may mean that a part of your home will be subject to capital gains when you decide to sell. Talk to an accountant :-) Did I mention you should talk to an accountant? :-) OK, enough off-topic wafle. Talk to an accountant, OK? DaZZa -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html -- Alan L Tyreehttp://www2.austlii.edu.au/~alan Tel: +61 2 4782 2670Mobile: +61 427 486 206 Fax: +61 2 4782 7092FWD: 615662 -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Hi all Jeff wrote: Not sure it's worth it for a small operation (sole trader or partners); you can just get an ABN and get going. Jeff gives good advice. Look at setting up as a Sole Trader initially and later moving to a company if your turnover justifies it. Being a Sole Trader means you have an ABN, a Registered name for the Business and thus other companies, suppliers, and clients look upon you more favorably than if your an individual. I have found that you are treated just like you represent a company if you are a Sole Trader. And Sole Trader will only cost about $200 for the Business name, rego setup. (My business Speleonics http://www.speleonics.com.au/business/ is a Sole Trader.) Mike -- Michael Lake Computational Research Support Unit Science Faculty, UTS Ph: 9514 2238 -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
quote who=Michael Lake (My business Speleonics http://www.speleonics.com.au/business/ is a Sole Trader.) I *knew* all that cave-diving was aimed at something. Never thought it would be trafficking souls to the dark lord. - Jeff -- linux.conf.au 2007: Sydney, Australia http://lca2007.linux.org.au/ Perl - The Movie Starring 'Weird' Al Yankovic -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
To throw in my situation, I'm a Pty Ltd contractor/consultant. It costs me $2,000 (although increasing now as I do more things) a year to keep the company going, but the cleanliness of the seperation between personal and company is something I find refreshing. As I see it, there's a couple of clear situations. If you think you will end up with a product of some sort in the process of your contracting/consulting and you ever want to sell out, you need a company, as early as possible (to keep intellectual property stuff clear). If you think that you are going to end up hiring subcontractors or staff (if you move more into the consulting/development direction that just straight labour hire) you probably want a company too, just for the accounting cleanliness. Other than that, if the $2000 a year doesn't matter much, then you can go either way. If $2000 a year matters a lot, then don't go for a company. Either way, you can delay it if you want to and switch later, unless you go the product/selling-the-business route. Adam K Rev Simon Rumble wrote: Hi folks. I'm about to start contracting and it seems it's a lot more efficient to have things wrapped into a company. I've been looking around and seeing stuff about the 80/20 rule and the like, which determines whether you can apply company tax instead of personal income tax, and other stuff. So does anyone out there have any (IANAA) advice on such things? Any recommendations of accountants to get advice from? Ideally accountants who can deal with free-software ledger systems... Oh and yes, those of you wondering, I'm back in Sydney. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
If you think that you are going to end up hiring subcontractors or staff (if you move more into the consulting/development direction that just straight labour hire) you probably want a company too, just for the accounting cleanliness. Ook! That should read consulting/development direction, rather than just straight labour hire. Adam K -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
Interesting discussion. One thing I'd like to add is that you might want to inquire of your potential customers about their requirement for you to hold insurance. Some governments require that you hold a significant amount (from memory, enough insurance for a $20m claim) and this was a major expense for someone I know who runs a small management consultancy. My experience is that the contractors who do the same work as I do are significantly better off than I am. I'm not sure if that's because companies expect to pay contractors more or if the financial arrangements are superior. Where they seem to be slightly worse off than me is in the superannuation. The industry super schemes seem to be a lot, lot better. So it might be worthwhile checking if you can contract but still contribute to a industry scheme. I originally chose to be an employee as I had a young family and wanted a more secure job. With WorkChoices I doubt that my job security is any greater than that of a contractor. What I would look out for is recruiting firms. I had one that placed me once, into a job I wasn't particularly suited to. They took 15% from the employer for that. Some time after I was chatting with them and they said oh, if we'd known you were a networking person we could have got you a lot more -- ie, they hadn't even read my CV for their 15% and they were really working for the employer, not for me. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
What I would look out for is recruiting firms. I had one that placed me once, into a job I wasn't particularly suited to. They took 15% from the employer for that. Some time after I was chatting with them and they said oh, if we'd known you were a networking person we could have got you a lot more -- ie, they hadn't even read my CV for their 15% and they were really working for the employer, not for me. One of the Perl maintainers did an analysis of this situation a few years ago. His conclusion was that their intrinsic interests don't belong with either party. They don't work for the companies, and they don't work for the people they find jobs for. The remuneration structure of the industry means they work only for themselves, and the situation is set up for them to abuse both sides and use every trick they can to do so. Adam K -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
This one time, at band camp, Glen Turner wrote: Some governments require that you hold a significant amount (from memory, enough insurance for a $20m claim) and this was a major expense for someone I know who runs a small management consultancy. I think everyone in NSW has this requirement. My experience is that the contractors who do the same work as I do are significantly better off than I am. I'm not sure if that's because companies expect to pay contractors more or if the financial arrangements are superior. Contractors get paid much better because they don't get paid sick leave, holidays etc. They also have less job security: they can normally be sacked with a day's notice. The flexibility the employer gets is something they pay for. When times are tough, you will have noticed that it's the contractors who go first. That said, I've worked in places where they've had crazy jobs being done by contractors. Things like project managers, which just seems like lunacy to me! Then again, the best project manager I ever worked for was a contractor! Where they seem to be slightly worse off than me is in the superannuation. The industry super schemes seem to be a lot, lot better. So it might be worthwhile checking if you can contract but still contribute to a industry scheme. I've noticed that a lot of the industry super schemes seem to be open to anyone anyway, so I'm not sure this is such an issue. You're posting from a .edu.au account though, and I believe they have an industry-only super fund that is quite good. Equally, government jobs tend to have good schemes. And if you great super, run for election! I originally chose to be an employee as I had a young family and wanted a more secure job. With WorkChoices I doubt that my job security is any greater than that of a contractor. You will at least get more notice in a permanent job. What's more, companies do actually care about morale and sacking permies is a good way to kill it. Smart companies know that when this happens, all the best people start looking for other jobs and they're left with the ones who aren't particularly employable. What I would look out for is recruiting firms. I had one that placed me once, into a job I wasn't particularly suited to. They took 15% from the employer for that. Some time after I was chatting with them and they said oh, if we'd known you were a networking person we could have got you a lot more -- ie, they hadn't even read my CV for their 15% and they were really working for the employer, not for me. Yeah they're know-nothing leeches. At least some companies in Australia advertise direct. In the UK it's much rarer and you end up having to deal through recruit-scum. Company HR departments are just as bad: they'll have a list of skills and if your CV doesn't explicitely say you have it, you don't get to the person who's actually looking to hire. I'm a professional technical writer and have been asked to put tools like Word and Visio on my CV. My response to this is to ask if I also need to put pen, paper and dictionary research on my CV. Financial industry recruiters are the worst. Unless you've worked in exactly the job they're recruiting, they won't put you forward. There's a (very interesting) stock market job being advertised right now, but unless you've worked for a stock market (and my, aren't there a lot of those around for you to have worked with) you won't be considered. At least finance jobs pay well, so I guess they can afford to be picky. I've already had one recruiter here who asked if I had the right to work in Australia. Something answered on, oh, line 3 of my resume. She had my resume already. http://www.rumble.net/resume/ -- Rev Simon Rumble [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.rumble.net The Tourist Engineer Just because you're on holiday, doesn't mean you're not a geek. http://engineer.openguides.org/ Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light. - Joseph Pulitzer, the man who presided over the tabloidisation of newspapers in North America. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
Re: [SLUG] Contracting stuff: wrap it into a company or PAYE through agency?
On 9/22/06, Rev Simon Rumble [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've noticed that a lot of the industry super schemes seem to be open to anyone anyway, so I'm not sure this is such an issue. You're posting from a .edu.au account though, and I believe they have an industry-only super fund that is quite good. Equally, government jobs tend to have good schemes. And if you great super, run for election! I've just started a Pty Ltd for contracting, and will be using Unisuper. It helps that I was a member years ago when I was working for universities. I don't know if Unisuper will take somebody off the street who's not yet a member, though. I'm guessing at least some of the industry funds will. -- Christopher -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html