Staffing your business:

The types of staff and resources needed are unique and apply in relation to the industry/marketplace you are entering. For example, seasonal trends, skills needed by employees to offer the level of customer service you require for your business, as well as the availability of funds to cover these salaries from your business are all determining factors which will dictate how you are able to successfully manage your business.

The location you choose will equally have implications—should you choose an area of high unemployment with lots of qualified/skilled resources, finding staff should prove relatively simple.

In comparison, an industry which requires in-depth knowledge and many different skills within various markets may improve more tricky to staff and command higher salaries.
Self employed

This area of employment covers contractors and labourers as well as entrepreneurs. The person is not employed by a company but actually work for themselves and pay their own tax and National Insurance. They have to keep accounts and present the figures to the tax office each year on the profits they make. This type of work can be unreliable since organisations may only use their services at intermittent times, the self-employex may have other commitments when you require their services.

Staffing Options:

Full-time

Generally this covers employment where employees are on contracts for between 35 – 40 hours per week and they are employed by an employer who takes care of all the relevant tax and N.I. contributions. The employer will also have to contribute towards the N.I contributions. Permanent and Temporary staff can be full time employees.

Part-time

This position is taken by employees who work generally between 6 – 30 hours a week (although they may well do extra hours in overtime), their contract is for less hours than a full-time contract. This is a situation which has previously been popular due to the employer not having to pay N.I. contributions for the employee.

Self employed

This area of employment covers contractors and labourers as well as entrepreneurs.  The person is not employed by a company but actually work for themselves and pay their own tax and National Insurance.  They have to keep accounts and present the figures to the tax office each year on the profits they make.  This type of work can be unreliable since organisations may only use their services at intermittent times, the self-employex may have other commitments when you require their services.

More Staffing Options:

Permanent

A much sought after and rare breed!! a permanent post is one where the employee is not on temporary or fixed term hours and may include full-time or part-time hours. They may be entitled to more legal protection/status and benefits than some other employees listed.

Temporary

This covers the areas of employment where the contract can vary form 1 day, 1 week, to between 1 – 3 years, but the employer does not qualify in giving the employee statutory rights such as redundancy pay and sick pay etc.

Contract

The person may work for the employer for longer than in the temporary post above but is still exempt from any employee statutory rights due to the wording and exemption clauses in the contract.

Non-contract/Casual

This covers casual staff, i.e. on a daily basis (farm work etc).

Skilled

Skilled workers such as carpenters have traditionally achieved their status through apprenticeships and in house training,  many skilled jobs also go to university graduates.

Unskilled

This type of employment such as cleaning and refuse collection until recently didn’t require any formal training, however with such a shortage in vacancies and high unemployment the unskilled are being overtaken for some of these posts by graduates and highly trained individuals who are finding it difficult to seek employment.

Home-working

Historically, comprised of out workers usually work on behalf of craft and knitting companies, and they work from home mainly on piece work for extremely low wages and often time consuming tedious jobs.  Some types of administration duties are also sourced from home, since it lowers the overheads of a company and decreases their expenses dramatically.

The internet and online companies have increased the use of home workers significantly and if managed and used correctly, can provide a useful and resourceful way to recruit qualified staff from locations far and wide.