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PCG Newsletter 03/07 - 08 February 2007
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Free expert pension consultation for PCG members
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Private medical insurance discounts improved
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New look Freelancing Matters - your feedback and letters
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Last chance to tell the Revenue what you think of them
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Gibbons Review of dispute resolution
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New PCG (QA) practice accredited
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New Affiliate members
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Nexus Cars closure
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Regional meetings
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Contract opportunities for members
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A PCG group on LinkedIn
FREE EXPERT PENSION CONSULTATION FOR PCG MEMBERS
As a freelancer it's vital to
have a good pension plan set-up in view of the fact you
don't receive a pension from an employer. New rules came
into force in 2006. Are you up to date with all the
options? Do you know where you could be making tax
savings.
Read more >>
PRIVATE MEDICAL INSURANCE DISCOUNTS IMPROVED
PCG has
negotiated extensions to the Private Medical Insurance (PMI)
offers for members. There are now increased percentage
discounts and extensions to the dates the offers are open.
Read more >>
NEW LOOK FREELANCING MATTERS - YOUR FEEDBACK AND LETTERS
You
should now have received the latest re-designed issue of
Freelancing Matters. Many thanks to the many members who
have already sent through their feedback and suggestions.
Please keep telling us what you would like to see more or
less of - which features or sections did you find most or
least useful?
Have
your say! In the Spring issue, we are introducing a
"reader's letters" section, so please send your
contract/freelance working related letters to us. Selected
letters will be published and seen by over 20,000 readers.
Please send your comments or letters to:
comments@freelancingmatters.co.uk
NB
If you have not yet subscribed to PCG's quarterly magazine
for freelance workers,
please subscribe now! The magazine is full of
insightful articles, exclusive discounts and handy tips
for your freelance career.
LAST CHANCE TO TELL THE REVENUE WHAT YOU THINK OF THEM
PCG will be closing its
survey on HM Revenue and Customs at 5pm next Monday,
February 12th. Until then, it is open for all freelancers
and contractors, whether they are PCG members or not, to
complete.
The
survey asks a comprehensive set of questions about your
experiences of the tax system, your impressions of HMRC
and what you would like to see in the future.
The results of the survey will be fed by PCG directly into
the ongoing work to reform HMRC following its creation in
2005. This includes work on:
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HMRC's civil powers
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HMRC's criminal powers
- A
new Management Act for HMRC
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New safeguards for HMRC.
PCG
members should go to:
www.pcg.org.uk/members_survey
Non-members should go to:
www.pcg.org.uk/nonmembers_survey
GIBBONS REVIEW OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION
The DTI
is conducting a review of dispute resolution, to consider
the options for simplifying and improving all aspects of
employment dispute resolution.
A link to the review's terms of reference and a Government
press release covering the review are given in the
thread in the policy forum.
If there is a sufficient expression of interest in the
review by members PCG will make a submission.
NEW PCG (QA) PRACTICE ACCREDITED
The
latest accounting practice to be welcomed onto PCG's
quality accountant scheme is
Berg Kaprow Lewis.
All
PCG Quality Accountants have received relevant and
up-to-date training in freelancer-specific issues. PCG's
full list of Quality Accountants is also available to
non-members. The benefits for accounting practices are
also significant; QA practice Simon Silver-Myer have seen
a 20% increase in their portfolio of freelancer clients in
the two months since joining the programme.
Read more about PCG (QA) >>
NEW AFFILIATE MEMBERS
PCG are
delighted to welcome four new Affiliate members.
Square One Resources are an international recruitment
firm, specialising in IT and telecoms.
Scope AT provide specialist IT recruitment consultancy
services to the financial services marketplace.
Recruitment Payroll Services offer a range of
compliant freelancer payroll products and services.
A Space in the City provides the widest range of short
stay or serviced apartments in the Cardiff area, offering
discounts to PCG members.
NEXUS CARS CLOSURE
Nexus
Cars have informed us that in the light of a severe
downturn in the UK car market they will no longer continue
to operate a car buying service.
Read more >>
REGIONAL MEETINGS
Regional meetings, traditionally known on the forums as "RLMs",
encourage members to socialise, network and discuss PCG
issues. These meetings are open to all members, and in
many cases non-members are welcome to come along too. If
you would like to attend or propose regional meetings,
please post to the relevant thread on the
RLM forum, or email the local co-ordinator.
The
events diary holds information about RLMs and other
PCG meetings, and includes a facility to register online,
where appropriate.
CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS
For information about the
latest job, project, contract and work opportunities, see
PCG's
Commercial and
Members' Commercial forums. The Commercial forum may
be accessed by Affiliate members, and PCG welcomes
postings by agencies. If you are willing to have your
commercial post published in the fortnightly newsletter,
please include the words "newsletter OK". Current
opportunities include:
A
PCG group on LinkedIn
Following requests from members, PCG has set up a group on
LinkedIn; the leading professional online network
tool, used by over 3.4 million people worldwide. LinkedIn
was also mentioned in the article "How Do You Land Work"
in issue 10 of
Freelancing Matters.
Read more >>
Professional Contractors Group Limited
Sovereign Court
635 Sipson Road
West Drayton
Middlesex
UB7 0JE
Telephone:
+44 (0845) 125 9899
Fax: +44 (0845) 644 4105 |
