New London finance jobs rise for first time since early 2012

The number of new financial services jobs in London rose for the first time in almost two years last month, research showed on Monday, which recruiters said was a sign that banks are starting to think about growth after years of restructuring.

However, the number of jobs created in the whole of 2013 fell 21 percent compared with the year before as the financial jobs market still struggles to recover from the effects of the financial crisis, after which a number of banks cut jobs or pulled back from certain activities to reduce costs.

In December, 1,340 new jobs were created in the City financial district, up by two thirds versus the same month in 2012, according to research by recruitment firm Astbury Marsden. It was the first time in 22 months there had been a year-on-year monthly increase, the study said.

Investment banks created 67 percent more jobs than in December 2012.

Astbury Marsden said steady trading volumes encouraged City firms to continue to support growth in equity and derivatives trading and a buoyant shares listings market encouraged banks to devote more resources to deal-making and execution teams.

The total number of roles created in 2013 fell to 27,915 from 35,115 created in 2012, the research showed.

Astbury Marsden said there were some positives to be taken from the fact that the rate of shrinkage had slowed, however, as total new roles in 2012 had been 35 percent behind 2011.

"What we are seeing is very far from a return to aggressive hiring, but it is a good sign that banks are thinking again about growth," Astbury Marsden's Chief Operating Officer Mark Cameron said.

Separate research released last week suggested financial services institutions are finding it increasingly difficult to find the right staff to fill roles and to keep top talent on board.

TALENT BATTLE

In a survey conducted as part of recruitment firm Robert Half's Salary Guide for 2014, almost all of the 100 executives asked said it was a challenge to find skilled financial services professionals and 95 percent said they were concerned about losing top performers.

A similar number said they were worried about losing top talent to international competitors as a result of the European Union bonus cap, which limits bonuses to no more than annual salary, or twice that with shareholder approval.

Bonuses and executive compensation are particularly thorny issues in Britain, where many believe high levels of pay encouraged the excessive risk taking that led to the financial crisis.

People struggling in the economic downturn have been infuriated by companies, particularly banks rescued by the government at the height of the crisis, which continue to award payouts many times the average wage.

Robert Half said almost two thirds of firms surveyed had already raised salaries by an average of 19 percent for top employees to counteract the crimp on bonuses, while six in 10 have also increased benefits for affected staff.

In November Barclays (BARC.L) unveiled a plan to give senior bankers additional monthly payments and last week an industry source said HSBC (HSBA.L) is considering handing out new share awards to around 1,000 top-ranking staff.

Azure Global’s vision is to be widely recognized as a reputed firm of financial business advisors, achieving real growth for ambitious companies and to become the first choice for F&A outsourcing for accountancy practices and businesses alike for more info visit our site Azure Global and join us also On Facebook

Tackling your tax return: the pain-free guide

The deadline for filing is less than three weeks away – yet 40% of those in HMRC's sights have yet to fill in their tax return. We look at how to ease the pain

This weekend, thousands of people will be digging out their P60 certificate, bank documents and various other bits of financial paperwork after reluctantly concluding that they can't put off doing their tax form any longer.

Around four million people have not yet filed their self-assessment taxreturn – and the 31 January deadline is looming. By midnight on that date, you need to have filled in your form and returned it to HM Revenue & Customs, together with payment for any tax you owe for the 2012-13 financial year.

In all, more than 10 million people are due to file a return by the end of this month, and HMRC is currently receiving about 80,000 completed returns per day. Some of these are from people new to self-assessment or who haven't filled in a form for years, but have now been dragged back into the regime because of the new rules on child benefit that affect those earning more than £50,000 a year.

Even if you don't owe tax, you can't escape a fine if you miss the deadline. If your name is down to do a return and you are late, you will automatically be hit with a £100 penalty. There are additional penalties if you keep delaying, which could add up to £1,600.

You are too late to file a paper return now – you can only do so online. To send an online tax return you must be registered for HMRC online services, and that involves getting an "activation code" by post, which will take a few days to arrive. HMRC says that if you register by 21 January you should be able to meet the deadline for filing 10 days later.

Here, we round up some of the top tips for filling in your form, highlight the common mistakes and identify some of the things you may be able to claim for. We also look at how you may be able to free yourself from the annual chore of filling in a tax form.The form includes new boxes asking how much child benefit you received between 7 January and 5 April last year, and how many children you have. If you claimed the benefit between those two dates, you'll have received £263 for one child, £438 for two, and £612 for three.

The high income tax charge is 1% of the amount of child benefit for each £100 of income between £50,000 and £60,000, and it is based on your "adjusted net income", which is your total taxable income (ie, basic salary, plus any benefits such as a company car, plus any savings, dividend or rental income), minus things such as pension contributions and charitable giving. In other words, people can deduct the money they contribute to their pension from their headline salary, and in many cases this will be several thousand pounds per year – which may be enough to take them below the vital £50,000 threshold.

This means there are likely to be quite a few parents earning more than £50,000 – perhaps £53,000-£54,000, or even more in some cases – who, unbeknown to them, can continue to claim child benefit without having it clawed back later. There is a calculator you can use atgov.uk/child-benefit-tax-calculator

Azure Global’s vision is to be widely recognized as a reputed firm of financial business advisors, achieving real growth for ambitious companies and to become the first choice for F&A outsourcing for accountancy practices and businesses alike for more info visit our site Azure Global and join us also On Facebook