Have you heard of the term CPD? Do you know what it means, and, more importantly, do you know what it involves?
CPD stands for Continued Personal/Professional Development. In short, it means that you continue to study after you finish school, college or graduate from university. There are a number of professions that, once you achieve a pass mark in the basic qualifications, will be the start of a lifetime of study, for example, a solicitor, a doctor or a planner. What about your profession? Do you need to embark on CPD?
If your profession does not demand Continued Professional Development, have you made the decision to discontinue studying? To have a successful career, we advocate a continued approach to education/studies. Continued Professional Development is there to help you excel in your chosen field. CPD will also keep you abreast of the latest trends, legal changes and current business relationships, which ultimately could give you an advantage over your colleagues.
Education never stops
Making a personal decision to continue your education/studies and improve your knowledge in your chosen field may become a prerequisite for your employment. An example of this is the IT Industry. Information Technology is changing all the time and good developers, support staff and programmers need to keep abreast of current technology, languages and innovations. If you decided to terminate your studies, this could have a detrimental effect on your career.
Once you have made the decision to continue with your education, what should you do? There are a number of organisations that can facilitate your education. The only decision you need to make will be, which route suits your personal circumstances:
Online training courses
Studies in a classroom setting – often given by trade bodies
Correspondence courses
Seminars and Open days
Trade Federations
Professional Magazines in a chosen field
What is CPD for your occupation?
You could be in an occupation where CPD is not required. Nevertheless, this does not mean that further study is not for you. It could be advantageous for you to engage in a study course with a local college or night class in one of the hobbies you enjoy for example, cooking or sewing. Furthermore, you could learn a new skill, for example, car maintenance.
Further, more studying has a number of wonderful side effects. You could meet new people, gain skills and, more importantly, keep your brain active. Indeed, the Alzheimer’s community have suggested that keeping your brain active could help prevent many mind degenerative disease.
All studying requires is your dedication to the course, you will be receptive to new concepts, your time and the drive to become successful.
Does it cost money to take someone to Small Claims?
Working out the interest on a Small Claims request
You’ll have to go to court if…
After the Hearing
1 Introduction – Small Claims
You can take court action against someone who owes you money and won’t pay. This is known as making a court claim. It can also be known as taking someone to a ‘small claims court’.  You usually have to pay a court fee, and you may not win your case or get your money back.
2 How to take Court Action
The government has tried to make the process as easy as possible. The easiest way to claim it be completing the form online
3 What happens next in a Small Claims application?
If they deny owing you money, you may have to go to court.
You can get the court to order them to pay if they admit owing the money or don’t respond.
If they still won’t pay, you’ll need to ask the court to take extra steps to collect the money – e.g. using bailiffs. This is called enforcing a judgment.
4 Does it cost money to take someone to Small Claims?
Yes! It costs money to go to submit a small claims application.
The fee is based on how much you are claiming + interest
Using the Money Claim Online is cheaper than sending in the form.
amount
Sending the form to court centre
Using Money Claim Online
Up to £300
£35
£25
£300.01 to £500
£50
£35
£500.01 to £1,000
£70
£60
£1,000.01 to £1,500
£80
£70
£1,500.01 to £3,000
£115
£105
£3,000.01 to £5,000
£205
£185
£5,000.01 to £10,000
£455
£410
£10,0
00.01 to £100,000
5% of the value of the claim
4.5% of the value of the claim
£100,000.01 to £200,000
5% of the value of the claim
You can’t claim using Money Claim Online
More than £200 000
£10 000
You can’t claim using Money Claim Online
5 Working out your small claims interest
The interest you can charge if another business is late paying for goods or a service is ‘statutory interest’ – this is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate for business to business transactions.
You can’t claim statutory interest if there’s a different rate of interest in a contract.
After you have submitted your small claims
The person or business who owes you money must respond to your claim within 14 days of receiving it.
If you don’t get a response, you’ll have to ask the Court to order them to pay. You do this by continuing with the Money Claim Online form.
If you do get a response – YIPPEE!
Tell them you are withdrawing your claim and also tell the Money Claim Online help desk.
6 You’ll have to go to court if…
The person or business says they don’t owe you any money.
They disagree with the amount.
You can’t agree on how the money will be repaid.
The court will send you a questionnaire asking for more information on the case. Fill this in and return it to the court.
This will incur additional costs.
If your case is a small claim, under £10,000, it can be dealt with using written evidence, and not need a hearing.
If there is a hearing you can:
Represent yourself
Pay for a barrister or solicitor to represent you
Ask someone to speak on your behalf, like your partner or an advice worker – you must get the court’s permission
7 After the Hearing
You’ll receive a letter from the court, stating its decisions, and any actions you need to take.
Additional Resources
I highly recommend using your local Citizens Advice Bureau for additional advice and support.
I am a great believer in continued professional development and, as a result, I listen to some podcasts on different business practices. This evening, I was listening to a podcast by an Australian  Pro-blogger called Darren Rowse. He made an interesting
New Year’s Resolutions
suggestion about a New Year’s Resolution you could make. Further, how you could make a slight change this year and, turn the idea on its head. This is a fascinating concept for PAs, Secretaries and Executive PA in a business environment as we spend most of our time looking after other people. In his podcast, he suggested that instead of making a New Year’s resolution about you and what you are going to do this year or stop this year; you should turn it around and make the resolution about how you can help other people, yet stay within your chosen resolution. I would also add, to help you advance your chosen career.
Depending on your company internal calendar of events and procedures the appraisal process isn’t that far away. Most appraisals start in March/April in preparation for the new financial year. For a PA,
EA and Secretary this is the time when the task of organising appraisals or preparing for appraisals starts. It is, however, worth noting that the business year begins April (often referred to as the New Financial Year), so the business year has another three months to run, (the last quarter). It is, therefore, time to start thinking about what you want to achieve in the final quarter of the financial year and what you want to achieve in the coming year.
As a PA (Personal Assistant), an EA (Executive Assistant) or secretary you may be asked to undertake an appraisal, this could be for junior members of staff. An Appraisal, Performance Review or Staff Review happens once a year. The appraisal gives the employee and the employer an opportunity to openly discuss the previous years working structure.
Some General Guidelines
Conducting an appraisal if you are a PA
Appraisals are on an individual employee’s job description. If you are conducting the appraisal you need to ensure that you are aware of the employee’s job description and not undertake a comparison with other employees.  You also have to be aware that the appraisal is on their past performance and not on what you would like them to do. That is the value of job analysis and detailed job descriptions.
A rating system may form part of the appraisal process. The rating system could be a numerical, alphabetical system or a combination. All PAs or secretaries conducting an appraisal should be trained on the rating system used. A good rating could result in a pay rise or promotion. It is important that the rating system is robust, understood and utilised.
Welcome to our online magazine from Julie and the team. If you have been on one of Julie’s training courses, you know she is passionate about PA, EAs and Secretaries being the best they can be. She also has very strong opinions about what a PA, EA and Secretary should and shouldn’t do. If you have a question, or would like to add an article, please get in touch. We would love to hear from you.
