Dec
31
Jobs and employment on the Costa Blanca
The Council of Europe regulations forced Spain to end all restrictions on the free
circulation of European Union workers as of January 1st, 1992 - which means that
all EU citizens can work in Spain under the same conditions as Spaniards complete
with employment contracts and employers contributions into the Spanish Social
Security system on your behalf, giving both yourself and your dependants, access to
the Spanish National Health Service. These rights extend even to family members
who are non EU nationals.
For example, if a Briton working in Spain is married to,
say - a US national, the non EU spouse will have full rights to residence and
employment in Spain. In addition, children of foreign workers will have the same
rights to trade school education and apprenticeship programmes run by the state as
nationals of that State. All of these rights, and more, are set out in EU Regulation
1612/68, regarding the free circulation of workers within the European Union.
Article 5 of Title I of that Regulation also states that any EU foreigner looking for
work in another EU country shall receive the same help from State employment
offices as its nationals seeking work, they even mean that the foreign worker,
should he/she lose his/her job in Spain for reasons beyond his/her control,
providing they have paid sufficient sums into the Social Security system of the said
State during their employment, can have access to unemployment payments - the
Spanish dole, just like a Spanish worker.
If you are considering living permanently in Spain, you must register both yourself
and any dependants with the local Police Station and obtain a NIE certificate
(Numero de Identificacion de Extranjeros) - Foreigners Identification Number. This
certificate should be carried on your person at all times, together with your passport
or residents’ permit.
Once you have this certificate, any EU national looking for employment should
present himself to the nearest office of the INEM (Instituto Nacional de Empleo) -
Unemployment Office, to register as a ‘demandante de empleo’ - unemployed. The
only problem is - you must be able to speak at least a little Spanish as very few
government departments will have an English translator on hand, and the staff will
very quickly become short tempered with you if you expect to find employment with
a Spanish company without at least being able to say good morning to the boss !
Once you have found employment, pay particular attention to your contract. Spanish
companies are notorious for insisting that you are paid half in ‘white’ and half in
‘black’, which means only half of your salary is declared to the government saving
the employer - not you - a large tax bill. Problems arise when you are not able to
prove your earnings should you require a mortgage or a loan of any kind, or you
loose your job and you find that insufficient funds have been paid into the Social
Security System for you to draw unemployment benefit.
Should you be thinking of setting up your own business in Spain, don’t expect
things to be any clearer. You may have to battle through a lot of red tape to obtain
the proper licenses and permits - even if you plan to work from home. Find yourself
a ‘gestor’ - business advisor and don’t try to do it yourself. The following is a guide
of the steps you need to go through before you can sell your first ‘widget’ ! Not all
of the items will be required in every case, but it gives you some idea of what’s in
store.
Title or degree - If you wish to practice medicine, architecture, gas fitter or any
other business that requires a certain measure of safety, you must present your
titles and certificates from the EU institutions you attended. If your titles are gained
outside the EU they will have to undergo a lengthy verification process.
I.A.E (Impuesto de Actividades Economicas) - Business License or Tax on Economic
Activities. This will need to be paid in advance and varies depending upon the type
of business you intend to begin.
Registration with the Spanish Social Security as a trabajador autonomo - self
employed person. It is illegal to work in Spain without paying into the Social Security
system.
Licencia de Apertura - Opening License. If you plan to open business premises you
will need this license from your local Ayuntamiento - Town Hall who will need to
come along and make an inspection.
A written explanation (in Spanish, of course) of the activity you will carry out.
Licenses are issued specifically to cover the specified activities and any
diversifications will need to be re-submitted to the authorities - so make sure you
include everything.
Title deed and lease contract for business premises.
If you are forming a limited company, the incorporation charter.
Any other permits relating to your special profession - such as a food handlers
certificate should you be thinking of opening a restaurant.
For further information on this and other topics about living in Spain, visit Costa Blanca World.
Good Luck !
Karen Milacic is a graphic and web designer living as a British expat on the Costa
Blanca for the past five years. Visit her other web sites at:
http://www.villa-angels.com;
http://www.thedesignbusiness.co.uk;
http://www.costablanca-
webhosting.com
Share This
Dec
30
If you are currently in the process of decorating your home’s interior, you already know that it can be an overwhelming and expensive task. In fact, most items for your new home will have to be pre-manufactured and installed by professionals. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were certain things you could cut corners on? Well, you’ll be happy to know that if you are handy with a sewing machine, you can save big money by making your own window coverings. In this article, we’ll give you the information you need in order to design and make your own window coverings.
The wonderful thing about making your own window coverings is that you control all aspects of the project, from patterns to lengths and everything in between. The first determination you will have to make is the pattern and color of fabric you intend to use. For starters, you will probably want to go with two coordinating colors that will provide a layered look. You can certainly go as bold as you like, but it is usually recommended that you keep your window coverings as plain as possible. Soft colors such as white and light blue match perfectly with nearly any valance you plan on using, and these colors also allow for sunlight to enter the room for a soothing glow. In comparison, dark colors such as forest green or black create an uninviting atmosphere
When you have selected all the necessary fabrics for your window coverings, you will have to make sure that you take the correct measurements before you start work. This is probably the most important step in making your own window coverings, as inaccurate measurements will lead to wasted time on the sewing machine. It is easiest to first measure the width and then measure the height of the window using a steel measuring tape. Record these measurements to the nearest eighth of an inch.
You will also have to decide if you are going to want an inside mount or an outside mount. Inside mounts will give your window a slimmer appearance, while outside mounts will make your window appear larger. Regardless of which mounting you prefer, it is crucial that you take measurements that are as accurate as possible.
With the preliminary work completed, it is now time to begin sewing and constructing your very own window coverings. The first step is to cut your fabrics to the measurements you have recorded. To be on the safe side, it isn’t a bad idea to add an extra inch or two. Starting at the top edge of the fabrics, you will then use a straight stitch while affording a half inch allowance. Next, you will measure an inch and a half down from the top seam and stitch along one entire long side, moving along the bottom edge and straight up the other side. You will want to leave a six inch opening on either of the edges (to later turn right side out). To finish up stitching, continue until you come within an inch and a half of the top seam again.
The only thing left for you to do now is to pull and press the fabrics through your six inch opening, and stitch it closed by hand. There you have it; your very own window covering! You can then buy a standard curtain rod to hang your window covering on and you are finished. As you can see, it really is simple to design and make your own window coverings.
Jo Williams has an interest in Home & Garden related topics. To access more information on window covering or on covering manufacturer window, please click on the links.
Share This
Dec
29
“The right word may be effective, but nothing is as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
- Mark Twain
Mark Twain, through erroneous attribution, is accused of saying many things, but the foregoing is not only a true quote -its one which he both deeply believed and practiced. Although Twain, nee Samuel Clemens, is remembered by most in this century for his written works, he spent the majority of his years, right up to old age, touring the world giving talks. Publicly speaking.
He had to. Having poured the profits from his books into a number of inventions and business schemes that all turned for the worst, Clemens found himself both deeply in debt and socially embarrassed by the state of his finances. A fiercely proud man, he determined to repay all his creditors at whatever cost, and so, against his wishes, heeded the advice of friends that the world would show up wherever he chose to speak and share his special down-home American wisdom.
Because, like most of us, he so disliked speaking in front of a group, he decided to explore the art to find out if there might be ways to make it easier on himself, and in so doing, make it easier on the audience, too. Between his own speaking engagements he thus sought out opportunities to hear others who spoke publicly, and with the practiced eye and ear for observation so apparent in his writings, became educated in the techniques that proved effective in winning audiences.
Though much has changed in speaking styles since, if one were to study the devices used by effective speakers today, she would find many of the same things Twain discovered a century ago. Chief among them would be this: people only start listening when you stop talking. To put it another way, one of the very best things you can ever do while speaking is to not.
One of the most difficult aspects of effective public speaking that participants in our corporate classes have to learn is that for whatever it is you have to say, audiences require regular and numerous breaks to absorb the last thing you said before taking on and processing the next thing you have to say. For most speakers, the anxiety of the experience and the physiological manifestations of that anxiety cause them to not only speak too quickly, but to continue to speak non-stop until they’ve finished their spurt so they can be done and quickly regain their seat.
The result of which is known as AGS, or Al Gore Syndrome, so named for that hapless soul who spoke non-stop in his 2000 AD inaugural acceptance speech, wanting so badly to get all his points across that he wouldn’t even stop to accept applause; for the last 20 minutes of his speech he spoke to a non-responding audience who had not only given up trying to reward him for his content, but also on trying to digest the non-stop barrage of ideas without ever a hint of respite to do so.
You see, the pause in speaking is equivalent to the paragraph in the written word. Paragraphs set apart one concept from the next, but structurally they do even more. By giving the eye some white space at the end of one concept, and even a lit bit more before starting the next, the brain is given a break. A break just long enough to take in the thought that was last delivered before having to embark on processing yet another.
All great speakers know this. One great speaker, Bill Clinton (regardless of in what esteem one holds his political beliefs, if any, one must concede he is one) owes much of his political success to knowing the power of the pause. In fact, most speaking experts consider Bill Clinton to be the Master of the Pause. Clinton knows that people only start listening when you stop talking. Despite many technical failings the former president displays on the podium (pointing and lip biting to name a few), no one in public life today knows better how to craft a persuasive argument through the use of simple pauses between small groups of words.
To best appreciate the power of this technique, Google “Clinton speech” or “Clinton video” or even “Clinton audio” and click on whatever comes up. Then while listening, count the number of words he puts forth before pausing (typically fewer than seven and often as few as two), and also listen for the amount of time he is silent relative to the amount of time words are flowing from his lips. Depending on what speech you find, silence can amount to as much as 30%! Then do the same exercise the next time your boss speaks. While your boss might be president of your company, its also true that he didn’t learn as much as some poor kid from Arkansas did and use the Power of the Pause to get to the highest position in the land.
Accept the fact that time goes by just nicely, thank you, without being filled up with your words. Practice holding off on your next thought for just a moment after completing your last. Note the hint of understanding in your audience’s eyes when you give them a moment to ingest your great idea. Stop talking, and notice how people begin to listen.
J. Douglas Jefferys brings twenty-five years of corporate training experience to his role as a principal of PublicSpeakingSkills.com [http://www.publicspeakingskills.com]. His firm changes presenters’ lives forever with their unique approach to training presentation design and delivery skills. Discover how to design and deliver presentations that audiences actually listen to by visiting their website now.
Share This
Next Page »
