Clinical Coding Contract Recruitment

Are you a Limited Company (PSC) worker, still confused about IR35, or Off Payroll in the Public Sector and how this affects the way you’re paid, or the way you pay yourself, or how much you'll 'lose'? Even though we are now over 10 months into the changes made regarding who makes the decision on whether IR35 applies in the public sector, there is still confusion as to how this will actually hit contractors in the pocket. We are still speaking to many contractors who make all sorts of claims about how little they will actually take home compared to when they previously worked outside the IR35 legislation, sometimes as little as 40%. Now whilst I agree that in all but the simplest situation, contractors will be slightly worse off, it is rarely by the amount that is first perceived (unless, of course, there are some funny goings on in terms of not quite paying the amount of tax owed*) Note that I do not intend here to go into specific calculations and where example figures are used, these are purely that, just simple example figures. The first thing many contractors do is to compare the net amount they will be paid inside IR35 with the gross amount they usually get outside. For example, a contractor used to earning £500 per day outside IR35, is likely now to be offered a rate of around £435 per day inside IR35 (the difference being the submissions that agency needs to make to HMRC for Employer’s NI, as well as the apprenticeship levy if it applies). From the £435 per day, employment deductions of Employee’s NI and PAYE will be made, before the ‘deemed’ payment is made to the ltd company. If one simply compares £500 per day to the new payment of £435 less deductions, then clearly there is a significant difference. But it is not that simple as there are other rules / obligations that need to be considered. For those INSIDE IR35: Your company is paid the Deemed Payment (the net payment after deductions made to the contractor’s ltd company): Once the deemed payment is made to the ltd company, you still need a way of taking that money out of your ltd company. This can be done in 2 ways: 1. Dividends: If you’re a director of your own company, you might choose to pay yourself a dividend from the company’s profits. You can pay yourself a tax-free dividend up to the total of the deemed direct payment received from contracts in the public sector, where Income Tax and NICs have been deducted at source. You don’t need to declare that dividend on your Self Assessment tax return. 2. Payroll: You can pay yourself for the work provided to public sector clients through your company’s payroll. As employment taxes have already been paid on the amount your intermediary receives, you can pay yourself that amount without deducting Income Tax or NICs. And the icing on the cake: No Corporation Tax When you are calculating your company’s turnover, you should deduct the VAT exclusive amount of the invoice, which is the amount from which Income Tax and NICs were deducted at source. Your company accounts should show this deduction to make sure the amount is not taxed twice. For those OUTSIDE IR35 To get your £500 per day out of your ltd company, again you can pay yourself dividends, or a salary (or mixture of both) Dividends: The tax advantages between dividends and salary are diminishing but, nevertheless, there is still a slight advantage to dividends. As opposed to the Inside options above, your dividend will be liable to dividend tax, and corporation tax. Payroll: You can take it as salary – but your company will be liable for Employer’s NI (aha, so there’s the difference between the £500 and £435 already gone), then there are the same NI and PAYE deductions taken, meaning that if you were to pay yourself purely by means of a salary, your take home will be the same as if you received the deemed payment from the agency. As you can see, the difference is not as clear as might be first thought, and many roles inside IR35 have the rates inflated to compensate. So next time you are considering turning down a contract opportunity that is caught by the legislation, it might be time to think again! *Many contractors are unaware of the Employment Intermediaries Legislation which requires employment intermediaries (ie agencies) to submit a quarterly report to HMRC detailing ALL payments made to a contractor / contractor’s ltd company - they know what contractors should be declaring regarding all funds paid through an intermediary.

This week I received a candidate’s CV that was 27 pages long and even included a detailed breakdown of their swimming achievements at school, including their 50 meter swimming badge. Don’t get me wrong, an amazing achievement to be proud of but should it really be listed on your CV? Probably not. So this got me thinking, what would be my top tips for writing the best coding CV? Include A Personal Statement Include a small paragraph at the start of CV, introducing yourself and your skill set. As much as your experience will speak for yourself, it is always good to have an introduction first. Keep It Clear We receive so many CVs that are written like a novel – large paragraphs with no breaks. This makes it super hard for the reader to pick out key information. Keep it clear, use bullet points and break lines, this makes it easier for potential managers to spot key information. Keep the font choice simple and use headings and sub headings. My favourite lay out for employment history goes a little something like this; Job Title Organisation Name Dates Brief over view of work completed Simple right? More than two pages? The old “two page” CV is really a myth. If you have been working within coding for the last 25 years, you are going to have a lot to say. Don’t try and squeeze your experience into two pages, keep it clear, concise and easy to read. Whether it is 2 pages or 4 pages, who cares! List Your Specialities Be sure to dedicate a section of your CV to your coding specialities – every coding department is different and some cover some weird and wonderful specialities, make sure you shout about them – it gives a great insight into your experience. Training & Workshops Sometimes a recent refresher can make the difference in securing a contract or not, make sure you list any up to date training workshops or refresher courses with dates they were completed. Keep It Coding As much as your previous roles matter, don’t go into too much detail about non Coding roles. Coding managers are interested in what applies to the world of coding, not what you were doing when you were 16 while working at the local supermarket – even if it did give you a great work ethic. Keep It Up to Date Sending off out of date CVs can look unprofessional, make sure you keep your CV updated with every job move – this saves time on boring admin further down the line too. Check and Check Again(!) Avoid those spelling mistakes by checking and checking again. Get a friend or partner to proof read, a fresh set of eyes can spot mistakes more easily!

Clinical Coders Vs The Recruiters More often than not in the world of recruitment, it is recruiters firing questions at candidates to find out information about them, their roles and experience, and their interests. So we thought let’s turn the tables. Tom and Sophie have opened up this idea to our GSA coder community and below are a handful of questions which were fired their way... What made you decide you wanted to work in the recruitment industry? Tom: I had previous sales experience and always thought I was quite a personable person. A few of my friends had gone into the industry so I thought was worth a look. Nearly 10 years later and I haven’t looked back. Sophie: To be honest, I fell into it by complete chance. I had just graduated from my Business degree and had no idea what steps to take next. I had applied for a few graduate schemes and my CV was picked up by an agency based in Birmingham. They approached me about working directly for them mainly focusing on the IT market. I was there for just over 3 years before moving to GSA – the rest they say is history! How did you find out about Clinical Coding? Tom: I had just started at GSA, around 2009 and we were approached by a trust to help them find a permanent Clinical Coding Manager. I had no idea what the job entailed so did some research around it and tried to learn as much as I could about Clinical Coding. I soon found out how hard it was to find permanent candidates, which led to the idea of focusing on developing a contract market to help NHS trusts. It has gone from strength to strength over the last 8 years and now we supply to the majority of trusts up and down the country. Sophie: I had decided to make the jump from my previous agency for a new challenge and was contacted by Tom. He gave me a little insight into the world of Clinical Coding, I was intrigued and felt like it was a really interesting market to work in, so decided to go for it and joined GSA in March 2014. How do you feel about competition from other agencies working in the same market as you? Tom: It can be tricky, but I guess anyone that works in recruitment will tell you that. We have focused purely on NHS Clinical Coding for the last 8 years and I feel like that is a big advantage to us as an agency – we know the market and how it works inside out which is what I think sets us apart from other agencies. Sophie: Competition is part and parcel of recruitment - especially when working in a market where candidates are so in demand. I like to think that we can offer something different to our competitors and that there is a reason we have such a loyal contractor base who continue to use our services. What makes a great candidate for Clinical Coding contract work? Tom: I think the great candidates are those who have an open mind. Every NHS trust is so different, they have different policies and procedures and different ways of doing things. If we can find coders with lots of experience, but also who are willing to look at the different ways trusts do things and can learn and develop from that, then that makes them into great candidates. Sophie: For me, it is someone that genuinely has a passion for what they do. If they can take this passion to multiple trusts and inject it into other trainee or junior coders it gives great results. Obviously, knowledge is key in this market, but also candidates who want to carry on learning is always great as well. A candidate that can roll with the punches and has a thick skin is as there can be so many ups and downs in the contract world. What do you think the benefit of contractors is to a trust? Tom: I guess the saying time is money is pretty true here. The majority of trusts we know have used or do use contractors because they physically can’t get the permanent staff and they need coders in, coding so the trust doesn’t lose money. Alongside this, I think it is knowledge and experience, especially when you come down to the really tricky complex notes. A contractor can offer knowledge and insight as well as getting the job done. Sophie: Like Tom said, I think really it is knowledge and experience. We have a lot of really experienced coders who work for us that have worked in trusts up and down the country. It is very difficult to get that exposure as a permanent employee. Contractors can pick up different knowledge and tips and adapt quickly to environments. I think that gives priceless knowledge to the trusts and departments they work in. Do you have a favourite contractor and/or manager? Tom: I could never say I have a favourite! Some of our contractors really make me laugh, you get to know people on a personal level and that is really nice. The same with managers, some managers in the past have really not wanted to talk to me or haven’t needed our help and that is totally fine but it is great to follow that relationship through over months/years and develop it into something so if they do ever need our help they know where we are. Sophie: Every contractor and manager is so different! Some of our contractors we don’t hear from for months at a time, just only really get in touch if there is an issue or if their contract is ending. Others we speak to on a weekly basis but they are all so individual. I couldn’t say if I had a favourite, but I get huge satisfaction from meeting a new candidate or manager and building up relationships with them and seeing that transition from stranger to working partner – it really is great. What do you do in your spare time? Tom: I have a new baby girl at home – Summer – who was born in June so my spare time at the moment is mostly nappy changes and swimming classes! Sophie: Think about work? No, I’m joking! My spare time is mostly spent with my friends and family. I love to cook so I am often making up some sort of new recipe or testing out some baked treats on my boyfriend Phil, who always seems more than willing to oblige. If you have any other questions you would like to send to our Clinical Coder Recruiters please feel free to get in touch!