Nunn Hayward - Career Opportunities

Working with Nunn Hayward

Introduction
Nunn Hayward was formed on 1 April 1998 by the merger of Duke Hayward and Nunn Brown & Dales. The firm today has offices in Gerrards Cross and New Malden, which are the locations for the majority of accountancy and taxation matters, and an office in Aylesbury which deals largely with corporate recovery and insolvency matters.

Both of the firms in the merger were started in 1986 and today, in Nunn Hayward, we have approximately 55 staff and 9 partners.

The partners of Nunn Hayward strongly believe that the biggest asset of the firm is our employees and we take great pride in the professional and friendly way in which all members of the firm carry out their respective roles.

A strong emphasis is put on an 'open door policy' whereby partners are accessible to all members of staff. We believe that this has helped to give strong lines of communication and ensure that problems are sorted out at an early date.

Features

Salaries
Salary is of course a major issue for employees, particularly when they are looking to commence employment. At Nunn Hayward salaries are reviewed at least annually in March of each year, with interim reviews if appropriate. Our stated intention is to be very competitive and, through our membership of a local consortium of accountancy firms (BRAINS), our intention is always to be considered amongst the best payers in the area to match the high expectations we have of our staff.

In addition to basic salary we operate a bonus scheme to reward our staff with a share of our profitability.

The basic working week is 37.5 hours and for professional staff we agree budgets for anticipated chargeable and recoverable time.

Our basic approach to salaries is to start by considering ability and expertise. Qualifications are important but we will pay what each employee is worth to us.

Pensions
We have for some time run an optional group personal pension scheme with a major life company on a nil commission basis where charges are kept to the absolute minimum. It is a money purchase arrangement where salary is sacrificed for the contribution to the scheme, in addition to which we contribute the employer's National Insurance, thus maximising the benefit of this arrangement. It is fully portable should you wish to move on, and can accept transfers from other pension arrangements should you wish.

Flexibility
We have found that people benefit from a more flexible approach to working hours and a number of staff prefer to work on the alternative basis we offer. We have core times per day which must be worked and these cover the periods 10.00 am to 12 noon and 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm, but with that constraint you can commence work as early as 8 o'clock and/or work through to 6 o'clock. The intention is that on a weekly basis you will still, overall, put in 37.5 hours for the firm. This arrangement is monitored by the department manager. Most members of staff take a one-hour break for lunch. There is a window for lunch between 12 noon and 2.00 pm and a minimum of half hour must be taken.

Holidays
All employees are entitled to the normal bank holidays and in addition we provide 20 paid working days. These can be booked using the appropriate holiday form and approval is given by your group manager or partner. If you are considering taking a period in excess of two weeks then prior approval must be sought from a partner.

We are flexible as to when holidays are taken, provided we are given sufficient notice. It is important that holidays are co-ordinated throughout the relevant departments.

Professional Training
We have always placed great store on the quality of our staff and a large part of this has been helping with on-going studying and obtaining of professional qualifications. To this end we are an accredited training office with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and a member of a local consortium of accountancy firms known as BRAINS Limited, who provide training courses throughout the year on varied subjects to ensure everyone is kept up to date.

All professional staff are required to meet agreed continuing professional education hours on an annual basis and this is done following an agreed plan for each year.

Technical Support
We maintain a comprehensive library on all relevant subjects. A significant amount of the tax and audit/accounts library is kept on CD-ROM which can be accessed throughout the office. We always encourage open discussion on technical issues amongst members of the practice, including partners.

Technology
The firm is committed to using the latest technology wherever possible. All members of staff are provided with a computer and have access to internal and external E-mail and the Internet.

Health Club
There is a local health club some five minutes away from the Gerrards Cross office and members of the firm are entitled to use its facilities free of charge. Employees are able to use the flexible working time arrangements mentioned above in order to make maximum use of these facilities.

Squash Club
The Firm provides off-peak membership to all members of staff of Gerrards Cross Squash Club enabling staff to play at lunch times, early evening or weekends.

Welfare
The firm has signed up with the Validium Group who provide a confidential stress counselling and related issues hot-line for partners, employees and their families and we feel that this is a significant facility should anybody feel that they need professional help on any aspect of modern day living.

Social Activity
The firms Christmas party is one occasion where the entire practice meets up to enjoy reminiscing over the previous twelve months activities and wishing everybody well for the forthcoming new year. It is very much on a low-key friendly basis and is complemented by a summer social event, which is often done on an office by office basis. Attendance is never compulsory but these events are normally well supported and much enjoyed by all.

In addition departments will themselves have social events throughout the year, and the firm has even taken part in such activities as the Hillingdon & Slough Half Marathons (well some members anyway!).