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• An individual can claim deduction of up to Rs15,000 towards the Health Insurance premium paid for your parents if they are below the age of 65 years.
• This deduction is applicable over and above the Rs15,000 deduction that you are entitled to as an individual under section 80D for health insurance taken for yourself. So in totality one can claim up to Rs 30,000.

If your parents are senior citizens, then the coverage can be up to Rs 20,000/, and an overall coverage of Rs 35,000/- including your cover.

Source : http://www.livemint.com/2010/01/22120313/Did-You-Know-Look-after-paren.html

I wrote about the exemption of Fringe Benefit Tax in my post on 07, July, and here’s a report on yet another mid year addition of taxing perquisites offered to employees. The Direct taxation board and Finance Ministry works on absolute whims without being sensitive to the amount of change in process that a company would need to carry out in administering such whims.

All the talk about saral tax filing and simplification of taxation processes goes out of the window. There is an absolute commerce thriving in coming to terms with such whimsical turn-around by the government authorities. The report can be viewed in the link below.

tax-on-perquisites-et-191209

During these troubled times, here comes in a carrot, with the Finance Minister proposing in his budget on scrapping the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT). Most medium to large companies were offering special allowances as a part of the bouquet of allowances to employees for claiming better tax benefits, which in turn attracted FBT on such allowances for the companies. The much hyped Stock Option Plans (ESOP’s) with many riders on to it, also was subjected to FBT, if they were to be exercised resulting in capital gains.  With FBT expected to be removed, Companies will now pass on the burden of tax directly to the employees.

In reality one would wonder if FBT really pinched the companies very hard, and did allow the employees to get better benefits. And if the withdrawal of the FBT, if this will actually help companies reduce much tax burden and help employees carry larger pay packet.

Well atleast on one count, the employees will benefit on exercising the stock options now that it will not be covered under FBT.

I believe that Human Resource is very strategic to any Business and the cost of acquiring, nurturing, maintaining and retaining them exceeds fairly in value compared to any other resource.

In troubled and tough times like this when businesses tends to seek the easy way out in downsizing and camouflage it as cost rationale, the HR Department and professionals managing such processes need to stand up and make it count.

They need to evaluate such options with tough performance parameters and be very aware of the quality of resource they retain and release. This is also the time employer brand can actually be fortified and a very clear message on the company loyalty be stressed upon.

I represent the other side of the table in bringing across the elusive talent most businesses frantically try to acquire during good times. Human Resource professionals should be able to forecast the troubled times better, build the resource maintenance strategy and relay to the margin obsessed management the importance of long term perspectives  and gains. This way they could avoid falling prey to knee jerk reactions that most organizations have resorted to during these times.

Most economists, management gurus, financial advisors and knowledge institutions have failed us in predicting such recessionary scenario, its duration and its cascading effects. A large part of this scenario is also the creation of HR Management fraternity through mindless inflation of HR costs over the last few years and should now own up the responsibility to temper it down to reasonable level for the benefit of all.

It should rather be left to our own competence in assessing business scenarios and working towards better results which in no way should be socialist or advocate cheap please everyone policy. A more rationale effort to manage the HR Costs and talent is probably the call of the day.

So that is it!

To begin with the chairman tries to buy his son’s company which is in doldrums, all the while consumed by the insatiable greed for land, all this fueled by the hard earned money that a group of people called the Human Resource of the company has sweat to generate over so many years. One might be tempted to say… So What! The company belonged to them….!

Well with all emotions yet kept apart, I will answer back So What! So what if a person has founded a company; has invested in it; has nourished an idea; turned it to a business proposition and has generated wealth out of it… it doesn’t yet give the right to the founder to treat it like his ‘baap ki jaagir’… yes sir… it still doesn’t give him the right to treat it like one….!

Whatever the Companies Act of 1956 might want to say, I believe a company, the moment one is formed is no longer a baap ki jagir.. it belongs to those who have toiled to build it… it belongs to the people who work there… it belongs to the clients it gets business from …it belongs to the vendors who service it…it belongs to the investors and shareholders…it belongs to the government it pays tax to… it belongs to the land where its infrastructure stands….it belongs to the process that it serves the purpose of… and yes it too has a personality of its own, a character of its own … and a life of its own… a founder who may have created it cannot claim his auto-right to play with it, squeeze its life off, and then say, I am sorry, I resign !!

And the speculation galore, they are loosing clients, they are loosing investors, no one wants to buy them, employees are beleaguered, employees are looking out….they are sending resumes to recruiters, competing firms will hire them at lower than market compensation !

Come on guys!! Can we not see it… it is so clearly visible …it is a hand in glove connivance, of all those who were involved, auditors, government, politicos, bank and the management, who stripped the company of its cash, that’s all that is happened… yes that’s all that has happened… the company has been robbed of its cash…its money…

Could they possibly rob the company of its character, its personality, its business process, its human resource and the talent it has. I have had the chance to interact with some extremely great talent at this company over the years when I would try to poach business intelligence, human resource strategist, finance analyst, process specialist and many such niche areas for our other clients. Come on guys … this is the time the company, if we consider for a moment the company to be living person who is calling you out…. “Go out and tell your clients… tell your vendors… tell your team members… tell the government officials…. tell your family members… we are in charge and we will drive it now on… don’t loose faith in us, they have possibly robbed us of our money but not of our skin and our skin is colored dark, dark with the experience we have had to build our business and our process over these years. Let me not get raped. I don’t want anyone to take us over. I don’t want to merge with anyone. I want to continue living my character, my personality, and my business. Revive me back for the sake of our clients, our vendors, for you and your family, for our investors, for the tax we are paying, and for the land I belong to. I know I will live as long as I have you guys!!”

Do not send your resumes to recruiters or competing companies now, they may not value your worth as much as your company will do….stay back if you possibly can and prove a point. I just did some my otherwise poor math and realized if each employee could possibly raise a 5- 10 lakh loan you could possibly raise the money your company has been robbed off ?  or am I wrong ?

Let this be the moment of your Satyam!

Some fresh opportunities with clients this week,

1. Head - Supply Chain Management / IT / Marketing / Human Resources / Finance / Sales / Operations / Customer Services ; Location : Cochin; Client is a new cellular operator in Kerala; All roles require incumbents to have a minimum of 12 years experience, the client is open to candidates with background from any industry..! Call us on 9945109555 or email : praveen@greyflex.com to know more. 
2. Head of Facilities & Services based at Bangalore, for a fortune 500 MNC; ideally somebody with Leadership Skills; sound Financial Acumen (Average Spend category at USD 125 Million); Exposure and conviction to manage various stakeholders; the role is more strategic and less operational hence, F&A Background is not mandatory.

Some new opportunities with an esteemed client,

1. Internal Communications Analyst in the Marketing Department : Location : Gurgaon, MBA Marketing certainly, 2003-2007 Batches, ideally at least a year’s experience in IT / ITES companies; salary offered for this role is between 4-5 lacs to 7.5 lacs max.
2. Growth and Strategy Specialist based at Bangalore, ideally somebody working with international research firms handling research on IT / ITES industry and good understanding of data analytic’s. MBA preferred, 2001-2006 Batches, ideally at least 2 year’s + experience, salary offered for this role is between 7 lacs to 14 lacs max.
3. Corporate Lawyer based at Bangalore, having good understanding on reviewing contracts etc, ideally with exposure in IT / ITES Companies. LLB is a must; 2001-2006 Batches, with at least 2 year’s + experience, salary offered for this role is between 7 lacs to 14 lacs max.
4. Corporate Labor Lawyer based at Gurgaon / Bangalore (Employee Preference) ; should have worked with Corporate Companies and should have handled employee related litigation; LLB is a must; 2001-2006 Batches, ideally at least 2 year’s + experience, salary offered for this role is between 7 lacs to 14 lacs max.

In the Business – HRM Process I’d update about some of the exciting recruitment projects we currently manage. Readers interested in knowing more about these requirements could please email me at praveen(at)greyflex(dot)com.

We at GreyFlex HR Consulting currently are on look-out for,

• CNC Machines Sales and Service Engineers located at Chennai and Cochin.
• Fresh HR MBA aspirants have project openings at Mumbai.
• Textile industry professionals in managing sourcing quality, production, and planning have senior opportunities at Bangalore.
• Premium School HR post graduates have opportunities at Bangalore.

Watch out for this space more often!