SERVICES
© Voyonic 2024 website designed & developed by Stratagem
We are pleased to welcome back Sammy Bailey, one of our Temporary Support Administrators, from her recent travels!
Sammy has spent the last four months exploring different parts of Europe with her boyfriend visiting a total of 16 countries including finishing off with a week in Miami for some sun before returning to Guernsey. She said her favourite country to visit was Italy because of the wonderful food!
They plan to next go travelling in February 2021 and will visit parts of Central America, road trip through the USA and also visit South Africa.
Sammy said “As much as I love being away, its nice to be welcomed back to my Voyonic family and have a routine for a while before the next trip!”
You can find out more about her adventures on her Instagram page @rooftopsandflipflopstravel
The new Inshore Lifeboat started service on 1st July, as part of a two year trial. Voyonic Crewing Limited are delighted to be sponsoring the fuel for the duration of its trial period.
Neil Carrington, Chief Executive of Voyonic said, “As a marine employment company and as an ex professional seafarer myself we have a natural affinity with the sea so it is great to be working with a charity that helps to keep people safe at sea.”
The Inshore Lifeboat is designed for rapid response and to be able to access shallower waters and has already proved useful since its launch in July.
Guernsey Lifeboat Guild Chairman, Celia Allen, said, “We are absolutely delighted that Voyonic has offered to help in such a practical way by sponsoring fuel for our new ILB. The fact that the sponsorship is for two years is very generous and thoughtful. The Guernsey Lifeboat Guild is very grateful for this great addition to the fundraising for the work of the Guernsey lifeboats.”
We are pleased to announce the promotions of Jill Halloran and Ferdinando Vasconcelos.
Jill has been with us since May 2017 and has been promoted to Senior HR & Payroll Administrator. Ferdinando has been with us since December 2018 and has been promoted to HR & Payroll Administrator. Their promotions are well deserved and reflect their continued development and knowledge gained during their time at Voyonic.
Chief Executive Neil Carrington has been known to say that “our staff are our greatest asset” and these promotions help reflect just how important our staff’s contribution, growth and development is to Voyonic.
Voyonic Crewing Limited were approached by a client who operate a fleet of small/medium support vessels operating from bases around the UK and Europe. At the time of the approach the crew onboard the fleet were predominantly working on a self-employed basis and many of them had been self-employed most of their working lives.
Various meetings and conversations were had with the client in order to fully understand the company operations so that any advice provided was accurate. Voyonic utilised the services of their social security advisor, whose knowledge of social security and its application to Mariners is second to none.
Having ascertained that the operating situation was such that an offshore employer could be legitimately engaged to provide services an agreement was reached and the project moved on to phase two – implementation using established processes.
An implementation plan was agreed between the parties highlighting key objectives, timescales and responsibilities, including designating project managers in each organisation and communication lines.
One particular challenge to be addressed was to be the transition of the affected crew from their self-employed status to becoming employees and being a part of the PAYE system. This meant a longer consultation process than for most client take on projects.
Whilst much of the consultation was done by circulating explanatory documentation e.g. Frequently Asked Questions, to every individual, each person was invited to a meeting in order to ensure that any questions could be answered personally, particularly when it came to tax as every case is slightly different.
The differences between tax and social security legislation were discussed at length as it is a common mistake to think that because of the PAYE system they are one and the same, whereas they both have different regulations applicable to them. In simple terms tax is quite personal because an individual’s living arrangements have a bearing e.g. one person may have a mortgage another not, one person may spend over 183 days outside the UK and benefit from SED another not etc. In general social security applies to a group of workers and relates more to the place of work, flag of a vessel, operating areas etc.
In addition to the PAYE issue this particular project was taking place in the early days of auto-enrolment pensions which added another complexity to the equation.
The overall message that the client and Voyonic were able to share is that ultimately the crew would be in a much better place in terms of securing benefits for themselves and their families and with added security that self-employment does not have.
One of the misnomers about offshore employment is that it is simply a ruse to cut down employer’s costs at the expense of the crew but this is simply not the case. Offshore employment arrangements exist because of the initiative of former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.
Lord Prescott was an ex-seafarer himself and he appreciated the fact that for UK seafarers to remain competitive in a global market place some action was needed to help minimise the costs associated with their employment. Offshore employment was started in the Channel Islands in 1983 and was quite well established not only there but in many other jurisdictions by 2001 when Lord Prescott stepped in.
Rules surrounding subsidies through social security are quite strict so with assistance from the HMRC a set of guidelines were drawn up basically to ensure that if offshore employment services were to exist, they had to be properly managed. Guidance to this effect was issued in the Tax Bulletin IR49 which laid down the must haves of offshore employment. Since that time the guidance has been enshrined in the HMRC general legislation but the principle still remains that any arrangement has to be genuine.
Recently Guernsey itself has introduced legislation that further enhances the requirements of the HMRC (and indeed other jurisdictions who have similar rules). This legislation is to ensure that not only are any structures genuine but that the companies offering such services have the resources and the knowledge to be able to provide those services. This legislation is designed to finally remove any potential ‘brass plate’ operations and ensure protection of seafarers.
Whilst the consultations were taking place all the proposed documentation was being prepared for the operation. This documentation is underpinned by an Operating Procedures Manual which clearly documents which parties to the arrangements are responsible for which elements and includes template documentation, contact details, system instructions etc.
The culmination of the whole process was the issuing of approved Seafarer Employment Agreements and more importantly, running the first payroll.
The project was delivered on time because the process was agreed at the start and even allowing for the odd tweak along the way it was adhered to because realistic timescales were set by both parties. The emphasis was on getting it right rather than doing it quickly!
This article was published in Wind Energy Network – Issue 51
We are pleased to welcome back Harry Gabriel, one of our temporary support administrators.
Harry spent his summer in Pennsylvania at Camp Equinunk where he was an Assistant Group Head of the 11 year old boys. This meant he helped to manage the children and also the staff, a demanding but rewarding job.
Harry said “I had a great time at Camp over the summer and I hope to go back again next summer. However it’s great to be back at Voyonic, everyone is so friendly and it feels like I never left!”
We are delighted to announce that both Crystal Besnard and Emily McDonald have been promoted to Senior HR & Payroll Administrator with effect from 1st October.
Crystal has been with us for 3 years and 5 months and Emily for 2 years and 7 months and are both currently working towards their CIPP Payroll Technician Certificate. Their line manager Lorrane Vidamour, Senior HR and Payroll Manager, said “It is well deserved. They have both been recognised as being key assets to Voyonic and for their ability to assist colleagues and new members of their teams as well as for the knowledge they have developed during their time here.”
Crystal and Emily said they are both extremely happy and pleased with their promotions and look forward to developing in their new roles at Voyonic.
We would also like to thank all of our staff for the continual dedication and loyalty to the company which is providing the company with the platform to further grow and develop in a competitive industry.
The recent Monaco Yacht Show proved a busy one for the Voyonic team, who once again exhibited at the show, at the Yachting Pages terrace.
Taking place in Port Hercules of Monaco, the show provided a stunning opportunity for exhibitors and visitors alike to see displays of state-of-the-art superyachts, industry innovation and discover all this vibrant sector has to offer. This years Monaco Yacht Show was said to be the biggest yet with over 125 superyachts with an average length close to 50 metres (21 vessels exceeded 60 metres this year).
The show gave us an excellent platform from which to catch up with existing clients face-to-face, showcase our services to potential customers, and also meet some of the captains and crew we look after. It was also great to network with other people from the industry as we attended the International Superyacht Society drinks reception on the Wednesday night.
Below are some images from our time there.
Voyonic would like to thank our Temporary Support Administrators for their help during their summer holidays from university. With the addition of new clients their efforts were greatly appreciated and we are now looking to employ permanent staff in their places. You can find more information about these positions on our vacancies page.
We were joined by (left to right in image) Alex Vaudin, Richard Bartram, Gabrielle Setters, Katie Anderson, Howard Joyce and also Ben Fletcher who is not pictured. They have now all returned to carry on studying towards their respective degrees and we wish them well and hope to see them in the future!
As an additional thank you for their help they each received an Aurigny voucher.
Voyonic are proud to be located in the lovely island of Guernsey and believe it is important everyone makes an effort to help keep our beaches and island clean. Working in the maritime industry we recognise the effect plastic and rubbish is having on our oceans and our planet and the importance of reducing this effect.
Well done to La Société Guernesiaise, Plastic Free Guernsey, Pick it Up Guernsey, Fairtrade Guernsey, and the Alderney Wildlife Trust for organising two beach cleans on 21st and 22nd September to mark World Clean Up Day.
Along with a group of 7 friends Ben has created an album on behalf of teenage cancer trust. The group, Methodical Madness, came about as a friend of theirs, Thomas Martin-Sarre sadly passed away from a rare form of childhood cancer 5 years ago and they wanted a way to commemorate him and raise money for the charity.
Donna Reid, group HR director, said “we are pleased to be able to support Ben with a donation for his album as it is a great way to raise money for such a worthwhile cause. We wish him the best of luck with it!”
The album is now available for download on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Spotify as well as in physical CD’s and all proceeds will go to charity.
© Voyonic 2024 website designed & developed by Stratagem