by Vinaya HS on January 29, 2010
in Finance
This is a guest post from Shilpa at Under the Rainbow. Though Shilpa claims that “she knows zilch about financial planning,” her posts always prove the opposite. In this post she explains why you really ought to be careful when you act as a reference for someone else’s financial dealings.
I learned this lesson the hard way. A colleague of mine wanted a personal loan and asked me if he could use my name and number as a reference. Having known him for a long time, I agreed. A few months later he quit the company, quit the city, and changed his mobile number. We lost contact.
And then started a slew of calls from the bank wanting to know his whereabouts. Since I had no idea, I said so but the calls didn’t stop. Even now, after more than two years, I get these calls when I am in the middle of a meeting, driving, or trying to put my baby to sleep. Each time a different person calls and I have to explain the situation all over again.
No amount of mails, scraps, and pokes have yielded any response from this colleague. I do not want to change my mobile number because of someone else’s wrong doing. Sigh! I guess I’ll just have to answer these calls until the bank marks this colleague as a defaulter and forgets him.
In this day and age, you really need to be careful about who you act as a reference for.
Awareness Fridays is my initiative to spread awareness on topics relevant to personal finance — every Friday. I urge you to take some time off and absorb this information — it’s pretty useful. And, as always, do spread the word if you find this useful.
by Vinaya HS on July 17, 2009
in Finance
This is a guest post from Shilpa at Under the Rainbow. Though Shilpa claims that “she knows zilch about financial planning,” her guest posts never fail to prove the opposite.
Gratuity is a favor or gift, usually in the form of money, given by an employer to an employee in return for the employee’s loyal service. It is an employer’s way of thanking an employee for his loyalty. As per the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972, a company with ten or more employees should pay fifteen days’ salary (i.e. Basic + Dearness Allowance) to the employee on completion of a minimum of five years of uninterrupted service at the time of separation (by the way of resignation or retirement or death).
Gratuity up to Rs 350,000 is exempt from income tax. For a government employee, any amount is tax free. In case of death of the employee, the entire Gratuity is paid to the nominee without any tax deductions. An employer can also voluntarily choose to pay more Gratuity, but that amount would be taxable.
Here’s a simple example:
Mohan has resigned from ABC Pharmaceuticals after twenty years of continuous service. At that time, his Basic salary was Rs 22,000. His average number of work days per month was 22. The Gratuity payable would therefore be (Rs 22,000 / 22 days) * 15 days per year of service * 20 years of service = Rs 300,000.
I’d love to hear from your readers if they’re aware of any real examples — say if a family member or friend has received Gratuity.
Awareness Fridays is my initiative to spread awareness on topics relevant to personal finance — every Friday. I urge you to take some time off and absorb this information — it’s pretty useful. And, as always, do spread the word if you find this useful.
