BSN Ezine November 2005
Sharing the Benefit of Experience - Issue 6 |
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| Welcome to the Business Support Network E-Zine. The Business Support Network is a British Plastics Federation initiative, bringing together an elite group of companies who all work in support of the plastics industry: Chosen by the Plastics Industry For the Plastics Industry Whether you need recruitment, financial or legal advice- the Business Support Network is here to help you. |
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| SMEs face 5000 GBP bill per workplace accident With employee accidents costing companies more than 5000 GBP per claim, Aon Limited, a leading insurance broker and risk management consultant, has launched the Health & Safety Manager, a new advisory service and easy-to-use online system to help small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) cope with health & safety (H&S) risks and regulation. Research from Aon shows that over half of employee accidents (52%) were caused by incidents with equipment during the last 12 months. This has led to the misconception that blue collar workers are more at risk whereas reality shows that office-based companies also face the risks of employees slipping in the workplace or developing Repetitive Strain Injury, the second and third most common causes of claims. Aon also found that the average cost per claim for the top three causes of accidents stands at 5,731 GBP, an increase of 64% from 2,040 GBP for 2003/4. |
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| Travers Smith Online Update - New Law; Work and Families Following the Work and Families Consultation earlier this year (to which Travers Smith responded), the Government has published its proposals for new law intended to come into force in April 2007. These proposals are summarised, as shown in the table below: Clarification that reasonable contact can be made during maternity leave should be helpful for employers. The vast majority of consultation responses strongly supported the need for constructive communication with employees who are on leave. However, the Government decided not to go as far as reinstating the employer's right to contact the employee during leave and ask her to confirm her return date. The original consultation proposed that women would be able to transfer part of their maternity leave and pay to fathers. Responses showed that employers had concerns about the potential administrative burden and costs of such a system. As a result, the Government is proposing to introduce additional paternity leave instead (as described above) and will carry out further consultation on how this will work in practice. |
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| Barclays commitment to UK manufacturing Earlier this year Barclays underlined its long-term commitment to UK manufacturing by announcing GBP500 million of lending to support growing businesses within the sector. This month it has taken its commitment to manufacturing a step further by joining forces with the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick, the UK's premier manufacturing education group, in a bid to further hone the manufacturing knowledge of its Relationship Directors. |
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| Pera supports European plastic processing sector through virtual institute Pera is one of 13 technology organisations from across Europe that have together formed Eurovipp Ltd (European Virtual Institute for Plastics Processing). Eurovipp's main objective is to help the plastics processing industry to adapt their activities to the newly globalised market; contributing to the improvement of their competitiveness and providing a link to some of the largest and most effective plastics specialists in Europe, together with academic leaders, geographically scattered competencies, highly specialised know-how, experience and infrastructures to support their technology needs. |
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| BPF supports Innovation and Training The British Plastics Federation's (BPF) Business Support Network has built upon its strong links with UK Universities through the recruitment of The Polymer IRC. The Polymer IRC is a research centre for polymer science and technology which brings together scientists from the Universities of Bradford, Durham, Leeds and Sheffield to form one of the largest groupings of polymer specialists in Europe. Their expertise covers the disciplines of chemistry, physics, engineering and the medical sciences. In the Business Support Network, The Polymer IRC joins leading names in the field of innovation and training such as PERA, Loughborough University and Polymer Training Limited. |
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| BPF reacts to huge gas price increase Jim Jeffries, President of the British Plastics Federation (BPF) commented today on the increase in gas prices to 170 pence per therm, a ten year high. "This huge increase in the price of gas will badly hit the plastics industry and could reduce production as it becomes unprofitable. It damages investment in the UK. We repeat our calls to the Government to investigate the scale of these increases; to urgently look at security of supply of gas to the UK, and abolish the unfair Climate Change Levy." |
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| PTL Advance Plans for a National Skills Academy PTL has committed itself to working on behalf of the Polymer industry to create a National Skills Academy for the sector. The new National Skills Academies are part of a Department for Education and Skills (DfES) drive to improve the delivery of vocational education and engage employers more actively in the delivery of that education. "We are delighted that the government has chosen to focus on the manner in which skills are delivered and, as the primary delivery network for the UK polymer industry, PTL and its partners will play a central role' said Raymond Clarke, Chief Executive of PTL. 'The polymer industry is no longer large enough to warrant a National Skills Academy in its own right, and we will be talking to other industries to explore collaborative approaches.' The initial focus is likely to involve exploring the potential for working with the Chemicals Industry." |
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