TopicUk october 2014

TopicUK

Issue 10 october 2014

WAKEFIELd & district FREE BUSINESS COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

www.topicuk.co.uk

New Life

For Iconic Building - page10

acxiom

EMbracing the bigger local picture

-page 6

the arts

young actors held back

-page 12

Women

in business and sport

-page 34

RESTAURANT REVIEW DINING WITH KEVIN TRICKETT -page 36

New challenge for John HORVATH - page 30

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Spawforth the Architects to go to!

Spawforth architects are a friendly Wakefield based practice who this year celebrate 25 years in business. ▶ Are you a business looking to redevelop, relocate or expand your premises? ▶ Do you have under utilised property and land that you want to enhance or sell? ▶ Are you wanting to develop new premises? ▶ Are you struggling to find a site for redevelopment?

Talk to the team at Spawforths.

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We have extensive experience in the commercial market sector and supported by our in-house planning team, we can add significant value to your scheme through our knowledge and experience of local planning authority processes and procedures

For more information call us on 01924 873873 or visit our website www.spawforths.co.uk

Graphic Design; Marketing; PR; Event Managment; Magazines; Branding gill@ghost-communications.com - Tel: 07711 539047

ARCHITECTURE | PLANNING | MASTERPLANNING | LANDSCAPE | ENGAGEMENT

If you are looking for advice on Accountancy and Taxation matters...

OR HAVE THE NEED FOR SPECIALIST SERVICES SUCH AS

• • •

Inheritance Tax Planning, Business planning, Mergers or Acquisitions.

Contact Chris Dix or Carolyn Harman for your free initial consultation

Chris Dix Accountants

Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors Unit 3 Silkwood Court Wakefield WF5 9TP Telephone: 01924 263766

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 3

THE TOPICUK TEAM

GILL LAIDLER EDITOR ROB BLACKWELL CREATIVE DIRECTOR LOCAL HEROES/CHARITY SAM GRUNDY, KIDS.ORG THE ARTS MURRAY EDWARDS, THEATRE ROYAL FASHION EMMA LELLIOTT, TRINITY WALK LEGAL MATTERS CHADWICK LAWRENCE SOLICITORS BEAUTY & WELLBEING CHILL BEAUTY SALON HEALTH HELEN LAIRD, PUBLIC HEALTH DEPT

FOOD & RESTAURANT REVIEW KEVIN TRICKETT, WAKEFIELD CIVIC SOCIETY

RECRUITMENT ANDY TURNER, FIRST CHOICE RECRUITMENT

PROPERTY JONATHON KIDD, HOLROYD MILLER

SOCIAL MEDIA SINEAD SOPALA, RAMSDENS SOLICITORS

BANKING JONATHAN ROSTRON, SANTANDER

IT PAUL HEIGHAM, BELLINGHAM IT

SUM &C

Wakefield's Bu

Advertising Rates: Eighth page: £45; Quarter page: £90; Half page: £160; Full WHERE TO PICK UP YOUR COPY • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Wakefield One Business Centre Theatre Royal Wakefield Cedar Court Hotel Wakefield Trinity Walk Shopping Centre The Ridings Shopping Centre The Hepworth Ramsdens Solicitors Chadwick Lawrence Solicitors Westgate Train Station Wakefield Business Centres Wakefield Chamber of Commerce Tourist Information Centre Leeds Bradford International Airport Sainsburys, Trinity Walk

Plus a number of smaller outlets. If you would like to stock copies, call us on 07711 539047 or email the address below. Alternatively, to ensure you receive a regular copy, you can subscribe and receive your own copy direct by post for just £20 per annum.

To subscribe email your details to gill@ghost-communications.com

TopicUK

06 Bulletin/News...................................

10 Unity Works........................................

12 The Art Business..............................

20 Health.....................................................

30 Local Heroes.......................................

36 Restaurant review.........................

42 Council New........................................

46 Dining in................................................

48 Education..............................................

What's been happening

Much loved building brou wealth divide fighting flu

a warm wakefield welcom ma kin khow kun what wakefield wants new food and drink page

Business growth and you

Thanks to Danny Gartside for Images -Women in business and sport

Tel: 07711 539047 Email - topicuk@ ghost-communications.com - www.topicuk.co.uk

The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those held by the publishers and therefore no responsibility can be held by the publisher for misint this magazine, the publisher/editor cannot accept any responsibility for errors in articles, advertisements or programme schedules. To subscribe to this magazi Limited. Law pages are written by Chadwick Lawrence Solicitors and TopicUK is not responsible for any advice given 4

MMARY Contents siness Community Magazine

lpage: £295; Web Banners: £50 per Month

EDITORS NOTES

B

ack in March 2013 my partner Rob and I had an idea to launch a community business to business magazine to support companies withinWakefield and district.

Armed with nothing but an idea, writing and graphic design skills and a whole load of enthusiasm, TopicUK was born.

Eighteen months and 10 issues on, TopicUK has grown rapidly and this is largely due to our sponsors, advertisers and contributors, who have supported us and in turn gained a greater awareness within our business community. Not forgetting of course our five appointed board directors, all prominent business people within the community.

As we move towards 2015 we are delighted to announce five new sponsors, joining the 10 we are already working with: Wakefield District Housing who join from our December issue, along with Santander and Acxiom. Joining this issue is Fit24 and LS-Live.

Last issue, we reported figures of 10,000 monthly visitors to our website. We are delighted to inform you that this figure has risen and as we went to press, monthly visitors are approaching 18,000!

ught back to life

We have decided therefore to offer small advertising banners on the site at just £50 per month. However, these are limited, so let us know if you would like to take advantage of this superb way of reaching thousands of local businesses.

me

Due to demand, we have now introduced an interim digital version of TopicUK which runs alternate months when the magazine is not in print. The first issue was mailed to 2,500 businesses and response has been fantastic. As with the website, we are offering limited advertising space on these digital e-shots, so please let us know if you would like to be included.

ung people

Leader of the House of Commons and First Secretary of State William Hague MP is pictured with Andrea Jenkyns, Conservative candidate for Morley and Outwood, catching up on all the Wakefield business news in TopicUK

@topic_uk

facebook.com/ topicuk

I hope you enjoy this issue and remember, if your business has a newsworthy story, we want to hear about it!As our circulation grows, so does the demand for advertising. Rates have been held for a second year but due to demand will increase next year. All advertisers who support us now will have current rates frozen, so make sure you get your booking in now.

Gill

topicukgallery

www.topicuk.co.uk

terpretation. Reproduction of this magazine without the express permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Whilst every care is taken in the production of ine, submit an article or press release please contact Gill Laidler on: 07711 539047 or email topicuk@ghost-communications.com Published by Ghost Publishing Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 5

•• BULLETIN

How a Global IT business selected Normanton and is now embracing the bigger ‘local’ picture Acxiom provide the data and technology that has transformed global marketing – giving their clients the power to successfully manage audiences, personalise customer experiences and create profitable customer relationships.

I

n 2004 Acxiom strategically selected Normanton to house their main UK Data Centre facility, well away from the risks of London.

Through high security perimeter gates, doors and harshly lit white rooms, the corridors of the their Data Centre resemble something from the Men in Black movie and the film set appearance might well be appropriate given some of their global customers.

Based on Don Pedro Avenue, the technology firm’s rows of circuit boards represent a local investment that exceeds $30million and is an example of how this company has the passion to become a Yorkshire based world class IT Services organisation that provides Data centre, Cloud and Managed Services.

Just last month, Acxiom IT won a circa £1m million contract to deliver Data Centre hosting and related Services to a world famous software & systems integrator (who must remain nameless for security reasons) and this client has expressed interest in other services including Workplace Recovery, Disaster Recovery and Remote Systems Management. Clearly their “bigger local” picture appears to be resonating nicely.

Lester Pulsford, International CIO at Acxiom IT said: “When we first established ourselves in the UK, developing an IT platform for our Data

Analytics business was the main priority. Today our global IT Outsourcing business employs 1000+ people and manages over 24,000 servers, 10,000 databases, 10 petabytes of data, 35,000 Mainframe MIPS and lays claim to owning the world’s largest grid processing environment, BIG DATA, I know. We continue to grow into multiple locations including France, Germany, Poland, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the USA with others currently in development.” commercially compelling “At Acxiom we understand the challenges that leaders encounter relating to attracting, retaining and stimulating the best people plus keeping IT infrastructures and Data Centres current, secure and available 24/7/365. It’s fair to say that with enough investment in both people and environments, some businesses keep IT in-house and get it right. However, there are many that struggle to justify the on-going expenditures needed to run their own operations. Acxiom IT have helped organisations reduce IT running costs by up to 50% on previous occasions and have a capability that is commercially compelling”.

“It’s interesting times, businesses are taking the brakes off IT projects as confidence returns at pace. Most now consider Cloud as a strategic & highly viable option but continue to have reservations around data security i.e. will my data

is a lot of experience of securely managing business data. From consultancy, co-location, managed services, private and hybrid cloud – we offer serious value right on the doorstep.”

Andrew goes on to say: “Investment in people is of the utmost importance, our intention is to offer work placement and apprenticeship opportunities from Normanton by 2015 and we’ve already started to engage with educational establishments, council representatives and regional development bodies like Cognitiv to accelerate this goal.

end up overseas? Who will have access to it? And overall, what are the risks to my business? The fact that Acxiom host their Cloud and Data in Normanton, is proving to be of significant interest and almost a relief to prospective clients who perceive large providers such as AWS or Microsoft (Azure) as anonymous and faceless. Given clients can visit us, get to know our team of experts and physically see where their data resides, gives most the assurance needed to move forward.”

To demonstrate the capabilities of Acxiom and other local digital businesses Acxiom are hosting an event at their Normanton

RAMSDENS CLEAN-UP AT AWARDS

site on November 6th. Local business leaders are invited to meet the team of local experts.

Andrew Pinnington, Head of European Sales says of the event: “I’d like to ask each local business leader two questions: •

•

Can you do more to relocate annual IT service related spend and ongoing investment back into our community?

How Yorkshire are you?

As local residents, we want to see more Yorkshire businesses benefit from the capabilities and expertise we have built over the years. What we bring to the table

The 5th annual national LFS Conveyancing Conference and Awards were held last month with awards in regional categories: best Direct Conveyancer, Best Conveyancing Firm as voted

by Estate Agents, Best Young Conveyancer, Best Website and Marketing and Use of Social Media and the Best Overall Conveyancing Firm of the Year.

TopicUK are pleased to announce that Ramsdens won Regional Conveyancing Firm of the Year and Overall Conveyancing Firm of the Year.

Karen James, Head of Residential Property comments; “I am very privileged to be part of a team of people at Ramsdens who are truly dedicated, conscientious, hard-working and committed. I am so thrilled that their efforts

Our investment in the White Rose Technology Centre has reaped its rewards so far and we’re keen to invest more - we’ve built something to be proud of here.”

Acxiom IT will be hosting an event in association with Cognitiv – Promoting creative, Digital & IT in Wakefield.

Places are limited so early registration is encouraged at www.cognitiv.co.uk/events Enquiries are welcome: Andrew.pinnington@acxiom.com T: 0113 301 4848 SalesITUK@acxiom.com

have been recognised by winning the ‘Overall Conveyancing Firm of the Year Award’.

It is an accolade which is an honour to achieve as the competition is tough and the judging process quite rigorous. Internally this has been a real morale booster for everyone involved and we are already starting to see the external effects as congratulations are still pouring in from all sectors of the property industry.”

“These awards acknowledge the successes of law firms, solicitors and licensed conveyancers, and we’re delighted to have won two of the esteemed awards”.

You can follow Ramsdens tweeters @ Ramsdens and @RamsdensConvey and stay in touch with us 24/7.

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 7

•• BULLETIN

NEW CAMPAIGN PROVES A SUCCESS FOR WAKEFIELD COLLEGE

R

avage Photography have shot some lively images of students, that can be seen around the city on various billboard sites, phone boxes, bus sides and bus backs.

Duncan Lomax, owner of Ravage said “This was a great brief to work on, the college wanted shots of students that fitted with their strapline of ‘Do what you love, Love what you do’ so we needed students that were engaged and absorbed by the subjects they study. The final campaign has delivered that message, which is down to a lot of hard work by the marketing team at the college, some great students who were happy to do what we asked, and photography that really captures the whole message.”

“The images were taken with multichannel delivery in mind,” continued Duncan, “and as well as large format printed versions, the campaign appears on the college website and is also being used in social media and local press.”

“The campaign has already delivered results, with the college admissions team signing up lots of new students in the last few weeks,” he concluded.

Stuart Parton, Marketing Manager at Wakefield College added: “The

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campaign concept was to explore what students go on to do after the complete their courses; how we prepare them for the next step in their careers and how important it is not to lose sight of what they ultimately want to do. It is also designed to show how Wakefield College offers many different environments to school and how students can thrive in their chosen subjects, regardless of the path they choose,” Stuart continued. “The campaign involved detailed briefings with Duncan, the marketing and design teams, curriculum staff and of course the students themselves. I think Duncan has captured the essence and energy of what we were trying to convey with his images. As a former student in commercial photography, he

is certainly well placed to understand what appeals to students.”

Ravage Productions have provided prospectus photography to the college for the last two years, but also work with a wide range of businesses producing images for publications, marketing material and websites, as well as documenting corporate events and exhibitions.

NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE FOR MID YORKSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

T

he Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce have announced the appointment of new Chief Executive Martin Hathaway who replaces former Executive Director Andrew Choi, who left the Chamber in September.

Martin is the former Chief Executive of Yorkshire and Humberside Chambers of Commerce, and takes up his new role with immediate effect in order to ensure the continued success of the Chamber and its associated company, the West Yorkshire Enterprise Agency (WYEA).

MYCCI operates throughout Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield and Andrew Choi has worked hard to develop the organisation since his appointment in 2009, during which time membership has increased due to re=branding and continuous improvements to its membership benefits offer.

Their Annual Dinner is now established at the forefront in the Yorkshire region, and last year they celebrated our 160th Anniversary.

The MY Export Hub has become a highly respected International

Trade support service and the MY Network partnership, along with MY Conferences, has positioned the Chamber at the heart of the regions business community.

In addition, the West Yorkshire Enterprise Agency is proud to have supported over 2,000 entrepreneurs who have started new businesses through the New Enterprise Allowance Programme; and the WYEA Loan Fund continues to provide much needed access to affordable finance for small businesses throughout the region.

Chamber Chairman David Horsman comments: “On behalf of the Board, and all Chamber members and staff, I would like to thank Andrew Choi for his commitment to the Chamber and the business communities throughout our region. We welcome our new Chief Executive Martin Hathaway, and look forward to building on our efforts to support the future growth of businesses in Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.

Finally, we all wish Andrew all the best with his future endeavours.”

FIVE NEW SPONSORS TO JOIN TOPICUK TopicUK are delighted to announce five new sponsors joining us, Fit24 an independent gymnasium based in Trinity Walk, Wakefield and LS-Live from this issue and Santander, Acxiom and Wakefield District Housing, starting in our next issue covering 2015.

Fit24 Wakefield, are passionate about fitness and committed to upholding the highest standards. Their mission is to help their members to improve their fitness, health and wellbeing in a safe, inclusive setting that caters to every training need.

Fit24 Wakefield members enjoy 24-hour access to a huge variety of top-quality, effective fitness equipment and are conveniently located inside the Trinity Walk shopping centre.

LS-Live is a unique production resource based in West Yorkshire that unifies four areas of operation; Europe’s largest rehearsal facility, Staging Structures, Set Construction and Equipment Rental - merging them into a single powerful entity. Add into the mix onsite custom design, manufacture and technical expertise, and you have the most capable, flexible, experienced and user-friendly force in the event production, TV and film, concert and touring marketplace.

In our December issue, we will tell you a little more about what Santander, Acxiom and Wakefield District Housing can offer our readers.

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 9

•• FEATURE

MUCH LOVED WAKEFIELD BUILDING

BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE! With the paint still drying and floors newly polished, Unity Hall (renamed Unity Works) opened to the public after more than 12 years.

M

uch anticipation surrounded this well-loved building, after all, 350 Wakefield citizens had put their hands in their pockets and helped not only get this mammoth project off the ground, but had actively supported the many twists and turns the refurbishment had taken from donations through to unpaid volunteer work.

“As part of the Unity Team, we all felt a huge responsibility to ensure the opening weekend paid tribute, not just to the past, but held the excitement of the future and the resurrection of the music space that had once been Wakefield’s crowning glory,” Sales and Marketing Manager Catherine Yaffe told TopicUK. “We toyed with many ideas, but in the end, we decided to keep it simple. We wanted people to wander through the corridors and get to familiarise themselves with the place. It felt important that everyone could reacquaint themselves with the magnificent staircase, or exclaim at the sight if it was their first visit. The impact of the major and minor hall always creates a ‘wow’, she added.

Much thought and care has been given to the refurbishment, mixing new with old in a way that compliments both.

Even before opening, the offices were 70% occupied with businesses from the creative, digital and IT sectors.

Bookings for conference rooms, award dinners and wedding receptions were

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pencilled in and continue to pour in.

Over 3000 people ventured through the door on Saturday 6 September, which culminated in the new major hall stage, sound and light being tested to the max with local bands, Welsh T Band, Napoleon lllrd and Middleman headlining.

The following weekend, Unity played host to Wakefield’s finest music festival Long Division, with the headline act and home grown talent, The Cribs truly bringing it home with a matinee performance for under 18’s, followed by a sell-out concert on Friday night.

“Every area of Unity was bouncing with music and people just having a fantastic time, proving that this is something that Wakefield has been crying out for,” continued Catherine.

“As we look to the future of Unity, we’ve learnt a tremendous amount in a short space of time. Demand for virtual office space and use of the hot desking and co-working areas has really taken off.

Of the 16 offices we now have only four remaining unoccupied. Flexible meeting rooms with affordable rates, ensure we have bookings well into 2015.

“We are also now entering phase 2 of the development which will see the opening of the cafe bar on Smyth Street. This will add to the Unity offering and allow us to give even more to the city of Wakefield, whether it be

a quick coffee inbetween shopping, a business meeting or a few beers before heading through the doors for a concert.” Catherine concluded.

The future of Unity Works is very much in the hands of the Wakefield people, the business community and of course, the word of mouth recommendations that is so powerful and that can make the venue a choice for people beyond the reach of Wakefield.

To find out more about events held at Unity, visit the website: www.unityworks.co.uk To book a meeting room, take a tour, or enquire about conference space, contact Sales and Marketing Manager Catherine Yaffe on 01924 831114.

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 11

•• THE ARTS

ARE YOUNG ACTORS held back by THE WEALTH DIVIDE? ddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Laurence Fox … the ever-growing list of public school-educated actors dominating British film and television is often offered as proof that posh actors are squeezing out working-class talent. Acting, some fear, is increasingly the preserve of those with cut-glass accents whose parents can afford to bankroll them when starting out.

E

Her comments follow those of Ben Stephenson, the BBC's controller of drama commissioning, who, at the recent Edinburgh International Television Festival, said acting had become too much of a middle-class profession. He argued that entry was too expensive for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

His criticisms were echoed by Vin Harrop, a "secondary modern boy" who worked his way up to head the Council of Regional Theatre before entering BBC management. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph last month, he said: "When we had repertory theatres - people from all sectors of society took to the boards. It is a sad state of affairs when [most] actors come from the so-called 'posh' schools."

Further evidence of the struggles that those from more modest backgrounds face comes from Dame Judi Dench, who told the Observer recently that she receives countless begging letters from aspiring young actors asking her to help fund their training. The Oscar-winning actress said: "You can do so much, but you can't do an endless thing. It is very expensive."

The demise of repertory theatre “where you went to learn and make your mistakes

Similar concerns were recently voiced

by Sir Peter Bazalgette, the Arts Council Chairman, who believes actors from public schools are "out of proportion", and Brian Cox, one of Britain's foremost actors, who lamented that acting was "cutting itself off" from working-class Britain.

Edward Kemp, artistic director of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), also speaks of a "serious worry" since the loss of repertory theatre. For those outside

Murray Edwards EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Accessibility has always been a key part of our strategy, but recent comments by dame Judy Dench raise some interesting issues about the potential loss of workingclass talents as a result of the increasing cost of drama school training and the demise of repertory theatre.

and watch people who knew how to do it”, has increased the financial barriers to training and made the profession more elitist. Dench believes it is vital for young actors to watch professionals on stage. "I always say to young students, 'Go and see as much as you possibly can', which is what we used to do, but then we paid a pittance for sitting in the gods".

Ideally, she said, she would reinstate reps all over the country, but knows this is impractical, though she does not believe that government has to choose between hospitals and theatre: "In a civilised country, there's money for both."

Theatre royal wakefield : Drury Lane Wakefield WF1 2TE - www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk - tel: 01924 211311 - mail@theatreroyalwak

12

I always say to young students, ‘Go and see as much as you possibly can’, which is what we used to do, but then we paid a pittance for sitting in the gods..

London, he said, "the chances of being exposed to really good theatre is getting squeezed. Facilities for drama in most private schools way outstrip any state school."

Theatre Royal Wakefield’s strategy is one of offering accessible drama to as wide a cross section of the district’s communities as possible. Our Performance Academy currently trains in excess of 150 students annually with a range of bursary options designed to

encourage participation from all social backgrounds.

Under the Creative Direction of John Godber audiences for drama have increased by 70% over the past 3 years and it is our objective to continue this progress as our reputation develops and touring opportunities expand. Judy Dench is right – theatre should be for all sectors of society and not just the domain of those who can afford it.

kefield.co.uk

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 13

•• FASHION

Checked Cape RED HERRING AT DEBENHAMS £75.00

Model is wearing fashion from Dorothy Perkins

Blue Court Shoe from Faith at Debenhams £65.00 Green quilted Court Shoe from Dorothy Perkins 14

Skirt and top in green Star by Julian McDonald at Debenhams

Mens Jacket Jeff at Debenhams £120.00

Mens Waistcoat Jeff at Debenhams £45.00

Brown bag Rocha at Debenhams £85.00

N

ow the evenings are drawing in and the days are getting colder, it's time to put away the summer clothing and think about restocking your wardrobe for the coming winter. Check out the new Autumn collections available at a number of retailers at Trinity Walk.

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 15

•• LAW

Each issue Chadwick Lawrence, Yorkshire's Legal People, share with TopicUK readers information to keep us all within the law. If you have a legal question or need to know about a particular subject, email topicuk@ghost-communications.com and we'll get Peter and Olivia to answer it for you.

LEGAL MATTERS

TUC Comments on Fall in Tribunal Claims

OLIVIA ROBINSON & PETER HARLING

Final TUPE Reforms Come Into Effect For transfers taking place on or after 31st July 2014, the final change impacting on business transfers came into effect. A new Regulation 13A of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) now allows businesses with fewer than 10 employees to consult directly with affected employees in cases where there is no standing body of elected representatives already in place.

This is an important benefit for small businesses as it was previously the case that, irrespective of the size of the employer and number

of employees to be consulted with, companies had to go through a detailed implementation and consultation process prior to a transfer taking place. This involved inviting nominations and organising a ballot in order to elect employee representatives. Businesses may now simply approach employees to provide them with the required information directly. Although it is important to note that this does not apply to the number of employees transferred. Therefore, larger employers who may only be consulting with one or two employees will still need to follow the full collective consultation process

Changes to Law on Gambling Advertising The Gambling Commission has published a quick guide reminding advertisers of gambling facilities and carriers of gambling advertising that the law on gambling advertising will change from 1 October 2014 as a result of the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014.

From this date, only gambling operators licensed by the Commission will be permitted to advertise to consumers in Great Britain or provide them with remote gambling facilities. This means that carriers of gambling advertising,

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Recent statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show that there has been a 79% fall in claims brought before the Employment Tribunal since the introduction of fees in July 2013. In response, the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) suggests that the statistics are a “huge victory” for Britain’s worst bosses.

To highlight the impact that Tribunal fees had, between October and December 2013 just 9,801 claims were presented compared to 45,710 claims submitted in the same period in 2012.

Figures released between January and March 2014 show particular trends in discrimination legislation, such as: • An 80% reduction in the number of women pursuing sex discrimination claims.

• A reduction of 26% in the number of claims brought in relation to pregnancy discrimination.

such as broadcasters, publishers and sports clubs, will need to ensure that they only permit licensed operators to advertise in Great Britain. Additionally, licensed operators will be required to display a link (on all pages used to access gambling) to their licensed status with the Commission, so that consumers and carriers of advertising are able to check whether an operator is licensed. The guide also reminds advertisers to comply with CAP and BCAP (who have published a help note setting out their guidance on rules for gambling advertisements), the Commission's licence conditions and codes of practice and the Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising.

• A reduction of 60% in the number of race and sexual orientation discrimination claims issued.

A further concern relates to claims made under the contracts of employment. Unpaid wages and holiday pay claims have fallen by approximately 85%, and this perhaps is attributed to the fact that fees are often more expensive than the sum being claimed.

Whilst the TUC suggests that charging fees makes it easier for employers to escape retribution for “the most appalling behaviour”, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) take a different view. The CBI points to the positive Tribunal reforms, most helpfully earlier conciliation via ACAS in alleviating the frustrations felt by employers with regard to the previous Tribunal system.

We expect to have a full set of annual statistics in the coming months and this will highlight further trends in the system which is likely to continue to show a significant reduction in claims being brought before the Tribunal

STEPHANIE

goes to great heights for TopicUK and Wakefield Cathedral Stephanie Osman, director of marketing at FDS Finance reached dizzy heights in early August by abseiling down Wakefield Cathedral, on behalf of TopicUK, raising funds for Wakefield Cathedral.

The event was organised by Terry Rigg, fundraiser for Wakefield Cathedral and commenting on her achievement Stephanie said: “It was really scary but exhilarating at the same time and was delighted I was able to raise £110 which, added to the £100 donated by TopicUK board director and director of School Speakers Claire Young.

   

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 17

•• BANKING & ECONOMY wide range of areas such as: Patents and intellectual property, Sales and Marketing, Finance, IT and e-commerce, Training, product design and efficiency optimisation. In their words “If your company is ambitious with the drive to grow, and you have a project in mind that will increase profits, help secure new contracts or create new jobs, MAS could help you pay for it. And make sure you succeed.” - and I’d endorse this - the representatives of MAS that we work with are highly credible people who have been manufacturers in their own right, often for 20 years plus.

Banks are not just for banking!

This issue I’d like to set aside the usual financial commentary, because the majority of our work as bankers is not about interest and exchange rates, it’s about helping our customers, local businesses, grow and achieve more through making the right connections and access funding, opportunities and expertise that would otherwise be 'off the radar. ' As a start point I’d like to specifically highlight MAS (www.mymas.org) and the CKMA (www.ckma.co.uk) two organisations that Santander work with and who have delivered real benefit to our customers.

MAS – the Manufacturing Advisory Service provides expertise across a

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boost for the business It’s been refreshing to find people that are not trying to tell you the time by your own watch and deliver real value in pounds and pence return. A recent example where we worked together with MAS was to help a customer (an engineering business) buy his neighbouring premises – this was to facilitate a better production run and increase capacity. As part of this he will be employing more people, which was a key driver to access a grant that’s worth in the region of £40k – a really significant boost for the business, and the extra cash means that they can spend more on machinery and fit-out. Another customer, a metal forging business, benefitted from MAS investment and expertise to redesign their production process and has now bought another unit to expand into and bought a shot-blasting machine that halves processing time – driving cost and production efficiencies that they in turn can equate to profit or being able to price more competitively.

Friendly If you haven’t heard of them before, and you have a manufacturing or related business then I’d recommend

joining the Calderdale and Kirklees Manufacturing Alliance (CKMA) a friendly and welcoming organisation “run by manufacturers for manufacturers”. Their activities bring together local manufacturers from across our region (Wakefield included) so that they can keep up to date with what’s happening and also find new people to do business with – buying from local suppliers, selling to local companies and collaborating with other businesses on larger projects.

The CKMA runs regular events where there are guest speakers on relevant and interesting topics – this month it’s “Speed up and Measure up for Customers”. There is so much mileage in the buy local, sell national (or international) and we think this organisation really understands and drives this philosophy, so much so that we have decided to support them and local manufacturers by paying for the first year of CKMA membership for Santander manufacturing customers.

Feel free to contact me and I’ll put you directly in touch with the relevant people within the organisations mentioned in this article and others.

My team and I work locally with all types of businesses from sole trader start-ups to multi-million turnover, across all industries and business types. If you’d like us to help you achieve your ambitions, then please get it touch jonathan.rostron@ santander.co.uk

Wakefield’s

Very Own Pantomime!

Thursday

27 November 2014

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Sunday

4 January

2015

Box Office: 01924 211 311

Free Pan tomi me T new icke Corp ts fo orat r all cont e Me a mbe ct jo thea rs n.in trero g ham yalw @ akef ield.c (019 o.uk 24 3 34 11 6)

www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 19

•• HEALTH

Promoting the Seasonal Flu Vaccine

Make it your business to fight flu HELEN LAIRD

& CAROL MARR - WAKEFIELD PUBLIC HEALTH DEPT

+ Every year flu affects employers and businesses. Seasonal flu is highly infectious, particularly in work environments. Look after your employees and reduce staff sickness this winter by promoting the flu vaccine.

The Department of Health recommends a yearly flu vaccine, to those most vulnerable to the effects of flu, as the most important step in protecting against flu viruses.

The flu vaccine – who should have it and why?

Don’t wait until there is a flu outbreak this winter: if your employees are eligible for the free NHS flu vaccine encourage them to contact their GP practice to make an appointment.

FLU-FACT

The most common symptoms of flu are fever, chills, headache, aches and pains in the joints and muscles, and extreme tiredness. In most cases, the symptoms are quite mild, but in others, they can be very serious. Healthy individuals usually recover within two to seven days, but some people are more susceptible to the effects of flu.

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For them it can increase the risk of developing more serious illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia, or can make existing conditions worse. In the worst cases, flu can result in a stay in hospital, or even death.

Those eligible for a free NHS flu vaccine are: • • • • • • • • •

• •

everyone aged 65 and over all pregnant women, at any stage of pregnancy all two, three and four year old children everyone living in a residential or nursing home everyone who cares for an older or disabled person all frontline health and social care workers. anyone who has one of the following medical conditions: a heart problem a chest complaint or breathing difficulties, including bronchitis or emphysema a kidney disease lowered immunity due to disease or treatment (such as steroid medication or cancer treatment)

• • • •

•

liver disease had a stroke or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) diabetes a neurological condition, for example multiple sclerosis (MS) or cerebral palsy a problem with your spleen, for example sickle cell disease, or you have had your spleen removed

Going the extra mile to protect your business Resilience is key to any business. If, over previous winter months, your business has suffered due to seasonal flu – you could go the extra mile and provide flu vaccines to all your staff. Many businesses, large and small, improve their winter resilience by contracting with private health businesses to offer flu vaccinations to their staff. This cost effective approach can help small and large businesses be more resilient during the winter months.

If your business is keen to adopt this approach this year it is advisable to provide the vaccinations from October to mid-December to maximise the protection of one of your most valuable assets – your staff.

What else can you do?

Promoting good hygiene measures to your staff can significantly reduce the spread of flu and other winter bugs.

Encourage your staff to “Catch it, Bin it, Kill it” by promoting the message that: • Staff should carry tissues and use them to catch coughs or sneezes • Then to bin the tissues • And to kill the germs by washing their hands.

Regular hand washing with soap and water will do much to reduce the spread of winter bugs.

The 1918 flu pandemic (January 1918 – December 1920) was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus. It infected 500 million people across the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and killed 50 to 100 million of them—three to five percent of the world's population—making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Find that something special ridingscentre.com

At over 90 independent and high street stores

#ridingschristmas

Late night shopping and Free parking after 3pm every Thursday from the

•• BEAUTY

Beautiful skin starts from within lamp. Taking a look at the skin in this way can help the therapist to offer the best advice and offer products and supplements that will really make a difference to you skin.

For a free skin analysis call Chill Beauty on 01924 873000.

W

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hen it comes to healthy skin, what we put inside our body can be as important as what we apply topically.

maintain healthy skin and reverse the signs of ageing also improving the skin’s top layer, protecting it against environmental pollution.

When we think of moisturising our skin, we automatically think of applying a moisturising cream, however taking a skin supplement once a day can greatly improve the condition of our skin and help to combat skin conditions such as pigmentation, acne, and signs of ageing.

Vitamin C – reduce pigmentation Pigmentation is caused when the melanin in the skin is damaged and overproduces. Vitamin C can be used to calm the process down, repair DNA and help to level out the production of melanin. Vitamin C can also help to reduce broken capillaries.

Vitamin A – reduce fine lines and wrinkles Vitamin A is one of the most important nutrients for the skin, yet over 95% of women don’t get enough.

Boost your levels by supplementing with Skin Vit A. This will help to

Skin Omegas – hydrates Omega 3 and 6 can be taken to increase hydration and smoothness of the skin, improving skin immunity and enhancing the protective barrier of the skin. Many salons will offer a free skin analysis, where they will look at your skin through a skin vision

Chill pride themselves in offering a full range of high quality treatments for both men and women using products from the most established names in the industry. Your treatment experience in the Salon is enhanced by four large holistic treatment rooms, three manicure stations, a state-ofthe-art pedicure area, Su-Do sunless tanning spray booth and vertical tanning sunbed. Also, to ensure that the enjoyment of each and every treatment is not lost once it is over, there is a dedicated “Chill-Out” area for you to relax and unwind.

Their team of experienced therapists create a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and the warmth of the reception you receive on your visit to Chill is enough to ensure that it will not be your last.

My conferencesAd copy.pdf

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FIRST EVER CALDERDALE BUSINESS SUMMIT NOVEMBER 2014

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Calderdale Business Summit Taking place on Wednesday 19th November 2014, in partnership with Calderdale Council and Dean Clough, Mid Yorkshire Chamber will bring together leaders from various sectors to debate the state of the Calderdale district and a Q&A session with the audience. This event

will take place at Crossley Gallery, Dean Clough, and will highlight the opportunities in the district, as well as what can be changed. This will be followed by a review panel at Calderdale Business Conference on Wednesday 15th April 2015.

Calderdale Business Week 2015 Calderdale Business Week will take place 13th-17th April 2015 with the main event, the conference on 15th at The Shay Stadium, Halifax.

It will be the biggest business event in Calderdale in 2015 and all places are FREE. There will be one key event every day throughout the week – complemented with bite sized seminars delivered by expert local businesses.

Visit www.calderdalebusinessweek.co.uk for more information.

Here to help your business

grow

in Calderdale, Kirklees and WakeďŹ eld.

Contact Chrissie Slater or Lucy Blackburn myconferences@mycci.co.uk 01924 311 606 Twitter: @MYBizConfs Facebook: MY Business Conferences

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 23

over TO OUR SPONSORS...

Lots going on in The New Signings for Featherstone Ridings

As we approach the final quarter of the year – where has time gone? – It’s all about entertainment and shopping at The Ridings!

Halloween celebrations are taking place from the 25th to the 31st October starting with a scary pet zoo!

We then move on to our Music and Craft fair on 2nd November where we’ll have lots of fabulous stalls alongside fantastic local talent performing throughout the day.

Saturday 15th November is the big Christmas light switch on event – wonder which X factor finalist we’ll have this year? Then Sunday 7th December we have our special Christmas market!

There’s lots more besides plus with lots of new independent shops joining recently there’s even more opportunity to find that special something this Christmas! More can be found at ridingscentre.com

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Featherstone Rovers are delighted to confirm the signing of Australian duo Sam Irwin and Ryan Verlinden on two year contracts.

21 year old Sam Irwin can either play half back or hooker and has made 10 NRL appearances for the Gold Coast Titans after making his debut in 2013. Sam is currently playing for Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup Competition.

Featherstone Rovers Head Coach Andy Hay said “Sam will be a great addition to our squad next year. He can play either at hooker or in halves and for a young kid, he has already played at a very high level. He is quick around the ruck and can defend in the middle or on an edge. Having been speaking to Sam over the last month, he is very excited to be coming over to Featherstone Rovers and helping us fulfil our Super League ambition.”

Powerhouse prop forward Ryan Verlinden will join Rovers from Newtown Jets where he has made over 150 appearances. The former Cronulla Sharks junior has a reputation of being exceptionally strong and plenty of pace for his size.

On capturing Ryan, Head Coach Andy Hay said “Ryan will have a great presence next year when he pulls on a Rovers shirt, he has a wealth of experience and will definitely add some size to our forwards. He is another player who is looking forward to getting over here and helping us towards Super League.”

Verity joins the ‘Cats’

The Wildcats have welcomed Verity Thomas as the club’s new Commercial Manager.

Verity took up her post in August having previously spent three years working in business development for Manchester United Football Club.

Originally from Nottingham, Verity graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2008 with a degree in marketing management ahead of starting a role as account manager for Swedish furniture manufacturer, Kinnarps.

Verity then took up the opportunity to work at one of the world’s biggest football clubs and is now charged with working with Trinity’s current partners and sponsors in addition to attracting new commercial investment into the club.

“I am very excited to be joining the Wildcats at such a busy time and getting involved with the local community in Wakefield,” said Verity.

“I am looking forward to meeting all current partners and sponsors, as well as introducing our facilities to new clients before the start of the 2015 season.”

If you want to know more about how the various ways working with the Wildcats can benefit your business then call Verity on 01924 211611 or email verity. thomas@wakefieldwildcats. co.ukconcessions, £70 for 13-16 year old’s and £50 for ages 12 and under. See the Wildcats website for more information.

FEATHERSTONE ROVERS

Book your christmas party now Royal Armouries Museum and adjacent NEW DOCK HALL are ideally located close to Leeds city centre and beautifully placed in a modern, waterfront setting.

Join our Christmas parties where you can come two by two or let us design an exclusive event in a venue reserved for your guests only - different packages mean we have something for everyone’s taste and budget.

Royal Armouries Museum has a selection of rooms where we can create an event tailored to meet your needs; be it a dinner dance, exclusive dinner, award ceremony to recognise achievement or perhaps a conference followed by a roaring Christmas party knees up.

At our joiner parties in NEW DOCK Hall we bring you a full stage production not to be missed, great musicians, great dancers and great costumes.

NEW DOCK Hall is a blank canvas where we can deliver your vision of the greatest private party night ever,from 300 guests to over 1000 of your VIP’s We host a series of “join our parties” from the end of November till Christmas Eve

and then it’s on to our two fabulous and prestigious New Year’s Eve black tie dinner dances at NEW DOCK Hall and the Royal Armouries Museum.

Our famous larger than life ice-carvings and super-sized Chocolate fountains will amaze you! With bars open till 1.00am and carriages at 1.30am, what more could you want for your Christmas party night celebration!

There are 850 bedrooms within a five minute walk of Royal Armouries Museum and NEW DOCK Hall, from budget to luxury and everything in between. The large capacity multi-storey on-site car park provides a safe location to leave your car for a few hours or overnight.

At Christmas parties in Leeds we do the best exclusive and “join our” parties ever! www.christmaspartiesinleeds. co.uk or 01132 201990

Pioneering Big DATA

Sarcophagus are software engineers specialising in cloud based information management, established in Wakefield since 1998. Pioneers of the-project.

com, one of the UK’s first project collaboration and information sharing portals, which is used by all industry sectors from sole traders to internationally recognised clients, but was originally designed to manage construction projects and large property portfolios.

The Project Collaboration solution is delivered as a monthly service and brings teams and information together saving time, risk and project costs.

In 2001 the company was the first of its type to reach profitability and continues to be developed in house to meet evolving business needs.

They are also authors of eTenderer.com and MsgSave.com providing online tendering and email archiving respectively. etenderer.com standardises administration and provides a transparent and audited way of working. Tender documents can be compiled and tenders invited and submitted via sealed bids into an online safe deposit box. MsgSave was developed to manage the rapid growth in email providing business continuity, regulatory compliance and eDiscovery.

Sarcophagus is proud to be based in Wakefield and have formed InspiringSkills.com a Leeds City region group to inspire growth sector skills and align education with business. For further information please contact info@sarcophagus.co.uk or call 01924 580959

Calderdale Business Week

Taking place on Wednesday 19th November 2014, in partnership with Calderdale Council and Dean Clough, Mid Yorkshire Chamber will bring together leaders from various sectors to debate the state of the Calderdale district and a Q&A session with the audience.

This event will take place at Crossley Gallery, Dean Clough, and will highlight the opportunities in the district, as well as what can be changed.

This will be followed by a review panel at Calderdale Business Conference on Wednesday 15th April 2015.

Get involved in Calderdale Business Week 2015 Calderdale Business Week will take place 13th-17th April 2015 with the main event, the conference on 15th at The Shay Stadium, Halifax.

It will be the biggest business event in Calderdale in 2015 and all places are FREE. There will be one key event every day throughout the week – complemented with bite sized seminars delivered by expert local businesses.

Visit www. calderdalebusinessweek. co.uk for more information.

Continued over ▶▶

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 25

Training FOR STUDENTS Backstage Academy provides training and degree courses for the flourishing live events industry, with fantastic industry links and state-of-the-art production facilities.

The Academy deliver relevant, up-to-date training so that degree students get a real taste for what life is like in the backstage entertainment industry, with a focus on employability.

In order to cater for the increasing number of students attending the Academy, Backstage have joined the community benefit co-operative set up to restore the Grade II

listed Unity Hall in Wakefield.

Students studying their BA Visual Production Degree will benefit from brand new teaching environments at Unity Hall including an Apple suite, five flexible classrooms and a 100-seater function room.

Spawforth, Managing Director of Spawforth Architects.

Formerly Vice Chair, Adrian joined the Bondholder Scheme at its inception and will lead the group for the next 12 months.

Adrian has replaced outgoing chair, Ian Taylor from Media Displays who was instrumental in launching the scheme.

Bondholder is a paid membership scheme for Wakefield businesses with 100% of their fees being reinvested back into promoting Wakefield and District.

Membership is open to all businesses and members enjoy access to local opportunities that can help The Wakefield First them grow and by association, Bondholder Scheme would like to extend a warm welcome help the Wakefield district grow. to its new chair, Adrian

If you would like to find out more about the Scheme or apply for an application pack to join, call 01924 306498 or email: info@wakefieldfirst.com

Wakefield Bondholders welcome new chair

It’s been a playful Summer at The Orangery

T

he back garden of the Orangery was transformed this summer by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgans’ creation of Swing It! a kinetic interactive art installation that explored ‘ideas and memories of play’. Swing It! was commissioned by Beam as part of #playfulcity a wider programme funded by Arts Council England and Wakefield Council.

Swing It! has been the perfect setting for a summer of music, food, arts and crafts as well as attracting curious visitors to the site and The Orangery Café. The hand crafted bespoke artwork has received excellent media coverage in the arts and design sector across the UK and as far afield as Australia!

The Orangery are sad to say goodbye to the swings but the legacy of the artists and their work will infiltrate the Grade II* listed building and grounds over the winter months.

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www.christmaspartiesinleeds.co.uk

From Only

Per Person

at

Royal Armouries Museum See live footage and book online

www.christmaspartiesinleeds.co.uk 0113 220 1990 Strictly over 18’s. Smart dress. No jeans or trainers.

6.00pm Bars Open 8.00pm Dinner Served

1.00am Bars Close 1.30am Carriages

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 27 MUSEUM PARTY NIGHTS NEWSCO.indd 1

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•• CHARITY ROUNDUP

Sainsburys

Trinity Walk announce annual charity beneficiaries

Ramsdens are on the run!

Jane Underwood, solicitor in the commercial team and Katie Sharp, trainee solicitor in the Ramsdens conveyancing department took part in the Great North Run at the beginning of September.

The world’s greatest half marathon this year saw over 41,000 runners and congratulations to the men’s winner Mo Farah (GBR) and women’s winner Mary Keitany (KEN).

Jane and Katie took part in the race in aid of the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice and have raised over £600 to date.

Jane commented: “Although it was a tough challenge, the experience of being part of such a big event was fantastic. The support from the crowds on the day was amazing and their encouragement helped to carry us over those last few hard miles. It is a great sense of achievement when crossing that finishing line, not just for completing the challenge, but for knowing you have helped such a fantastic charity.”

The Government and ACE have acknowledged the imbalance, but argue that it is because the major national institutions are based

Customers had a huge say in this year’s announcement voting in-store and online between 28th May and 8th June. Store colleagues then decided that Wakefield Community Trust were the best charity for them to work with to make a real difference.

Sainsbury’s Store Manager, Sainsbury’s Trinity Walk has Sean Higgins said: “We received announced that Wakefield Community Trust will receive a year’s a great response from our customers this year, both through worth of fundraising and awareness in-store and online votes. We’re support. delighted to have chosen a The charity who supports young charity which touched many of people especially, though not our colleagues’ hearts. We will exclusively and those who are now be working closely with them disadvantaged or deprived through to ensure they really benefit from Physical Activity, Health, Education and social inclusion in Wakefield, are being our Local Charity for the next 12 months.” the new Local Charity for the Trinity Mark Winder, former Director of walk store.

Education at Wakefield trinity To celebrate the announcement, a Wildcats added, “We as a charity launch day was held at the Trinity use the brand Wakefield Trinity Walk Store. Representatives from Wildcats as a tool to engage, Wakefield Community Trust were on inspire and promote achievement hand to greet customers throughout within our community. By the day. working with the Sainsbury’s The retailer’s Local Charity scheme store on Marsh Way, we will be is now in its sixth year and gives able to market ourselves, raise customers the chance to vote for much needed funds and make their favourite local charity to be an even bigger difference in considered to receive a year’s worth Wakefield. of support from their Sainsbury’s The store has 30,000 people store. The scheme has raised over £6 million to support local charities since coming through its’ doors every week and we want people to know 2009. the good work that we do. What The Trinity walk store has had great better way to do it than with a success in supporting previous local charities and last year raised £20,000 supermarket that works for its’ community.” for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

TopicUK proud to be working with...

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or who can afford it. The report also points out that had Londoners won a comparably disproportionate number of Lottery prizes compared to people in the rest of England, equivalent to

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[2.2 BILLION LITRES] Coca-Cola can produce 6,000 cans of soft drink every minute – that's 100 per second. They can also produce 3,200 PET* bottles every minute. Since 2007, they’ve invested over £60m to make Wakefield one of the fastest producers of soft drinks in the world.

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880 SWIMMING POOLS POPULAR ROCK BAND THE CRIBS MUSIC WITH A PAVEMENT PLAQUE IN THEIR HOMETOWN OF WAKEFIELD

LOCATED AT LEEDS – 12 MILES

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WAKEFIELD HAS A PROUD MANUFACTURING HISTORY, WITH COMPANIES SUCH AS BURBERRY AND GROUP RHODES HAVING OPERATED IN THE DISTRICT FOR DECADES IN A SECTOR THAT EMPLOYS SOME 15,500 PEOPLE

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INVESTMENT FUND

PART OF SOMETHING BIG. BEBE PART OF SOMETHING BIG – BE A BONDHOLDER To find out more information on how to become a Bondholder www.wakefieldfirst.com

Call 01924 306498

Email info@wakefieldfirst.com

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 29

•• LOCAL HEROES The Local Heroes interviews are undertaken by Sam Grundy from Kids.org.

Cedar Court Mainstay Steps Down

A WARM Wakefield Welcome After 22 years of managing the Cedar Court Hotel chain, John Horvath is moving on. He met TopicUK reporter Sam Grundy at the Wakefield Cedar Court Hotel to reminisce about the good times and talk about what the future holds.

INTERVIEW BY SAM GRUNDY John started work at Cedar Court Hotel back in 1992.

He has seen the hotel Group grow from one hotel to 5 across Yorkshire with 600 staff looking after a £20m business. Over the years, John has overseen hotel new builds, refurbishments and managed a team of staff providing over 600 bed spaces. He’s most proud of knowing 80% of his staff’s first names a hugely impressive feat when you manage over 600 individuals.

Originally from the Midlands, John’s first job was working in a burger and hot dog stand at the tender age of 13. He learnt from a very early age that “you should never judge a book by it’s cover” and that working as a burger flipper was a great way to develop skills of how to talk to people.

A prefect at school led him on to Head Boy and after considering a career in engineering, a change of plan led to John undertaking a degree in hotel management. Numerous Hotel placements followed, including London, Bavaria, Edinburgh and South Yorkshire before he was head hunted in 1992 to Wakefield Cedar Court.

So what’s at the heart of John’s success? “We all need to recognise that business never work in isolation.

Business development is not about networking meetings and delivering a sales pitch, its far more

30

about making connections that last and that are meaningful,” he explained, “we all need to make connections that build to the future, a long term future. It’s as important to connect to and be part of the local community, which includes schools and local charities. It also means putting in the effort to be an active member of Boards such as the LEP, MYCCI, old TEC’s past Governor at college, Theatre Royal and Wakefield Works. It’s important to recognise that the business is part of the community in a wider sense than just economics.”

John also has an obvious understanding about how to deliver top quality hospitality. He knows what the customer really wants and when they want it. It probably helps that John is a very charismatic chap, with a real twinkle!

John lives locally in Horbury and is quite rightly proud of Wakefield and its friendly people. He enjoys the community feel of Horbury with its independent shops and friendly service all within walking distance. John is a very keen runner and is a regular at Fitness World on Cluntergate, which he balances with trips to his favourite Bar Baccari, Bistro 42 and local bars in Wakefield: Harry’s Bar and the wonderful Iris Restaurant in the centre of Wakefield.

John is also been an active supporter of Wakefield Hospice, Wakefield Theatre Royal as a Trustee and the WACCL (Wakefield Annual Christmas Charity Luncheon).

He is very passionate about Wakefield. “Wakefield is a wonderful place. It’s a great place to live and work and we are doing a lot of things really well but the one thing we lack is pride in what we are achieving. We have every right to be proud of our great city and we shouldn’t feel so reticent about shouting about how great it is! We were once the County capital and we should be again!”

One achievement John is very proud of is that Cedar Court opened a 5*

hotel in York using the skill of Wakefield hospitality work force. “We didn’t bring in staff from Edinburgh or London we had the skills to achieve excellence within our own community”.

Now we all know John must have some interesting funny stories to share and this is what he told us: “Hotel staff are never surprised at what people leave behind in bedrooms from false teeth to artificial limbs, adult costumes, Fifty Shades of Grey books and soft toys plus partners and spouses after a row! Only the soft toys are returned!

We have also had many unusual requests including a bath filled with chocolate milk, crocodile soup and a right leg of chicken (banquet for 100). Fortunately we didn’t receive many complaints but some unforgettable ones have been the bed sheets are too white, ice cream too cold, no sea view in Harrogate, no steak on the vegetarian menu and one guest told us that their dog didn’t enjoy his stay!”

John has also had the pleasure of meeting many celebrity guests from comedians Ken Dodd, Bobby Nut and Jimmy Carr to politicians like Leon Britton and Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair. Bradley Walsh, Jane McDonald and John Cleese have also been guests. John has also enjoyed afternoon tea with Worzle Gummidge and Aunt Sally!

When asked if there was anything he’d left unfinished to do after 22 years at Cedar Court, John freely admits that he didn’t really get to grips with Apprentices. “I am really passionate about supporting young people to get access to good quality training with appropriate qualifications and I am an active member of the business community supporting apprenticeships but feel we still have a way to go to fully understand the business advantages of using the apprenticeship model effectively.”

So what does the future hold for John? With a number of achievements under his belt, taking part in the London Marathon; a tandem parachute jump; opening 5 hotels from a blank sheet to a successful business including Yorkshire’s only 5 star hotel and of course, not forgetting his family of 5 wonderful children.

Using his wealth of knowledge of the hospitality and leisure industry he’s made the leap of setting up J H Hospitality Ltd (see www.jhhospitality.co.uk). John will be offering total business consultancy for Hospitality, Leisure and attractions primarily and other development and turnaround businesses. He will also offer feasibility and project management of new builds and the regeneration of old ones as well as acquisitions and disposals of property.

On a personal front the future definitely includes another marathon! And as part of his drive to inspire the next generation he’s considering a solo parachute jump!

Local solicitors for all your personal and business legal needs Company & Commercial Litigation, Disputes & Debt Recovery Residential & Commercial Conveyancing Employment Professional Negligence Family & Mediation Accident & Personal Injury Wills, Trusts, Probate & Estate Planning 18 King Street, Wakefield, WF1 2SQ 01924 387110 enquiries@jordanssolicitors.co.uk www.jordanssolicitors.co.uk Offices throughout Yorkshire Jordanssolicitor @JordanSolicitor

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 31

•• FINANCE

Pensions and tax planning for high earners

If you find more and more of your income is taxed over the basic rate, you are not alone. The higher rate threshold – the point at which you start to pay 40% income tax – has reduced to £41,865 for 2014/15, down from £43,875 in 2010/11.

The Chancellor has announced that the threshold will rise again by just 1% for 2015/16, which is well below the expected rate of inflation.

You may also be feeling the full impact of the tax on child benefit and you may find your personal allowance is reduced or even withdrawn if you earn more than £100,000 a year.

Gareth Glendinning Associate Partner St. James's Place Wealth Management

The increased tax burden for higher earners is a deliberate policy, as the 2013 Autumn Statement made clear: “The government is committed to a fair tax system in which those with the most, contribute the most”. Since 2010, the government has taken action at every Budget to raise the amount of tax paid by the richest.

Therefore, if you want to reduce the amount of tax you pay, the solution is in your own hands.

Thinking and planning ahead could help you to lessen the rising tax burden. The generous tax reliefs successive governments have given to pension arrangements mean that they have long played an important role in tax planning for high earners. valuable However, in the last four years, increasingly tight restrictions have been placed on these reliefs, just as the rising burden of income tax has made them all the more valuable. The amounts you can pay in and take out without suffering heavy tax charges have been reduced significantly.

Rumours regularly appear that higher and additional rate relief for contributions will be withdrawn, saving the Treasury an estimated £7 billion a year (Taxbriefs, May 2014), but while the reliefs remain, pensions continue to offer significant tax benefits.

The use of pensions in income tax planning is often divided into two areas: pre-retirement and at-retirement. In practice, such a demarcation

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is an over-simplification because there’s often no longer any link between physical retirement – stopping work – and drawing on a pension arrangement. You may draw benefits, notably tax-free lump sums, before retirement and make pension contributions after your working life has ended. In any event, the move between work and retirement is itself often a transition phased over several years rather than a one-off event.

Your personal contributions to a pension normally qualify for income tax relief at your marginal highest rate(s). Pension contributions reduce your taxable income, so they can help you to avoid the phasing out of the personal allowance, which starts at £100,000 of income, resulting in an effective tax rate of up to 60%. Contributions can also help you to sidestep the additional rate tax band, which starts at £150,000 of taxable income, or the high income child benefit tax charge, which affects those with income over £50,000.

TAX RELIEF However, the rules on limits for tax relief are complicated, and have just been revised yet again.

Contributions, including deemed contributions from an employer’s defined benefit scheme (e.g. that provides a pension based on your final salary) must be kept within an annual allowance to avoid tax charges. For the tax year 2014/15, this annual allowance is £40,000, down from £50,000 in 2013/14.

Whether or not you wish to maximise your pension contributions, it’s well worth taking some trouble with the arrangements for making them. If you are an employee, then you (and your employer) can save national insurance contributions (NICs).

The secret is for you to reduce your salary or your bonus and ask your employer to use the money, including the NIC saving, to make the pension contributions for you. The technical name for this is ‘salary’ or ‘bonus sacrifice’ and it’s all perfectly legal if you do it correctly. If you pay higher or additional rate income tax, the result could be an increase of nearly 18% in the amount being paid into your pension.

However, salary sacrifice is not always the right option because it potentially affects your entitlement to state pensions and other benefits, and possibly the maximum you can borrow for a mortgage so you should seek advice.

As well as the annual allowance, there is also a lifetime allowance (LTA), which sets a ceiling on the total value of your tax-efficient pension benefits. In 2012/13 the LTA was cut from £1.8 million to £1.5 million and on 6 April 2014 it fell even further, to £1.25 million. This reduction was

accompanied by the introduction of two new transitional protections, known as Fixed Protection 2014 and Individual Protection 2014, allowing you to keep an LTA over £1.25 million.

PROTECTION It’s now too late to apply for Fixed Protection 2014, but Individual Protection 2014 is still available. If the total value of all your pensions was over £1.25 million at 5 April 2014 this protection may be relevant to you, and you should get advice about it.

When you decide to draw your pension benefits you have to decide the balance between lump sum and income. If you have a personal pension or other defined contribution pension scheme, the chances are that you should take the maximum possible lump sum. This is mainly because the lump sum is tax-free, whereas any income is fully taxable. Changes planned for 6 April 2015 will remove all restrictions on the lump sum, although the tax-free amount available will not change.

If maximising the lump sum is the right move, that does not necessarily mean you should draw all of it at once. With modern pension arrangements it is possible to draw benefits in stages, and one option might be to supplement your income tax-free through a series of lump sums. How you deal with the rest of your fund can then be a more complicated issue.

FLEXIBILITY From April 2015, you will have complete flexibility over what you do with a defined contribution pension after age 55, including taking the whole amount as a lump sum.

However, doing that could mean you face a high tax bill on it and leave you without enough income later in retirement.

Before making any decisions, you should always explore your options with a trusted advisor.

To receive a complimentary guide covering Wealth Management, Retirement Planning or Inheritance Tax Planning, produced by St. James’s Place Wealth Management, contact Gareth Glendinning, Chartered Financial Planner, Glendinning Wealth on 01924 666263 or email gareth. glendinning@sjpp.co.uk

The pitfalls of jumping on brand new technology It’s ‘bigger than bigger’ shout Apple hungrily, whipping the technology press and consumers alike into a frenzy of excitement!

With the release date of the highlyawaited iPhone 6, Paul Heigham, Director of Bellingham IT, questions the dangers of jumping on the latest of tech innovations immediately.

It’s a bit like a production line – A corporation sets a release date for new technology, ‘works like Billio’ to adhere to its promises, releases on time, faces a barrage of problems and criticism, tries to appease disgruntled users and has its reputation dented in the process.

It happens time and time again so why should we believe the iPhone 6 will be any different?

Teething problems of the iPhone 5 In true Apple style, there were several well-documented issues with the iPhone 5. Following in the footsteps of the iPhone 4’s unpredictable signal and Siri’s failure to work outside of the US, the release of the Apple 5 was met with a levy of complaints.

Do we expect anything different from the sixth generation of iPhone? We’d be naïve if we did.

Putting businesses at risk when businesses fall upon teething problems with new technology, the consequences can be catastrophic, draining precious resources, time and money.

Take Windows 8 as an example. After months and months of development, previews, testing and hype, Microsoft finally pushed Windows 8 onto the market. Despite an extremely hyped launch day, Windows 8, the major redesign of the storied Windows OS

in years, was carped as a failure, causing confusion, alienating business owners, business users and consumers alike.

As such, Windows 8 will not be accepted or adopted by the business community.

And it wasn’t just Windows 8 in which users reported problems. When upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7, users reported the upgrade process stopped responding at 62%, indefinitely. For businesses, an operating system failing to upload hampers productivity and can severely detriment business operations.

Another example is the 2013 update to Apple’s mobile operating system. Corporate IT departments and at least one mobile network reported problems following the release of the iOS 6.1 update. The problem reportedly affected mobile networks and corporate email – An organisation without efficient corporate email is like trying to run a library without any books!

The solution?

Instead of diving in head first, safeguard your business by riding out the storm and waiting for over-zealous consumers to identify early issues and the manufacturer to overcome its teething problems.

Have you encountered problems with any of the above issues? Have you bought the iPhone 6? Or have you upgraded to new technology successfully? We’d be interested to know what you think if you have.

Drop us an email at topicuk@ghostcommunications.com

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 33

that’s a powerful combination!

From left to right: Jo, Verity, Lisa The world is full of entrepreneurial women and in Wakefield, TopicUK discovered that we have our fair share of women who are running successful businesses and making a name for themselves and in particular, in sport.

These women have discovered that by working together, their businesses can thrive and prosper, even in the most difficult of economic times.

Our featured ladies all work for local companies forging working partnerships.

Together with promotion from TopicUK (run by a female editor) they have found that they can promote each others services, whilst helping to grow their own businesses.

LISA HIGO, MANAGER, FIT24

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Lisa Higo started martial arts when she was 16. She began kick boxing classes and after several months of training she entered the first of many competitions. “I managed to win a bronze in my first competition,” Lisa told TopicUK, “and that was it, I was bitten by the bug!”

Today Lisa is a professional martial arts coach, instructor and trainer and has been training in a variety of martial arts for over 20 years. She holds a 4th Dan black belt in kick boxing and a Blue belt in Jiu Jitsu

Photo: Courtesy Danny Gartside

Women in Business and Sport

under Victor Estima of Gracie Barra.

“I have competed in various styles and have world and European titles in kick boxing and mixed martial arts (cage fighting). I focus on providing martial arts services with the highest level of customer service and will do everything I can to help people reach their personal goals.

“As a female working in a male dominated sport, I promote self-confidence and the ability to achieve. This is a way of life for me and managing Fit24 is no different. It’s great to be working with other business ladies that have a similar strong drive, helps keep us ahead of the game,” she concluded.

VERITY THOMAS, COMMERCIAL MANAGER WAKEFIELD WILDCATS Also in the world of sport is Verity Thomas, who has recently taken up the role of Commercial Manager for Wakefield Wildcats.

“I grew up in Nottingham amongst a family of primary school teachers,” Verity told TopicUK. “Whilst carrying out a BA Hons in Marketing Management, I had the opportunity to work in New Zealand for a year, which of course I jumped at! It was there that I got the bug for sport. “On my return to the UK, I began working for a Swedish manufacturer Kinnarps. It was my first taste of the business world and I quickly realised that I excel in a fast paced and competitive environment. I was then head-hunted by arguably the biggest football club in the world, Manchester United,” she continued. “Football is a man’s world but I had the opportunity of working alongside a very strong female management team.

“My new challenge is running the Commercial Department at Wakefield Wildcats. My role is to look after sponsors and executive clients and I am enjoying getting involved with the local community, whilst looking for new sponsors and partners and bringing in new finance for

the 2015 season.”

JO RIDDELL, HEAD OF DANCE, WAKEFIELD WILDCATS Jo Riddell started dancing at the tender age of three, progressing through numerous exams before qualifying as a teacher at 18.

“I left school at 16 with 11 GCSE’s knowing I didn’t want to go to college or university.

I secured a job with Barclays Bank as a trainee and as dance was still a big part of my life, I managed to fit this around work in the evenings.

“I quickly progressed at the bank and at just 19, I was manager of a team of 13 staff,” Jo told us. “However, this was not the career for me and at the age of 23, I left and opened my own dance school, the JP Baker School of Dance. That was 14 years ago.

“In 2004 I opened my own gym and fitness centre and the dance school continued to operate from the gym. This was followed a year later by a dance wear and fancy dress shop,” Jo continued.

“Following the birth of my first child in 2004, I decided to sell the gym and shop, just retaining the dance studio. Two further children meant I was only able to work limited hours, although I still managed to teach every evening and two days a week.

“I began working with The Wildcats as head of dance and community engagement officer in 2013. I look after the Wildcats Dance Academy who are lucky enough to train in the studio at Fit24.

EMMA LELLIOTT, MARKETING MANAGER, TRINITY WALK Emma started her career at Snozone, Xscape in Castleford, followed by a move to Best Western Hotels before joining Trinity Walk.

“My job varies from day to day. One minute I can be putting on an event, the next promoting an offer from one of our retailers. We have over 50 stores in Trinity so I can see the importance of everyone working together, not just within the centre but across Wakefield. We all have the same aims - to make Wakefield a destination whether it be a day out to watch the Wildcats play, pop to the theatre or Hepworth followed by a spot of shopping!

“Other great examples are Wakefield Food, Drink and Rhubarb Festival and the Lit Fest, these really show off what the city has to offer.

“It’s exciting to see businesses starting to work together, the tie-in with Trinity, Fit24, Wildcats, TopicUK and Sainsburys all working together demonstrates how successful this can be,” Emma concluded.

A RANGE OF CLASSES

FOR EVERYONE ZUMBA • YOGA • BUMS LEGS AND TUMS

tel:01924 361497 fit24_7@hotmail.co.uk ▶ BOXING IS ALSO TAUGHT BY A FRIENDLY FEMALE INSTRUCTOR. ▶ IN ADDITION, WE HAVE OVER 100 STRENGTH, FITNESS AND CARDIO MACHINES. ▶ COST EFFECTIVE MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS ALSO AVAILABLE TO SUIT EVERYONE.

www.fit24wakefield.yourclubuk.co.uk Trinity Walk/Teall Way, Wakefield WF1 1QS Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 35

•• RESTAURANT REVIEW

“Ma Kin Khow Kun” at Malagor Thai Restaurant WRITTEN BY KEVIN TRICKETT Follow him on twitter @ MrTrickett

N

Kevin joined the Civic Society in 1989 becoming President in 2002. He has worked tirelessly to create a dynamic, modern and proactive Society.

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ow, I have to start with an admission.

Dining at a Thai restaurant is not something that usually comes very high on my list of things to do. However, as your regular restaurant reviewer, I was asked to try out Malagor Thai Restaurant in Ossett. A table was duly booked and three of us went along one Monday evening to sample the Malagor experience. I’m pleased to report that I really rather enjoyed it – and one of my companions (who has had far more experience of this sort of thing than I have) assured me that this was one of the best Thai meals she had eaten.

Some of you may remember the Two Brewers public house on the corner of Queen’s Drive and Towngate in Ossett. The pub has long gone (as has the Indian restaurant that followed it) but the building remains. Now under new management,

it has been delightfully, but simply refurbished, to create a light, bright and welcoming venue that offers the traditional taste of Thai cuisine.

Business owners, husband and wife team Benjamin and Benjawan Marshall (Ben and Benjie for short), have created something very special in their new enterprise, opened just three years ago. Ben, born in Leeds but who has lived in Ossett for 25 years, has a marketing background and previously worked for a businessman who decided to set up a chain of Thai restaurants. Ben handled the marketing and suppliers for the chain and it was while doing this that he met Benjie, who hails from Thailand and was working in one of the restaurants. They got on well, married and cooked up a plan to branch out on their own. Thus was born Malagor Restaurant (as well as their daughter, now aged four).

At Malagor, Ben and Benjie have a simple philosophy – to provide the very best authentic Thai ingredients and herbs, freshly cooked and beautifully presented to create attractive dishes that are both healthy and appetising; they don’t use additives, such as MSG. The menu is extensive, with a good range of starters and mains and a nice selection of vegetarian options. Dishes are marked for the potency of their spices, from ‘mild’, through ‘spicy’ to ‘very spicy’, but don’t be deterred if you don’t like the hot and spicy: there are many alternative dishes available. There are set menus (banquets, for a minimum of two people to share), early–bird menus and an à la carte menu; there’s even a take-away menu. Prices are reasonable with banquets starting at £17.95 per person. On the à la carte menu, starters begin at £4.50 and (vegetarian) mains at just under £8. Of course, with such a range of dishes and side dishes on offer, it is quite easy to mix and match, especially if dining in a group, so that you get to sample a wide range of flavours and textures – something that would be a normal part of any Thai family gathering, where starters, curries, stir fry dishes and steaks, would all be served together, along with a big bowl of soup to share and enjoy.

Having ordered our food and drinks, I took the opportunity to have a quick look around. As I said, the restaurant is light, bright and welcoming but with some interesting touches, including a fascinating mural, hand-drawn and painted by Benjie who has creativity running through her veins (amongst other things, she also makes clothes, for example). The restaurant was quite busy for what might be regarded as a quiet night, including a birthday party group, and is divided into a number of distinct areas, each with its own theme and ambience.

There’s the Bar Suchart area, named after a Thai legend renowned for his love for life and fun. Here you can enjoy a pre- or postprandial cocktail. The Jantra Room, taking its name from the Thai word for moon, is

a cosy, intimate section of the restaurant, perfect for couples perhaps wanting a bit more privacy. The Thong Na Room features the Thai mural, striking potted greenery and big, picture windows. Finally, the Lanna Room, named after the Lanna region of North Thailand, is an upper area at the far end of the restaurant and is advertised as being particularly suitable for business meetings, or very special family occasions.

Re-joining my companions as the food was delivered to the table, the first thing to strike me was how eye-catchingly presented it was – each dish a work of art to stimulate both the visual and culinary palettes. Between us (two vegetarians and an omnivore) we began with a selection of spring rolls, homemade sweetcorn cakes and pork on toast, served with either a fruity plum sauce or a sweet chilli sauce. For mains, we had dishes of stirred fried vegetables, fried rice and egg with vegetables and tomatoes, and stir-fried chicken and vegetables. Two of us managed puddings – a very nice lime panna cotta and a mango pudding, both accompanied by fruit salad. Coffees and after dinner mints completed the meal.

Afterwards, I spoke to Ben about the restaurant. His pride and enthusiasm showed through. Ben is the only nonThai to work in the restaurant but told me that the restaurant takes its name from the Thai word for the papaya fruit, one of the most important ingredients in Thai cuisine. Ben explained that as

well as running the restaurant, they also offer monthly cookery classes, run by his wife, for people who want to learn how to cook and prepare Thai dishes. These classes have proved very popular and gift vouchers can be purchased from the restaurant for those wanting to treat family and friends. Ben joked that a number of his male customers, having sampled the food in the restaurant, have bought the vouchers for their wives to learn how to cook their favourite Thai food at home!

Thais, whose culture is centred on family and food, have a phrase inviting you to stay and enjoy food with them: 'Ma Kin Khow Kun'. They extend open invitations to friends and family to come round to their homes to enjoy time together. When someone visits a Thai home, they will be invited to stay longer and enjoy some food - 'Ma Kin Khow Kun'. Having now sampled the food at Malagor Thai for myself, I can understand the attraction and I do urge you to give it a try – let Malagor extend its welcome to you.

Kevin and his companions dined as guests of Malagor Restaurant and Bar.Address: Queen’s Drive, Ossett, WF5 0NH W: http:// www.malagor.co.uk E: ossett@malagor.co.uk and Facebook: Malagor Thai Telephone booking: 01924 416990 (from 11.00am - 11.00pm) And on why not follow them on Twitter: @MalagorThai Opening Times Monday – Sunday: Lunch: 12noon- 3.00pm (all day Sunday) Sunday buffet: 12.00-3.00pm. Dinner: 5.00pm 11.00pm (Last order 10.30 pm) Closed: Mon-Tues at lunch time.

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 37

•• RECRUITMENT

The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers It makes sense doesn’t it, but believe me, there are horror stories we hear about all the time. I know there’s always two sides to every story but our biggest assets ARE our own staff – so, why don’t we always demonstrate this?

In February 1993, Anne Lockwood and Andy Turner started First Choice Recruitment – a business dedicated to providing the highest standards of recruitment solutions for candidates and clients across the region. 21 years on, they serve some of the region’s largest employers, providing both temporary and permanent employment opportunities for 1000’s of job seekers across the region.

In a recent employee survey of 2,500 employees released by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) – 30% of all respondents felt their appraisal process was unfair, but on top of this 32% felt progression within their organisation was unachievable. The survey went onto point out staff concerns around the way performance is managed and urged managers to rebuild the trust of their staff.

Rebuild trust!

A CIPD advisor said “This survey shows a marked increase in negative perceptions of senior managers, with overall trust and confidence in senior managers hitting a two-year low. Trust and confidence levels are particularly low in the public sector, and have potentially been influenced by the current unrest and strike action taking place in this sector.”

“The survey also reveals real performance management and progression issues.

Again, this is likely to be linked to the current unrest in that sector related to pay, pensions and performance.”

“There are also real concerns regarding progression across sectors, but particularly in the voluntary sector, with more employees feeling that career progression is unachievable.”

Other results were more positive, with the level of employee satisfaction around worklife balance standing at 58%, the percentage of employees reporting excessive pressure at work was 41% and 15% said it was either

38

likely or very likely that they could lose their job as a result of current economic conditions. The report claimed this was because of a number of factors causing ‘some uncertainty’ for employees, adding: “We are still witnessing corporate scandals involving senior leaders in the press which are likely to be impacting on employees’ overall confidence and trust.”

As I said earlier there are two sides to every story and although this survey was only released in spring this year I would expect the ‘scores’ to be much higher if it was undertaken today. Everyone I speak to from friends, contacts and even competitors, are talking a much more confident story, even if you take off a percentage for ‘bravado’ the story is much more positive, we (at First Choice Recruitment) have never dealt with as many new job opportunities every day.

This ‘new’ found confidence isn’t that new, as far as we’re concerned the upswing started almost overnight between the end of August and the beginning of September and covers all sectors and roles. From the 1st September 2013 the phones started ringing off the hook, it was almost as if someone had put up a sign locally “Wakefield is Open for Business”, the normal January downturn simply didn’t happen and everyone is back in recruitment mode once more.

This is great news for everyone, but beware - make sure the relationship with your colleagues are built on stone not sand!

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 39

•• COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Green Matters?

Anyone out there who works in the commercial property sector and those of you who have been looking at agents’ property details will by now be used to seeing those interesting bar charts, similar to the ones found on fridges and cars. The assessments range from A-G and the general rule is the lower the number the more energy efficient the building. The question I’m asked most often by property owners is “does anyone take any notice”, oh and “why do I have to pay for one!”

Jonathan Kidd of Holroyd Miller is the guest editor for commercial property and will report on all property matters over coming months.

So how important is energy efficiency to occupiers of commercial property, not surprisingly this depends greatly on use, however, the common denominator is normally cost, isn’t it always in business.

While only a generalisation, on the whole, whatever the sector of commercial property, newer property equals higher price, be it purchase price or rent. Also on the whole the newer the property the better the energy performance. Occupiers therefore often

Leave Christmas till the last minute?

You must be barking!

have to consider the financial advantages of occupying a more energy efficient building against the financial advantages of occupying a cheaper priced building which is less energy efficient. This will be only one of the many reasons for choosing a property, however, as energy costs continue to rise I predict it will be working its way up the list.

Another factor for consideration for owners and occupiers of commercial property is the potential impact of elements of The Energy Act. This piece of legislation is already in place and contains within it the potential to make it illegal to let commercial property that falls within the bottom two energy efficiency bands, specifically F and G. The provisions of the act are vague to say the least and there will need to be much consultation before a workable policy could be put in place, however, it’s on the agenda, so in conclusion if people aren’t taking notice now it won’t be long before they do!

Thurs 4th Dec Olly Murs & Bruno Mars tribute Three course carvery, act & DJ £28pp

Thurs 11th Dec Only One Direction Three course carvery, act & DJ £28pp

Fri 5th Dec & Sat 6th Dec Christmas party Three course dinner & DJ £35.50pp

Fri 12th Dec & Sat 13th Dec OKTC Four course dinner, band & DJ £42.50pp

Fri 5th Dec & Sat 6th Dec The Beat Collective Four course dinner, band & DJ £42.50pp

Thurs 18th Dec Gary Barlow Tribute Three course carvery, act & DJ £28pp

Tues 9th & 16th Dec | Weds 10th & 17th Dec Carvery Party Two course carvery & DJ £21.50pp

Fri 19th Dec & Sat 20th Dec Groove Academy Four course dinner, band & DJ £42.50pp

Mon 22nd Dec Carvery Party Three course carvery & DJ £25.50pp Tues 23rd Dec Golden Years Lunch Two course lunch & music of the time £19.50pp Weds 24th Dec Christmas Eve Dinner Dance Glass of mulled wine, carols & 3 course dinner £39.50pp Thurs 25th Dec Christmas Day Lunch Four course Christmas Lunch £59.95 per adult/ 12 & under £39.95/ Under 2’s free

Telephone 01924 276310 or visit www.cedarcourthotels.co.uk/wakefield

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Thurs 25th Dec Christmas Day Carvery Lunch Four course carvery lunch & visit from Santa £49.50 per adult/ 12 & under £22.50/ Under 2’s free Fri 26th Dec Boxing Day Lunch Four course carvery lunch £28.50 per adult/ 12 & under £14.50/ Under 2’s free Weds 31st Dec New Year’s Eve Celebration Four course dinner, glass of fizz at midnight, Band & DJ £89.50pp New Year’s Dining Experience Six course dinner, glass of fizz at midnight £82.50pp

Ramsdens-A4-Broadsheet-v4 (3)-2 copy.pdf

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18/12/2013

22:56

Here to help you for all your legal needs, call your local solicitors, Ramsdens

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01924 669510 www.ramsdens.co.uk Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 41

•• COUNCIL NEWS

What Wakefield Wants There was a great response to Wakefield Business Week 2014. The centrepiece was the Business Conference that attracted over 500 delegates with more than 1,000 businesses involved in total. This provided a fantastic opportunity to ask businesses how they could be supported further and the key points raised were:

Collaboration A key theme was that collaborative working needs to increase. To grow, businesses need to develop partnerships and strong working relationships.

What is being done?

A number of initiatives have formed out of the need for better collaboration. One of the first groups to form was the WEP Professionals Group, a networking group for individuals who work in the Business and Professional Services sector.

The group is known for its informal meet-ups and tours of prominent local businesses, which have included Ossett Brewery and Unity Works.

In April 2014, Cognitiv, a group for the creative, digital and IT sector was launched with over a 100 delegates attending.

The Wakefield First Bondholder Scheme sees businesses collaborate to achieve one main goal: promoting the Wakefield district. The membership scheme re-invests 100% of fees into promoting the district.

Unique Wakefield is a guide celebrating independent retailers.

The guide brings together places to eat, drink, shop and relax whilst Experience Wakefield promotes the district’s many tourist attractions.

Skills The need for businesses to work more closely with schools and colleges was also high on the agenda. Businesses need to offer work experience to students and for business people to engage with students to educate them

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on the wide range of employment opportunities available.

what is being done?

A range of initiatives are underway to improve the level of skills within the district. There are also a variety of ways in which businesses can create links with education providers.

The Wakefield Apprenticeship Hub is looking to increase the number of apprenticeships opportunities.

The Hub provides support through the whole process to simplify it as much as possible for the employer.

The entire recruitment process can be tailored to fit every business’ requirements. The Hub has helped fill over 150 vacancies to date.

Inspiring Skills is a not for profit collaborative initiative to help inspire and align young people with the needs of business. The initiative consists of 3 components, the first being a skills portal which enables collaboration between schools, colleges, universities, businesses and governments. It is designed to help bridge the “soft” and “hard” skills gap and facilitate business-education collaboration.

Wakefield Works is an annual initiative were by local businesses open their doors to the district’s 16-24-year-olds. This provides an opportunity for young people to meet employers, receive advice and gain experience. The businesses agree to offer the best candidate interviewed at least one week’s work experience.

Promotion The third key theme that was prominent was the thought that more needs to be done to promote

the district. All of Wakefield needs to work together to share selling points and successes. This will help us to generate economic growth and attract inward investment.

What is being done?

Promoting Wakefield on a national and international level is vital to the economic prosperity of the district.

There are a number of techniques being used to promote the area.

The Wakefield First Bondholder Scheme has planned activities including a national PR campaign promoting the district’s locational, economic and cultural advantages, a ‘Why Wakefield?’ recruitment pack and attendance at international trade missions.

Wakefield First has produced an Inward Investment Map promoting the key sites available in Wakefield district including business parks, office space and managed work spaces. The A2 map will be given to potential inward investors and businesses considering moving premises and details information such as the size of the land, planning permission status and connectivity.

First has also produced an Inward Investment Pack that sits alongside the map. The material also highlights Wakefield’s education and leisure offers and it will be used to attract businesses of varying sizes to locate in the district.

Wakefield First has employed a social media campaign promoting quirky, historical and fun facts about the district. This goes hand-in-hand with the Wakefield Wallpaper. Available in both electronic form and large scale physical form for events, consists of facts and achievements similar to those of the social media campaign.

If you have any interesting facts or for further information, please let us know at info@wakefieldfirst.com

Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 43

Employers can expect requests for new shared parental leave Employers are advised to start planning for new rules on shared parental leave in respect of births expected in the week starting 5 April 2015. This could mean applications for shared parental leave will start during December 2014.

Currently, new mothers can take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave but fathers are only entitled to two weeks ‘ordinary’ paternity leave, and an ‘additional’ 26 weeks’ paternity leave provided the mother has returned to work and certain other criteria satisfied. The Government’s proposed new rules will allow a mother and father to share up to 50 weeks’ shared parental leave between them, and 37 weeks’ pay.

The timings mean parents could qualify for shared parental leave from December 2014 if their child is due on 5 April 2015 but born prematurely.

Other proposed changes, announced on 5 February, include: • Employers to be able to require employees to take leave in a single

disciplinary consequences if there is abuse; • Handling requests for discontinuous fairly, to avoid discrimination claims.

Gareth Dando, Head of Employment at Ramsdens comments: “Only continuous block. around a third of working families • Employees must tell employers are likely to be eligible for this added eight weeks in advance how they will flexibility, since both mum and dad apportion their parental leave. will need to have worked for their • They can change their minds twice employers continuously for 26 weeks during their leave. at the 15th week before the expected • Where leave taken is six months or week of childbirth. less, employees have the right to For some families, where mum is return to the same job. Otherwise the high earner and dad in a lower they must be offered at least a paid job, the new proposals could similar job. work. But parents will have to plan and negotiate their use of the leave Employers can start preparing for the carefully, and how many parents will new parental rules in readiness for feel safe enough to risk it remains to requests for shared parental leave from be seen. The issue is that the level of December 2014, including: statutory paternity pay is £136.78 – • Assessing how the rules may affect less than the national minimum wage their workforce, and the availability and therefore it’s unlikely employers of parents, from April 2015. will a big take up.”

Creating shared parental leave policies, including: • Any provisions for enhanced pay and return to work bonuses; • Systems to stop abuse such as requiring evidence of eligibility and checking leave taken and the

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Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 45

•• WINING & DINING

C

ooking has become very popular in recent years, especially with the number of celebrity chef ‘s appearing on TV programmes and as a result we have been asked to feature recipes within TopicUK for all our business readers who like to cook to relax.

We have teamed up with The Iris Restaurant, Wakefield to bring to you a monthly recipe from one of Wakefield’s top chefs.

Sainsburys Trinity Walk have kindly donated the wine to accompany this dish.

Smoked Haddock Scotch Egg with Chorizo & Sweetcorn 1.

2.

3.

4.

Taste the Difference Wild Ferment Chardonnay from Australia and Silver Medal winner, International Wine Challenge 2014 Taste the Difference Fairtrade Morador Malbec. We’ll print a full review in our next issue.

Place the haddock fillet in a pre heated oven on gas mark four and cook for 7 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Place somewhere to cool Whilst waiting for the haddock to chill bring a pan of water to the boil. Get six minutes ready on your timer. Once boiling place the eggs and put a lid on the pan (this will make the water come back to the boil a little quicker).

Once the timer has reached the six minutes mark refresh the eggs in ice cold water. When cool peel the eggs and place to one side.

Mix the haddock with the mash and season to your taste with salt and pepper.

Now the tricky bit! Get a little flour on your hands and take a small handful of the haddock mix and mould into a cup shape. Place an egg on top and gently work the mix around until you have formed the Scotch egg. Do this with the rest of the eggs and then place in the fridge to firm up before bread crumbing.

Our first sampler is Andrew King, Director, Business Development Yorkshire at Santander we will report back in our next issue how he got on.

If you would like to take part, cooking dishes and sampling wine, drop us a line at topicuk@ghostcommunications.com

• • • • • • • • • •

1 fillet of smoked haddock 400g of cold plain mash potato 6 free range eggs plus one for coating the breadcrumbs 100g panko breadcrumbs 100g plain flour Salt and pepper 200g diced chorizo sausage 400g sweetcorn 50g butter 400ml water

The Government and ACE have acknowledged the imbalance, but argue that it is because the major national institutions are based

5.

To bread crumb or ‘pane’ as we call it in the professional kitchen: roll your eggs first in the flour then in the beaten eggs and then in the bread crumb.

6. A little tip is to use your left hand for the flour and breadcrumb and your right hand to roll in the egg! This will stop it from getting messy!

7. You can store these in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

8. Now for the sauce, place 400ml of water in a pan with the butter and bring to the boil, add 300g of the sweetcorn and blend to a puree (you want a soup like consistency so if it’s a little thick add some more water) You don’t want to season this as the natural oils from the chorizo will give a little saltiness.

9. To serve fry off the chorizo and then add 100g of the remaining sweetcorn, add the puree and bring to the boil. Keep warm 10. Deep or shallow fry the eggs until golden brown 11. Spoon the sauce onto the plates and place the eggs on top! Enjoy!

TopicUK proud to be working with...

46

or who can afford it. The report also points out that had Londoners won a comparably disproportionate number of Lottery prizes compared to people in the rest of England, equivalent to

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•• EDUCATION

Business growth and Young People a match made in heaven There is no escaping two current UK issues which when brought together help one another, youth unemployment and SME business growth.

Every time you switch on the TV or radio, read the newspaper we are struck with frightening figures of youth unemployment and a future skills shortage. In the next breath we are constantly told by political figures that the only way out of the recession is driving business growth.

As a business owner I am aware of the never ending to do list, not enough hours in the day.

Sometimes I would like to wave a magic wand which generates a spare pair of hands. Every business needs support and resource in order to grow!

Considering all of this, doesn’t it

make perfect sense to place young people into SMEs so that everyone wins? Businesses gain an extra brain and students are given their chance to gain valuable experience and get on the job ladder.

In any decision making I consider ‘What have I got to gain? What have I got to lose?’. As someone who employs young people (from work experience to apprentices to office staff under 25 years old) I feel that young people are crucial to my business and offer the following: •

Technology! Social media savvy.

A lifeline in keeping up to date on modern knowledge, trends and fashions.

•

Energy and enthusiasm! SMEs are driven by this and you need it in bucket loads. Not every day is easy so you need the tenacity across your team to keep going.

•

Naivety! Having a fresh perspective, vision and not seeing barriers to making things happen. Challenging convention is a good thing.

•

Inquisitive! Asking questions, a thirst for learning can make you think about your existing processes and challenging the status quo.

•

Inspiration! For any team there is the danger of becoming stale. Young people bring a new pair of eyes which will refresh everyone.

•

Creativity! New ideas can be worth their weight in gold.

•

Qualifications! They bring up to date information back into your work place.

Target market If your business targets young people (like mine does www.schoolspeakers.co.uk) they will provide insight on how to engage with this hard to reach demographic. Claire Young.

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Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 49

Get to know your fellow professionals

Face to face is back, where you can get to know a little more about colleagues around the district and this issue we feature Juliette Fisher, Head of Property at Jordans SOLICITORS some of my companions.

after technology as well.

Which person or personality do you most admire?

Anyone who has the ability to make others laugh and more importantly has the ability to laugh at themselves.

What is your favourite food?

Pizza. If I could couple with some nice red wine and Italian Summer weather, I would be a very happy person!

Do you have any ambitions left to fulfil?

I would love to travel more and have my sights set on South America and Machu Picchu.

What was your first job?

I was a Saturday girl at my local hairdressers. I’ll never forget completely soaking a client on my first day (having not quite mastered the back wash technique) and hoping that I was asked back for a second shift.

What single thing would most improve the quality of your life?

The ability to teleport myself from place to place. It would save so much time!

What is the most extravagant item you have ever bought?

My house. Sadly it needs a bit of work so the expense has continued.

What is your most valued possession?

Can I have 3? My passport, my driving licence and my health. If I had to choose one, my health. Without it I wouldn’t need a passport or driving licence I guess.

If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what couldn’t you live without? It’s people that matter to me.

I can only go for limited periods of time without human interaction. You would have to ask me again after a month though in case I could live without

50

How do you spend your time off?

Outside if possible. I love scenery and hiking and travelling to new and exciting places. I have recently discovered Scotland after some friends moved near Aviemore. It is absolutely beautiful in the mountains and I highly recommend it.

What is the habit you most dislike in others?

Rudeness.

What is the best decision you’ve ever made? To move to Leeds where I met my husband and have had many happy times.

If you won the lottery how would you spend it?

I would make sure that friends and family were financially secure. The rest I would spend on travelling the world. I would probably have to allocate an element to my husbands sought

TOP RECOGNITION FOR THE IRIS Liam Duffy and his team at the Iris Restaurant are delighted to have been recognised in the Waitrose Good Food Guide 2015.

The Wakefield restaurant was named as one of the top 1,300 places to eat in the country.

“I am delighted with this achievement and really proud of my amazing team,” Liam told TopicUK. Liam also wanted to thank all his customers who have supported him since he opened.

DON’T MISS THE CHRISTMAS EVENT OF THE YEAR This years WACCL Charity Lunch is almost sold out, with only 30 tickets still available, 274 have been purchased as we went to press.

Do not miss out on the premier Wakefield Business Christmas event, a chance to have fun and raise money for charity.

This year two charities will benefit from the money raised, the Performance Academy at Wakefield Theatre and The Wakefield Community Foundation for Wakefield District.

During the lunch, which will be compered by Malcolm Lord, there will be a routine from the children at the Performance Academy as well as a charity auction.

This year, Berry’s the jewellers have donated an amazing auction item, this is not one to be missed.

Once again TopicUK is delighted to be the official media partner of the WACCL.

Community Foundation for Wakefield District

Make a Difference Locally 01924 239181

w

tter a m t tha Connecting those with the Wakefield district at heart s At Community Foundation Wakefield, we connect those who care use a passionately about the district and it’s people. lc a loc Helping you to help your clients We can work with you to meet your clients’ charitable needs ith peo ple wh oc ar e

and exceed their expectations.

We can add our expertise to yours to provide added value to your clients.

Why work with us?

Connecting

• We work closely with local community groups & charities • We are experts in philanthropy • We take the hassle out of charitable giving • We are specialist independent grant makers • We can help you give tax effectively • Match funding may be available

Find out how you can make a difference locally: Contact the Community Foundation for Wakefield District Call: 01924 239181 Email: info@communityfoundationwakefield.co.uk Autumn Issue October 2014 TopicUK 51