10 minute read
expert viewpoint
Maybe the Best Kept Secret in the UK for OES and Handheld Metal Analysers
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Though known more world-wide, but located in the Manor Royal Business District near Gatwick Airport; ARUN Technology Limited is a well-established company of over 35 years and who have remained dedicated to the design, development, manufacture, sales, and service of optical emission spectrometers since launching the world’s first portable CCD based metals analyser in the 1980’s.
At present, we provide desktop OES spectrometers, handheld Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) metal analysers. We are the Centre of Excellence for Product Sales, Marketing, Applications, Technical and Service Support for all our instruments.
ARUN is part of the Focused Photonics, Inc. (FPI) Group of companies. As a British provisioner of analytical instrumentation, we are a global supplier of market-leading and innovative quality control solutions to the various metal processing, materials research, manufacturing, and casting industries.
ARUN’s internal expertise is vast and extends into the areas of elemental composition testing, end-to-end design, engineering, integration, fabrication, and manufacturing facilities. Because we are a small, but knowledgeable team here in the UK, we can provide answers to your sales queries and respond to technical and service support issues in a timely manner.
Our continued success of supplying innovative and reliable products and services is empowering our clients to optimise their quality check processes, maintain production safety, and improve in-process testing. It is also enabling them to get their products to market quicker with assured reliably. Keep an eye on the ARUN website and follow us on LinkedIn for exclusives on our Open Days, exhibition participations, newsletters, and new product offerings. Address: 16 The Brunel Centre, Newton Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9TU Telephone: +44 (0) 1293 513123 Email: sales@aruntechnology.com Website: www.aruntechnology.com LinkedIn: @arun-technology-limited
Martin Buckland
Managing Director
Retain, Retrain and …. Entertain?
Martin Buckland – Managing Director at HR At Work – answers frequent questions about employee engagement and maintaining high productivity in this challenging market.
In your experience, are there some “easy wins” for keeping your staff and maintaining high productivity?
Yes, in short. Larger business can consider a variety of options such as days off to work in the community, the introduction of a 4 day week, or an extension of the benefits package to include ‘experiences’ or high-prized items like private health/dental.
What about smaller organisations?
Understanding the challenges faced by your employees – such as childcare and the cost of living may bring greater value (and appreciation) than Spa Days or Cinema tickets. You could adopt a flexible approach to employees struggling with travel costs – whether that be changes to hours (off peak) or location. Perhaps you could expand your hybrid working policy to greater assist employees with nursery and primary age children. The costs of such initiatives can be negligible but the pay off in productivity and good-will can be immeasurable.
How might re-training help me?
Employment has become more transactional over the years and your staff may not think twice about going somewhere else if they feel that the overall package on offer is more appealing. However, you could offer employees the opportunity to upskill and/or retrain within your organisation- whether that is through internal or external learning. Many employees would prefer to stay with their current employer if they see future progression and the chance to ‘get on’ whilst employers benefit from the broadening of knowledge and skills across the workforce.
What has entertaining got to do with it?
Public recognition of a job well done can have huge impact on an employee’s self-esteem and morale (and it’s free!) but how else can you maintain that engagement and productivity? Do you have a social or events committee? They could gauge opinion within the workforce to see what might be of interest. A contribution to an evening out, drinks in the office, a trip to the local museum/ cinema/bowling alley. Where budgets allow, there are several organisations out there who can offer ‘add-on’ benefits for employees – discounts/tokens/ free meals etc which for a small outlay can bring a real morale boost – and with it a real team feeling – its that kind of success that all businesses strive for, isn’t it? HR At Work are outsourced human resources, employee relations and health & safety consultants. Whether you need your handbook updating, help with managing a grievance or disciplinary or just some tips on how to get the best out of your employees do get in touch.
hratwork.co.uk
4PL consultancy
4PL Consultancy is a fourth party Logistics and Supply Chain Management solution provider aims to provide Trade compliance services and Logistics operation services for different industries.
GLOBAL TRADE COMPLIANCE SERVICES: Why you need Trade compliance expertise?
• To comply with Import/Export regulations and to manage classification audits by customs authorities. • To deal with sanctions, embargoes and denied party screening
Why you need classification expertise in Trade compliance?
• To pay right amount of duty to the customs authorities • To be compliant on Import/export-controlled goods • To claim benefit of FTA agreements and save duty cost
What happens if we are not complaint?
• Audits and huge penalties for misclassification • Delay in import/export clearance resulting in supply chain disruptions Read: HS Classification Audits are Yielding Mega-bucks for Customs Authorities
www.3ce.com/hs-classification-audits-are-yielding-megabucks-for-customs-authorities Logistics Management:
Being an important element of supply chain management, logistics management helps in delivering according to the demands of the customer. By opting for logistics outsourcing from 4PL Consultancy, you can choose the areas that you need support in. Our experts will ensure that they provide a complete resolution of your queries. We also offer logistics control tower feature through our services, which helps in keeping a track of all deliveries in real-time and customs declaration services.
4PL academy:
4PL academy is a venture of 4PL Consultancy which offers CPD accredited courses in Trade compliance and Logistics management. We offer training for students, working professional and corporate trainings. Visit our website for more details: www.4placademy.com
Contact us: salessupport@4plconsultancy.co.uk +44 330 043 1245 +44 7980181209 www.4plconsultancy.com
Jim Clark
Director
Jon Fowler
Director
Fowler Clark Ltd
Fowler Clark are Mechanical and Electrical Building Services Consultants based in Sussex and Surrey with over 30 years’ experience in the Construction Industry. We provide professional MEP design and consultancy services in the commercial, residential, industrial and education sectors, working with Clients from concept and pre-planning stages through to construction. Founded by Jon and Jim in 2020, our main objective is to provide a high quality of service to the clients and stakeholders we work with.
Services Offered:
MEP Design to RIBA Stages 1 – 4 • On-site inspections from RIBA Stage 4 onwards • Energy Strategies • Feasibility Studies • Peer reviews / validation of designs • MEP condition / dilapidation surveys • New-build and refurbishment designs • Design of services upgrades • Value engineering reviews.
What Value will we bring to your Construction Project?
Building Services Engineers are integral to the successful delivery of any constriction project. All too often the building services design is developed towards the end of the detailed design phase, typically once the architectural and structural design has been fixed. Our strategy is to collaborate early with the other design team members, enabling us to address the unique coordination and buildability challenges associated with every project. We help deliver the Client’s vision in terms of functionality and energy consumption, whilst also ensuring the seamless integration of mechanical and electrical systems into the architectural and structural fabric of a building.
How can we help your project meet Energy Targets and Building Regulations?
At Fowler Clark we can undertake energy strategies, dynamic thermal modelling and building services strategy reports to demonstrate compliance with regulatory authorities such as local councils, planning and building control, BREEAM assessors and fire offices. Our design and consultancy service ensures that your construction project adheres to the latest Building Regulations criteria, whilst also keeping cost and efficiency in mind.
Local Support
Fowler Clark are a proud sponsor of Sutton and Epsom Rugby Football Club. We believe that supporting local clubs gives something back to the community and all the amazing volunteers that give up their valuable time.
Please contact us for more information:
Email: jim@fowlerclark.com
jon@fowlerclark.com
Tel: Jim: 07540 129232
Jon: 07815 908084
www.fowlerclark.com
Nightingale House, 46-48 East Street, Epsom, Surrey, England, KT17 1HQ
Office banter
Dan Soanes
Director, Solicitor
An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar and engage in some innocent banter.
But if they are colleagues going to the bar after work, then banter based on national stereotypes could be anything but innocent and could result in costly employment tribunal claims, as well as serious reputational damage for their employer.
Good natured teasing can turn sour if it suddenly has the label “racial harassment” attached to it.
This may seem to some like an overreaction, but the law does give employees and workers - such as agency workers - a right to sue their employers if they are subjected to jokes and comments on the grounds of race which they feel have created an offensive environment for them. For these purposes, “race” includes nationality, so jokes about Englishmen, Irishmen and Scotsmen could all qualify as harassment on the grounds of race.
The same applies to jokes and comments shared between colleagues on the grounds of other protected characteristics - sex, disability, sexual orientation, religious or philosophical beliefs, gender reassignment and age.
Employers are liable for the acts of their workers and employees which take place in the course of employment, so it is the employer who ends up being sued, although the perpetrator can also be named as a joint respondent. And, as many employers have found to their cost, this can extend to conversations which take place between colleagues after work and even in WhatsApp exchanges if they are linked to employment. The employer would not be liable for comments made during an entirely private conversation between two colleagues who happened to meet up over the weekend, but with more employees working from home and more work-based communications taking place outside of work hours, even that distinction can become blurred.
So, what can the employer do to protect itself? At a basic level, having a policy dealing with workplace harassment will help, but it will do little on its own. Regular training is vital – in one recent employment tribunal, training which had taken place two years previously was described as “stale”. Most importantly line managers need to be trained and empowered to deal with potential issues on a day to day basis and speak to the perpetrators to nip them in the bud. The line between friendly banter and harassment is easily crossed – and it is one which can be hard to see. Indeed, to a large extent, it depends on the sensitivities of the person who brings the claim.
To someone who isn’t familiar with employment law, this level of protection can seem inexplicable and unfair on employers. Citizens are not usually legally protected against being offended. The police will not rush to call outs involving reports of crass, insensitive jokes in a public area.
But the workplace is – rightly - different. Workers have a right to come to work and not made to feel humiliated or degraded on the grounds of their race, gender, etc, and employers are responsible for ensuring that this is the case.
To ensure your workplace is free of inappropriate workplace banter, and your employees know where to draw the line you may wish to consider one of our online training courses covering the basics of Equality and Diversity with a focus on Office Banter.
Please visit www.sherrardsacademy.com or contact academy@sherrardslaw.com for full details.
