Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503
Comply at Work safety snippets & business bytes Upcoming Training First Aid Box Accident Investigation Unnecessary Health & Safety
P3 P11 P5 P6-7
Looking Beyond a Stressful Event
P8
Email Security
P9
Keep It Simple
P10-11
In the Spotlight
P12
April 2014
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts
Business Club sails into clear water BOLTON Sailing Club has successfully secured its future with the signing of a new 25-year lease. The club, which operates on the 40 hectare reservoir at Belmont, has secured the new lease with United Utilities for continued use of its present site, when the current lease expires in 2015. The deal, brokered with the help of local law firm KBL Solicitors, now means the clubhouse will undergo considerable improvement thanks to recently secured funding which will also fund repairs to the jetties damaged in recent high winds. Founded in 1952, Bolton Sailing Club is one of the longest established in the North West and now has more than 250 members. Helen Marsh, property specialist at KBL Solicitors said: “The new lease provides tremendous security for the club and will be welcoming news to the members.” Bolton Sailing Club will host an open day on Saturday, May 17, and welcome members of the public interested in knowing more about what it has to offer. Affiliated to the Royal Yachting Association and currently holding Champion Club status, the club provides sailing lessons as well as dinghy and powerboat training.
PROFITS
Legal cheer RESEARCH From the Law Society’s Law Management Section reveals that North West legal firms have experienced increases in profitability. Another key finding suggests a need for firms to refocus on ensuring their long-term financial stability. The survey also shows that fee income for law firms increased by an average 4.1pc in 2013.
P2 | Safety Snippets
with Nick Jackson
Tel 01204 537244
Email nick.jackson@theboltonnews.co.uk
SAFETY
JOBS
‘Accident’ led to a healthy future!
Interview skills ‘vital’
■ 10th anniversary for firm which started ‘by chance’ A HEALTH and safety company that started life in the corner of a Bolton bedroom 10 years ago is celebrating its anniversary by expanding its business. Sue Scott created Comply at Work, helping start-up companies to be compliant with health and safety legislation, from home in 2004. She said: “It all began by accident, really, as a couple of companies asked for my help with problems they were experiencing, and it went from there.”
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Having my own training room was something I planned
REVENUE
Duty move to fuel economy
Sue Scott of Comply at Work outside her Horwich premises
Sue Scott
Ms Scott won two prestigious awards for national examinations in Occupational Health and Safety, and is a graduate member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and a Fellow of the Institution of International Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM). She holds several qualifications covering areas of expertise in her field, is a registered trainer and her business is also a training centre for training awarding bodies. Over the past decade, Ms Scott has built up her company with clients all over the North West.
JOBLESS young people in Bolton could significantly improve their chances of employment by honing their interview skills, a new poll has revealed. The Institute of Commercial Management’s (ICM) study points out 54 per cent of employers hired young people because they were well prepared for the interview. The results of the national survey have been released by the National Apprenticeship Service. Two in every five of all employers said they would be more likely to recruit a young person or school leaver who had done at least six weeks’ high quality work experience.
Services include policy development, noise, risk assessment and hazardous substances. More recently, she moved into new premises in Mason Street, Horwich, creating an accessible business base just near to the motorway system. She has also created an extension at the rear of the building to house a bright, contemporary training room which is already proving popular with clients, especially for firstaid training courses. “Having my own training room was something I always planned to do,” added Ms Scott. “The business has become very
busy — we’ve picked up 10 new clients since the start of the year — so it made sense to put on in-house training. “But I’m also able to offer out the facilities and meeting room at a reasonable rate to other companies and organisations for their training or staff days offsite.” The room caters for meetings of up to 20 delegates with a variety of up-to-date equipment like a ceiling-mounted projector, speakers, wi-fi and a large magnetic glass board plus flip charts and other training aids available.
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
There is also a reception area for breaks and lunches, and Comply includes refreshments in the hire cost and provide quality catering using a local company. As well as this latest development at the company’s base, Comply has also taken on a new office manager and an IT graduate to cope with the burgeoning business. “It’s amazing that it all started in such a low-key way,” said Ms Scott. “But I’m delighted that we have done so well, and plan to expand both the business and premises even more in the future.”
HALTING fuel duty rises will boost the economy by up to £7.5 billion over 20 years, according to the Treasury. The Government has stopped planned increases, including one due to come in this month, which means duty is around 20pc lower than it would have been, it said. But around half of the initial lost revenue to the Exchequer as a result of the changes will be generated through the increased growth, its analysis found. The research plots out the expected impact of policy on the long-term growth of the British economy.
TravelMoney Australia 1.74 Canada 1.77 Denmark 8.76 Egypt 10.65 Eurozone 1.18 Hong Kong 12.47 Israel 5.46 Japan 163.24 Kenya 134.45 Mexico 20.58
N.Zealand 1.86 Pakistan 120.79 Singapore 2.00 S.Africa 16.88 Sweden 10.49 Switzerland 1.43 Thailand 50.89 Turkey 3.39 USA 1.63
Comply at Work UPCOMING TRAINING
Tuesday 29th April
CIEH Level 2 Award in Health and Safety One day – Accredited course With Certification and course book plus quality buffet lunch Recommended for all employees and Supervisors, managers or Health and Safety Reps.
Tuesday 6 May
Emergency First Aid Level 2 One day – Accredited course With Certification and quality Buffet Lunch £85.00 plus VAT
Call us for further information and costings. Discounts are available for some of our courses. Don’t delay as places are taken quickly!
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P3
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts
Can you stock plasters in a first aid box? Issue An employee had cut her finger in the workplace and a colleague tried to obtain a plaster from the first aid kit but there were none. The employee asked a manager if they could restock them but she replied that due to health and safety reasons i.e. allergies, plasters were no longer supplied for the first aid kit. The employee has since heard of other cases in workplaces that will not stock plasters in their first aid kits for similar reasons. Could you please confirm if this is just another myth.
Answer There is no health and safety regulation which bans the provision of plasters, in fact HSE’s own guidance recommends that a first aid box should stock plasters. If the concern is about the small risk of allergic reaction to some types of plaster then this can be easily managed by stocking the hypoallergenic variety or simply asking the person being treated if they are allergic to plasters before they are applied. Source: HSE
Source: Indicator
P4 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION Q&A - where did the inspector go? Q. About six months ago there was an accident on our site. Unfortunately, it was serious enough to attract the attention of an inspector from our local authority. During an initial meeting he implied that his investigation could result in us being prosecuted for breaching health and safety legislation. However, he’s now gone quiet on the matter. Can we hope that he’s changed his mind? Should we contact them to check what’s going on? A. Don’t panic, this is normal practice. When an inspector investigates an incident such as this they have to inform you that their investigation could result in enforcement action being taken. However, they won’t necessarily follow through. During the initial meeting, the inspector will have gathered the evidence needed to identify whether you were at fault. If they conclude that you were, enforcement action is a distinct possibility, if not, then it should be the end of the matter. Don’t worry about the lack of contact, this is quite usual. Inspectors like to leave you dangling. It’s a trick they use to keep you on your toes - and encourage you to put more effort into managing health and safety risks in the future. Therefore, don’t contact them.
Tip. If you’ve completed any work to prevent a recurrence on your property, keep a paper trail. Then, if the inspector does come back, you’ll be able to show that you’re on top of the situation and don’t need to be kept under supervision. An inspector will tell you that you could face enforcement action following an accident. However, it doesn’t mean that this is a certainty. If you hear nothing more, don’t worry. They don’t have to tell you that they’re not taking further action.
Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P5
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts
Date: 27 February 2014 A new survey has revealed the lengths some small firms mistakenly go to trying to comply with health and safety. One business completed a risk assessment for using a tape measure and another introduced written guidelines for walking up stairs. These bizarre and unnecessary actions were uncovered by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is encouraging small and medium sized employers to use its free online tools and guidance, specifically designed to help them get their risk management right. The H&S ABC provides simple information to help small firms save time, effort and money by identifying the things they really do and don’t need to do. HSE’s survey shows how myths about health and safety could cause unnecessary confusion and flagged some of the most absurd things employers had been advised to do. One in five people (22 per cent) surveyed believed they weren’t capable of managing health and safety themselves and needed to hire a specialist consultant. Eleven percent believed that a qualified electrician must test electrical appliances, such as kettles and toasters, every year – another persistent myth. Nearly a third of small businesses surveyed classed themselves as ‘hopeful-have-a-go’s’ when it came to health and safety – aware they have to take some action but unsure where to start or if what they are doing is correct.
P6 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Revealed: The unnecessary safety measures wasting business’ time and money HSE’s small business lead Kate Haire said: “Health and safety is all about taking reasonable steps to manage serious risks of ill-health and injury in the workplace. If something sounds completely unreasonable, more often than not it will be totally unnecessary too. “What’s great about H&S ABC is that it contains all the information smaller businesses need to know to manage health and safety sensibly and comply with the law. It highlights the real risks in a workplace and how to put reasonable precautions in place. “We have worked with some key industry partners who have regular contact with SMEs to make them aware of the benefits of using the free online tools and guidance HSE has to offer. We hope employers will realise health and safety does not have to be complicated or cost lots of money.” John Allan, National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The fear factor forces many businesses to adopt unnecessary health and safety procedures which costs time and money. So to introduce a new resource to give small businesses a way of clearly identifying guidance and information designed for them can only be a good initiative. It’s a tool which will not only help to sense check compliance, it will also avoid ‘gold plating’ and show how health and safety need not be a burden on their business.” Whether a business employs one or two people, or is expanding to multiple locations, the free online guidance will help even complete beginners get health and safety right. Visit www.hse.gov. uk/abc to get started with sensible health and safety. Source HSE
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P7
Bu By sin te ess s
Looking Beyond a Stressful Event If you want to perform well at a forthcoming work or social event but the mere thought of it dries out your mouth and makes your heart beat faster, try looking beyond the event and focus on how good you’ll feel when it’s behind you. Remember too that research has found that if you convince yourself that you’re excited (imagine receiving a positive reaction) rather than anxious before an event, not only will your performance be better but you will also lower your feelings of anxiety. Source: Equilibrium
P8 | Business Bytes
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
E-MAIL - SECURITY How to recognise suspicious e-mails?
Suspicious! What now?
You (or your spam filter) can usually tell real spam messages immediately. However, some phishing e-mails are so cleverly designed that you might have doubts. How can you find out whether a message is suspicious?
Try to confirm your suspicion by checking the following:
Phishing Criminals use “phishing” in order to fish personal information out of you, e.g. your credit card number or PayPal login. You will typically receive an e-mail which appears to have been sent by your bank or PayPal. You’re asked to log in to your account by clicking on the hyperlink in the message, in order to update your data or confirm a money transfer. This link takes you to a fake website which is generally the spitting image of the real one. Unsuspectingly, you then provide your personal details which enables thieves to plunder your bank account. Be wary Be especially on the alert for any e-mail which asks you to log in to one of your accounts. If you receive such a message: check that the message is addressed to you personally. Criminals generally don’t know your name and will therefore start their messages with Dear user or Dear customer
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look at the language used. A message composed in poor English, or one composed in a different language than you’re used to from this sender, are likely to be phishing messages
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be wary when the action you’re asked to undertake is “urgent”, e.g.“Your account will be blocked if you don’t respond within three days.”
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normally speaking, banks will never ask you via e-mail to provide or update personal information. This means that such e-mails are by definition suspicious.
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Where exactly does the message come from? Inspect the “headers” of the message. In Gmail, use the Show Original option in the opened message, in Outlook. com choose View Message Source , in Thunderbird go to View ;Headers ; All , and in Outlook go to File ; Properties . The name and the e-mail address in the From: header provide no conclusive evidence as they can be easily forged. That’s why you should look for lines starting with Received . In the last Received line, you will normally find the domain name from where the message was sent - for more information, see: http:// lifehacker.com/how-can-i-find-out-where-an-emailreally-came-from-1190061668 . If the message is from an obscure foreign site, you can be sure that it’s a phishing e-mail. What does the link in the message really point to? Position the mouse pointer over the link. The status bar at the bottom of your browser will show the real destination of the link. Check whether this corresponds to the sender’s website, e.g. PayPal. Inspect this very carefully, because the differences may be very subtle, for instance paypal.xyz.com instead of paypal.com. Extra tips If you use webmail, Gmail and Outlook.com are very good at recognising phishing, so you may treat messages they send to your spam folder as suspicious. With traditional e-mail software, invest in reliable security software which recognises phishing. If you remain in doubt about a message, simply call the socalled sender or their customer service and ask for confirmation. Be alert to any e-mail which asks you to provide personal details “urgently”. A few simple checks (Who is the sender? Are the links real?) will allow you to confirm that it’s a forged e-mail.
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Source: Indicator
Business Bytes | P9
Bu By sin te ess s
Keep It Simple Simplifying the complex is a critical skill. The better you do it, the easier others find it to understand and engage with your messages. But it doesn’t seem easy. After all, complex things are… well, complex. The good news is: it’s easier than you think. Here’s an example to show what I mean… If you want to be a better networker, it can seem hard to do. There are just so many things to focus on. With something as complex as networking, where do you start? Well fortunately, there are only three things you need to focus on: ●
Preparation before – obtain the Guest List, set your goals, shine your shoes etc
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During – have good conversations with good people
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Follow-up after – proactive, prompt comms with these people, to ensure you achieve your goals
And, to ensure you have good networking conversations at the event? This too could be complex. But it isn’t. In fact, there are only four things that matter: ●
Getting into the conversation
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Asking about them
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Speaking about you
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Closing the conversation
And this first step of networking - getting into a conversation - how to master that? Well, there are only two things that matter: ●
Who to approach; and
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What to say to them
You see, to simplify complex topics - such that people understand the big picture instantly - you only need do two things: 1. Say the word “only” 2. Use a small number Doing this immediately gives your audience context (so they “get it”) and comfort (so they think it’s do-able). See how I did this with all the examples above?
P10 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Keep It Simple (...continued) Even better: it doesn’t always matter how you simplify it. But it matters that you do so. For example, at the top of this Tip, I split communication into three things – before, during and after. Instead, I could have split networking into: face-to-face and online; or
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feel confident on the inside; say the right things on the outside; or
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feel right, look right, speak right
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and so on
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It doesn’t matter. As long as the recipient sees the big picture, you’ve made a great start. And so a question to finish: do you want to be better at simplifying complex messages? If so, the great news is that you only need do these four things when communicating it: Identify the action you want people to take after they have heard your message
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List the topics you need to communicate, to motivate them to take it
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Group these topics into a small number of key areas (ideally 2-3; and definitely no more than five)
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Start by saying the word “only” and the small number
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Action point Find this Tip useful? Great – there are only three things to do (!): Look at this week’s diary
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Identify your first opportunity to simplify a complex message
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Use the steps in this Tip to do so
Source: Andy bounds
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Business Bytes | P11
Comply at Work
spotlight We are celebrating 10 years in business this month! We are featured in a press release in the Bolton News - Read about it here... http://tinyurl.com/kvqkeyz SP GAS North West Ltd has successfully achieved CHAS accreditation with our assistance. They now plan to build on this success by applying for Constructionline status.
Collins Building Solutions has also been successful in acquiring their CHAS certificate for a following yesr, the Assessor made reference to a comprehensive application of a high standard.
Well done to all our Clients!
Comply at Work
a d v e rt ise wit h u s f or u n d er ÂŁ10 p e r m on t h
ALFA JOINERY LTD COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC QUALITY SERVICE AT A COMPETITIVE PRICE
Tel 01204 77 29 77
CONTACT RICK SCOTT ON
mobile 07792 400 503
07808 162098
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk
e-mail:enquiries@alfajoinery.co.uk
www.complyatwork.co.uk
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