Wonderful Wefinda weekly news

(Week ended 01 October 2010)


Regulations change over on the first of October
The 6th April and the 1st October should be ringed in red on all business calendars as these are the two dates when government regulations change. Headline changes this October include the increase in the national minimum wage and the new equality act affecting a range of employment issues. Depending on your industry, other important changes include revised rules for recruitment agencies, new conditions imposed on those serving alcohol and new building regulations on energy conservation and ventilation. If you aren’t sure how the changes will affect you, check with your local business link.

What do you insure against?
Ask anyone to name the top ten reasons for insurance claims in the world in the last decade and most would put 9/11 at the top of the list. Zurich North America has put together its own list based on lives lost, business impact and geographic spread. Included in the list alongside 9/11 are natural disasters such as the Icelandic volcano, floods in Pakistan, the earthquake in China, the Boxing Day tsunami and the 2005 hurricane season. Pandemics make their mark with last year’s swine flu and the 2003 SARS epidemic whilst the worldwide financial crash also takes its place in the top ten. Finally, the 2003 power failure in North America and Canada enters the top ten with an estimated 55 million people affected by loss of power and water.

Keeping your staff loyal
A recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development suggests that a third of all employees plan to change firms as soon as the job market improves. One way to help keep your staff loyal may be to offer financial advice as part of the benefits package. A recent survey by Scottish Widows concludes that four in ten employees would like pension related advice whilst 25% would like advice on other finance matters.

So, what do we have to look forward to?
With a 24 hours strike starting on the London tube on Sunday, London businesses can expect the usual transport disruption on Monday and into early Tuesday with staff unable to attend work and deliveries affected.

The Commonwealth games finally gets underway and it won’t be long before the spotlight transfers to the London 2012 Olympic Games. There are still plenty of contracts up for grabs and small businesses are being urged to apply. Check out the official website here http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/business-network/index.php

And finally
Help is on hand for those rural businesses that fear they are being ignored by the police. The Lincolnshire force has added a tractor to their fleet of response vehicles. The tractor, complete with flashing blue light and full police paint job will patrol agricultural events to promote the Lincolnshire Farm and Country Business Watch scheme.