2015 september comply at work newsletter

Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503

Comply at Work safety snippets & business bytes Upcoming Courses

P2-3

Self-employed - do I have duties

P4-5

HRMC - hello - is anybody there?

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In the Spotlight

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September 2015

P2 | Safety Snippets

Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

Comply at Work OUR UPCOMING TRAINING COURSES….

Ask us about our special offers: Pick n mix sessions, free seminars and discounts for retained clients.

3 Day Full First Aid Qualification 28/29 & 30 September Tues 6 October One Day Emergency First Aid Tues 13 October Fire Warden training 9.00 – 12.00 Tues 3 November One day Emergency First Aid Manual Handling and Asbestos Awareness Friday pm 23 October CIEH level 2 Award in Health & Safety Date TBC Places go quickly, so don’t delay, call us now to book your place.

e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk

Safety Snippets | P3

Sn Saf ip ety pe ts P4 | Safety Snippets

Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

Comply at Work

Self-employed do I have duties?

In 2011, the Löfstedt Review recommended that those selfemployed whose work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others should be exempt from health and safety law. This recommendation was accepted by Government.

So, from 1 October 2015, if you are self-employed and your work activity poses no potential risk to the health and safety of other workers or members of the public, then health and safety law will not apply to you.

We estimate that health and safety law will no longer apply to 1.7 million self-employed people like novelists, journalists, graphic designers, accountants, confectioners, financial advisors and online traders.

High risk activities The law says that there are certain work activities where the law applies because they are high risk. If your work involves any of these activities, then the law will apply to you:

LINKS LINKS

• Agriculture

What the law says

• Construction

The basics for your business

• Gas

How to control risks

• Railways • Asbestos • GMOs

As always, if you are in need of any advice or support, please get in touch.

e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk

Safety Snippets | P5

Bu By sin te ess s P6 | Safety Snippets

Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503

Comply at Work

HMRC - hello, is anybody there?

Following damning statistics showing record delays, HMRC’s phone services are to be improved. In the meantime is there a way to get a quicker response?

Automated chaos. If you’ve phoned HMRC recently you’ll know about the mostly useless automated messages and the endless menus that follow. You might even have heard “We are currently experiencing high call volumes please try later...” click! Or been left hanging on the line so long that you start to wonder if there’s anyone there. Frustratingly this is now the norm rather than the exception.

Tip 1.

Statistics. You can’t have missed the press headlines announcing that nearly 50% of calls to HMRC go unanswered. It’s a scandal that’s gone on for too long and the government has bowed to pressure and agreed to commit £45 million to improve matters. But it won’t happen overnight.So here are a few tips to help you keep your sanity in the meantime.

Don’t call if you don’t need to. If you’re just notifying HMRC of a new address or another non-urgent matter, write instead.

Call between 8.00am and 11.00am on weekdays or try HMRC’s e-mail services which are more efficient. Write a letter for non-urgent matters and as a last resort get your accountant to call instead.

Pick your time. If possible aim to call between 8.00am and 11.00am on weekdays. This is apparently the least busy time for calls. Avoid calling near closing time, which on weekdays is 8.00pm.

Tip 2.

Tip 3.

Use e-mail where possible. HMRC has a few dedicated e-mail services for handling certain types of question ranging from tax code queries to VAT. You’ll receive a speedier response than a letter, plus you usually receive an immediate acknowledgment meaning HMRC can’t issue its stock excuse of “Oh! we didn’t get your letter, send it again please.”

Tip 4.

As a last resort ask your accountant to call for you.

They can call HMRC’s agent priority line . This has more available manpower dedicated to it, but isn’t intended for use by the public. But remember that your accountant’s time is your money.

Source FL memo

e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk

Business Bytes | P7

Comply at Work

in the spotlight Congratulations to the following clients who have achieved recent accreditations with our assistance: JCW Floor Screening SMAS P & J Electrical SMAS Aim Plastering Ltd SMAS G William Joinery Ltd CHAS Welcome to our new clients this month: Plumb Factory Ltd, Horwich Clean Reach NW Ltd, Leigh Shahina Textiles, Bolton Rakem Ltd

Congratulations to Air Vault – the new Trampoline Park opening in October in Westhoughton, Bolton. They are training their staff with us in First aid, Emergency First and Health and Safety level 2.

Well done to all staff at Nexus in Radcliife who recently attended the Emergency First Aid training on site and passed the exam.

Well done to all delegates on the CIEH Level 2 award in Health and Safety – all passed the course and feedback was excellent. A small but lively group! Our next course will runs in the Autumn. Date to be confirmed.

Congratulations to Lyons Stonework of Ramsbottom and BounceBack Safety Surface Ltd of Colne, who have put their Managers and Supervisor through the CITB SMSTS /SSTS training this month.

We would be grateful if you could give us a like and share our company Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Comply-At-WorkLtd/278727748906810?fref=ts

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