A ‘Distinction’ for Katie and a triumph for Vic

Anyone who turned down the generous (free) invitation for APA members’ to attend the Hays PA Conference on Friday not only missed an outstanding event but also missed a demonstration of great organisation and polished delivery by the Chairperson, Victoria Darragh FAPA.

All PAs are great organisers but Vic managed to engender a sense of professionalism and fun into the day; which made it quite special. I and all the attendees would like to send Vic and her PA network a round of applause and our admiration. Well done to all involved – especially Hays who funded the event.

One of the highlights for APA was the presentation, by APA Directors Emma Kernan-Staines and Laura Richardson to Lucy Manning who recently attained a ‘Pass with Distinction’ in the PA Diploma (DipPA). Katie is an exceptional PA and joins the PA Elite who hold this very rare Award at this grade. Well done Katie.

Shown in the group are some of the APA Members attending the event: Claire Howard, Joan May, Sam Herridge, Terry Benson, Laura Richardson, Lisa Fawcett, Katie Manning, Jenni Newman, Tina Skilton, Anuszka Elland and Emma Kernan-Staines.

APA

More Diploma entrants

The flow of PAs undertaking the APA Diploma in Personal Assistance (DipPA) is growing every month as it becomes the professional qualification of choice amongst PAs and HR departments committing to PA Training. October has been one of the busiest on record for the professional body with courses running in UK and international locations.

Shown left are the latest attendees at PA programmes starting in the UK and Finland. Shown (L-R) are:

Left: Ann Haynes, Anuszka Elland, Claire Verrall and Jayne Pearson. Right: Ilta Fisk, Lahja Halvari, Elina Karvonen and Maaria Hanninen.

APA

Bespoke and tailored for PAs

Last week saw the first of the APA round of autumn and winter Roadshows around the country with a host of different topics and sponsors.

With the number of women rising to board and executive level [Although still too low], the first event was generously and jointly hosted by the world’s leading cloth suppliers, Holland and Sherry and the pioneer of women’ tailoring, Carol Alayne of Tailoring for Women.

Carol described the hand-crafted process and the benefits of high quality tailoring and kindly compared it to the tailored training courses from APA for PAs. Each intended to exceed the need and last a life time.

Members greatly enjoyed the experience of a contemporary exposure to bespoke tailoring and couture design in the friendly environment of Holland & Sherry’s interim offices in Barclay Square; while there historic offices in Savile Row are being refurbished.

Pictured (left): APA Director Emma Kernan-Staines with Claire Howard, (centre) Lindsay Taylor & Nicolas Guilbaud of Holland and Sherry, Carol Alayne of Tailoring for Women and Gareth Osborne of APA, (right) Members check-out the cloths.

APA

The Diplomas keep on coming

Another group of exceptional PAs have successfully passed their APA Diploma examinations this week and joined the elite group of over 400 PAs with the professional designation DipPA after their name.

Places remain available for Diploma programmes starting in November and December and APA has recently announced (see below) its 2012 series of dates around the country.

Achieving success were (L-R): Tania Saunders, Natalie Thomas, Stacey Grant, Susan Ahmed, Heather Senu, Catherine Dernulc and Maria Marsh and Mary Brannigan.

APA

London and Midland PA courses

Concurrent ‘PA Professional’ programmes where running in the UK last week with delegates from the south coming together in London and from the north in Birmingham.

APA Director General said: October is always a busy month for training, qualifications and other APA activities. Last week it was a combination of training and a one day conference in Taunton, Somerset and this week it is international training in Finland and Germany with a members’ meeting in London.”

APA training and qualification programmes run through October. November and December and some places are still available. For larger businesses and organisations APA can offer tailored programmes and in-house training; as it has for the NHS recently.

Shown left are (L-R): Brit Norman, Helen Goland, Debbie Ansett and Marsha Thomas-Witt.

Shown right are: (L-R): Josephine Kirby, Denise Cassie and Melanie Lawrence.

APA

APA announces 2012 qualification dates

APA has today announced the dates for its PA qualification courses in 2012; there are over 120 dates available to members and non-members alike across the UK, with more than 40 being at training venues in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast.

The programme includes the PA Apprentice programme. PA Professional to CertPA and the Diploma in Personal Assistance (DipPA) and PA as a Manager programme. All courses are accredited and count as credits towards the APA and Middlesex University BA and MA Degree programme.

APA members receive a highly advantageous saving on all courses, with as much as a £500 + VAT saving (ten times the average membership fee) on the Diploma programme alone

Some dates across the UK are still available for 2011 and booking can be made by calling 07817 776134 or emailing training@paprofessional.com.

For more details go to: http://www.paprofessional.com/index.php?id=984

APA

The equality we didn't want

As the Government's new Pensions Bill get closer to its final reading in Parliament, here’s a quick guide to what's been said, and what these changes could mean for you.

An increase in the State Pension Age - The first key reform in this Bill is the increase in the State Pension Age; this is different from, and not linked to the Default Retirement Age, it is the age at which eligible people begin to receive their state pensions.

How the changes will be brought through - Under the current rules, the State Pension Age for women is in the process of rising from 60 to 65 to equalise with men; and then state pension age for both men and women was due to increase from 65 to 66 between 2024 and 2026. The Pensions Bill is bringing forward the timing of equalisation and the rise in the State Pension Age from 65 to 66 for both men and women.

Under the new legislation, women’s state pension age will reach 65 by November 2018.

The rise from 65 to 66 for both men and women will happen more slowly than the Government had originally planned and will be complete by October 2020.

The Government's change will lead to an earlier state pension age for just under half a million people. It particularly affects women born in 1953 and 1954 many of whom previously faced a delay of up to 2 years before they could claim their state pension.

APA is appalled that UK Government can equalise pensions; disadvantaging women, while they still struggle to address the lifelong wage imbalances between men and women (but then the Minister for Women [Home Secretary, Theresa May], is still focused on cats!).

APA

You're my favourite!

According to a study of more than 1,000 employers by an HR consultancy, almost a third of respondents admit that they ‘favour’ certain members of their staff more than others; due mostly to these employees having a ‘stronger work ethic’.

Of the 31% cent, around18% cent say that their ‘loyalty to the company’ was why they favoured them and a further 11% say they favour them because of their ‘sense of humour in the work place’. 25% said they ‘just liked their personality.’

All respondents were asked if they felt that they had ‘personal friendships’ with any members of their team, to which just under two thirds, 61 per cent, said ‘Yes’. While in contrast, only 27% stated that they were not friends with any of their employees.

 
Gareth Osborne of APA said: “There are very few reasons to go out to work and I always list money, money, fun and money as the first four. People do make friends and definitely have favourites. It’s the reason that some people work more closely than others and justifies why the PA and Boss relationship, in many cases, is so strong. It is much more complex than the HR survey suggests and should be embraced and not avoided at all cost as the report concludes.

APA

Stress-related absences

Stress is, for the first time, the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for employees, according to this year's CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey.
A link between job security and mental health problems is also revealed in the survey. Employers planning to make redundancies in the next six months are significantly more likely to report an increase in mental health problems among their staff (51% compared with 32% who are not planning redundancies).

There is a particular increase in stress-related absence among public sector organisations, with 50% of these respondents reporting an increase. They identify the amount of organisational change and restructuring as the number one cause of stress at work, highlighting the impact of public sector cuts to jobs, pension benefits and pay freezes. Job insecurity is also reported as a more common cause of work-related stress in the public sector this year (24%) compared with last year (10%) and is higher than in the private (14%) and non-profit sectors (14%).

Overall employee absence levels have remained static at 7.7 days per employee per year. Public sector absence has decreased from 9.6 days per employee per year last year to 9.1 days this year and private sector absence has increased from 6.6 days in 2010 to 7.1 days in this year's survey. The trends in absence levels appear to reflect the relative fortunes of these sectors. Although overall absence levels show little change, the proportion of absence that is stress-related has increased. Nearly four in ten (39%) employers report an increase in stress-related absence, compared to just 12% reporting a decrease.

APA

More PAs in Training

Another group of ambitious PAs entered Module 2 of the APA Diploma programme today and made the first step towards to this prestigious award. This will result in them taking the Diploma test tomorrow and awaiting the result of the Panel of Members convened to judge their entry and commitment during their work towards the Diploma. Results are expected in October.

Show (L-R) are: Tania Saunders, Natalie Thomas, Stacey Grant, Susan Ahmed, Heather Senu and Catherine Dernulc.

APA

Doubling the period for unfair dismissal

British business could save £6 million a year from changes to unfair dismissal laws that will come into effect next year, the government claims. Under reforms announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable and Chancellor George Osborne, the qualification period for the right to claim unfair dismissal will be doubled so that an employee must have worked for a company at least two years rather than one.

These changes follow the ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’ consultation, which was published in January this year and proposed measures to encourage early resolution of disputes, and are part of the government’s workplace reforms. The reforms aim to increase business confidence to take on more staff and it is felt that the new proposals will see the number of unfair dismissal claims drop by around 2,000 a year.

Cable remarks, ‘Businesses tell us that unfair dismissal rules are a major barrier to taking on more people.’ ‘We have one of the most flexible labour markets in the world, but there is more we can do to give British business the confidence it needs to create more jobs and support the wider economy to grow.’

Over the past 18 months the government has started the Employment Law Review, a review of all aspects of employment law, and these particular changes to unfair dismissal laws will come into force on 6 April, 2012. APA supports the review and any future amendments that make implementation easier and less bureaucratic.

APA

Eurozone sinks further in September

Manufacturing in the Euro-one shrank at its fastest pace in two years in September, a Markit’s business survey has shown. This is the second consecutive month that eurozone manufacturing has shrunk.

Greece, the focal point of the eurozone's debt crisis, saw its output contract for the 25th consecutive month. "Manufacturers are reporting the worst business conditions for over two years, facing a combination of lacklustre domestic demand and falling export sales," said Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist.

The region has been weighed down as leaders struggle to prove that heavily indebted countries, led by Greece, will be able to avoid defaulting on their debts. This has led to bailouts for Greece, the Irish Republic and Portugal - but the crisis has continued and has weighed on bonds and stocks globally.

Even in Germany, the engine of European economic growth, Markit's survey showed factory activity has come to a standstill.

 
APA

And finally - Belfast

After two years of trying APA has now populated the UK with training locations and has finally delivered its first course in Northern Ireland.

Flying in from Luton to deliver the course, APA DG, Gareth Osborne said: "I am thrilled to be in Belfast and delivering a Diploma programme to a small but highly committed and professional group of PAs. I hope this is the first of many journeys I will be making to Northern Ireland. I have always loved the region and, as a Welshman, am happy that we have finally provided training across the UK."

Attendees were (L-R): Andrea Stewart, Brian Forsythe and Julie Maitland.

APA

New Diploma Awards and Entrants

Recently announced are Diploma awards; for Left: Audrey Stwart, Centre (L:R):Sukhi Kaur, Katie Manning and Jenni Newman.

New to the Diploma programme are : Right (L:R): Mary Brannigan, Jo Hawes, Heather Senu and Catherine Dernulc.

APA

Diplomas for the North and North East

With a busy Leeds City Centre in the background, Gareth Osborne, Director General of APA, presented Diplomas to successful northern candidates from Leeds and Newcastle recently.

Among the group are Distinction awardees Tara Chase and Emma Henry.

See (L-R) are: Karen Wright, Gaynor Butterwick, Gareth Osborne, Tara Chase and Emma Henry.

APA

National Minimum Wage Increase

The National Minimum Wage is the minimum amount that workers in the UK are entitled to be paid per hour.

On 1 October, this will increase by the following amounts:

·    The rate for workers aged 21 and over will increase from £5.93 to £6.08

·    The rate for workers aged 18 – 20 will increase from £4.92 to £4.98

·    The rate for workers aged 16 – 17 who are above school leaving age but under 18 will increase from £3.64 to £3.68

·    The rate for apprentices who are under 19 or 19 or over in their first year of apprenticeship will increase to from £2.50 to £2.60

APA

New retirement regulations from 1st October

The last day employees can be compulsorily retired using the DRA has passed and, from 1 October, employers will not be able to use the DRA to compulsorily retire employees.

In limited circumstances, employers will still be able to operate an employer-justified retirement age but such compulsory retirement ages are, in practice, very difficult to justify.

After 1 October 2011 and in the absence of an employer-justified retirement age, employers will only be able to dismiss an older employee by following a fair dismissal procedure and relying on one of the fair reasons for dismissal set out in section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (such as conduct, capability or redundancy). Employers risk age discrimination and unfair dismissal claims if they do not follow a fair dismissal procedure.

APA

Agency Workers - new regulations apply

Saturday 1st October sees the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR). These new regulations will see flexible workers becoming entitled to the same pay and treatment as the permanent staff they are working alongside, once they have been in the same role for 12 weeks.

The purpose of the Directive is to provide temporary agency workers with equal treatment in terms of basic working and employment conditions as if they had been employed directly to do the same job. Equal treatment under the Directive as reflected in the Regulations relates to basic working and employment conditions, those being: pay; working hours; overtime; breaks; rest periods; holidays; and access to training and collective facilities, such as childcare.

Today is a significant day for employers who use temporary workers and the recruitment industry that places them. For after years of tireless campaigning in Brussels and Westminster the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) finally go live.

In the view of REC (the recruitment industry professional body) and APA, the Regulations are a sledgehammer to crack a nut and may cost UK employers over £2 billion a year in additional employment costs.

Gareth Osborne of APA said: “The implementation of the Directive will have major implications on the costs and use of agency workers and could severely damage available opportunities for workers already facing redundancy. Temporary work has historically been seen as a way back into work – alas, no more.”

“APA members should be aware that from today all agency workers (temps) must be paid at the same rate as the person they are replacing or covering for after 12 weeks of engagement.”

 
APA

Starting a business abroad

Seven in ten expat entrepreneurs believe they have achieved more by starting up a business abroad, research finds.

Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA are rated as the top three countries for nurturing enterprise, while Spain, UAE and China are the worst, according to NatWest International’s Personal Banking Quality of Life Index.

The study, in conjunction with The Centre of Future Studies, highlights the extent to which countries promote entrepreneurialism by making it easy for expats to do business. More than three quarters (78 per cent) of expat entrepreneurs believe faster growth is one of the major advantages of running their business abroad. A further 74 per cent believe access to cheaper resources is a real advantage and for 65 per cent it is the tax incentives that are the big draw.

When it comes to disadvantages, seven in ten (71 per cent) believe foreign regulations and standards are a hindrance.

Dave Isley, head of NatWest International Personal Banking says, ‘Setting up your own business can be difficult and you would imagine doing so abroad would be a task for the brave. A new breed of entrepreneurs is emerging and it is encouraging to see that the ‘21st pioneers’ are thriving in foreign climes. It is interesting the see that Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA are fruitful entrepreneurial countries according to the index yet China and UAE rank so low. Given the current economical climate, it is no surprise that expat entrepreneurs in Portugal, Spain and France do not feel they have a positive business outlook.’

When thinking about their business in the next three years, 22 per cent of expats consider the prospects for their business in the next three years to be excellent or very good and over half (55.8 per cent) rate their prospects as good.

APA