Public employees pull fewer 'sickies'

Public sector employees are less likely to take sickness absence than their private sector counterparts, a new study has indicated. Research conducted by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveals that while government employees are more likely to take extended periods off work, short-term 'sickies' are far more common within private companies.

The study found that within the last month, more than one in five public sector workers have been to work when they were really too ill to do so. A further 41 per cent have gone into work poorly during the last year, compared to just 36 per cent of private sector employees, according to the research.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said people often talk about a 'sicknote culture' in the UK, but workers regularly go into work when they should not. They do this - not because they are afraid of their boss - but because they know they do vital jobs in over-stretched workplaces," he stated. "Of course positive sickness absence policies are important in the public and private sectors. But there is most to gain from tackling the causes of absence, particularly stress, and helping people return to work."

The government is in the process of introducing fit notes to the UK workplace, which detail the tasks an individual is capable of conducting during periods of illness or injury.

Gareth, APA.

Dressing for work is a taxing dilemma

Nothing too racy, dull, scruffy or posh and please don't attract comment or clash with the sofa. Frankly, it is a weekday wardrobe dilemma that nobody would wish for, and certainly not if their working day started at 4am. Breakfast presenter Sian Williams has been refused a tax rebate on her work clothes by HMRC. Judge Christopher Staker saw fit to deny her £1,800 rebate on the £4,500 she spends on her appearance because he thinks it is impossible to divide the business and private benefit of the expenditure.

When Natasha Kaplinksy moved to Channel Five she was said to have received an allowance of thousands of pounds. Rachel Riley of Countdown was reportedly given a £10,000 allowance and a stylist to advise her on what to buy. And Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue are reported to have been given ‘substantial’ clothing allowances for ‘X’ Factor. During the US presidential election, Republican Sarah Palin was vilified for her $150,000 (£98,500) allowance for clothes, hair and makeup. While here, Sarah Brown has no allowance; instead she hires clothes from her favourite designers for public functions, which are paid for with her own money.

Even those who are not in the public eye sometimes get an allowance as a perk of the job. Many fashion companies give their staff a clothing allowance, and it is not uncommon for top PAs, especially those who meet clients, to be given an annual amount to spend on business clothes.

APA supports this benefit and believes it should be totally allowable for tax purposes; after all who wants to wear a stuffy work suit after work (unless for the occasional funeral). APA will be following this up with HMRC and looking to make tax free clothing allowances a norm for PA employment contracts.

Shelley, APA

Based on an article in the Guardian today

More Degrees than a thermometer!

In a week when final-year university students turn their attention to jobhunting during the Easter break, a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) finds that nearly six in ten (59%) of employees who graduated in the last two years are not currently working in a field or profession related to the degree they studied.

The survey, Focus on graduate jobs, which is based on responses from more than 700 graduates in employment, comes against the backdrop of Government pledges to significantly increase - to 75% - the proportion of young people they want to secure a degree or equivalent level qualification.
In addition, the survey, conducted for the CIPD by YouGov, finds that among graduates not working in a field related to the degree they studied:

• 58% of those who graduated in the last two years said this was because they were unable to find a suitable job

• 28% said that their degree did not equip them with the skills that they need for the workplace

• 21% of recent graduates chose a new career path after finishing their degree

• 24% had since decided to postpone the start of the careers entirely

The figures raise questions over the Government's continued efforts to expand enrolment on university degrees, and their desire to chase the new 75% target for young people to be educated up to degree level, particularly at a time when the UK labour market has contracted significantly.

APA employment spokesperson Faye Crisp added, “A significant number of business graduates are known to have taken jobs as a PA to enter companies at a level where they will gain a broad level of exposure to business practice and access to senior staff. While this is commendable the Government does need to look again at it targets and make moves to improve its vocational qualifications to ensure they meet the needs of employers.”

APA hopes to launch its first Degree in PA Practice in late 2010.

Gareth, APA (for Faye Crisp FAPA)

Let the plane take the strain!

Private flying has never been a viable alternative to the car for business use; until now that is. Although someway off, it seems that one US Company may be achieving a practical solution and has created a real 'flyng car'.

Every pilot faces uncertain weather, rising costs, and ground transportation hassles on each end of the flight. But the solution is in sight and the long held dream of many; literally to fly-drive, may soon come true if progress continues to be made by US aircraft manufacturer, Terrafugia Inc. of Woburn, MA. It’s state-of-the-art personal aircraft, The Transition® Roadable Aircraft, developed by Terrafugia’s award-winning MIT-trained engineers, combines the unique convenience of being able to fold its wings with the ability to drive on any surface road in a modern personal airplane platform. Stowing the wings for road use and deploying them for flight at the airport is activated from inside the cockpit. This unique functionality addresses head-on the issues faced by today’s Private and Sport Pilots.

Gareth Osborne, APA’s Director General and himself a former professional pilot, is thrilled by news of the company’s achievements and will be watching their progress carefully. “This ranks with the launch of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space craft and the first flight by a woman pilot in the RAF’s Red Arrows as a major aeronautical achievement. Long may these advances in aviation continue,” he says.

APA

Non-Budget for SMEs

Just one in five small business owners believe the recent Budget will have a significant impact on their firms, a new study has indicated. Research conducted by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) indicates that just 22 per cent are factoring the Budget into their plans for 2010.

Even fewer firms think the general election will make a major difference to their activities – just 19 per cent. The study found that day-to-day concerns are much more likely to be at the forefront of owners' minds, with sales and turnover an emerging issue for 77 per cent, while 71 per cent and 69 per cent respectively said they were thinking about profitability and cash flow. In addition, staffing was said to be a major concern for 60 per cent of business owners.

FPB research manager Thomas Parry said the study pointed to a certain amount of cynicism about this year's Budget. "A lot of business owners are simply presuming that there's going to be another budget straight after the election so they're not paying it too much attention," he added. "The things they are concerned with at the moment are the more pressing issues associated with running a business in a struggling economy."

APA

A 'Robin Hood' Budget

The Budget at a glance>

Economy
• Predicted growth of 1-1.25% in 2010, in line with forecasts.
• Downgrades growth forecast for 2011 to 3-3.5%.
• Deficit £11bn lower in 2009/10 £14bn lower in 2010/11.

Spending
• Spending to increase by 2.2% above inflation 2010/11.
• 15,000 civil servants to be relocated outside London .

Taxes
• Tax allowances for those earning over £100,000 to be gradually removed.
• Inheritance tax threshold frozen for four years.
• Clampdown on tax avoidance to raise £500m, together with new tax agreements with Belize, Grenada and Dominica.
• No current plans for changes to VAT or income tax.

Borrowing
• Borrowing this year forecast to be £167bn - £11bn lower than expected.
• Borrowing to be cut from £163bn in 2010-11 to £74bn by 2014-15.
• Net debt to reach 56% of GDP this year and peak at 78% by the end of the forecast period in 2014-15.

Jobs
• The guarantee of Six month work or training for under 24s extended to 2012.
• Reduction in the amount of time over-65s have to work to receive work credits.

Education
• Funding for 20,000 new university places in science and maths.
• £35m enterprise fund to help university-launched businesses.

Pensions
• Winter fuel allowance rates extended for further year.

Environment
• £2bn investment bank to back low-carbon industries

Duties
• Duty on cider to rise by 10% above inflation from Sunday.
• Wine, beer and spirit duty up 2% a year until 2013.
• Tobacco duty up 1% this year and 2% a year in future years.
• 3p fuel duty rise to be phased in between April and January 2011.

Small businesses
• £2.5bn support for small business to boost skills and innovation.
• One year business rate cut from October to help 500,000 companies.
• Investment allowance for small firms doubled to £100,000.

The full text of the Chancellor’s speech can be found here:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget2010_speech.htm

APA

BCC challenges the Chancellor

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has published its Budget submission to coincide with its annual conference. Key features of the submission – which has been delivered to the chancellor Alistair Darling - include a call for a clear deficit reduction plan that sets out detailed cuts. "This plan must include a freeze in the total public sector wage bill and fundamental reform of public sector pensions," the organisation said.

The BCC has also called on the planned one per cent rise in employer National Insurance Contributions to be scrapped, with an extra penny added to VAT to compensate for the revenue loss.

A three-year moratorium on new employment law is also required, the BCC says, since new legislation will cost a combined £25 billion over this period. Finally, the organisation has called for more support around export trade finance and sustained investment in transport, digital and energy networks.

APA supports BCC in these calls.

APA

Management Rules!

APA passionately believes that PAs are already Managers within their business; after all they manage the working life of the business’s most valuable resource, its Director. However the reality is, and is often missed, that PAs receive little training in management and have to react intuitively to the situations they face on a daily basis.

This one-day programme has been created to balance the scales and add knowledge, best practice and shared experience to the mix and better equip the PA for more managerial tasks.

It is designed to be challenging, thought provoking, insightful and fun. It would help PAs new to management or those who feel endorsement would supplement their exiting knowledge.

Enrol now for a life changing programme – The PA as a Manager.

APA

The PA as a Manager - - - - 27th April 2010 - - - - Portland Place, London, W1

Happy Birthday Dot Com

Twenty-five years ago, Charles Horning was the first man to register a .com domain name for his company, Symbolics. It was over a month before the second was registered and only three more were registered that year. Today, there are almost 90 million .coms, with half a million new ones added every week. VeriSign, the .com registry, handles over 50 billion DNS queries every day. It's difficult to imagine an internet without it.

But there very nearly wasn't a .com at all. Draft specs published in May 1984 called for a “.cor”, for anything corporate-related. The same draft called for a “.pub”. By July, these had morphed into .com and .org, but nobody seems to know why.

Paul Mockapetris, who invented the DNS said. “Back then none of this seemed important,” he said. “We set up .com so we could split off commercial issues and have all that dealt with separately. At the time, everybody thought that that was the tail and the rest was the dog, but it turned out the reverse was true.”

It wasn't until the advent of the web in the early 1990s that domain name registrations, many of them speculative, started to take off in a big way. Early movers such as Gary Kremen, the original registrant of sex.com, went on to make millions from their investments.

Even Symbolics.com was sold off last August for an undisclosed sum to a domain investor.
The engineers who created the system were not so fortunate. “I was smart enough to invent it, but not smart enough to own it,” joked Mockapetris. “If someone had asked me, do you think you'll get 10,000 names registered, I would have said, well I hope so.”

ICANN, the body now responsible for managing new additions to the DNS, is set to soon open the floodgates for potentially hundreds of new top-level domains, many of which will
compete with .com. So is .com's day over?

Gareth, APA

BA Cabin Crew strike - latest information

Unite, the trade union that represents the majority of British Airways (BA) cabin crew, has announced its intention to take strike action on the following dates:

• 20, 21 and 22 March 2010
• 27, 28, 29 and 30 March 2010

If a strike does go ahead, it is intending to operate a range of flights. Not all flights will be cancelled and it is currently finalising flight schedules for the strike period and has temporarily stopped selling seats on all flights operating on those dates.

If you have already booked travel between 19 - 31 March inclusive you will be able to rebook or have a refund on your flight.

For the latest information go to:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/strike-ballot/public/en_gb?refevent=strikelhn_latest_info

Shelley, APA

Credit where it's due

EU rules that may exempt small firms from filing annual accounts have been condemned as ‘utterly absurd’ by a leading figure in the credit industry.

At a time when the supply of credit is needed more than ever, and yet harder than ever to get, the suggestion that exempting small companies from filing accounts will help businesses grow is perverse, according to Philip King, Chief Executive of the Institute of Credit Management (ICM). “It will have exactly the opposite effect,” says Mr King. “Less information means less credit will be extended, and as a consequence, growth will be impaired rather than encouraged.The accounting exemptions already extended to SMEs do nothing to help facilitate trade, and that these latest plans will make a difficult situation worse: The British Government are not obliged to adopt this proposal, and must not do so.” .

MEPs approved changes to EU rules to waive usual reporting requirements for so-called ‘micro entities’ (firms with less than 500,000 euros on their balance sheet, a net turnover of less than one million euros, and employing an average of 10 people or less). An estimated 75% of companies in the EU are designated as micro entities. They argued, successfully, that this would free up firms from red tape, allowing them to grow more quickly and be more competitive.

“Whereas it is laudable to want to help small businesses, this is not the way to do it,” Mr King insists. “If the last 12 months have taught us anything, it is that businesses must provide more information for credit to be extended, not less.”

Gareth Osborne, APA Director General and a former member of the Small Business Council, the panel of 23 advisors to Government on matters relevant to small business, strongly supports the call for less red tape for smaller firms but recognises that some reporting is necessary for operational purposes, like credit checking. Gareth added, “APA supports ICM’s claim that this is a bad move. Annual accounts are not prepared for Government; they are prepared for business owners to ensure the company is trading legitimately and achieving its ambitions or for proving to others it can support its financial responsibilities. Many businesses would take this change as a signal to avoid the realities of [financially] health checking their enterprise and thereby frustrating their own ability to attract the credit essential to trade.”

APA

A difficult balance

The 2010 Budget will be held on March 24th, the Prime Minister has announced. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will deliver his annual financial statement six weeks before the widely-expected date for the general election – May 6th.

He is due to set out plans to cut the UK's deficit in the Commons, which is likely to peak at £178 billion this year.

Gordon Brown claimed that the worst of the recession was over but agreed with the many forecasters who deem the recovery as being "fragile". Mr Brown said the government would use the Budget to set out in more detail how it aims to restore the public finances, while protecting the fundamental public services that we all depend on.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK emerged from a six-quarter recession in the final quarter of 2009.

APA will be issuing its Budget Report on March 24th to outline which elements of it most impact on PAs and the businesses they work for.

APA

Additional Tax on Employment

APA, in support of other professional bodies including the CBI, FSB, BCC and the CIPD, is calling on its membership to sign a national petition to protest against the one percent increase in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) planned for April 2011.

The petition was launched last week in a letter to the Daily Telegraph calling for the Government to work with business groups to find alternative ways to close the UK's budget deficit.

Gareth Osborne of the APA said, “The planned NICs increase for businesses is another stealth tax and one clearly placed on employment. The labour market position is stabilising and employers are starting to feel more confident about recruiting new staff. Any increase in employment related tax could suppress recovery.”

APA plans to become a signatory to the petition; already signed by a number of major organisations, but is encouraging members to sign up to the petition themselves. It can be found at http://www.no-nics-rise.co.uk/

APA

Economic Update - Q2/2010

Interest rates will remain at a record low for a 12th consecutive month. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has decided to freeze the base rate at 0.5 per cent, while also keeping its quantitative easing programme on hold.

Interest rates have been at 0.5 per cent since last March, as the Bank has attempted to encourage an increase in consumer spending. Last month, it said it was halting its programme of quantitative easing, which has pumped £200 billion into the economy over the last year. However, it revealed that the initiative could be extended in future if such a move is deemed necessary.

According to Gareth Osborne, the Bank's decisions had been widely forecast and were the inevitable outcome given the uncertain position. "We expect the Bank of England to keep interest rates low throughout 2010 given recurring concerns about the strength and sustainability of the recovery," he added. "We still have some way to go before we can be sure the economy isn’t going to regress again. We should be happy for now that there are some signs of improvement and not be too surprised if we see mini highs and lows for some months to come.”

The unemployment rate now stands at 7.8% - unchanged over the quarter but up 1.4% on last year. Nearly 29 million people were in work in the period October to December according to the labour force survey (LFS). The number of people employed was down by 12,000 this quarter and down by 428,000 on the last year. The US unemployment rate is currently 9.7%.

Gareth, APA.

Spelling-bee

Spelling definitely is a problem for many people - who insist on writing it "definately".

A survey revealed definitely is the most common spelling blunder in the English language. Second place went to sacrilegious, third place went to indict, manoeuvre came fourth and bureaucracy, came fifth. Making up the top ten were; broccoli at sixth, phlegm seventh, prejudice at eighth, consensus at ninth and unnecessary at tenth.

A spokesman for researchers OnePoll.com said: "So many of us seem unable to spell, half blame computer spell-checks for their inadequacies, with one in three pointing the finger at text messaging.

The research also found that 57% of people judge other people on their spelling ability, with 42 per cent admitting they believe people who can't spell are "thick"

We all have words that tax us; my personal nemesis is ‘environment’. Gareth admits to establishment and a friend refuses to spell diet - but that's another story.

Shelley, APA

Third World Britain

I had the doubtful pleasure of driving around the majority of the M25 this week and have to say I was appalled by its current state of repair and that of other adjoining roads. In one section of road works near Watford, where outside lane traffic was maintained in a single carriageway, the potholes were so deep I feared my suspension had actually collapsed.

I remember being told when I flew around the world in the 1970’s that a third world country was one that struggled to compete because of a lack of one or usually more of the following: health, education, employment, physical infrastructure, money, and focused leadership. I wonder if the UK would stand up to close scrutiny in the current economic climate?.

APA will again be writing to Government (although recognises that they are responsible for less than 10% of the total road infrastructure) asking for its strategy for repair. Would members please let me have their stories from around the country.

If you have a problem with potholes or damage caused by them, you can also go to http://www.potholes.co.uk/

Gareth, APA

Wot Bot?

Online scammers already have the potential to take large amounts of money from business (and individual) bank accounts, small company bosses have been warned this week. APA feels this is a major concern and should be the subject of Board debate in the coming year.

Luis Corrons, technical director for Panda Security, said "Small and medium companies are a major target and have little security in place to defend against attacks and they are being mounted on an almost daily basis.”

He explained how one company in Bilbao, Spain, became infected by a Trojan virus and had £350,000 stolen from its bank account. He explained that company bosses must take precautions to protect all hardware, as a single infection on a single computer can reap havoc. He explained how bot herders can send spam from a company IP address, leading to all of a company's web connections becoming blacklisted by their internet service provider.

Security firm Symantec (Norton Security Products) reported this week that three-quarters of businesses around the world have been targeted by hackers during the last 12 months.

Gareth

Lingo translation - A bot herder (or bot master) is the originator of a botnet (a jargon term for a collection of software agents or bits, that run autonomously and automatically) and can control the group remotely for nefarious purposes

The Second Best Job in the World - after PA

It sounds like a wind-up. But one lucky person is really about to be paid £20,000 to spend the year on holiday. An online travel company has launched an unlikely search for a candidate who will receive a monthly pay packet to holiday around the world, all expenses paid for the next 12 months. The successful applicant will live the dream while travelling abroad every month as a 'real' holiday reviewer for lowcostholidays.com. All the holiday reviewer will be expected to do is to provide honest reviews of their experiences via regular online blog updates.

And don’t worry about your credentials - the role doesn't require any conventional academic qualifications - just the ability to social network and a love of travel. Paul Evans, CEO of lowcostholidays.com said: "For anyone who fancies a year out, enjoys sunning themselves and won't miss talk of the recession, this really is the dream job. "We're calling it a 'joliday' - less job, more holiday."

If you get my voicemail when you call, I may have applied.

Shelley, APA

Reported in Express.co.uk by Julian White

Controlling behaviour

Research by the NSPCC suggests that 25% of girls aged 13 to 17 had experienced physical violence from a boyfriend and a third had been pressured into sexual acts they did not want.

The children's charity said it was alarmed by the number of young people who viewed abuse in relationships as normal. Diana Sutton of the NSPCC said she hoped a new Home Office advertising campaign would encourage teenagers to come together to tackle the problem. "Many teenagers perhaps don't talk to their parents and maybe it's not that comfortable to talk to a teacher," she said.

Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos said the results of the survey were "quite startling" and felt that many girls had an expectation that "boys will be boys" and violence would happen anyway.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said it was essential to change attitudes in order to stop abuse against females. He said: "We want to see young people in safe and happy relationships and this means tackling attitudes towards abuse at an early age, before patterns of violence can occur. We hope this campaign will help teenagers to recognise the signs of abuse and equip them with the knowledge and confidence to seek help, as well as understanding the consequences of being abusive or controlling in a relationship."

APA

The Pale One speaks out!

I was hugely impressed by Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts’ challenge to the nation's obsession with tanning in her BBC 3 documentary ‘The Truth about Tanning’ (see it on BBC iPlayer). She has clearly felt pressurised in the past to ‘colour up’ and battles with the toughest problem of all, being naturally pale.

Nicola went on a quest to highlight the problems of an increasingly tan obsessed Britain as skin cancer and other serious health concerns connected with harmful sun rays are on the rise. As with Michael Jackson’s bizarre obsession to look whiter, so the extreme tanners have a fixation to look orange; not unlike an Oompa-Loompa!

She met women whose addiction had lead to early aging and malignant melanomas that had to be removed by surgery – which she pluckily watched. This took the journey down to of Westminster where she put her full support behind a bill to ban sun beds for under-18s. She met people along the way who were regularly using sun beds from a very young age. Nicola met Welshman Tom whose addiction was so strong he felt the need to inject himself with an unproven and under-certified tanning drug in order to seek the perfect colour. He was so hooked she challenged him to kick the habit for a month. Admittedly he was entertaining, and looked far better after taking time off the sun beds, but his best line was that it “took some ginger woman from Girls Aloud to make me go cold turkey.”

Nicola displayed a real passion for her quest and delivered the show in an honest and down to earth (Liverpudlian way. I thought she did a great job addressing a difficult subject and one that can have such severe consequences. The message, like everything else, is tan in moderation.

What do APA Members think and where do we stand on legislation to control sun bed tanning?

Gareth

Olympic-sized loans

Lloyds Banking Group has announced plans to help UK businesses benefit from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The lender has pledged to make at least £1 billion in credit available to companies contracting with the Olympic Development Authority, the London 2012 Organising Committee or any official Games supplier over the next two years.

According to Lloyds, the total value of contracts connected to London 2012 is estimated to be £6 billion, including £1 billion of direct arrangements. A large number of small direct contracts remain available for firms across the UK, plus work in the supply chain, the bank says.

Sebastian Coe, chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, said the events are "not just about sporting talent and not just about London". He added: "Across the UK, there are thousands of incredible businesses that could stand to benefit from the huge economic boost that will come from the Games.

APA

A thirst for work

Less than a third of British employees think the company they work for is generous to staff, it has been revealed. According to research 32% think their organisation is too thrifty, while 43% believe staff incentives are poor. A third believe that small perks such as free tea and coffee help boost their morale, but 25 per cent have seen their companies cut back on this provision during the recession. Just 57 per cent of British workers are able to enjoy a free cup of tea or coffee at work it was found. One in ten respondents said cutbacks on refreshments had changed the atmosphere for the worse at work, while 19 per cent said it had left them wondering about the future.

The research for uSwitch.com reported that 38 per cent of workers expect at the very least for an employer to provide hot drinks for staff. A spokesman said "Perks like free tea and coffee do add up, but the cost is minimal when compared with the value that staff place on them. Cutting out the free cuppas may add to the bottom line, but there may be a far greater price to be paid in staff morale."

According to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, job satisfaction levels have hit an all-time low during the winter months.

APA

Weather causes breakdown

It would be true to say that UK roads have gone to pot [holes]! After the freak weather conditions in January, the state of our tarmac has deteriorated to an all time low and the cost of repairing it is almost unprecedented. Current estimates suggest that it will cost over £100 million to patch-up the roads and maybe as much as £1 billion to achieve a total repair. And let’s face it the coffers aren’t that flush with cash at the moment.

The Insurers are even more perplexed with estimates for repairs to cars from ‘pothole encounters’ forecast to be worse than the repair to the roads! They already believe our infrastructure is returning to the Middle Ages.

1. Potholes are a major factor in causing axle & suspension failure and costs British motorists an estimated £2.8 billion every year.
2, Authorities currently pay out more than £50 million in compensation claims due to poor roads
3. Road maintenance in England and Wales is underfunded by £1 billion every year.
4. If all authorities were given the budgets they need to fix their roads, it would take English authorities 11 years to catch up with the current backlog, and Welsh authorities 16 years.

It seems we may have to suffer them for some months to come.

APA

Kill nonsense cold calls

I don’t often use the blog to sound off but I have been called twice today by people looking to sell me services I didn’t ask for (one a bank and the other a car breakdown service). Now I have no problem with sales calls; we all need to make them, but I do object to being asked to confirm my details.

When I refused to confirm my address for the bank I added “You should know; you called me!” I was told it was for data protection purposes. Need-less-to-say, I put the phone down. Does it annoy you or is it just me? Surely I should be checking that they are really who they say they are! Giving out personal data to anyone who phones and asks seems mighty risky to me!

Aimee Lewis FAPA

APA meets Business Minister

Gareth Osborne, Director General of APA, met the Minster for Business, Ian Lucas MP, this week to discuss areas of concern to APA members and their Bosses. Also present were senior representatives of the Better Regulation Executive who shared their thoughts on ways to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses; especially small businesses, and their plans for the future.

The Minister stressed a desire to cut red tape and use regulation as a last resort in line with the EU Directive calling for a 25% reduction in bureaucratic process by 2012. Gareth asked for more attention to be paid to plain English explanations and less legalistic processes. The Minister agreed and cited his own personal preference for simple ‘How to’ Guides.

The Minister’s portfolio embraces responsibility for business sectors (aerospace; marine and defence, automotive; chemicals; construction; manufacturing, materials and engineering; retail; services), the Better Regulation Executive, better regulation within BIS, Olympic legacy, sustainable development and regulation including waste electrical and electronic equipment issues, Corporate Social Responsibility, third sector strategy and issues, corporate governance, Companies Act, Companies House, Insolvency Service (including companies investigations), export control. He was appointed Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 5 June 2009.

The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) was set up to play a lead role in driving through a programme of activities to simplify regulation. It works with Government departments and regulators to; Improve the design of new regulations and how they are communicated; Simplify and modernise existing regulations; and change attitudes and approaches to regulation to become more risk-based.

Any comments of the burden of red tape, please contact: gareth.osborne@paprofessional.com
To find details of the Better Regulation Executive: http://www.betterregulation.gov.uk/

APA

More jobs on offer

The labour market is slowly starting to recover, with the biggest increase in job vacancies in two-and-a-half years and a rise in permanent placements last month, a survey of recruitment agencies showed today. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which runs the monthly survey along with accountants KPMG, said that although the rate of growth in permanent placements slowed in January from December's two-year peak, the rebound remained on track. It added that the recovery was still tentative and could be damaged by higher employment taxes or more regulation.

The Office for National Statistics reported that the unemployment rate eased to 7.8 percent in the three months to November compared to 7.9 percent in the three months to October on the internationally comparable ILO measure. Unemployment has risen less in Britain than in many other countries which exited recession earlier - something economists attribute in part to greater wage flexibility than in previous downturns.

APA

Gone Phishing

Fraudsters are using increasingly more sophisticated methods to carry out phishing scams, it has been reported.

Research by Network Box (network-box.co.uk) has revealed that over half of all malware (software developed for the purpose of causing harm to a computer system) sent by email is an attempted phishing expedition (the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames).

The report suggested that phishing attacks soared before Christmas to 57 per cent of malware, as criminals attempted to exploit the number of people shopping online. “However, the numbers have stayed at a similarly high level through January”, Network Box said. It claimed that fraudster’s methods are becoming more and more convincing. In the early days of phishing, attacks were littered with poor spelling and grammar and not-so-realistic web sites but as users have become more savvy then fraudsters have had to up their game.

APA encourages everyone to be extremely cautious about giving out their personal details or responding to suspicious emails.

APA

No bill too big!

Money may not buy you happiness but managed well it can sure help others!

Bill and Melinda Gates announced on Friday they would spend $10 billion (6.2 billion GBP) over the next decade to develop and deliver vaccines, an increased commitment that reflects progress in the pipeline of products for immunising children in the developing world.

Over the past 10 years, the Microsoft co-founder's charity has committed $4.5 billion to vaccines and has been instrumental in establishing the GAVI alliance, a public-private partnership that channels money for vaccines in poor countries.

By increasing immunisation coverage in developing countries to 90 percent, it should be possible to prevent the deaths of 7.6 million children under five between 2010 and 2019, Gates told reporters at the World Economic Forum.

Thank goodness the philanthropic spirit lives on in the new generation of billionaires.

Gareth, APA

Slow, slow recovery

Britain only just crept out of an 18-month recession at the end of 2009, suggesting any monetary tightening remains a long way off and raising fears about the prospects for recovery ahead of an election due by June.

The Office for National Statistics said today that gross domestic product rose by 0.1 percent between October and December, well below analysts' forecasts for growth of 0.4 percent. For 2009 as a whole, the economy shrank by 4.8 percent -- the worst yearly performance since records began in 1949.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said. "I think we are now on a path to recovery.” He suggested he would be sticking with his forecast that the economy would grow by up to 1.5 percent this year. Sterling fell after further data showed output fell 3.2 percent from the same period a year ago. From peak to trough, the economy contracted six percent -- far worse than the downturns of the early 1980s and 1990s.

APA Director General Gareth Osborne said, “There is some positive news but not cause for excitement just yet. We still have a long way to go but positive signs should be enough for the more entrepreneurial business to start stretching their wings."

APA

Beware fool's gold

Companies offering cash for gold jewellery in a recent flurry of TV adverts are paying a fraction of the items' true worth. The firms, which have latched on to increases in the price of gold, are 'shockingly bad value', according to consumer group Which?

Three pieces of new jewellery purchased by Which? for a total of £729 drew offers from the firms of as little as £38.57 for the lot. One company refused to return a £399 necklace free of charge, as promised, on the inaccurate pretext that it was 'not gold' at all.

The Which? Money magazine picked out three items of jewellery on the high street, a £115 bracelet, £215 bangle and £399 necklace, and purchased four of each. In November 2009 it sent them to four TV gold buyers, as well as getting quotes from three high street pawnbrokers and three jewellers.

Which? claimed that CashMyGold offered the lowest prices on all three items, offering just £38.57 in total for the three pieces. Money4Gold told a Which? researcher that a 9ct necklace he bought for £399 was 'not gold' and it would cost him £10.95 to have it returned.

The scrap value of a necklace will be considerably less than its price as a piece of jewellery. However, this does not explain the paltry offers. Companies offering cash for gold jewellery are 'shockingly bad value', according to Which? On average, the TV gold buyers offered around 6 per cent of the retail price for gold. High street stores paid around 25 per cent.

Postal Gold surprised the researcher by upping its quote when he rejected its cheque - almost doubling its offer for the bracelet and bangle. However, these rates were still far lower than those from jewellers and pawnbrokers.

Shelley, APA

The Power of Positive Thought

On his show last night, ‘Piers Morgan on Shanghai’, Piers reported research which suggests that ‘83% of Chinese people believe tomorrow will be a better day than today’.

Now, while my first reaction was to concoct a witty retort to this claim, the reality hit home so hard that I immediately resisted and realised the power of the message. It certainly shows the level of passionate optimism amongst the Chinese population and, if the ‘power of positive thought’ is half a successful as I believe then we had better beware.

I guess that if you surveyed a statistically significant sample of UK people in the current climate you may find a similar response; in their case it would be to the unspoken sub-text, ‘It can hardly be worse’. But from the Chinese it would definitely reflect a belief that they are striding forward to be the leaders of the world-order in days to come. Piers said that Shanghai will be the world’s richest city in less than 20 years.

My message to business would be, “So, let’s regain our positivity and start thinking like the Chinese and if you haven’t formulated your Chinese strategy yet, start thinking.” And to APA members, “Forget French, start learning Chinese”.

Remember to put 14th February 2010 in your diary. Not for St. Valentine’s Day but for the start of the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Tiger. If you consult Wikipedia it tells you that the motto for the Year of the Tiger is ‘I win’ and the colour is purple – so it bodes well for APA Members!

Gareth, APA

Intergalactic PA

APA has been lobbying for sometime for a better understanding of how jobs have changed in recent years and how they will change even faster in the future. It has cited the role of the Personal Assistant as a perfect example; “It is a job that has changed in the past 10 years; from secretarial to managerial, and will definitely change further in the next ten,” said Gareth Osborne of APA.

The PAs organisation has recently responded to a Government-commissioned report into the landscape of future jobs. The report shows that a number of factors including population growth, environmental impact and developments in science and technology, will lead to a host of different careers existing in the future. More importantly it shows that young people are going to need to think ahead when deciding on their career path in the future.

“This is something that career services in the UK have not equipped young people to do historically,” said Gareth. “The careers that seem attractive today may not exist tomorrow. It is important that young people explore their career options and gain as broad an experience-base as possible if they are to succeed.”

The digital revolution will lead to jobs for virtual lawyers, virtual clutter organisers and waste data handlers, while breakthroughs in space travel will lead to people swapping the office for the final frontier as space pilots, space architects and space tour guides, it was suggested.

APA will be joining other professional bodies in making practical recommendations to Government on future jobs through the work of its Youth Employment Taskforce chaired by Baroness Prosser.

APA

See and be seen

APA passionately believes that small businesses with a web presence must better embrace search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques if they are to succeed. This is especially true where their principal objective is to promote their services and products to the maximum number of customers.

APA Technology Director, Colin Minto feels it is essential to own well-optimised (search engine-friendly) websites in order to remain competitive in the online business world.

“Optimised content can help by getting the website easily recognised by leading search engines and consequently, it will be able to attain a higher ranking, which makes it easier for consumers to find it, ideally leading to an increase in customer traffic. The quality of content and the ranking position your website achieves in the major search engines is hugely important these days. It is increasingly important to include core data about your website in the page titles and descriptions. Keywords should also be used at least three or four times," said Colin.

“APA has achieved good, not yet great, SEO but it is a major plank of our business strategy to ensure we access as many PAs as possible and to do that our website has to be easily found.

SEO will remain a major issue in the ever expanding global marketplace.

Colin Minto, APA

Chimp out-performs Bankers

They are paid a fortune for their ability to make complex decisions about where to invest millions of pounds every single day. But perhaps the job of an investment banker is not quite as difficult as it might seem; or so said Will Stewart in the Daily Mail on Tuesday..

He cited a chimpanzee (Lusha) in Russia that has out-performed 94 per cent of the country's investment funds with her portfolio growing by three times in the last year.

Moscow TV reported how circus chimp ‘Lusha’ chose eight companies from a possible 30 to invest her one million roubles - around £21,000. She bought successfully and her portfolio grew and grew. She did better than almost the whole of the rest of the market,' said the editor of a Russian Finance magazine.

The money-wise ape was given cubes representing different companies and asked: 'Lusha where would you like to invest your money this year?' Pausing briefing to think, she then picked out her eight cubes.

The head of monetary policy department at the Institute for the Economy in Transition in Moscow, said enviously: 'It shows that financial knowledge does not play a great role in giving forecasts to how the market will change. It is usually a matter of more or less successful guessing. And the monkey got lucky.' The monkey, owned by legendary Russian trainer Lev Dorov, split her investments between state-owned corporations and private companies.

APA can only add that recent events seem to support this claim!

Shelley, APA

From PA to Global Explorer

One of APA’s great friends, Rona Cant, has contacted us to say thanks for acknowledging Katie Walter’s ground-breaking achievements. But I thought I would introduce Rona first:

Rona describes herself as ‘a normal woman who has done extra-ordinary things’ - she has sailed the 'wrong way' round the world, trekked with bears and cougars, and opened a 'thought to be impossible' dog-sled trail inside the Arctic Circle to the northernmost tip of Europe, yet she could be your next door neighbour! She has changed her life at a time when most people are slowing down to become an adventurer and the knowledge she has gained from her diverse adventures have qualified her to know what works and what doesn't work in the challenging business environment of today.

Of Katie, she said:

‘What a great achievement for Katie Walker. It takes grit and determination in those sort of conditions to achieve this goal. Most of the hard work is done before the expedition leaves home in the training and preparation and it is getting out there every day, day after day no matter what the weather, and doing the work that helps you achieve your goal. It is the focus that you need when others are out enjoying themselves or are inside in the warm where the true work is done. We experienced - 35ºC in a ground-storm on The Nordkapp Expedition (dog-sledding) and it’s tough you cannot get away from it. Congratulations Katie, you will go far with your determination!’

Rona is a friend to APA; she started out as a PA herself before becoming a single mum and global explorer. I know Rona as ‘an extremely impressive speaker, business mentor and human being – you couldn’t wish for a better motivator for your team building events or away day in 2010. She challenges herself to achieve more and she will challenge you as well.’

And again I say ‘most impressively, Rona was a PA, it supports my belief that PAs are exceptional people!’

Gareth, APA

Contact: rona@rontcant.com or see her website at http://www.ronacant.com/

And we think it's cold here!

While other teenagers marked the start of 2010 with hangovers, 17 year-old Katie Walter spent New Year’s Eve in a frozen tent, celebrating becoming the youngest person to reach the South Pole. She arrived at the pole on December 31, after a 112-mile trek across the Antarctic wilderness. “It’s a personal achievement and wasn’t about being 'the youngest’, it was about me challenging myself. It was hard, but if it wasn’t, more people would do it,” said Katie.

Two years ago she signed up to join an expedition, led by the explorer Mike Thornewill, to reach the South Pole from the point where Ernest Shackleton had to turn back 100 years ago. She has devoted most of her free time since to a harsh training regime centred on dragging car tyres over long distances.

And she coped pretty well with spending seven hours a day dragging her 40kg (88lb) sledge uphill in temperatures that dropped to -40C (-40F).

On Monday, Katie is due back at Worksop College, where she has a music scholarship — “grade eight flute, grade eight singing, grade seven piano” — and is preparing for AS levels in five subjects. At university, she is planning to study engineering.

APA applauds Katie and all other young adventurers who want to do something really challenging with their lives. If any PAs have done something similar or would like to, please let us know.

Sarah Tiddy FAPA

A polite alternative to the Estate Agent

If you are about to start a property search for your next home or even your Boss’s then we thoroughly recommend the new business venture from the very talented Sarah Beeny called Tepilo.

Tepilo is a platform that allows you to take independent control of buying, selling or letting your property - with no charges or commission.

“Some people will always prefer to use an estate or lettings agent. But for those of you who would like to take control of your biggest asset, we have created Tepilo. This site simplifies and explains the whole process which is often perceived as something more complicated than it really is. We are here with all the advice you need to get through the whole process, and of course to save you many thousands of pounds at the same time,” says Sarah. The sales advantages are:
.
Tepilo is completely free to use
Tepilo makes it easy for you
Tepilo provides practical profit enhancing guidance.
Tepilo hosts the negotiation process through the site
Tepilo encourages the personal touch
Tepilo allows you to ‘Ask Sarah’ - if you get stuck you can even ask Sarah a question directly through Tepilo, and you may even win a home visit or free consultation.

If you use Tepilo or have used it already, make sure to let us know what you think.

Shelley, APA.

Execsec Summit 2010

Gareth Osborne, APA Director General, will be opening the Execsec Summit 2010 - a unique event specifically designed for Senior PAs, Executive Secretaries & Executive Assistants - to be held on 22-23 March 2010 at the Grove Hotel, Watford, Hertfordshire.

The event is innovative in its structure and offers to maximise the Senior PAs time out of the office and allow them to discover innovative opportunities, from pioneering blue chip supplier companies offering modern and creative ideas to help respond to the daily challenges their professional lives continually throw at them.

The event is billed as being ‘completely different from an exhibition... and a better alternative!’

For Delegates the benefits look to be highly relevant. Attendance is complimentary and delegates are promised to be treated like VIPs. Organisers will arrange each attendees personal Summit Itinerary of supplier meetings; which will be held in your their own dedicated meeting booth for the day and a half. Delegates will be able to discuss future requirements with the suppliers of their choice.

They will be able to attend interactive seminars, networking lunches and an evening gala dinner, with after dinner entertainment, making the most of their time out of the office. They will also be provided with overnight luxury accommodation at the 5 star Grove Hotel, Watford.

Places are limited to just 70 FREE delegate places.

Go to: http://www.forumevents.co.uk/forums/es/index.htm

APA

Business travel set to take off again in 2010

Business travel will increase in 2010 after stalling over the past 12 months, it has been claimed. Research from the National Business Travel Association highlighted that nearly 70 per cent of travel managers think more business-related journeys will be made in 2010, with over half thinking their travel budget will increase.

According to travel agent network Advantage, larger firms are likely to continue making travel cutbacks but many small firms, who cannot survive without a degree of business travel, will increase their spend. But they will be much more cost conscious than in previous years. However, buyers predicted that they would be attempting to negotiate better discounts on hotel stays (70 per cent) and from airlines and car rental companies (30 per cent).

APA is working to give members access to the best deals available to business as the economy starts to recover. More news to follow.

Gareth, APA

Manufacturing returns to the UK

Manufacturers are increasingly moving production back to Britain as shoddy quality and higher freight prices are undermining the cost advantage of producing goods overseas says a report into the state of the manufacturing sector by the EEF and accountants BDO. It finds that one in seven companies surveyed had moved production back to the UK from abroad in the past two years

Many British manufacturers have outsourced production to countries with lower labour costs, in Eastern Europe or Asia, in the past decade, a trend that has accelerated as an increasing number of British companies have fallen into foreign ownership. But higher freight, energy and commodity costs have increased the expense of production overseas, while the recession has put pressure on companies to re-evaluate decisions on location.

The EEF’s survey of manufacturers presents an unexpectedly optimistic picture of the UK’s manufacturing base in a year when headlines have been dominated by concerns for jobs at Corus, BAE Systems and Vauxhall, some of the country’s biggest manufacturers. Two thirds of the 300 businesses surveyed for the report — which include makers of mechanical equipment, plastics manufacturers, food manufacturers and suppliers to the automotive industry — plan to re-evaluate their supply-chain strategies as a result of the global recession.

APA Director General, Gareth Osborne, who has owned and operated a number of manufacturing businesses in his time said, “It will not be a flood back [to the UK] but quite a few companies seem to be looking again at the advantages of manufacturing nearer to home. Something I never thought I would see again.”

The weaker pound has also helped to make production in the UK more cost effective because the cost of imports has risen.

APA strongly supports UK manufacturing.

APA

office* 2010 - a must for PAs

office*, is an exciting and fresh new event aimed at bringing PAs, Executive Assistants, and Office Managers together with potential new business partners and solution providers.

So much more than a trade exhibition, office* will incorporate hand selected exhibitors, a first class Seminar Programme, Key note theatre, office* Elite Club and networking opportunities such as our ‘After Dark’ Champagne reception and much much more. office* is the must attend event for 2010. Visit the office* website for more information http://officeshow.co.uk

Save the date for this year’s must attend event! 21-22 September 2010 Earls Court London

APA will be there and we would love to meet as many Members and potential members as possible.

Gareth, APA

Enhance your PA skills in 2010

Applications are open for the winter round (Jan to March 2010) of the APA professional training programmes. Places are still available for the highly prestigious Diploma in Personal Assistance; but will close soon, and spaces remain for the PA Apprentice (newcomers to the PA role) and PA Professional (New skills for old hands) courses.

Each programme promises to introduce PAs to a range of current and forward looking new skills and send them back to their business better equipped to give the very best support to their bosses. Accolades for the Diploma Programme, leading to use of the DipPA designatory letters after your name, have established it as the highest professional qualification for PAs in the UK and the first step to the PA Degree programme to be launched later in the year.

Book now to enhance your professionalism or to simply update your existing skills base. Visit the APA website at www.paprofesional.com and select APA Training from the navigation bar or email training@paprofessional.com.

Banks 'must lend more' in 2010

APA thoroughly supports a call made by the Federation of Small Business (FSB) in its New Year message for banks to return to their "normal lending criteria" and for more competition in the banking sector with additional lending from non-UK banks being made available to small firms.

"2010 must see the route to recovery," said FSB chairman John Wright. "Small businesses deserve a big vote of confidence and the sector in turn will return the compliment with jobs, guaranteeing a sustainable recovery. 2010 may be a general election year, but for small firms, it will be business as usual as they strive to complete the route from recession and back into recovery."

A Department for Business spokesman said: "We have extended the Enterprise Finance Guarantee for a further 12 months to encourage additional bank lending to viable smaller firms and announced that businesses will be able to continue to defer tax payments to help with cash flow as they prepare for growth. We are working with the FSB to offer up to 10,000 graduates a chance to boost their future employability through internships in small and micro businesses."

Dr. Gareth Osborne, APA Director General and a former member of the Government’s Small Business Council, is an outspoken champion for small business and believes that Government should heed FSB’s advice. “If just one in three small businesses employed one more person then the unemployment problem would be solved." he added.

APA

The Best of the Best

Congratulations go to the successful participants in the autumn round of the APA Diploma in Personal Assistance (DipPA). The challenging programme was delivered between October and December 2009 with final tests taking place in mid-December and results announced just before Christmas. The course attracted some of the countries best PAs from private and public sector backgrounds.

Participants enthused about the content; with everyone scoring the content and delivery as ‘excellent’, with over 75% feeling it would have an immediate impact on their effectiveness as a PA and the balance suggesting it would enhance their longer term career prospects. Everyone attending felt it had taken their knowledge of business management and direction to a new level.

Gareth Osborne, Director General of APA and one of the course tutors said, “The Diploma is not just another administrative course branded for PAs, this is a programme of dedicated knowledge, skills and tools for those genuinely in support of business leaders. The content is tailored to give better, stronger and more focused training for PAs and truly anchor them as ‘the power beside the throne’. We believe PAs are one of the most important assets in business today and they deserve the best and most relevant skills to reach their full potential.”

“The successful candidates can now us the prestigious designatory letters; DipPA, after their name.”

The next round of APA training programmes commence in January in London, Birmingham and Manchester. For further details go to: http://www.paprofessional.com/apa-training-and-qualifications-open-access.html

Or contact: training@paprofessional.com.

APA

Some movement at last in the labour market

The latest survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) shows positive signs for the UK’s labour market ahead of 2010. December’s Jobs Outlook reported that 22% of employers now say business is beginning to improve, compared to just 1% in September.

Commenting on the survey, REC’s Director of Research Roger Tweedy said:
"At last there is evidence that life is returning to the UK’s labour market. After several months of uncertainty it seems that firms are becoming more confident about their future hiring intentions. Although if previous recessions are anything to go by we would expect unemployment to continue to rise even after the economy returns to growth, this report shows positive signs that unemployment will not be as high as people predicted."

Jobs Outlook is based on a monthly sample survey of 600 employers undertaken by an independent market research company on behalf of the REC

Roger Tweedy concluded: "Whilst the labour market is still very fragile, the feedback from recruiters on the frontline suggests that it is becoming easier to place jobseekers into work. As the labour market becomes more fluid once more this in turn will create more vacancies".

APA agrees that greater fluidity in the labour market will help lubricate employment opportunities. It believes that the first three months of 2010 could be the perfect time to go ‘fishing’ if you are looking to change jobs. APA will release its own figures on PA employment trends in January 2010.

Gareth, APA.

A Chocoholic's Prayer at Christmas

Please grant me the serenity
to eat my chocolate gorgeously
and to savour its delight with glee
for I have no desire to change

Please grant me courage to acknowledge
that I am hopelessly attracted [addicted]
no matter how you count the calories
for I have no desire to change

Though deliver me from evil and save me from myself
just point me at the chocolate and let me scale the shelf
and wallow in its luxury
for I have no desire to change

Just a thought, as I pepare for the onslaught.

Aimme Lewis FAPA

Business costs set to rise in 2010

The cost of running a small business is set to increase in 2010 as a result of rising commodity prices, it has been reported. According to More Than's Business Inflation Guide, costs increased by 0.6 per cent during the third quarter of 2009 and this trend is likely to be continued into the new year.

The guide found that 12 of the 20 most important expenditure items for small companies rose in price during Q3 2009. While outgoings may be set to rise, More Than Business said the results were positive in the sense that they pointed towards an economic recovery. However they did note that it would be extremely important for company owners to manage cash flow carefully as suppliers begin to push prices up again.

The Confederation of British Industry has predicted this week that the UK economy is set to emerge from recession during the final quarter of the year. The business organisation said growth would be restored to the economy by the end of 2009, but a rapid economic recovery was highly unlikely.

APA