Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
BEST B&B ROOMS IN WIGAN – THE PRICE? A PAIR OF PINK FLUFFY SLIPPERS
NUMBER FIFTEENS BAR, BISTRO AND ROOMS.
SWINLEY, WIGAN .
PRESS RELEASE
April 27, 2010.
BEST B&B ROOMS IN WIGAN – THE PRICE? A PAIR OF PINK FLUFFY SLIPPERS.
They’re the best B&B rooms in Wigan , but the bargain price of £23.50 comes at a price – guests have to kick off their boots or shoes and wear pink fluffy slippers when they check in.
Owner Tony Callaghan has applied a rich and luxurious design and style to the rooms above Number Fifteen bar and bistro in Upper Dicconson Street Wigan – and says that’s the way they’re going to stay.
“Pound for pound, these are the best-quality B&B rooms in Wigan , and we intend them to stay that way – not only is the location superb, but the décor and furnishings are of a standard you’d expect in a bouquet hotel,” said Tony Callaghan.
“The pricing means that during the week we get builders and contractors, and sometimes proper businessmen in their top-of-the-range Mondeos staying with us while they’re working on important construction projects or big business deals in Wigan .
“The businessmen aren’t so bad because they wipe their feet, but contractors have been known to traipse in half a building site of mud on their boots.
“Tracy Marsden, the manager, is a scary old battleaxe, and she’s insisting on male guests wearing slippers. If they don’t, then they get a right ear-bashing, and she takes their telly remotes off them.”
Prices from £23.50 a night include a continental breakfast and wireless internet access, as well as the loan of slippers.
Ends
Further information:
Iain Macauley
07788 978800
Friday, April 23, 2010
CHICKENS FIRST IN AS PIONEERING SOUTHPORT DEMENTIA CARE HOME MOVE STARTS.
iPERSONALLY
DEMENTIA CARE SERVICE
PRESS RELEASE
April 26, 2010.
CHICKENS FIRST IN AS PIONEERING SOUTHPORT DEMENTIA CARE HOME MOVE STARTS.
The big move is on as Phase One of the UK’s most advanced dementia care facility, the iPersonally Memory Centre at Birch Abbey, Southport, is completed – and the first in will be a brood of chickens.
The £5 million Alexandra Road UK
The Birch Abbey team will start to move clients from the old building to the new purpose-built facility at the end of April, and once everybody has been installed the original building will be demolished and replaced by a second new structure, providing more beds, plus offices and admin.
“The first residents will actually be several chickens – they’re an important part of our community, and a clear illustration of the approach we’ll be taking at the new Birch Abbey and which was pioneered and developed at the original Birch Abbey,” said Dan Lingard, chief executive.
“We may have technology and facilities never before seen in a UK
“Getting people with dementia using their minds and muscles – even in seemingly small ways – can have a massively positive effect.
“We’re creating a ‘living sensory garden’ – the chickens draw residents out into the garden, they provide a talking point; what’s more, our residents collect the eggs, make cakes or biscuits and talk about what they’re doing amongst themselves and to their family members providing valuable mental stimulus.
“Our new and expanded Birch Abbey will be a revolution in care services. To us it just felt right that Southport with its long tradition as a caring community should lead this revolution and the birth of a new era in care.
“Birch Abbey currently has accommodation for 18 clients, but without having to close our doors, we are completely rebuilding so that we will be able to accommodate 60 clients, and rather than simply gearing it to provide basic food, hygiene and life care for clients, we have designed in - from scratch - technology, accommodation, entertainment, social interaction and a broad range of care services and features that have never been seen together under one roof in the care industry.
“But, crucially, this is not just about a building – it is about an attitude to dementia care, service and support.”
At the heart of iPersonally is the belief that technology must be better harnessed to support people with dementia, their carers and wider support network.
Dan Lingard is a former software developer working with IBM and the BBC. He says much-misunderstood dementia needs to be fought, and people with the condition, and their family and friends, supported and inspired rather than simply have their basic needs attended to.
Ends
Further information;
Pressrelations.co.uk
+44(0)161 929 0446
+44(0)7788 978800
Thursday, April 22, 2010
SUPERCOVER INSURANCE CREATES POLICY FOR THEFT-TARGET iPAD
SUPERCOVER INSURANCE
PRESS RELEASE
April 22, 2010.
SUPERCOVER INSURANCE CREATES POLICY FOR THEFT-TARGET iPAD.
Supercover Insurance has moved quickly to create a policy to cover what it expects to be potentially the most theft-targetted tech product of 2010.
The Apple iPad is expected to be launched in the UK in May, but such is demand in the USA that the UK
“The vast majority of iPad buyers are excited but honest, and are waiting patiently for their order to pitch up. But there are some people out there who, as was the case with the iPod and iPhone, simply can’t wait and don’t care where their iPad comes from, even if the source is dubious,” said Carmi Korine of Supercover Insurance.
“We’ve created a white label policy for resellers which can be included in new or existing policies, sold as an incremental revenue product or as an as an add-on to motor or home policies providing substantial ongoing revenue streams. It is available to insurers, brokers, banks and other insurance providers and brand partners at £7.99 a month, with very attractive commission deals.
“But we’re also going to be keeping a wary eye open for claims that happen just a bit too quickly: we’ve seen with iPhones that people can sometimes be tempted to make a claim for a lost iPhone, which isn’t actually lost at all, and then when the insurance replacement arrives they sell it on at a vast premium while retaining and using their original iPhone.
“We anticipate there will be some questionable claims with the iPad, but we’re geared up to address any claims that don’t appear to be legitimate.”
Supercover Insurance is a 15-years-established provider of insurance for consumer portable high-intrinsic-value products such as mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets, as well as spectacles.
Ends
Further information:
Iain Macauley
0161 929 0446/07788 978800
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
TRAINSPOTTERS TAKE ON THE VOLCANO – AND WIN
MANAGEMENT INTELLIGENCE CONSULTING
PRESS RELEASE
April 21, 2010.
TRAINSPOTTERS TAKE ON THE VOLCANO – AND WIN.
Employees who tackled the Icelandic ash travel crisis head-on and battled their way home and back to work could reap the reward of a huge career boost.
Bridget Biggar, managing director of talent assessment and leadership development organisation Management Intelligence www.miconsulting.co.uk, has described the fallout from the European-wide flight ban as the biggest, toughest and most accurate aptitude test ever.
“My message to employers is to get the gossip going, hear the stories, find out how people dug deep to find a way home and then maybe re-align your opinion of the bolshy and apparently over-confident middle manager or the shrinking accounts clerk: they could be the successors you’re looking for,” said Bridget.
“The approach people take to finding a way back to work, battling through, round over or under the obstacles the European flight ban has created, could be a great indicator of an employee’s true resourcefulness, capability and potential.
“The travel chaos could be, for some people, the greatest thing that has ever happened to them – completely changing their lives and life approach.
“Taking able-bodied, capable, intelligent business people and workers, there’s basically four types of individuals stuck abroad: those who’ll simply sit and wait to be rescued, those who’ll suddenly react out of fear, those who might be described as trainspotters, and those who’ll not stand for any nonsense and will tackle head-on the inconvenience created by the volcano.
“The real dynamos are the resourceful thinkers and risk-takers who relish the challenge of finding a way home, and enjoy it as an adventure. These are the guys who will think laterally to get round obstacles, and will simply find a way. That’s how they conduct their business. Those junior managers who find a way home ahead of the rest are showing signs of being high-fliers and high-achievers.
“They’re the ones who hit the laptop or the phone the second they smell an issue, and are first out of the closed airport and grabbing the initiative, making the judgement call – waiting for nothing or nobody except any group they may be in or have formed – and snatching the first hotel room, cab, bus or train available and making sure they gain position or advantage.
“They think laterally – literally. They’ll quickly gain spatial awareness, understand where they are, and be fast to work out that heading north may not be the best way to actually make big progress north. They’ll examine every option, fast – but they’ll also use their credit card limits as battering rams.
“The ‘trainspotters’ are in their element. They know every rail timetable in Europe - or know where to find them - and will know how to make a travel plan click into place while keeping a tight grip on budget. Knowledge of timetables gives them location awareness. Fantastic organisers, but much maligned for their eccentric enthusiasm. But what they bring is certainty – barring French rail workers’ strikes – which has massive value when people are absorbing huge doses of uncertainty.
“When major obstacles are presented, creativity is key. People who are scared, worried or anxious narrow their field of thinking, but those who relish the challenge of beating something even as big as a volcano find fuel in the thought.
“The risk-averse, with no imagination - will simply sit there, accept what they’re told and wait to be rescued. They’re out-and-out followers in the workplace, with no initiative.
“But there’s also the risk-averse who suddenly spur themselves into doing something because they’re scared of getting into trouble by missing work. This sort of challenge could change their lives because they suddenly discover they have latent potential and capability, and develop a sense of purpose. They’re the true potential winners who will benefit from their Eureka
“Employers could learn more about their staff from the exercise of simply getting home than any amount of assessment in the office. Not everybody is a fantastic communicator, and most people will either massively overstate or modestly understate their belief in themselves in a review.
“But the challenges presented by the flight bans arising from the volcanic ash cloud could, for some people, be the biggest and most accurate psychometric test they’d ever face: dumping somebody in the middle of Europe, the Far East or North America and then telling them to find their way home would be an utterly impractical exercise in the course of normal assessment.
“It may seem like idle office gossip, but employers could do much worse than tap in to the chat about how people stranded abroad during the travel crisis managed to make it home and then to work, and learn from the determination, ingenuity, problem-solving, communication, judgment calls and resourcefulness their staff applied.”
Management Intelligence helps maximise talent, productivity and business success by enhancing the performance delivery of individuals, teams and organisations, driving improved profitability through better business processes and developing employee engagement.
It has offices in London and the Middle East , and is part of All About Brands plc (AAB plc – www.aabplc.com), the brands and marketing services group.
Ends
Further information:
07788 978800
EMPLOYMENT LAWYER: ICELANDIC ASH COULD NULL EVERY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT IN THE UK
SAS DANIELS LLP
PRESS RELEASE
April 20, 2010.
Virtually every employment contract in the UK
Cheshire-based employment lawyer Jonathan Whittaker of SAS Daniels LLP, one of the North West
“What is unique is that in one fell swoop, those who have been affected by the ash crisis – whether employee or employer – are likely to find themselves in a void, and potentially in dispute, on issues including holiday entitlement, unauthorised absence, overtime and stress.
“Being 24 hours late back from Majorca after French air traffic controllers embark upon their perennial industrial action is one thing, but when some people are told they may have to wait until May for flights back from Los Angeles then that takes matters into an entirely different league.
“There are no contractual terms that allow provision for that sort of out-of-their-hands absence – and while 24 or 48 hours late back might mean a few pulled faces, being two weeks late or more is going to be a severe test of goodwill on the part of the employer.
“There will be the question of just how hard people try to get back to the UK and back to work, and the issue of making up for lost production or clearing of backlogs through overtime.
“When the ash and dust has all settled – literally – the difficulties at the time will be quickly forgotten. Staff will have been using up their holiday entitlement when they may not have wanted to, but employers may say that they never authorised additional holidays and that the employees were absent without permission and just refuse to pay wages.
“After all, the employer may have had to recruit agency staff at extra cost to the business.
“Dismissal is not an option for employers as it is not misconduct, and the length of the time away – assuming reasonable efforts were made to get back - would not justify disciplinary proceedings in my view, unless the employee could be proven to be taking advantage, or shown not to be making every reasonable effort to get to work.
“Employers who are losing money from not having employees there to do the work might be wanting employees to work double hard to make up for lost time. Therefore there may be pressure to do overtime when the employee returns - and this might be very unpopular - there may not be any term in the contract which allows for this and so this may give rise to disagreements.
“However, if the holiday year runs January to December, or, even worse, April to April, it may be a long time before some employees will be able to take another holiday.”
SAS Daniels LLP which has offices in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester
Ends
Further information:
Iain Macauley or Megan Codling
07788 978800 / 07795 848586
im@pressrelations.co.uk / mc@pressrelations.co.uk / www.sasdaniels.co.uk
Monday, April 19, 2010
PARENTS: INVITE POLICE INTO THE HOME TO LECTURE ERRANT TEENS.
EMMA SOAMES
EDITOR-AT-LARGE, SAGA MAGAZINE
PRESS RELEASE
April 19, 2010.
EDITOR-AT-LARGE, SAGA MAGAZINE
PRESS RELEASE
April 19, 2010.
PARENTS: INVITE POLICE INTO THE HOME TO LECTURE ERRANT TEENS.
Nearly 90% of over-50s say parents battling to control wayward children should have the right to invite police officers into their home to have a stern word with errant youngsters.
More than 14,000 over-50s were polled by independent research organisation Populus on behalf of Saga, the lifestyle, holidays and financial services organisation, with only 7% of respondents saying they thought the idea wouldn’t work.
Emma Soames, editor-at-large of Saga Magazine, says exasperated parents faced with dealing with a youngster showing disrespect for family or property, or committing minor but anti-social misdemeanours, should be able to call a bobby to deliver a ticking off – and the next government should also consider a “New Tricks” -style squad of retired officers to carry out home visits.
“I think that both parents and the Police would probably relish the opportunity for a stern word to be issued if they believed it would stop a life of crime dead in its tracks,” said Emma.
“It's all about nipping anti-social behaviour in the bud; the first time a child commits a ‘crime’ against the family, friends or neighbours – taking money from a mum’s purse, for instance – parents should be able to call in their local policeman to explain to their child that if they'd done it outside the home or their close circle, then they’d end up in court, fined, possibly even in a cell.
“These visits would be carefully considered with parents before being carried out. I also think there is a good case for getting retired police officers involved; the mix of age and experience, and the authority of an older person I believe would be highly effective.”
Emma believes such a move could be a key factor in nipping bad behaviour in the bud and thus making the country’s streets less intimidating for a generation that remembers respect for age and authority.
“One of the scariest things that could happen when I was a teenager was for a police officer to tell you off; a uniformed policeman turning up at your door was both embarrassing and terrifying, because a policeman was perceived as meaning a trip to the police station to help with enquiries,” said Emma.
Emma Soames says that a convincing set of policies to address “feral youth” issues could help win big election support from over-55s, who, when independently polled, said they were three times as likely to vote as under-25s.
There are 21 million over-50s in the UK
Thursday, April 15, 2010
A QUARTER OF OVER-50S WOULD CROSS THE ROAD TO AVOID TEENAGERS
EMMA SOAMES
EDITOR-AT-LARGE, SAGA MAGAZINE
PRESS RELEASE
April 15, 2010.
EDITOR-AT-LARGE, SAGA MAGAZINE
PRESS RELEASE
April 15, 2010.
A QUARTER OF OVER-50S WOULD CROSS THE ROAD TO AVOID TEENAGERS.
A quarter of over-50s would cross the road to avoid a group of teenagers while 40% say they would not dare to ask a youngster to move their feet off a bus or train seat.
That’s the finding of an independent survey of more than 14,000 people conducted by Populus on behalf of Saga, the over-50s holidays, lifestyle and financial services organisation.
People in
Now oldies champion Emma Soames says that a convincing set of policies to address “feral youth” issues would win big election support from over-55s, who are three times as likely to vote as under-25s.
“Street safety is a big priority for the over-50s – as highlighted in the Saga Generation Manifesto, which is the result of consultation with 14,000 older people,” said Emma Soames, editor-at-large of Saga Magazine.
“When I was a teenager, we’d cross the road to avoid adults – but for entirely different reasons: to let them pass unhindered; but times have changed dramatically in the past 40years, and, unfortunately, the attitude of a few feral teens who show no respect at all has affected perceptions of the majority. It’s reached the point that many older people will now also avoid using public transport when schools come out.
“Street safety for older people, the bad behaviour of a minority of younger people, and, crucially, correcting the incorrect perception of the majority of teenagers as troublemakers need to become key election issues.”
Thursday, April 8, 2010
STOCKPORT LAWYER: FIT NOTE SYSTEM COMPROMISED BY DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS.
SAS DANIELS LLP
PRESS RELEASE
April 08, 2010.
Long-established doctor-patient relationships could compromise the effectiveness of newly-launched “fit note” legislation, says a Stockport lawyer.
The Statement of Fitness for Work is designed to get employees back into the work environment after a period of illness, but leading employment lawyer Jonathan Whittaker says that it will make no difference to addictively workshy staff who have built long-standing relationships with their GP.
“There’s a hard-core of continually questionably ill and injured who are capable of delivering the performance of a heroically incapacitated CSI Miami shooting victim on the stage of the GP’s surgery,” said Jonathan Whittaker , Employment Partner at SAS Daniels LLP, one of the North West’s biggest law firms.
“Over a considerable period they have managed to convince their friendly neighbourhood doctor that they endure a life of marginal health, and pledge to make huge efforts to get to work when they’re ‘well enough’. This is a variation upon the oft-opined brilliance of the criminal mind.
“The vast majority of people deal with illness and injury very openly and honestly – but I am engaged in continual discussion with employers who are handcuffed to a minority of employees who live in an untouchable ill-health limbo in which the alleged patient describes a difficult-to-diagnose condition of being ‘out of sorts’ or having an unidentifiable physical affliction or injury, and who have fine-tuned the art of convincing affrontery if questioned by either employer or doctor.
“In those circumstances, the likelihood of a GP saying their patient is really fit for work if the patient in front of them insists they are not has to be in question.
“Doctors will have to exercise an enormous amount of impartiality, especially where they may have been the patient’s doctor for many years and have perhaps come to view them as being more susceptible to illness than most.
“There is also the complication that GPs will not have any discussion with the employer before filling out the fit note – which means that he or she will have no understanding of the potential roles available within each place of work to be able to suggest alternatives.
“Fit notes will never replace an experienced occupational health report.”
The new fit note is designed to give employees and employers more flexibility in how they deal with sickness absence. This might mean discussing altered hours or a modified work routine. The key is to establish a dialogue between employer, employee and their GP or occupational health specialist.
GPs will be able to offer advice on what work an employee may be able to perform and will be able to suggest adjustments to working arrangements which could be made in order to facilitate an earlier return to work.
Health chiefs say that the isolation brought on by absence from work can lead to stress, depression and anxiety. Getting employees back to work earlier can help promote physical and mental wellbeing and improve organisational effectiveness.
SAS Daniels LLP which has offices in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester
Ends
Further information:
Iain Macauley or Megan Codling
07788 978800 / 07795 848586
im@pressrelations.co.uk / mc@pressrelations.co.uk / www.sasdaniels.co.uk
EMPLOYMENT LAWYER: FIT NOTE SYSTEM COMPROMISED BY DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS
SAS DANIELS LLP
PRESS RELEASE
April 08, 2010.
EMPLOYMENT LAWYER: FIT NOTE SYSTEM COMPROMISED BY DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS.
Long-established doctor-patient relationships could compromise the effectiveness of newly-launched “fit note” legislation.
The Statement of Fitness for Work is designed to get employees back into the work environment after a period of illness, but leading employment lawyer Jonathan Whittaker says that it will make no difference to addictively workshy staff who have built long-standing relationships with their GP.
“There’s a hard-core of continually questionably ill and injured who are capable of delivering the performance of a heroically incapacitated CSI Miami shooting victim on the stage of the GP’s surgery,” said Jonathan Whittaker , Employment Partner at SAS Daniels LLP, one of the North West’s biggest law firms.
“Over a considerable period they have managed to convince their friendly neighbourhood doctor that they endure a life of marginal health, and pledge to make huge efforts to get to work when they’re ‘well enough’. This is a variation upon the oft-opined brilliance of the criminal mind.
“The vast majority of people deal with illness and injury very openly and honestly – but I am engaged in continual discussion with employers who are handcuffed to a minority of employees who live in an untouchable ill-health limbo in which the alleged patient describes a difficult-to-diagnose condition of being ‘out of sorts’ or having an unidentifiable physical affliction or injury, and who have fine-tuned the art of convincing affrontery if questioned by either employer or doctor.
“In those circumstances, the likelihood of a GP saying their patient is really fit for work if the patient in front of them insists they are not has to be in question.
“Doctors will have to exercise an enormous amount of impartiality, especially where they may have been the patient’s doctor for many years and have perhaps come to view them as being more susceptible to illness than most.
“There is also the complication that GPs will not have any discussion with the employer before filling out the fit note – which means that he or she will have no understanding of the potential roles available within each place of work to be able to suggest alternatives.
“Fit notes will never replace an experienced occupational health report.”
The new fit note is designed to give employees and employers more flexibility in how they deal with sickness absence. This might mean discussing altered hours or a modified work routine. The key is to establish a dialogue between employer, employee and their GP or occupational health specialist.
GPs will be able to offer advice on what work an employee may be able to perform and will be able to suggest adjustments to working arrangements which could be made in order to facilitate an earlier return to work.
Health chiefs say that the isolation brought on by absence from work can lead to stress, depression and anxiety. Getting employees back to work earlier can help promote physical and mental wellbeing and improve organisational effectiveness.
SAS Daniels LLP which has offices in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester
Ends
Further information:
Iain Macauley or Megan Codling
07788 978800 / 07795 848586
im@pressrelations.co.uk / mc@pressrelations.co.uk / www.sasdaniels.co.uk
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