LOST MEDICATION WARNING

MERSEYSIDE Police issued a warning, this week, after a quantity of prescription drugs were lost by a patient near the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Saturday, 12 September 2009.

A bag containing the medicine was either left in a taxi upon arrival at hospital or dropped on the road or near the hospital entrance.

The medicines are to control diabetes and blood pressure (Metfornin, hydrocortisone tablets, simvastatin, florinef and ramipril).

Merseyside Police would like to remind members of the public of the dangers of taking drugs that are prescribed for someone else. These medications in particular could have very serious effects if taken.

Officers are urging anyone who may have found these tablets to contact their nearest police station as soon as possible or hand them in at a pharmacy.

 COPS ON THE RUN

MERSEYSIDE Police Officers from Sefton recently ran the Wirral 10k charity run raising £500 for the local Jospice.

The run which took place on Sunday, 13 September 2009, was completed by Sergeant Andy Hughes and Constables Suzy Richmond, Darren McIntyre, Becky Hutt, Ricky Quayle and Barry McLennan who are all based at Marsh Lane Police Station.

Sergeant Andy Graham said:- "This was a great experience and we all really enjoyed it. I was proud of all my team, and would also like to congratulate all the other runners, local residents and spectators who helped make this a day to remember. The training and event has shown the strength and commitment of my team, no officer was left behind, we all crossed the line together."

MURDER INVESTIGATION

MERSEYSIDE Police launched a murder investigation following the death of an 18 year old man from Kirkdale this afternoon, Monday, 14 September 2009. On Tuesday, 15 September 2009, they charged a 32 year old man with the murder of Jamie Francis Kelly.

The Police where alerted at about 1pm when a man presented himself at the A&E department of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital with wound to his chest. He was treated for his injuries, but later died.

Crime Scene Investigators are carrying our forensic examination in and around the Chirkdale Street area of Kirkdale and house to house enquiries are taking place. High visibility patrols have been stepped up in the area to reassure the local community.

Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to contact:- 0151 777 4064 or Crimestoppers on:- 0800 555 111.

MEP SPEAKS UP FOR LOCAL CAR INDUSTRY

THE "engineering excellence" practised at the Halewood car plant has been praised in a European Parliament debate about the future of the car industry.

Southport Euro-MP Chris Davies said that on this basis it deserved to prosper.

But the Liberal Democrat warned that the industry across Europe had overcapacity that suppressed profits, and he criticised the long term failure of carmakers to take a more positive approach towards environmental innovation.

He said:- "They fought against catalytic converters, wildly exagerating their cost. They reneged on pledges to reduce CO2 emissions. Now they are trying to wriggle out of legal requirements to use air conditioning systems that will not contribute to climate change."

While admitting that there were positive stories to be told, Davies said that huge sums of public money had been used to prop up the car industry across Europe, and called on the manufacturers to do more to recognise their obligations to society as a whole.

Help at hand for small firms struggling with employment law

THE Forum of Private Business (FPB) has launched its new Employment Guide to help small businesses comply with employment law, which is an increasing headache for companies forced to make redundancies because of the recession or dismiss staff following disciplinary breaches.

According to the FPB’s recent Referendum survey on the ‘Cost of Compliance’, complying with employment legislation is the costliest administrative burden faced by small businesses in the UK, totalling almost £2.4bn per year.

Now, new figures from the FPB’s members’ helpline service show that more than one in three of all calls in August 2009 related to employment matters – more than any other issue. Redundancy queries amounted to 14% of the total, with calls about dismissals accounting for 7%. Significantly, calls about short-time working amounted to just 2% of the total number. Queries about disciplinary matters made up 12% of all calls to the employment and legal helplines.

On 1 October 2009, business owners will be expected to cope with a raft of legal changes, including those related to employment such as increases in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and an increase in the cost of redundancy.

“Many firms are worried that they are not following the correct redundancy procedures when they have to lay off staff. Looking ahead to October’s one-off increase in the weekly wage limit used to calculate redundancy payments, they are also concerned that it is becoming a more expensive process.” said the FPB’s Policy Representative, Matt Goodman.

He added:- “There is a knock-on effect. The increase will also affect other statutory compensation payments, including unfair dismissal awards, compensation for non-compliance with flexible working procedures and compensation should a statement of employment particulars not be provided to an employee.”

Mr Goodman urged entrepreneurs to put in place watertight procedures via the FPB’s Employment Guide, which is updated annually and contains guidance on every aspect of employment, including practical help on complying with the law.

The latest available data from the Tribunals Service shows that the number of employment tribunals in the UK soared from more than 115,000 in 2005 to almost 190,000 in 2008.

According to the FPB's research, money spent by smaller businesses on complying with employment law surpasses the £2.1bn per year spent on health and safety administration and the £1.8bn on tax.

The survey found that smaller-business employers spend £259m per year on work associated with dismissals and redundancy. They spend a further £391m on absence control and management, £237m on maternity, £333m on disciplinary issues, and £1,175m on holidays and any other remaining aspects of employment legislation. The average time per month spent on all of these different aspects of employment law was found to be around 10 hours for each small business.

Companies in the South East were found to spend the most on employment law out of 12 regions surveyed, at £361 million per year. London firms faced the second-highest bill at £332m, followed by £272m for those in the North West. Smaller businesses in the North East were found to face the smallest annual bill for complying with employment law, at £71m.

FPB member Mark Ashton, of Ashton Marketing Services Ltd in Leicestershire, believes the FPB’s Employment Guide can help other business owners to negotiate the minefield of employment red tape. “I find that, by having it on hand in the office, as a practical guide, it keeps me up to speed with the current employment legislation, as well as good custom and practice [which is] paramount to a manager working in a medium-sized business.”

Julie Tabb of the Cornwall-based environmental engineering company H20K Systems Ltd, which is also a member of the FPB, agreed. "We have the Employment Guide and the thing we like most about it is that it is easy to use. The FPB doesn't complicate matters- the Guide is straightforward and anyone can understand it."

Earlier this year, the FPB launched smallbusinesschannel.co.uk  to provide entrepreneurs with free, concise, video-based information on business-related issues including employment law.  The site's content includes advice on employment legislation from the FPB's employment adviser, Jane Caven, a human resources specialist and non-executive director of the FPB.  For more information about the FPB’s Employment Guide, call 0845 612 6266 or visit:- fpb.org/employmentguide.