A Greater Anglia train. Credit: Greater Anglia Greater Anglia is warning of further disruption over the coming week as three rail strikes will leave the network with heavily reduced services for two Saturdays in a row and on Wednesday. Members of train drivers’ union ASLEF are striking on Saturday 23 July and Saturday 30 July – and RMT members, including Network Rail signallers and maintenance teams and Greater Anglia station staff, cleaners, conductors and revenue protection teams, are joining a national strike on Wednesday 27 July. Greater Anglia is advising people to avoid travelling on its trains on each of the strike days, when only a fraction of the usual timetable will operate. Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We are asking people to avoid travelling with us because we are only able to run a heavily reduced service, with fewer trains and so fewer seats available. “These strikes coincide with the Latitude Festival, in Suffolk, the start of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the start of the Football League season with many of our local teams due to play. “We understand how frustrated our customers feel about their travel plans being disrupted, especially when there are so many events going on. “We are very sorry for the inconvenience disruption due to strikes causes our customers. “Negotiations are continuing and we hope an agreement with the unions can be reached soon.” On Saturday 23 July there will be no services between Cambridge/Bishops Stortford and London Liverpool Street or on any regional or branch lines. The following services will run:
Norwich-London Liverpool Street Intercity service, one train an hour, with first and last trains from Norwich at 08.00 and 19.00, and from Liverpool Street at 10.30 and 21.30
Colchester-London Liverpool Street, one train an hour, with first and last trains from Colchester at 08.13 and 20.13, and from Liverpool Street at 10.00 and 22.00
Southend Victoria-London Liverpool Street, one train an hour, first and last trains from Southend Victoria at 08.13 and 22.00, and from Liverpool Street at 09.47 and 23.45
Stansted Express Stansted Airport-London Liverpool Street, one train an hour with first and last trains from Stansted Airport at 05.30 and 00.30, and from Liverpool Street at 04.10 and 23.25
Other train operators in the region, Elizabeth line, c2c, Cross Country, EMR, Great Northern and London Overground, are not affected by strike action on Saturday 23 July, so their services may be a helpful alternative for some journeys. Local bus operators may also be an option for some shorter distance journeys. On Saturday 30 July, it is likely a similar timetable will run as on Saturday 23 July. Drivers from Arriva Rail London, GWR, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains are also on strike that day. People going to the Lady Gaga concert at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium are strongly advised to make alternative travel arrangements. On Wednesday 27 July, if no agreement is made with the RMT, there is likely to be a very limited service on lines into London Liverpool Street only, with no trains before 7.30am and every journey complete by 6.30pm – meaning most last trains from Liverpool Street will be between 4pm and 5pm. No trains will run on branch or regional lines. Timetables and details of first and last train times will be available on the Greater Anglia website, app and social media as soon as they are finalised. There will be no rail replacement bus service operating instead of any of the trains which are not running because of the strikes. Passengers can use tickets bought for a strike day either the day before or the two days after the strike day, or they can change their ticket to a different date or get a refund. The RMT has announced more national strikes for Thursday 18 and Saturday 20 August. Further information is available on greateranglia.co.uk.
The following article was written by Martin Moore, Employee Benefits Consultant, Beckett Financial Services. With the rising cost of living and a huge shift in employee expectations in the last decade, businesses are increasingly expected to help employees save money, promote emotional resilience, and support the financial, mental, and physical wellness of their staff. This can get expensive and quickly too. However, Cycle to Work schemes can lend cost-efficient support to these momentous asks… Businesses are setting them up in droves, here is why: 1. Employees save money Purchasing a bike through a Cycle to Work scheme will typically save employees 33% – 43% of the cost of their package. This is because this benefit takes advantage of salary exchange, a reduction in their gross pay meaning the employee does not pay tax or national insurance on the exchanged amount. On top of this, the cost is spread over 12 months, reducing the anxiety of an immediate outlay. Now if we factor in the ever-increasing cost of fuel, employees can save a significant amount per year by commuting via bicycle, (some estimates place this saving at up to £2,000 per year!) employees quickly see a return on their investment. 2. Saves the business money There is no initial outlay to set up a Cycle to Work scheme, simply choose your provider and work with them to implement your agreement. Once an employee chooses their package, the business fronts the cost of this with the employee repaying the business over a 12-month period. Now, factor in salary exchange. As the employee is having a deduction from their gross salary to recover the costs of the cycle purchase, the business is saving on Employers’ National Insurance contributions. Therefore, for every £1,000 spent on Cycle to Work, the business saves £150.50 in Employers’ National Insurance! 3. Healthier, happier employees Aside from the obvious physical benefits, cycling helps us control the hormones responsible for stress, which can help maintain employee wellbeing. With workplace stress and anxiety on the rise boosting our emotional resilience can be critical for our long-term mental health. The ONS site musculoskeletal and mental health issues among the top-rated reasons for employee absence in the UK, supporting employees to healthier minds and bodies helps bolster your workforce and increases resilience. With employees returning to the workplace in numbers, a Cycle to Work scheme offers clear benefits to employers, and their staff and represents a small portion of an increasing surge to provide workplace wellbeing packages. Beckett Financial Services offer comprehensive Employee Benefits Consultancy services, complimenting your existing HR policies and culture with a focus on benefits provision, tailored implementation and ongoing support and employee education. To help establish your employee wellbeing plan, please contact martin.moore@beckettinvest.com Image provided by MAD-HR
A return to work interview is a short meeting held with an employee, by their line manager, on their return to work after an absence. Return to work interviews are short meetings that provide managers the opportunity to understand the reasons behind absences and assess any support that may be required on the employee’s return to work, while returning employees get peace of mind that they’ll be able to handle any challenges that may greet them and will feel supported on their return to the workplace. All return to work interviews at your organisation should follow a consistent format. It is helpful to use a return to work form to ensure the meeting covers all the key points that need to be discussed. Return to work interviews should occur after every absence, no matter how long or short the team member’s leave of absence has been, and regardless of the reasons for the absence. Employers should take the importance of return to work interviews seriously, and make sure they’re not just another administrative hurdle. This will allow more time for what really matters: taking care of your employee’s needs while ensuring a safe environment at work. There are many reasons why a return to work interview is a good idea, here are three of the benefits that we see on a regular basis:
A reduction in the number of employee absences;
A recording showing why an employee is considered fit to return to work; and
Creating an opportunity to explore deeper or more long-term health issues that may need to be addressed.
When managing long-term absences, return to work interviews can be an opportunity for employers and employees alike. Employers need to ensure that the employee is getting all of their needs met, while also assessing the support they require, during rehabilitation (for example). Sometimes a phased return to work is appropriate; a successful return to work interview helps plan the best way forward. Managing long-term absences is a challenging task, but it can be made easier if you have planned for your employee’s return. Return to work interviews offer managers an opportunity to assess the needs of returning employees. This is also an opportunity to plan how team members will return to work, minimising the chance of them needing to take additional time off from work. The importance of managing these transitions cannot be overstated – when someone misses work due to illness or injury there are often specific steps that need to be taken to mitigate the disruption a returning employee might cause in their team. The return-to-work interview is one of the most important data points in absence management because it allows you to collect and analyse different types of information for use with trigger mechanisms, risk assessments or occupational health involvement. Return to Work interviews – a brief ‘how to’ One way to help the return to work interview run smoothly is by using a standardised form for all interviews. This ensures that every employee has equal opportunities during interviews and receives fair treatment. A typical schedule will include:
Welcoming the employee back to work;
Updating the employee on anything they missed during their absence;
Asking about the employee’s health and reason for absence;
Discussing work-related issues, or other reasons that may have contributed to the absence;
Explaining any consequences of the absence, in line with your company policy; and
Discuss what measures can be taken to prevent future absences, if relevant.
The tone of the interview should be professional and friendly and the conversation should be conducted in private. Privacy is important, so it’s crucial all data collected during an interview remains confidential. Interviews should be held in a private room. Personal data collected as part of the meeting must be kept confidential, in line with the Data Protection Act. Line managers need skills and sensitivity The effectiveness of any employee return-to-work interview depends on the skills and attitude of the manager. It’s critical for interviews to be conducted in a sensitive, professional manner with no judgement or assumptions from either side; this will allow both parties involved to feel more comfortable while meeting the mutually beneficial objectives of the meeting. Line managers need to be aware of their organisation’s absence policy and relevant laws, for example, those relating to equality and discrimination. Some managers might need additional training to help develop their people skills. If you are concerned your managers may not be skilled to undertake such meetings, then please take a look at our HR Heroes courses. The line manager should also prepare for each interview by:
Gathering relevant information, including the absence management policy and the employee’s absence data
Identifying and being ready to discuss problematic trends in the employee’s attendance
Being ready to offer any support available to the employee
At the end of the interview, both the line manager and employee should sign and date the form, so statements given at a later date cannot be disputed. We have prepared a template Return to Work form that can be downloaded for free. Please click the ‘Request Document’ button below to download the free template. The Return to Work form is just one example of over a thousand templates and documents that subscribers to the MAD-HR HR Toolkit have access to. Each document has been carefully designed to help you manage your team more easily, efficiently and within the requirements of employment law. Image provided by MAD-HR
A recent poll looking at Menopause in the Workplace (commissioned by Koru Kids), found that 18% of women in UK workplaces currently experiencing menopause or perimenopause symptoms were considering leaving their job. When you consider that women (within the menopausal age range) are the fastest-growing demographic in the workforce – 4 million women aged 45-55 in work (ONS 2021), it is clear that unless businesses don’t start to reflect on how they support their employees then they are at risk of losing a vital part of their workforce which could have been unavoidable. We were recently invited to participate in a Menopause in the Workplace webinar for the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and during the event, 17% of female attendees disclosed that they have considered leaving their job because of menopause. Alongside this, 36% of attendees rated their organisation’s support for menopausal women as poor or very poor. So as an employer where do you start when it comes to improving the support offered to women experiencing menopausal symptoms? We have it covered with our Menopause in the Workplace Toolkit. The MAD-HR Menopause in the Workplace Toolkit includes:
Introduction to the menopause
Information, advice and guidance on Managing Menopause in the workplace
Menopause Policy
Risk assessment
Tips for line managers
Men in the workplace
Assumptions and bias
Trans, non-binary and the menopause
Reasonable adjustments for consideration
Essentially, it is packed full of useful information, which was highlighted by employees and employers during the event. The cost of this is £99 + VAT. This toolkit ensures that you have what you need and gives you back the time to focus on all of the other demands that you have and you can be assured that you have what you need to keep you on the right path, avoiding the pitfalls and making mistakes. £ 99 + VATOrder the Menopause in the Workplace Toolkit A copy of the toolkit will be emailed to you once the payment has been received. Image provided by MAD-HR
Train operator Greater Anglia has thanked Samaritans volunteers for their life-saving work to mark the charity’s annual awareness campaign Talk To Us throughout July. Samaritans Awareness Day is held on 24 July every year, to help spread the message that volunteers are available to listen to anyone who is struggling, 24/7. As part of the rail industry’s partnership with the charity, Samaritans has helped train hundreds of Greater Anglia colleagues in its suicide prevention course. The half-day course teaches rail staff how to recognise someone who may be vulnerable, how to approach them and start a conversation. They are taught some of the essential listening skills that underpin Samaritans’ volunteer services as well as how to get the person to a place of safety and refer them onto friends, family, the British Transport Police or Samaritans to receive further support. A total of 459 Greater Anglia staff have taken part in the course. Matt Wakefield, Greater Anglia’s Head of Safety, Security and Sustainability, said: “We’re very grateful to the Samaritans for all that they do. Hundreds of our colleagues have taken part in their training and this had led to several life-saving interventions on our network. “For every life lost on the railway, six are saved. The suicide prevention course has been invaluable; it empowers rail staff to start conversations, help support vulnerable people and signpost them to get the help they need.” Samaritans Olivia Cayley, Head of Rail Programme, said: “We’re so grateful to Greater Anglia for their commitment in training their staff to potentially save lives. Suicide is preventable and talking really can make such a difference. Given the last challenging few years, it’s so important that we continue to look out for one another and encourage others to reach out for help if they need it. “Samaritans’ Talk To Us campaign reminds the public and rail staff alike that whatever they’re facing, our volunteers are there around the clock to offer a listening ear to anyone who is struggling to cope. You can confidentially call 116 123 free of charge or email jo@samaritans.org.” Image provided by Greater Anglia
Last week we held our annual summer networking and fundraising event ‘Lunch on the Green’ at our Norwich office and we’re absolutely delighted to have raised £7538 for our Charity partner Break. Now in its 13th year and considered by many as the highlight of the Norwich networking calendar, this year’s event was a great success with 35 businesses exhibiting on the day and approximately 250 delegates in attendance. The event was in support of Break charity once again, having raised over £50,000 for Break since its humble conception in 2008. Break is an innovative charity that provides hope and support for vulnerable children and young people across East Anglia. They deliver specialist support services to ensure young people have the care they need, when and where they need it, for as long as they need it. The event featured performances from local vocalists, garden games, lunch provided by social enterprise The Feed, Break’s ‘CoffeeBreak’ van, wine provided by HarperWells, Roulette with Kings & Queens Fun Casinos, prosecco with Smith & Pinching, beer tasting with Alan Boswell Group, strawberries and cream with Clapham & Collinge and floral displays by Libby Ferris Flowers. Associate and Marketing Manager Louis Hilldrup-Boorman said ”An enormous thank you to our lovely exhibitors and everyone who attended this year’s event. I think it’s safe to say an enjoyable afternoon was had by all. The atmosphere was electric, the weather was glorious and my email inbox was full of complimentary emails from attendees and exhibitors! Lunch on the Green certainly isn’t your typical networking event, but I think we achieved a perfect balance of networking and having fun. It was great to see lots of conversations and connections being made, attendees taking part in exhibitor competitions and summer games and activities, all whilst raising money for our charity partner Break.” Sarah Bunn, Community Fundraising Manager at Break, said ”We have been thrilled to be the charity partner for Clapham & Collinge’s Lunch on the Green once again. Louis and the Clapham & Collinge team have worked incredibly hard to ensure that the organisation of the event is second to none and we are proud to be associated with this event as a charity partner. To raise such an amount is incredible, and it goes a long way to funding dedicated specialist support for young people on the edge of care, in care and moving on from care.” Exhibitor and delegate feedback: ”Such a great networking event, brilliantly organised by yourself Louis and such an enjoyable day had by all! Great connections made, lots of conversations, laughter, great music and amazing food, so thank you again to all those involved.” – Billie Steward, Volunteer Coordinator at Norfolk and Waveney Mind. ”Well done on organising a great lunch on the green event. I’m particularly impressed with the weather you arranged!” – Chris Carter, CEO of Home Instead Norwich. ”It was very different from many other networking events I’ve attended, really relaxed and dare I say it, much more fun! The snacks and drinks floating around put everyone in a great mood. We’ll definitely be attending next year!” – Stephanie Purcell, Events & Engagement Manager at the Benjamin Foundation ”I just wanted to say a huge thank you for yesterday, what a great event! It was so nice to be back, and it felt like there was a great atmosphere across the whole event, as people seemed genuinely happy to be back together again.” – Lauren Farley, Business Development and Events Coordinator at Norwich Theatre Royal. ”Congratulations on today, I thought it was amazing. You should be extremely proud of what you have achieved.” – Lisa Edwards, Consultant at Rampling Clarke. Photos provided by Clapham & Collinge
Most of us can’t imagine living without the web. It’s estimated that 96% of households in Great Britain are online. From social media to online shopping, the web is an important part of our lives. So, it should be available to everyone regardless of ability, shouldn’t it? There are an estimated 14.1 million disabled people in the UK. That’s about 1 in 5. Could they be your customers?
The total spending power of families with at least 1 disabled person is estimated at £274 billion a year.
Research by Scope £274 billion is a big number. Even without that, making your website accessible is good practise. It helps make the user experience better which benefits everyone. And in the era of core web vitals, that includes Google. What are accessibility issues in web design? Accessibility issues are often thought about in relation to disabilities. For example, someone with blindness or low vision may rely on software called a screen reader. A screen reader is a type of assistive technology, a term you’ll see a lot when dealing with accessibility. The screen reader software helps people navigate websites by reading the content aloud. This removes the need for a mouse and relying on visual cues. Someone with limited motor control may find a mouse hard to use. So, they might navigate with their keyboard. You can try this – visit your favourite website and use the tab key, arrow keys and return key to navigate. Now try again on gov.uk – you should notice the difference. Let’s take the above examples without disabilities in mind. Vision often starts to deteriorate after age 40 due to presbyopia. The median age of the UK population is 40.5. So, basic accessibility considerations like making text easy to zoom will help a lot of people (WCAG 1.4.4). And have you ever had a few too many beers, hit a workout a bit hard? Then you will have experienced loss of fine motor control. Big, clear buttons make it a lot easier to order that recovery takeaway from your phone (WCAG 2.5.5). How do you define accessibility in web design? A set of guidelines called WCAG govern web design accessibility standards. WCAG stands for web content accessibility guidelines, the current version is WCAG 2.1. There are three levels of accessibility in WCAG from Level A to Level AAA. Each level builds on the previous, so to meet Level AA, your website must meet Level A first. WCAG Level A
Level A is the broadest in scope. Meeting these guidelines should make your website accessible to many people. This level has minimal impact on design and structure.
WCAG Level AA
Level AA makes your website useable by most people, with or without disabilities. This level is the standard used by many organisations around the world. For most websites, Level AA is a great target. It’s also required for UK public sector websites as of 23 September 2018.
WCAG Level AAA
Level AAA is the most strict level. Designed to make your website accessible to almost everyone. This level has a high impact on design and isn’t suitable for many sites. This is because some types of content can never meet the guidelines.
How do I make my website accessible? The short answer is to work through the WCAG guidelines and resolve any issues. WCAG is very technical and can be hard to understand. WebAIM have created a version that’s easier to follow – the WebAIM WCAG2 checklist. This does not replace the WCAG list, it’s designed to make it easier to work with. You can use the list to produce an accessibility audit. Check off each point to see if your website meets that guideline. If it doesn’t, make a note of why. This will give you a list of things that need fixing. Most websites have several templates and elements so be sure to test a variety of pages. Automated tools such as tota11y or SortSite can spot some issues. Many issues will need manual checks though. The guidelines are quite technical, so you’ll need a strong understanding of websites. What are some common accessibility issues on websites? Bigfork often produce accessibility audits for our clients. Below are the most common issues we find, and how you could fix them. Use of colour You should never rely on colour alone to convey information. For people with low vision or colour blindness it makes your website hard to use. Websites usually fail to meet this guideline when they have links in the content. If the link colour is close to the text colour, they can be hard to spot. The very easy fix is to make links underlined. If your links are already underlined, congratulations, you’ve passed WCAG 1.4.1. Text should also stand out from its background. For body text, it should have a colour contrast of at least 4.5:1. For large text (18pt or bold 14pt) it’s at least 3:1. You can check this with tota11y, or by using a colour picker and a contrast checker. Make sure to check any text that’s overlaid on an image. Always test the areas with the lowest contrast i.e., where colours are most similar. Do you have enough contrast? Then you’ve passed WCAG 1.4.3, good job. Links Pop quiz – which of these links is more accessible?
For more information about accessibility click here
Find out more about accessibility
The answer is B. But why? Because of WCAG 2.4.4 – link purpose in context. This means a link should make sense without needing any other context. In example A, the “click here” only makes sense as part of the whole sentence. People using a screen reader will only hear the link as “click here”, which makes no sense on its own. In example B we make the link text descriptive, so without any context we know it’s “about accessibility”. This has meaning without extra context. We often see this on news and blog pages – a slew of “read more” links. The easy fix is to remove them and make the article title the link. Congratulations, your site is already more accessible. If it doesn’t say “click here”, nobody will know what to do. How will people know where to click? This is a common query when removing “click here” and “read more” links. The solution is to make the link look like a link, with an underline, or an arrow. Make buttons look like buttons, (but not ghost buttons). People are quite used to poking at things that look like they can be poked. Consider your phone, your computer, ATMs. None of them tell you to click here, the labels are the instructions. Documents Everyone forgets documents. All those PDF and Word files are part of your website too. We almost always find these three things:
Fixing PDFs is quite simple with Acrobat Pro using the built-in accessibility tools. Microsoft have resources for making accessible Word Documents too. More complex documents with tables, lists and links may need extra work. There is a good guide on AbilityNet for creating accessible documents. If you are a public sector body, only documents published after 23 September 2018 need to comply. Unless the document is still relevant, such as a manual for a currently used system. Note on accessible documents Documents can be hard to make accessible. At the time of writing this website falls short of Level AA because of the forms in our web design brief. This is not ideal, but the document is still useful without needing to use the form. You can cover any issues like this in an accessibility statement. How do I write an accessibility statement? You can use your accessibility audit to write your accessibility statement. It’s ok if your website doesn’t pass everything, the statement will cover that. The gov.uk website has a sample accessibility statement that you can work from. This page has very clear instructions and is easy to follow. If you are a public sector body, note that some of the wording is required by law. One important bit is the “non-accessible content” section. If your accessibility audit found issues, you can explain these issues here, and how you plan to fix them. Then as you work through the issues, re-test your website and update your statement. Disproportionate burden What if you can’t fix something? Or don’t have the time or budget right now? You can flag issues as a disproportionate burden. This is not an excuse to ignore issues, some things are just not practical. Any new website should aim to not include disproportionate burdens. It is sometimes necessary though, for example if you rely on legacy content such as old documents. Examples of accessible websites We’ve created a lot of accessible websites for our customers. Here are some recent examples. Kent IASKNorfolk Safeguarding Adults Board What next? I hope you’ve learned a bit about why accessibility matters and how to start looking into it. An accessibility audit is the best starting point. Then review your website regularly as developments and new content could reintroduce issues. Your accessibility statement should have a “last amended” date to show it is up to date. If you would like to know more about accessibility please contact me. Mark Ellaway, Bigfork PS – You can find more great successful website insights on the Bigfork website. images provided by BigFork
Group Lotus announces a new Global Brand and PR centre structure has been established. The new centre will be headed up by James Andrew, who has been appointed Chief Brand Officer. Initially with offices in the UK, Netherlands and China, the new centre will oversee the evolution and deployment of the Lotus brand around the world. The Global Brand & PR Centre will report into Group CEO Mr. Feng Qingfeng, with the regional divisions headed up by Nigel Bromley (UK office – covering UK and RoW regions), Giuseppe Mele (Netherlands office – covering Europe region) and Chen Qi (China office – covering Greater China region). The newly formed team will embark on establishing systems, processes, teams and facilities around the world, ensuring the most impactful and consistent treatment of the Lotus brand as the business evolves and develops in line with the company’s Vision 80 strategy. In addition to heading up the Global Brand Centre as Chief Brand Officer, James Andrew will also continue his responsibilities as Executive Director of Communications for Lotus Cars Limited, reporting to Group VP and Managing Director of Lotus Cars, Matt Windle. Image provided by Lotus
Three partners from Ashtons Legal have been ranked Band 1 in their disciplines within the Chamber and Partners High Net Worth Guide 2022. Jennie Pratt remains at Band 1 for Private Wealth Law for the Cambridge and Surrounds area. The other notable successes go to Alan Brown and Polly Stephenson who both move up to Band 1 in their respective categories. Alan is recognised for his work providing Private Wealth Law in the Ipswich and Surrounds area and Polly is now ranked Band 1 for Private Wealth Disputes in the whole of East Anglia. Chambers and Partners produces international rankings for the legal industry, identifying and ranking the most outstanding law firms and lawyers in over 180 jurisdictions throughout the world. Jennie Pratt and Alan Brown are part of one of the largest private client teams in the region and have many years experience advising clients on estate planning and inheritance and related taxes. Both are longstanding members of STEP (Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners). Polly works in a more niche area of the law, advising executors/trustees, beneficiaries and disappointed beneficiaries as both claimants and defendants in trust disputes and contentious probate and inheritance claims relating to estates ranging from modest in size to those in excess of £8 million. She is a member of ACTAPS (Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Solicitors) and leads a rapidly growing team of contentious probate lawyers. James Tarling, Ashtons’ CEO says: “Chambers and Partners is a well-respected legal guide and I am therefore delighted that they have recognised the fantastic work that Jennie, Alan, Polly and their teams do in providing an exceptional service to our clients. I am hugely proud of our team.” Image provided by Ashtons Legal
Independent Hong Kong-based law firm Tanner De Witt has today [15th July] announced its agreement to adopt the iManage Cloud, with system implementation, training and support delivered by UK-based leading iManage Partner, Tiger Eye. Tanner De Witt is one of the largest independent law firms in Hong Kong, with international clients including both public and private companies as well as individuals. The award-winning firm’s areas of practice include dispute resolution, corporate and commercial law, and restructuring and insolvency. The Legal 500 writes that “the firm provides insightful, practical and commercial legal advice with discretion and sensitivity to clients’ needs and preferences.” Tiger Eye will be managing the firm’s move from a legacy solution to iManage Work: the market-leading document management system. In addition to managing system implementation, Tiger Eye will also provide consultancy, training and change management assistance, as well as services for the firm’s adoption and roll-out of Threat Manager and iManage Drive. Tiger Eye’s Technical Support Team will also provide ongoing support after the system is live, maintaining, protecting and optimising Tanner De Witt’s iManage technologies. Paul Harris, Head of IT at Tanner De Witt, commented: “iManage will significantly benefit our team, by enabling us to dramatically reduce the time taken to find, draft and edit documents. The system will also enhance our security and enhance compliance with data requirements.” Tanner De Witt’s iManage Cloud system will be rolled out to users this September. Once live in the iManage Cloud, Tanner De Witt’s team of over a hundred professionals will be able to collaborate securely from anywhere, at any time and from any device thanks to the system’s powerful agile functionality, while maintaining seamless access to documents secured in Hong Kong. David Bullock, Client Services Director at Tiger Eye, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Tanner De Witt on this exciting project. Their investment in iManage will offer a whole host of operational efficiency and productivity gains, and also reduce pressure on their IT team, with system updates managed by iManage.” On selecting Tiger Eye, Eddie Look, Partner at Tanner De Witt states: “We were impressed by Tiger Eye’s technical knowledge and know-how, they showed the systems efficacy and efficiency especially during their workshops. With their professional approach to customer service, we expect the implementation of the system to be executed flawlessly. It is a pleasure to work with their team!” Image provided by Tiger Eye
A Greater Anglia train. Credit: Greater Anglia Greater Anglia is reminding people to avoid travelling on its trains this Saturday when 90 per cent of services will not run due to a strike by train drivers’ union ASLEF. The 24-hour strike is followed by major engineering works on Greater Anglia’s routes into London on Sunday – and the train company is warning rail replacement buses could be very busy as more people than usual are expected to travel on Sunday to avoid disruption caused by the strike on Saturday. Timetables are now available on Greater Anglia’s website and app for Saturday – when there is no service at all on some routes and a heavily reduced service on lines into London Liverpool Street. There will be no services between Cambridge/Bishops Stortford and London Liverpool Street or on any regional or branch lines on Saturday 23 July. The following services will run: • Norwich-London Liverpool Street Intercity service, one train an hour, with first and last trains from Norwich at 08.00 and 19.00, and from Liverpool Street at 10.30 and 21.30 • Colchester-London Liverpool Street, one train an hour, with first and last trains from Colchester at 08.13 and 20.13, and from Liverpool Street at 10.00 and 22.00 • Southend Victoria- London Liverpool Street, one train an hour, first and last trains from Southend Victoria at 08.13 and 22.00, and from Liverpool Street at 09.47 and 23.45 • Stansted Express Stansted Airport-London Liverpool Street, one train an hour with first and last trains from Stansted Airport at 05.30 and 00.30, and from Liverpool Street at 04.10 and 23.25 There will be no rail replacement bus service operating instead of any of the trains which are not running on that Saturday because of the strike. Passengers can use tickets bought for a strike day either the day before or the two days after the strike day, or they can change their ticket to a different date or get a refund. On Sunday 24 July, there are major engineering works on all routes into London Liverpool Street, with rail replacement bus services for part of the journey. Greater Anglia is advising customers to expect rail replacement bus services on Sunday 24 July to be very busy with long queues as more people than usual are likely to travel on Sunday as a result of Saturday’s strike. Services will also start later in the morning than usual with some early morning services not running, as a result of the strike. Full timetables for the next weekend will be available in the middle of next week. Unions have announced further national strike dates which will affect Greater Anglia services. Members of the train drivers’ union ASLEF are also due to strike on Saturday 30 July. RMT members, including Network Rail signallers and Greater Anglia conductors, revenue protection and station teams will be taking action on Wednesday 27 July – and the RMT have also announced strikes for Thursday 18 August and Saturday 20 August, unless talks can resolve the issues before then. Greater Anglia members of another rail union, TSSA, have voted for industrial action short of a strike but with no details at this stage of what that action might be or their potential impact on services. Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We know that the weekend of 23/24 July is really busy – the start of the summer holidays, the Latitude Festival and other events in London. “We are genuinely very sorry for all the inconvenience these strikes will cause our customers, especially on Saturday 23 July when it’s followed by major engineering works the next day, when we anticipate more people might be travelling because they’re unable to make their journeys on Saturday. “Negotiations to try to resolve the pay issue causing the strikes are continuing at an industry level and we hope we can resolve this situation soon.” Commenting on the engineering works, Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “This work on Sunday 24 July is vital to upgrade the railway to support new, longer trains for West Anglia passengers and to support the next stage of opening of the Elizabeth line programme which will provide better connections across London.” Other train operators in the region, Elizabeth line, c2c, Cross Country, EMR, Great Northern and London Overground, are not affected by strike action on Saturday 23 July, so their services may be a helpful alternative for some journeys. Local bus operators may also be an option for some shorter distance journeys. Information about the strikes, including how to get a refund on all tickets including season tickets is available on the Greater Anglia website. The company is updating its website, app and social media as soon as details of services affected by strikes are finalised.
A leading children’s charity says its free furniture collection service is a “vital and essential” way to raise much-needed funds. East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) collects unwanted items for free and sells them within selected stores, including the one in Plumstead Road, Norwich. Funds generated go towards helping EACH support families and care for children and young people across Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk. The furniture sections are particularly popular because they stock a range of good-quality furniture, from wardrobes and cupboards to sofas, beds, tables and chairs. The team also accept and sell electrical items and ‘white goods’ like washing machines, dishwashers, fridges and freezers. EACH Head of Retail Central Operations Sarah Throssell said: “We’re very proud of our furniture showrooms. They boast a great selection of high-quality items at amazing prices. “We also collect furniture for free and from a wide area. “It’s a major plus-point and, without that, we wouldn’t have the stock so it’s a vital, essential service and great way for people to help and support our charity. “We welcome donations and all people have to do is contact us to arrange a collection time. “We inspect everything first and make sure soft furnishings like mattresses and sofas comply with fire regulations, in addition to being in a good, saleable condition. “All labelling has to be correct and meet health and safety standards and we don’t tend to take dark-wood items, because they don’t sell.” To book a furniture collection, head here or call 01223 800800 (option six). EACH’s Plumstead Road shop is one of 19 across Norfolk. Images provided by EACH