The laws regarding training for first aid at work change on Thursday (1st October 2009).

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have introduced the biggest change to The Health and Safety (First Aid) at Regulations laws since they were introduced in 1982.

The update could save UK businesses millions of pounds.

The biggest change is to the mandatory four day course, now reduced to three days, and the introduction the  Emergency First Aid at Work course, a new one day course option designed for small businesses .

The new guidelines were produced on the back of consultation with employers across the UK, who understood the need for first-aid training but found it difficult to release employees for the four days needed.

You can read more about the new First Aid legislation and employers legal duties on the HSE website.

Peter says…

This is an excellent change that will save businesses (especially small businesses) time and money without compromising on health and safety.

More importantly, this new guidance could even lead to safer workplaces, as it recommends that trained first aiders undertake a three hour refresher training session every year. 

The new three day FAW (First Aid at Work) training course will have less impact on businesses, but will still deliver the same key skills taught under the old system.

An excellent idea for ensuring those skills are retained.
beSmart Training offer both the three-day First Aid at Work course and the one-day Emergency First Aid at Work course. 

Click here for the latest course dates or call on 020 7237 6007 and speak to Sue.

beSmart Training specialise in training people who wish to become Vehicle Immobilisers (or “wheel clampers”) and who require a Level 2 BTEC Award in Vehicle Immobilisation in order to apply for a Front Line Immoblisation Licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

If you would like the dates of our next courses, please click here. We also offer a “One Stop Shop” option where we help our clients to fill in the necessary paperwork.

Once you have this particular SIA license, you can clamp, block or tow vehicles on private land. The key words being “private land”.  

There has been much bad press recently about wheel clamping, clampers and clamping companies. It is very easy to complain and kick-up about these organisations (our clients), but at the end of the day they do provide a very real and necessary service.

If you are one of those who complain about them, think on this….. what would you do if someone parks in your driveway? It is private property so the police won’t be interested… a civil matter.  What if they continue to park in your driveway day after day?  You would be pretty fed up, wouldn’t you?  Well, it is exactly the same for other peoples “private land”.

However, if you have recently fallen foul and truly feel that it was not your fault, the following tips may be useful for you.

1. Do not try to cut the clamp off. 
   If you are caught cutting or damaging a wheel clamp you are committing a criminal offence (criminal damage) and the clamping company could prosecute you. If you decide it is worth the risk and do cut the clamp off, make sure you leave it behind.  If you remove the clamp you have also committed theft as well as criminal damage.
2. Remember: you can’t hide
   Bear in mind the clamping company will have your vehicle details so if you do either of the above they will be able to trace the vehicle.  If they are a legitimate clamping company working within the rules, they will also have photographs of your vehicle committing the parking violation and they will have pictures of your vehicle before and after being clamped.
3. Stay calm
   Please remember not to abuse the person who comes to declamp your vehicle.  This person wants to help you by removing the offending article – they may not be the person who affixed it.  If you verbally or physically abuse the person who has come to declamp your vehicle they may call the police.  They may also just leave without declamping the vehicle.   Some companies have recently introduced a policy to tow away the vehicles of abusive people as a matter of course.
4. Ask to see their SIA Vehicle Immobiliser Licenses
   If you are clamped you should request to see the SIA vehicle immobiliser licence for ALL of the clampers who attend you and your vehicle for declamping.  You should make a note of the name and licence number and the expiry date and then check them on the SIA website at www.the-sia.org.uk.  This also applied to anyone who tries to remove your vehicle.  The vehicle immobiliser licence is valid for one year only so many clampers forget to put in their renewals and could therefore be working on an expired licence.  If this is found to be the case, you have grounds for getting your money back as the clamping is illegal.
5. Check for clear signage
   If clamping warning signs are covered or unreadable you should take photographs to prove this and you may have grounds for appeal.  Remember that the clamping company will have pictures too, or they should have.
6. Formalise your complaint
   You cannot appeal a clamping/blocking or towing until after you get your vehicle back.  This means paying up and then fighting for your money back.  When you pay to be declamped you MUST ask for and receive from the company a receipt for your payment and you MUST also get an appeals notice which will give you details on how to appeal your penalty charge.  If you do not receive this information you MUST contact the Security Industry Authority and make a formal complaint against the company who made the charge.

There are two legal precedents used in the industry.  One is Arthur versus Anker and the other is Vine versus London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Arthur versus Anker (Court of Appeal 1996) addresses the laws of consent and distress/damage and lays down guidelines as to when clamping is permissible.  This case highlighted that the vehicle owner had knowingly parked in violation of restrictions and was correctly clamped.  The court of appeal rejected the vehicle owners (Mr Arthur’s), claim and laid down the principles of law which now govern modern wheel clamping.

Vine versus London Borough of Waltham Forest (Court of Appeal 2000) addresses the law of contract.  Ms Vine won her case against the London Borough because the clamp warning signs were hidden and she did not see them.  Therefore, she could not have consented to the clamping.  The case also highlighted the requirement for penalty fees to be reasonable. Many councils have since stopped using clamping techniques and now rely on penalty charge notices, so council run car parks are probably safer than an unknown private car park.

Remember the most important thing of all: if you don’t contravene parking restrictions you shouldn’t get clamped. 

LOOK for the signs and remember to alway make sure any permits or tickets are adquately displayed. 

DOUBLE CHECK that you are parked within marked bays within a parking area 

NEVER park in a disabled or reserved space 

ALWAYS if in doubt, find somewhere else to park!

Scotland has brought in a new licensing law that will ban pubs and clubs from offering discounted drinks when bought in bulk.

Customers will also be entitled to free tap water, and soft drinks must be sold at a reasonable price. The changes will be watched carefully in England, where licensing laws have come under attack for being too soft.

Shops selling alcohol need a designated premise supervisor, who must be a personal licence holder and must be present whenever alcohol is being sold. Previously, a licence was required only for the premises.

Scottish firms that train bar staff have told clients that the new Act effectively outlaws asking customers “Same again?” because it could lead the customer into buying another drink.

Whilst I am all for reducing binge drinking, it gets silly when you can’t enjoy a drink with a bit of pub banter don’t you think?

For full details of the alcohol licensing courses available at BeSmart Training please visit the website.