Shared Parental Leave Comes Into Force 1st December 2014

From 1st December 2014, Shared Parental Leave will come into force.  It will enable mothers, fathers, partners and adopters to choose how to share time off work after their child is born or placed for adoption. For example, the mother or adopter could share some leave with a partner, returning to work for a while and then resuming leave in the final months of the year.

Caitlin in 2008

The idea is to give greater flexibility in how to share childcare in the first year following birth or adoption.  Basically there will now be one pot of leave available to both parents which they can allocate between them. And, of course, it means that fathers will be able to play a greater role in caring for their children in the first year.

Shared Parental Leave does not replace Maternity and Paternity leave but is a separate option available to those parents who meet the qualifying criteria.  This means that a mother would need to end her maternity leave early and opt for Shared Parental Leave instead of Maternity Leave. She would then need to decide how to share her Shared Parental Leave and Pay entitlement with her partner. Maternity Leave is currently 52 weeks of which 39 weeks accrue either statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. Paid Paternity Leave of two weeks will still be available but it proposed that Shared Parental Leave will eventually replace Additional Paternity Leave.

Qualifying criteria are explained in detail on the ACAS website but will apply for parents where a baby is due to be born on or after 5th April 2015 or for children placed for adoption on or after that date.  Employers can start to receive notices of intention to take Shared Parental Leave from January 2015, provided that the qualifying criteria are met - for example you must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks at the end of the 15th week before the week in which the child is due.

If you think this arrangement may work for you and your partner, now is the time to start researching the new regulations to see if you will be eligible.

For information is available at www.acas.org.uk

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Customer Service: Are We Really Being Served?

I have previously worked in my youth as a sales assistant for F. W. Woolworths, House of Fraser and Habitat and so, as Christmas shopping begins with fervour probably this very weekend, I am sparing a thought for the souls on the front line - the much beleaguered and frequently much criticized sales staff.

Mollie Sugden as Miss Slocombe in BBC's "Are You Being Served"

Now I know there are many,many things that drive me nuts about what Mary Portas would no doubt term the "retail experience".

For example:-

• being ignored by assistants who carry on talking to their colleagues
• hearing those immortal words "if it's not on the shelf we haven't got it"
• hot, cramped changing rooms which allow you to take completely random numbers of garments in (today you may take the magical number of 7 garments with you).
• paying for carrier bags (yes I know it's for the environment but still)
• running out of or having the wrong size bags
• never being able to find my size but plenty of 8's or 18's
• coat hangers you can never put trousers back on without having to fight with the plastic clips at either end, one of which will always break
• playing music so loud it makes your ears bleed
• chewing gum like a sheep with TMJ

But you know what?  The public can be, how shall I put it, somewhat challenging. I'm thinking of customers who

• take mobile phone telephone calls while you're trying to serve them
• try on the actual cosmetic stock rather than use the testers
• make ridiculous requests ( I was once asked for a pound of Cadbury's Mini Eggs comprised of just the pink ones - despite the fact there was a queue a mile long waiting in irritation)
• get foundation / lipstick / deodorant stains on clothing stock
• take things back having worn them (shameful)
• engage in lengthy conversations about their sciatica / gout / Mr Tibbles worming problems - again with the queue huffing in irritation behind them.

There are clearly rights and wrongs on either side.  As an observation though, on Saturdays I seem to find shops staffed with very young staff and not a manager in sight to help them or to help resolve customer issues.  Surely if there's one day of the week when all stock should be out and extra stock available, it's Saturday.  

We expect these often poorly paid foot soldiers to take everything that's thrown at them with a smile. I often think a good manager is like a good Army General. They lead from the front. Not from the stock cupboard with a cup of coffee and a copy of Hello.

Mark Carney, the new Governor of the Bank of England announced this week that there are signs that the UK's economic recovery is beginning to take hold. That's good news; not so good news for the staff of Blockbuster which is now in administration (due, no doubt to competition by online film providers such as LoveFilm). I wonder, though, why Blockbuster couldn't have seen this coming and taken steps much earlier to protect their business.

I think this year's Christmas sales may prove decisive for a number of retailers so now, more than ever, customer service HAS to be gold standard.  Not bog standard. E-tailers such as Amazon.co.uk are major competitors for the lion's share of Christmas profits.  If our high streets are to survive we need to ensure customers keep coming in - not drive them away.

Investment in staff training and strong management of both staff and stock may make the difference between survival and administration in some cases.

Let's hope it's a happy and a prosperous festive period for everybody.

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Review: Sell Your House with Zevizo Properties - The Online Estate Agent

Ah,  selling your house. Potentially one of the most stressful events in modern life. The uncertainty, the expense, the sheer length of time. A quick walk around our village and I can spot at least two properties where the estate agent's board has changed over the last year. I suspect this is because, after the first flush of a possibly over-optimistic valuation and reassurances that "the market is about to move", complete stagnation has led to the vendor trying another agent - and off they go again.

Selling your house the traditional way - old and tired?

I'm sure many people have considered avoiding an estate agent altogether and handling the process themselves. 

Personally, and having worked for a law firm specialising in conveyancing, this would be one step too far for me in terms of potential legal pitfalls. So, when I heard about Zevizo Properties, a national online estate agent, I was keen to find out more.

Zevizo offer exactly the same services as a high street estate agent but, because they are based online, are able to charge significantly lower fees. 

Zevizo's fees are £349 plus VAT payable up front. Payment can also be made on completion at a charge of 0.5% plus VAT of the property's sale price. In comparison, the average estate agent charges anywhere between 1% and 4% for exactly the same service. To give you an idea, on an average property of £250,000, you could be saving at least £2,000 - even at 1%.

This can make a big difference to your budget, particularly when there are the extra costs of conveyancing, Stamp Duty and the actual move to consider. I'm sure many people overlook these costs when they are planning the purchase of their dream home, as well as possibly increased council tax and utilities to boot.

Zevizo advertise properties on ALL the major property web sites (Rightmove, Zoopla, Findaproperty etc) and they produce professional photographs and floor plans, regardless of your location.

They will also give you a free, detailed valuation report via their website and provide sale boards for the property. Your property can be live and marketed within 48 hours of initial contact and you can contact Zevizo from 8 am to 8 pm on Monday to Friday and from 10 am till 4 pm on Saturday via their website.

The biggest difference in this service is that you, as the vendor, handle the viewing. No more lurking at the bottom of the back garden or having to pop out to the shops, plus as you show your potential purchasers around you will be able to get a true 'feel' of how interested they genuinely are and what you may need to do to make your property more appealing. (You were going to fix that leaking tap, weren't you?!).  

Handling the viewing helps Zevizo keep the costs of this service low and, after all, nobody knows your house quite like you do.

Zevizo will then handle the sales negotations and, best of all, offer a sales guarantee - "Sell your house in 16 weeks or your money back". This makes their service a risk free alternative to constantly swopping estate agent boards at the front of your house!

If you are thinking of selling your house, why not give Zevizo a try? The company also handles lettings from just marketing through to full property management, with fees starting at £49.

And, to keep you informed, there is also a blog, updated daily with industry news and help for house sellers and buyers.

Further information at:  www.zevizoproperties.com

*A collaborative post.

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The White Company store opens in St Davids Lower Grand Mall TODAY 5th Sept in Cardiff at 11 am.

I was lucky enough to attend the invitation only preview evening of The White Company's first store in Wales last night, situated in St Davids, Lower Ground Mall in Cardiff.

Founded in 1993 by Chrissie Rucker at the ripe old age of 24 with just a 12 page brochure, the company has now grown to be one of the UK's fastest growing multi-channel retailers. Rucker wanted to find 'gorgeous, high quality' white items and was frustrated that the only ones she could find and afford were cheap designs of poor quality. So The White Company was born to supply affordable stylish, white, designer quality items for the home with an excellent shopping experience to boot.

The product range concentrates primarily on essentials for the linen cupboard such as duvet covers, pillows, fitted sheets and luxury towels. They use only high quality cotton and yarn and pride themselves on impeccable finishing. There are also some signature colour pieces which are introduced on a seasonal basis.

Bedspreads, blankets and throws are available, as is a range of practical and stylish accessories for both laundry and dining. The softest bathrobes nestle close to furry slippers and a range of elegant daywear and gorgeously soft scarves.

There is also "The Little White Company" - a range of children's and baby wear with bedding toys and gifts and the company's bathtime treats, room scents and candles.

I found the store beautifully laid out and lit. The staff were chic and welcoming. For a neat freak (well, aiming to be), like me, the rows of artfully displayed clothes and bedding were an excellent example of how my own closets could look  (in the fullness of time ......). Items ordered in store can be delivered free to your home and the store offers a packing service for a small extra fee - useful to avoid Christmas wrapping if you're as useless at it as I am.

I think the Store's opening is timely and it offers a refreshing alternative to John Lewis (probably its nearest competitor in Cardiff for homeware) and IKEA. The simplicity and cleanliness of the designs provide a great starting point for interior decoration for those of us baffled by colour and texture.

The store opens TODAY, 5th September at 11 am.

Definitely worth a look - and yes, I invested in a selection of their lovely bedding.  It was 'all white' by me!

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Paying For Carrier Bags - I've Bag Lady Blues

Here in Wales we have to pay for carrier bags - one of the visible signs of the Welsh Assembly's vast and all-encompassing powers. Quite why they didn't seek to redress problems in the Welsh Economy and the numerous challenges we face with matters such as NHS waiting times, random distribution of some cancer medication and the appalling condition of some of our schools, I'm not quite sure. I'm guessing plastic bags fell into the category of "quick wins" - although I expect there is some EU Directive written by an MEP in a first class Eurostar carriage somewhere that dictates the immediate implementation of such a scheme. 

No doubt we should also all be knitting our clothes, tanning leather for our own shoes and returning to wattle and daub for housing (medieval since you ask) by 2020 - and since much of the population will be in the 60+ age group by then, this will certainly present some marketing challenges for M&S's Christmas party range in that year.

Now environmentally, I'm all in favour of doing my bit, but whilst there is no doubt we are helping the Green movement, there seems to have been a notable casualty.  Customer service.

Whilst, in the halycon days of the past, shop assistants used to pack your shopping for you, nowadays you are left to hold up the queue whilst you fish for a glamorous "bag for life" (whose life?  trust me, none of these bags will ever need to be carbon-dated) or, in my case, one of the Ocado bags they should have had back. Then you hold the queue up further by having to pack your own shopping. 

By this stage, Caitlin and Ieuan are prodding the confectionery displays so thoughtfully left at the till point and I'm hissing "don't touch" whilst the queue ponders the ineffectiveness of my parenting style. The shop assistants in question are usually staring into space or pondering their nail polish.

Surely this is an opportunity for shopkeepers to secure customer loyalty by helping a bit more? Even in supermarkets offering to "help you pack your bag" usually means the checkout operator will pack roughly 3 items out of the mountain of 50 and leave you (and your children) to panic pack the rest so that everything is thoroughly squashed by the time you get home.

I have worked in numerous retail outlets and, believe me, there can be nothing more thankless than facing the Great British public on a daily basis. I can fully understand that you'd get so cheesed off at being treated like a lackey or never acknowledged that your attitude might slip.

But these are tough financial times for businesses. Why waste a simple opportunity to stand out from your rivals?

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Internet Shopping: They're Open All Hours - Every little 'elps, Granville!

Apparently the true cost of your supermarket home delivery is often nearer the £15 to £20 mark, according to an article in yesterday's (where else?!) Daily Mail.  (Delivery Fee For Online Groceries May Hit £15). 

Internet shoppers are being 'subsidised' by everyone else. 

Having palpitations at the £6.99 delivery fee from some supermarkets for peak time deliveries, I am currently using Ocado and have signed up to a savings pass offer - 6 months' free delivery and £6.99 per month thereafter.

Open All Hours - The Joys of Shopping on t'Internet

I must confess to a slight frisson of "Primrose Hill and Chelsea-ness" whenever I complete my order online at Ocado and feel like I should be wearing high heels and have a pair of large designer sunglasses perched on my head whilst clicking. (Incidentally, why do some women insist on wearing sunglasses on their head all the time - indoors?).

But shall we have a tiny reality check here?  

Have you noticed what many of the online supermarkets do? Ocado in particular has come up with the genius of an idea of suggestion page after page of items at checkout you might have forgotten, have ordered before, or might fancy if you're premenstrual. I have just been offered a lovely bunch of sunflowers (£8) and a fruity Chardonnay (£7).  A couple of clicks and, bang, £15 could have just been added. I suspect that many people end up spending at least 10% to 15% of their shopping budget each time. Unless you're a demon with the trolley, I'm sure you don't bomb round Morrisons doing your own version of Supermarket Sweep and chucking in anything that takes your fancy.  

There are a raft of packaged online deals and on the Sainsburys site, a recipe page where you can click through the recipe text to put the ingredients straight in your trolley. Actually I have a particular fondness for Sainsburys current championing of family values with the emphasis on dads.

Oh, and then there's all that lovely DATA. One of the main strengths of the loyalty card, e.g. Tesco Clubcard, is that it tells Tesco precisely what you spend, when, how much and on what. This data allows them to forecast sales, peaks and troughs in sales and to see what's selling with what. They know which stores are the most profitable - hence the development of Metros, Expresses and Superstores to fulfil the needs of the local population.

And guess what - online shopping does exactly the same at a much lower cost.

Yes, there are the costs to the business of employing drivers and running vans.  There are the costs of employing staff to pick and pack but these are not management level salaries and, given the vast profits, supermarkets make, I find it hard to believe that these costs are not easily absorbed elsewhere.

There's no doubt that the out of town superstore seems to be killing high street business. Equally, it's pretty obvious that small scale producers are being squeezed out of the market by the huge buying power of the supermarkets - no matter how many 'green' themed commercials they come out with or how many quality marks / standards or stickers they use.

But I don't think we'll be seeing the death of the physical shop for a long time. For a start much work needs to be done on UK broadband provision. There is an assumption that most homes have internet access but this is probably false. Further, there are sections of the population who are resisting the internet with full force. How many Silver Surfers are there really?

An even greater issue is the distrust many have about spending money via the internet, their banking security and identity theft.

If supermarkets try to raise the cost of home delivery I think many will just get back in their cars and go to an actual store. To use the Ocado savings pass, for example, there is a minimum spend of £40. One box of Pampers nappies and you're nearly half way there but for many this amount is, I'd suggest, too high.

Christmas is approaching; many businesses make a substantial part of their annual profit at this time of year and, frankly, the supermarkets need to keep us sweet. We won't be bought off by Clubcard vouchers or discounts if the basics of price and product are wrong.  We do want to feel valued and needed which is something that John Lewis understands very well. Look at its current ad focusing on values - with not a product mentioned.  

It's going to be an interesting festive period for the supermarkets.

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Customer Service: A Little Bit of Coffee Shop Love Will Keep Me Loyal

Monday morning. A small oasis of calm once the kids are in school. Hubby and I sneak off to our local deli for a coffee and to do what all adult couples must surely do these days, compare the apps on our phones. We also play a game entitled "will any of the staff smile at us today"?

Our local deli is in quite an attractive spot and decorated in that 'faux French bistro' style that has been rampantly popular for quite a while - all ornamental chickens, railway clocks and bunting. It does a good trade (I imagine) in lunches with olives, cheeses, a range of organic quiches and good coffee to go. It stocks some of the more niche food brands. It's clean (including the toilet!).

But the mood is always sombre to glacial. Coffee is deposited on tables with not so much as a "and how are you today?" or a "can I get you anything else"? We have been there enough to be recognised. We do not linger over one cup. Bacon pannini and tea cakes are purchased. When we walk out of the door, we always say thank you. Words which usually die in the air. It baffles me that any business which is running and surviving in this tough economic climate, doesn't do everything it can to capture its regulars and ensure they don't wander off.

I recently swapped hairdressers after about 15 years (set in my ways - moi?) because despite colouring my hair for most of those years, they refused to colour any more unless I presented myself for a skin test 24 hours BEFORE my usual colouring marathon. Same procedures, same stylist, same hair dye.

This particular salon was run by a lady who would swan in and air kiss her staff whilst ignoring her bread and butter regulars completely. After 15 years, I'm sure she must have recognised me unless she was too myopic to be cutting hair any longer.

We have another eaterie in the village and hubby and I will have to at least check it out. Our deli has managed to commit the cardinal faux pas of upsetting lots of the local mums due to a protest about taking prams into the shop. I know there are many who will have some sympathy with this as they do tend to form an unwieldy blockade, but mums with time for a coffee and a snack after dropping off the kids must surely contribute something to the coffers.

If you run a business in a small community, I think you have to make every effort to be part of the community - local sponsorships, contributing prizes to local events, even a loyalty scheme for regulars. Because it doesn't matter how good your product or service is, if it's not delivered with a smile, you can wave your regulars goodbye - to quote from Casablanca "maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life".

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Friday Night in Cardiff - Helloooo? Anyone there?

I infrequently dine out with a good friend of mine, A, when Hubby has presented himself as babysitter with his collection of 'blokey' skills. (These include remaining annoyingly calm at all times and ensuring the kids have much more fun than they would with me). Our trips out usually take us to one of Cardiff's restaurants, either in the city centre or 'down the Bay'.  

Image Credit: Cardiff Bay

Last night we visited our local La Tasca, (a well known chain of tapas bars in case you've been living on Mars), for some vino and a much needed carbohydrate and counselling intake. 

We chose La Tasca because it offers a consistently reliable quality of food and is very reasonably priced. The chain have recently launched a loyalty card scheme offering 20% off food on any day of the week. 

Numerous dishes from the new menu were consumed, very passable house wine drunk and a particularly gooey chocolate fondant shared and enjoyed. The service was excellent, the state of the toilets (my barometer as you know), less so, however, the evening was very pleasant.  

What was shocking, though, was how empty the city centre was.  Friday night in Cardiff used to be an event. At 5 pm office workers would pour out of the surrounding businesses and it would be knee deep at the bar by about 5:15 pm. 

Notorious clubs like Kiwis and The Rioja Bar had queues.  Le Brasserie, Champers and Le Monde were solidly booked. Even the hotel bars of the Marriott and Hilton would be thronging with those in search of Chardonnay. 'Chippy Alley' was equally busy.

Last night around 11 pm, St Mary Street looked like a deserted town in the Wild West with, depressingly, two ambulances parked up waiting for the inevitable casualties of booze. 

Leaving aside this sad waste of vital NHS resources, where on earth has everyone gone? Have increased train, bus and taxi fares put paid to weekend revellers?  Does everyone save themselves for Saturday night?

It is pretty obvious that, for all the bluff and bluster, for all the warm feelings generated by the Jubilee, the Olympics and the Paralympics, the recession is still cutting deep. Now must be a particularly risky time to launch a business, particularly one in the restaurant trade. 

Practically everyone offers discount vouchers, loyalty cards or offers via Wowcher or Groupon. I'm not sure anyone knows the true price of anything, let alone the cost. 

It is mid month and I am sure many people wait till payday before they go out. But I think for lots of businesses in this sector this festive season will be absolutely critical to their survival.

The traditional touting for office party business began in August but I'm sure lots of the smaller businesses will be offering a drink and a mince pie in reception rather than an all expenses paid shindig. A shame - because in many businesses the office party is one of the few tangible office perks staff get - even if they have to sit through the dreaded and unhilarious 'staff award' ceremonies.

Usually when you look at a company's marketing output, as soon as revenue dips, marketing spend is cut - and often in completely the wrong places. Advertising spend is slashed, PR contracts cut, promotional discounts removed when these things should be protected, reviewed and improved as necessary. Such cuts are often completely the wrong this to do. 

The other tendency of lots of businesses is to hunker down and look after the existing client base because of the cost of generating new business. You're damned if you spend and damned if you don't. But any entrepreneur worth their salt will be looking for that time critical gap in the market and galloping in to take advantage of it so you have to react to any dip in revenue as soon as possible.

I would recommend that businesses of all sizes but especially the Small to Medium Enterprises which comprise the bulk of Welsh business develop a Social Media strategy to take advantage of the sales and marketing potential of Twitter and Facebook to bolster their existing marketing communications.  It's cheap and, if used correctly, very effective. 

As far as our economy goes, it seems we are not out of the recessional woods yet.

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