It was just days before the coronavirus lockdown, at a local networking event where I met Lucy Whittaker, founder and lead trainer of Alpha Vesta CIC, and after listening to her journey from spending many years working as a frontline domestic abuse practitioner, partnered with her academic study and her very strong ethos that ‘we need to do more in order to reach people sooner before their lives often reach crisis point and they end up embroiled in the criminal justice system and social care arenas’, that I realised how little I knew and truly understood about domestic abuse, and especially the impact of domestic abuse within the workplace, and here is where my journey to fill that lack of knowledge started. 

I never realised how incredibly complex domestic abuse is.  Not all domestic abuse is characterised by patterns of coercive control, and some incidents of domestic abuse are characterised by underlying vulnerability and a toxic mix of unmet needs that occasionally spiral into some form of emotional abuse and violence.

Did you know that one in four women and one in six men will be affected by domestic abuse at some point during in their adult lifetime (HM Government, 2019) and the NSPCC have released a report this year estimating one in five children are growing up in a home where domestic abuse in occurring (NSPCC, 2020).

In a Home Office study released last year on the Social and Economic Costs of Domestic Abuse is estimated to be £66 billion per year with £14 billion of that as a direct cost to the economy in terms of lost economic output. 

High absenteeism, lateness, impact on mental health and wellbeing sit very prominently but studies have also shown that one in two victims of domestic abuse said their work colleagues were also affected, and one in ten will have to leave their job due to the abuse (Opinium Research commissioned by Vodafone, 2019) and broader patterns of poor career progression (KPMG, 2019), high recruitment costs, low staff morale and productivity have also emerged.

With one third of a working adult’s life being spent in work, employers are in a unique position to create a supportive workplace with a culture that encourages all health and wellbeing needs and to help break the silence around the domestic abuse issue.

With the funding Alpha Vesta have received from the Essex Police Fire and Crime Commissioner, the Essex Community Foundation and The National Lottery, Lucy has been able to deliver fully funded online awareness sessions and training workshops to put into action Alpha Vesta’s strong foundation and mission statement of ‘Breaking the cycle of domestic abuse through awareness, prevention and early interventions in the Workplace’.

For more information about the impact of domestic abuse in the workplace, please visit www.alphavesta.com

To book on one of Alpha Vesta’s events please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/alpha-vesta-cic-30277303852

S Potter Talent Ltd working in collaboration with Alpha Vesta CIC.

Contact details:

Mobile phone – 07486 073844

Email – info@spottertalent.com

Interested in finding out more, then please feel free to book a discovery call at: https://calendly.com/spottertalent/discovery-call

Auxiliary Power Options – Marine
Applications

Working vessels that need to ensure
optimum profitability and power efficiently often require auxiliary power,
which is achieved by using a range of solutions utilising both pump drives and
PTO’s.

Auxiliary power is commonly required
mostly in the form of hydraulics operating equipment such as cranes, fishing
equipment, winches, pot hauliers and water pumps, enabling vessels to be more
efficient and run multiple types of equipment direct from the power train or
gen-sets. Operators appreciate the additional benefits auxiliary can deliver;
however, available solutions can vary depending on the operation, accessible
power and specific installation requirements.

Pump drives, available in several
ratios, allow hydraulics to work in a more efficient speed window. They also
allow for shorter installed length and remove the need for multiple belts and
pulleys, providing a neater, resilient and safer solution. Whereas, PFI
clutches enable pump drives to be clutched from a remote location anywhere on
the vessel with straightforward wiring, requiring only a 12/24v connection to
function. This solution is more commonly achieved with manual clutches;
however, they need to be engaged manually in the engine space. PFI clutches
alleviate the need to operate within the engine room.

For users where space is imperative,
multi-head pump drives can be sandwiched between the engine and gearbox, to
utilise space in the engine room better. Furthermore, coupling solutions
provide a direct drive from the engine crank, removing the need for additional
belts.

When looking at auxiliary power, one
consideration that must not be overlooked is varying installation factors and
engine models. Various coupling options and connection interfaces can be used
to ensure the benefits of hydraulic power solutions are available to all
operators offering,

• Front and back engine mounting
• Flexible or rigid mounted
• Clutched and live options
• Speed up/down ratios
• Driveshaft options for remote mounting on pumps, clutch or pump drive.

Users should also ensure full six degrees
of freedom and TVA calculations are completed to confirm acceptability and
control of torsional and linear vibrations.  Modular and commercially
available options are the smart solution due to varying application needs and
requirements.

MIT has supplied several auxiliary
power solutions and have equipment successfully installed onboard vessels such
as fishing boats, FI-FI vessels, ferries and superyachts and can work with you
to specify the best solution for your application.

About
MIT

Since 1974, MIT has been designing,
supplying and servicing transmissions and driveline systems across the
UK/Ireland, becoming a centre of excellence in driveline systems providing
customers with full product life cycle support from system design, supply,
commissioning, maintenance, repair, spares, and overhaul or replacement.

MIT has bases in southern and northern
England, providing comprehensive UK and Ireland coverage along with an
established global mobile support service, delivered by a highly trained and
dedicated technical engineering team and a significant inventory of world-class
brands, including new and refurbished transmissions, driveline systems and
spare parts.

MIT is the sole UK/EIRE distributors of
Twin Disc, Transfluid, Rubber Design, Arneson, Rolla and Quincy compressors.

Axel Johnson International is a global
industrial group of more than 120 companies in 28 countries. We drive business
development and growth through a long-term approach to ownership in
strategically selected niche markets, primarily technical components and
solutions for industrial processes. Axel Johnson International is organised in
six business groups: Fluid Handling Solutions, Industrial Solutions, Lifting
Solutions, Power Transmission Solutions, Transport Solutions and Driveline
Solutions. We are part of the Swedish family-owned corporate group Axel
Johnson.

www.axinter.com

On 10^th May 2020 the Government began to outline its plan to enable certain sectors to return to work.

Whilst employees who can operate from home are being advised to continue to do so, official guidance on the government’s plans for returning to the workplace continue to emerge, and I urge you to ensure you keep up to date with the governments guidance.

1. Planning

Communication is key, and you should be consulting with your staff about returning to work.  If you have trade union, employee and health and safety representatives then you need to be including them. 

If you do have trade union or employee representatives, please check any agreements you have in place with them to see if you should be formally consulting.

Whilst employees and workers should be ready to return to work at short notice, you should be flexible where possible.

• Making the workplace safe

As an employer you must make the workplace as safe as possible for employees, contractors, customers and everyone who needs to visits.  Wherever possible encourage employees to work from home and ensure you follow the government guidelines on working safely during coronavirus on GOV.UK

Risk assessments should be carried out to identify what might cause harm, and reasonable steps taken to prevent them from happening.  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have a great managing risks and risk assessment at work section on their website, along with working safely during coronavirus from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at find coronavirus advise on the HSE website

• Discuss plans with your employees

It is important to make sure you talk to your employees as soon as possible with regards to returning to work, and your conversations should include:

• when employees might return to the workplace
• how they will travel to and from work
• how health and safety is being reviewed, managed and the latest risk assessment findings and actions
• any planned adjustments to be made to the workplace, e.g. phased return to work, staggering start and finish times, floor markings to help people keep 2 metres apart
• working from home arrangements

It is so important not to forget any changes that might affect an employee’s employment contract needs to be consulted with them.

• If someone does not want to return

You may find some people are anxious about safety and going back to the workplace, and it is important to encourage them to talk to you about any concerns and try to resolve them together.

Some people may feel they do not want to return to work or they may be unable to return yet, for example, they may be:

• worried about catching coronavirus
• they may be at high risk of getting a severe illness if they catch coronavirus
• caring for children
• living with someone who is shielding

As an employer you need to listen to any concerns your staff may have and take steps to ensure you protect everyone, this may be

• offering extra car parking so employees do not have to use public transport
• keeping someone on furlough if they are temporarily unable to work
• temporarily changing hours of work to avoid peak travel time

If after reviewing any reasonable adjustments the employee still does not want to return to work, you may want to consider letting them book annual leave or unpaid leave.

If someone is refusing to return to work without a valid reason, this could result in disciplinary action and your disciplinary policy and procedure needs to be followed.

S Potter Talent Ltd is an award-winning consultancy offering bespoke apprenticeship scheme management, human resources and learning & development strategies for business.

Contact details:

Mobile phone – 07486 073844

Email – info@spottertalent.com

Website – www.spottertalent.com