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Below are a number of posts containing useful tips and insights from the Directors of Auxil Limited, acknowledged industry experts and trusted advisors in the fields of Health & Safety and Human Resources, which will hopefully trigger some thoughts or ideas. 
 
Why not join the conversation? We would love to hear your views… 

Posts tagged “Auxil Ltd”

 
Tips on providing former employee references 
 
Employers do not have to provide a reference for a former employee but, if you do, the reference must be true, fair and accurate. Providing a misleading or inaccurate reference could lead to, under principles of negligent misstatement, a claim for damages from both the former employee and new employer. 
 
Employers should be particularly cautious when providing references for employees who have been dismissed for gross misconduct or left in similar circumstances. The employer should, in this instance, communicate the issues accurately. The employer should also be careful to make very clear if the allegations have, or have not, been investigated. 
 
Many employers now only provide a ‘bare minimum’ reference, but this should not be used as a means of concealing something serious. 
The HSE website states that asbestos can be found in buildings erected before the year 2000 and causes up to 500 deaths per year. 
The release of asbestos fibres can cause a great deal of damage to those exposed to it. Emergency procedures must be put in place to limit the potential damage caused. 
 
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 is specifically designed to handle the management and working with asbestos in the workplace in order to reduce its severity to all workers in the area. Regulation 15 outlines the arrangements to deal with any accidents, incidents and emergencies pertaining to the accidental release of asbestos fibres. 
 
Should an accidental release occur, the employer must make sure that procedures have been put in place for such an emergency, such as the use of safety drills. Information pertaining to the emergency must always be made available for everyone on site and put into effect in an emergency. 
The HSE states that “Accidental contact with live overhead power lines kills people and causes many serious injuries every year. People are also harmed when a person or object gets too close to a line and a flashover occurs. Work involving high vehicles or long equipment is particularly high risk”. 
It is therefore important to implement necessary safety precautions as identified on risk assessments, even when working near power lines for a short period of time. 
 
Where it has been identified that power lines are within or immediately next to a site or across any access routes, contact is made with owners of the lines to discuss safety precautions. It may be necessary that power lines need to be diverted or made dead. 
 
Risks from power lines can be eliminated by: 
 Avoidance – can work be undertaken away from power lines? The HSE provides the following advise 
“Make sure materials (such as bales or spoil) are not placed near overhead lines, and 
temporary structures (such as polytunnels) are erected outside safe clearance distances”. 
 Diversion – make arrangements for overhead lines to be diverted away, made dead or isolated before 
work begins. Ensure that work is planned and time is given to arrange diversion of power 
lines. 
Many businesses are changing their focus, expanding or contracting their activities and rethinking their products and services and how they deliver them. This is particularly so during times of significant uncertainty, for example following the Covid 19 pandemic and the vote by the UK to leave the EU. In this context, businesses need to introduce and manage change to achieve objectives, whilst maintaining the commitment of their people, as well as ensuring that business continues as usual. 
Yet research shows that most change initiatives fail to get their intended outcomes and may even limit business potential. The effects of not managing change effectively can be devastating, so it’s important that business owners understand the issues and techniques to support effective change. So, with this in mind we have put together a number of points to help with implementing business change during challenging time. 
 
Milestones are great, especially for businesses. It means you’ve achieved a goal and something’s going right. 
This month we are celebrating a very special milestone as we are turning 5 years old, and we wanted to mark this occasion with a blogpost dedicated to how we have grown from a small idea to the thriving local business we are today. 
 
The thing with starting your own business is that you literally don’t know what you don’t know. It’s easy to head off, all gung-ho, into the entrepreneurial world but sticking at it through good times and the tough times takes strength and determination about your business’s potential success. Its hours of hard work! 
From a one-man band to a team of dedicated consultants, Auxil Ltd has come leaps and bounds from where we began. But we couldn’t have got to where we are today without you, our customers. 

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