“When did you charge it last?” I ask, “Looks like it has totally run out of juice!”

“Only the other night,” she replied.

“Aha!” My voice lowered to a whisper, “Well there is your problem then, no power. This is an iPhone you know!”

I’m no stranger to this myself. My journey to my office is via the Victoria and Picadilly lines and requires my own iPhone to entertain me with such masterpieces like The Daily Show, Louise (great new american comedy) and Russell Howard’s Good News. Kerrang Radio app keeps me busy when I am walking to the Underground and World War app, Facebook, Twitter and a handful of email accounts are constantly draining my battery. Which means I need a spare charger in the office for that mid afternoon boost.

And that’s the down fall of the iPhone and many other smartphones. More reasons to touch the screen and use up data will totally diminish the battery so if you are the kind of person that needs your phone to just make lots of calls and send lots of texts over long periods of time without a charge, the iPhone may not be for you.

However, if you still need to be smart and get emails on your handset, Blackberry have always been at the top when it comes to battery life. To some, the Blackberry looks dated and not as aesthetically desirable as Steve Job’s and Co have brainwashed us all to believe.

Not so with the latest Blackberry.

While other manufacturers have tried hard to step into the limelight with their own iPhone wannabe, the biggest downfall they have is just that. No matter how much better they actually are, they are just not the real thing. Blackberry themselves tried and totally failed with the Storm and Storm 2 so rather than try again they have decided to put out an altogether new concept:-

Yours truly with the Blackberry 9800 Torch

Blackberry’s new Torch 9800 has taken a different direction to every other phone on the market. With a touch screen and a pull out keyboard it is bound to attract the two opposing camps and it looks very stylish with it’s black and chrome finish.
But what really sets it apart from any other Blackberry is the new OS.6 operating system which is slick and fast. The all new browser means you can view webpages much faster and in the frames just like you would do on a normal pc. It is much quicker in opening attachments to emails, editing Microsoft Office documents and sending and receiving emails. Of course you can make calls and send texts too.
Add to that a battery life that can stand all your emailing, texting, tweetingm browsing and even talking for at least 2 whole days on a single charge.

In layman’s terms, it does what is says on the tin, but unlike the iPhone it does it a lot longer.

Do you know anyone who fits the following description?
Sherrards Solicitors is looking for a full-time legal secretary / PA for their busy commercial office at Marylebone Lane, London. Ideally, they will have previous experience of company commercial work, excellent IT and audio skills, be able to work on their own initiative and be confident when dealing with clients. Sherrards is an equal opportunities employer.

Apply in writing/email with current CV to:
Julie Shields, Human Resources Administrator
Sherrards Solicitors LLP, 45 Grosvenor Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 3AW
Email: jas@sherrards.com
Closing date: 31st August 2010

Location: London

Start date: ASAP

Job Type: Permanent

Okay, okay. Before you say a word, I know that insurance isn’t exciting and that most people see it as a necessary evil, but bear with me because it’s important.

Make it quick then.
Think of all the homes, possessions, furniture, clothes and cars etc individuals own, they all need insurance cover.

Why?

You tend to find that out when something goes wrong. Let’s say that your wine cellar floods causing damage to the wine casing and labelling. The damage will lead to a loss in value. If you’re not properly insured you have to take the hit. If you are, the insurance company will pay for the difference in value before and after the flood.

Yeh, right. If they decide to pay out. You know what insurers are like.

Well, actually, the problem usually is the laissez faire attitude of the insured. Upgrading an insurance policy is one of the things people put off because it’s dull. As a result, the insurer is unaware of valuable items and refuses to pay out. That leads to frustration, further mistrust of insurance companies and a lack of appropriate insurance for luxury assets.

Consider this. A client of ours, who previously had arranged his own insurances, had a fire in their main home. They claimed for more than £100,000 of damage. But they had only insured themselves for £75,000 and the contents were worth £150,000. The loss adjuster decided that since the client had been under-insured by 50 per cent, they were only entitled to 50 per cent of the claim. They got a cheque for £50,000. There’s an underinsurance clause in most policies.

So, what do I have to do to stop that happening to me?

Get your contents valued properly. Speak to a private client broker, they’ll sort out a valuation.

Sounds expensive.

That’s what people always say about insurance, until they have a claim. But you’d be surprised, for instance, how cheap fine art insurance is. It’s all to do with risk. Burglars are more likely to want jewellery or electrical goods than paintings or antique furniture, which can be traced through the art loss register. If you’d bought a Damien Hirst print for £100,000 at Sotheby’s recently you could have it insured for £250 a year.

Jewellery, on the other hand, is a tricky area. Many people think that their jewellery is covered under their household insurance – but it won’t be if it falls outside the single-article value limit in their policies.
It’s going to be even more boring if I have to have a separate policy for every valuable item in my home. I’ve been collecting for a long time, you know.

Well, you could consider a portfolio policy. That’s a single policy that covers household, motor and travel insurance under a single contract with one renewal date. It can also cover second properties in the UK and overseas, and all of their contents.

Now that really does sound expensive.

Not really. Quite often we’ve put a portfolio policy in place for a high-net-worth client and it has cost them less than all of their other policies put together.

Is there anything else I need to consider.

Well, if you buy a luxury car valued at more than £100,000 you have to go through a private client broker. Direct insurers balk at the value – you need somebody who is comfortable with the fact that a replacement wing mirror can cost £5,000, and knows that the value of a year old luxury car can be higher than its purchase price, especially if there’s a waiting list.

What you’re saying here is that I need help with everything.

The point is that you need up-to-date relevant insurance cover based on current values. If you’re too busy to do that, you can get somebody to do it for you.

For further information and to continue a “conversation with a private client insurance broker” call Mike Nightingale on 07824 530093

Stage One – Understand what the client wants

The Splatt Print sales team offer to visit clients at there premises (taking a selection of relevant product samples) or ask them to visit the operation at E8 (especially if paper selection is important as they have a wide variety of samples available on site). By asking open questions Splatt Print can understand what the item will be used for, who the audience will be and how it will be delivered. All these factors can make a difference to the look, feel and cost of the document i.e. If a document needs to be Corporate in style and the client is up against a tight budget then they have alternative printing methods, papers and finishes that they could recommend.

Stage Two – Research & Consultation

Splatt Print go to all the major trade exhibitions (DRUPA, IPEX, DIGITAL PRINT WORLD) to understand what new print methods, materials and finishing technology is available, this information can then be used to offer clients a wider range of products to suit there needs. By talking through the various options available the client is able to make a balanced decision, ensuring they get what is right for them.

Stage Three – Production Control

Some clients require tight colour control as there product or service is relayed to the customer through the company colours. Splatt Print use highly experienced and trained print operators to ensure colour matching is as close as possible, time after time. As different clients needs vary significantly, most jobs take different lengths of time to complete. Splatt Print communicate all stages of the production process to ensure job completion is within any deadline specified in stage one.

Below is a small range of products Splatt Print have completed using these three stages

visit www.splattprint.com to know more about Splatt Print or call 020 7254 8736 to book a free consultation

If Carlsberg did networking breakfasts……… they would be in Paris!

Members of BRX Bond Street group at the Franco Brit Chamber of Commerce

Lunch at Le Dome du Marais……… then walking off the fantastic lunch!

To top the day, drinks at a great bar……. Tres Bien!

 Earlier this year, heavy snow fall brought the country to a halt and employers were left counting the cost of enforced staff absences. Now, as volcanic ash drifts across Europe, grounding flights and causing travel chaos, employers are again picking up the tab when employees are not able to get back from their holidays.

In January, we sent an Email Alert looking at employers’ obligations where employees were not able to come into work due to weather conditions. The current situation is analogous and many of the same considerations apply. By way of brief reminder, the key issues are as follows:

• Take a look at your employment contracts and Employee Handbook, to see whether these deal with the situation. If they do not, then the default position is that the obligation is on the employee to get into work. If they do not come into work, even due to circumstances beyond their control, they are on unauthorised absence and they are arguably not entitled to be paid.

• Be careful if you have decided to dock employees’ pay. The employee could argue that failure to make payment is an unauthorised deduction from wages (assuming this is not covered in the employment contract). Although you would have a potential defence that there was no entitlement to pay as no work was done, it may be an argument best avoided.

• You should also assess the impact of refusing to pay employees on morale and productivity. This is particularly so if employees are trying hard to get back to the UK but this is proving impossible.

• Keep your approach consistent. If you haven’t got a policy covering the situation, meet with the employees after their return and explain to them that either:

(a) any time off will be unpaid;

(b) time off will be paid but that they are expected to make up the time later; and/or

(c) they can request the time off as paid annual leave.

• Be careful if you are trying to insist on employees taking annual holiday retrospectively. Employees will need to agree to this unless the contract specifically allows you to do this.

 The above provides a general guide to issues that might arise. However, each situation is unique and different considerations may apply in your case. We would therefore recommend that you consult a solicitor, or other suitably qualified person, about your specific circumstances.

 If you have any questions about the matters discussed above, or any other question of employment law, please contact Paul Marmor, head of Litigation at Sherrards, or one of the Employment team:-

 Joanne Perry, Tel: 01727 738920, Email: jp@sherrards.com

Mark Fellows, Tel: 01727 738976, Email: mf@sherrards.com

Once again, World Cup Fever is gripping the nation. Windows and cars are adorned with flags and people are dressed head to toe in their national colours. The festive spirit seems to be just what the country needs after months of recession, a biting winter, travel chaos and constitutional upheaval.

However, the very words “World Cup” can strike dread into the heart of employers all over the country. Just as the tournament can help to lift morale amongst the workforce, it can also be expensive for employers as employees duck out of work early to catch the games and then come into work late suffering with hangovers. How can employers handle the situation without coming across as killjoys?

Setting Out Expectations

You should be realistic in your expectations. Making unreasonable demands will seriously damage morale and demotivate employees. Although you are not obliged to make allowances for employees who wish to watch the football, putting intentional barriers in their way will do more harm than good.

Before the tournament begins, you should consider sending a memo to staff, clearly setting out your intentions and expectations. Then, when the tournament gets underway, a consistent approach should be adopted. In this way, you can ensure that employees are clear as to what they are permitted to do, and what is expected of them. This will make it easier for you to deal with anybody who crosses the line without spoiling it for everyone else.

Handling Absences

Historically, sickness absences increase during major sporting events. It can be difficult for employers to distinguish between those employees who are genuinely sick and those who are “pulling a sickie” in order that they can watch football.

To try to avoid unplanned absences, encourage staff to take pre-booked annual holiday if they want to watch the football. Also, consider allowing them to take unpaid leave. However, be careful to ensure that it is made clear to employees that requests for leave are not guaranteed to be approved and will have to be considered on a “first come, first served” basis to ensure that there is adequate cover. Give equal priority to all requests for time off – preference should not be given to employees wanting to watch the football. Such an approach is likely to favour male staff and could therefore result in claims of discrimination.

If employees do call in sick on days when there are key games during working hours, do not assume that they are faking. Make it clear to employees in advance that absences during the tournament will be subject to closer scrutiny and hold return to work meetings with employees when they come back, even if this has not been the normal practice before. Make sure that all absences are carefully and accurately recorded. Hopefully, if employees are aware that their absences will be looked at more closely, they will be dissuaded from pulling “sickies” if they are not genuinely ill.

If you have grounds to believe that an absence is not genuine, for example if there is a suspicious pattern of days off coinciding with football games, you should consider taking disciplinary action. Bear in mind, however, that it can be difficult to establish that absences were not genuine and therefore it is preferable to try to avoid the situation arising in the first place.

Flexibility

In order to avoid employees taking “sickies”, you might want to consider offering employees the opportunity to work flexibly around games. For example, you could allow employees to work through their lunch breaks, or come into work early, then leave early in order to catch the games. Again, you should make it clear that any such arrangement will need to be pre-approved by the Company in order to ensure that adequate cover is available.

If your employees work shifts, you could also offer a “shift swap” arrangement, provided that employees can find somebody who is prepared to swap shifts. Again, all “swaps” should be subject to prior approval.

Finally, you might consider allowing employees to work at home on match days. This requires a level of trust in your employees, as you will not be able to monitor what they are doing, but this may prove to be a preferable option to employees taking unplanned absence or causing disruption within the place of work itself.

Make sure that any offers of flexible working, shift swaps and homeworking are made available to all employees, regardless of whether they want to watch the football. Limiting the offer to football fans only is likely to alienate those employees who do not wish to watch the football and potentially create tension and resentment in the workplace.

Watching at Work

You could consider showing the football at the place of work, and even making it into an “event” that all employees are welcome to attend. This can be a good opportunity to foster a team spirit and boost morale. However, you should be aware that not everybody will want to be involved and you may wish to allow non-interested employees to simply take time out rather than watch the football.

Again, you should be realistic. It will be difficult to expect people to go straight back to their desks and pick up their work where they left off after spending time socialising with their colleagues while they watch a game. Also, be alert to the fact that not everybody will support the England team – in today’s multinational workforce, there may be members of staff from all around the world. Be sensitive to the fact that they should be given the same benefits as employees supporting the England team. If you have a particularly wide spread of nationalities in your staff, this may mean that it is simply not practicable to allow the employees to watch the games on site.

Dealing with Alcohol

Football often comes hand-in-hand with alcohol. If you choose to screen the football, and perhaps turn it into an event with food and drink, make sure that employees are aware of their responsibilities. In particular, if there is any chance that employees may need to operate machinery after the event, make it explicit to them that they must not consume any alcohol. Make sure you have an up-to-date alcohol policy and consider sending a memo reminding staff of its contents.

Similarly, you should make it clear to employees that it is unacceptable for them to come into work suffering from the effects of alcohol (including hangovers) such that they are incapable of performing their duties properly.  You should spell out the disciplinary consequences that will follow if employees take time off for alcohol-related reasons or if they come into work under the influence of drink.

Internet Policies

You should also take some time to revisit and consider your company’s internet policy. You may find that employees spend significant amounts of time on the internet, either getting the updated scores or general news about the tournament. Some games are even likely to be screened in full on the internet and employees may try to watch the football from their workstations.

Again, set out your expectations to employees clearly. You may wish to state that reasonable internet browsing will be permitted, provided that it doesn’t interfere with the person’s work, but that watching full games is expressly prohibited. Alternatively, you may wish to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach and prohibit all non-work related browsing.

Conclusion

The World Cup can be an excellent opportunity to forge good relations with staff. Handled correctly, it can be a chance to encourage a real sense of goodwill and commitment from employees. However, employers should be alive to the potential pitfalls and take steps to avoid being the ones that lose out. Now is the time to revisit and update employment policies, and make sure that these are issued to staff. Overall, the key elements for success are communication, clarity and consistency. With the right approach, employers and employees alike can enjoy a happy (and hopefully victorious) World Cup.

The above provides a general guide to issues that might arise. However, each situation is unique and different considerations may apply in your case. We would therefore recommend that you consult a solicitor, or other suitably qualified person, about your specific circumstances.

If you have any questions about the matters discussed above, or any other question of employment law, please call one of our team at Sherrards:

Paul Marmor, Tel: 01727 832830, Email: pdm@sherrards.com

Joanne Perry, Tel: 01727 738920, Email: jp@sherrards.com

Mark Fellows, Tel: 01727 738976, Email: mf@sherrards.com

Kelly-Lee Wright, Tel: 01727 738943, Email: kw@sherrards.com

If you weren’t able to make it or you’d like a bit more explanation on the mechanics of how it all works, I highly recommend Mark’s free beginners guide for Twitter, just send an email to: cheesesandwich@aweber.com .It’s short, only about 20 pages, easy to understand and explains things like how to follow, how to send a message, what retweets are, and what all those weird symbols mean. (To get Mark’s daily top Twitter Tips via email straight into your inbox send an email to : twitterverse@aweber.com )

Once you’re on Twitter (it really does only take about 5 mins to set up properly) if you go to http://twitter.com/BRXBondStreet and look on the right hand side of the page, you’ll see ‘members’ and ‘visitors’ under ‘Lists’. If you click on ‘members’ you’ll see all the BRX Bond Street members who I’m currently aware of as being on Twitter. If you click on ‘visitors’ you’ll see all the people who’ve visited Bond Street who I’m aware of as being on Twitter. If I’ve left anyone out do let me know. I think Twitter is a useful way of connecting with other members during the week, and it’s also an easy way of keeping in touch with the visitors we’ve had. (By the way if you go to the ‘Find People’ tab and do a search for ‘BRX’ you’ll find we’re now top of the list.)

If you need any help with Twitter or have any problems do get in touch and if I can help I will.

By the way Mark isn’t the only people who’s in touch with the Starbucks UK MD. I messaged the Starbucks corporate US account to ask about a branch they’re opening near me and got a message from the UK MD the next day answering my question, and he’s now one of my followers. So Twitter is a great way for a company to show it’s serious about customer service – and to really impress its customers. It’s also a good way of following and getting on the radar of organisations or people it would usually be very difficult to contact – for example I’m now on the Creative Review (UK’s leading magazine for advertising/design) twitter list of copywriters, which only numbers 28 copywriters out of all the thousands in the UK.

And finally – it’s nothing to do with Twitter as a business tool – but there is such a thing as a free lunch. I follow a Michelin starred chef who’s recently opened up a restaurant and sent a tweet to his followers offering a free meal for two in the ’soft opening’ week before the restaurant formally opens and the critics arrive, in return for some feedback. So I took my father for lunch and enjoyed apperitifs, amuse-bouches, two courses (I had a herb ravioli followed by wild garlic risotto) with a lovely white Italian wine recommended by the sommelier, a main course (I had some superb angus beef) with a gorgeous South of France red wine, a pre-dessert of sorbet and fruit to clear the palate, and a stunning Louis XV dark chocolate praline dessert , followed by petits fours (marmalade marshmallow, truffles and raspberry sable) with coffee ….. all absolutely free (though I passed on the ‘wafer-thin mint’). In return I had the arduous task of writing an email with my feedback and and some (extremely minor) criticisms. Though I do wish In Kilter Fitness was doing his fat burning kettle bell sessions in a park near me.

BRX Bond Street, RAF Club, 128 Piccadilly, London, Friday 21 May, 7.15-10am

This Friday the BRX Bond Street business networking meeting has been specially extended to incorporate a 1 hour talk with Mark Shaw, the UK’s leading expert on using Twitter to grow your business. (The meeting is open to all business professionals but numbers are limited so you must RSVP by 19 May – see below)

Millions of people worldwide join Twitter every month, but is it just a social thing or does it have any uses for business? Can Twitter actually increase traffic to your website – and with it revenue for your company? To find out, visit us this Friday for a specially extended meeting that includes a seminar with Twitter ‘guru’ Mark Shaw, who has spoken to, amongst others, Microsoft, the Welsh Assembly, the BBC World Service, Cass Business School, The Independent and Chris Evans on Radio 2.

For our normal meeting fee of £18 you’ll enjoy:

• · Breakfast networking (7.15-8.45am) – With one of London’s liveliest business networking groups (includes full English breakfast)

AND

• · Twitter training (8.45-10am) – Learn from an expert how to get started on Twitter and how to use it as a powerful business tool

Mark’s talk will cover exactly why your business should be on Twitter, including:

1 – Why should you bother with Twitter?
2 – How to get started – getting the most effective name, avatar & biog
3 – What can you do with Twitter?
4 – How do you gather information?
5 – What are the 4 R’S?
6 – What are the 4 things you need to do to be successful with Twitter?
7 – What are the 3 things you need to Tweet about?
8 – What results can be generated via Twitter?
9 – How can you increase website traffic with Twitter?

10 – Where should you spend most of your time on Twitter?

Where and when

7.15-10am, Friday 21 May, at the RAF club, 128 Piccadilly, London W1J 7PY (nearest tubes are Green Park and Hyde Park Corner). Map info

RSVP

Please RSVP by email only to louise (dot) hassett (at) delfont-mackintosh (dot) com before the end of Wed 19 May to secure your place. Remember to bring plenty of business cards and the £18 fee.

Follow Mark at www.twitter.com/markshaw

Follow BRX Bond Street at www.twitter.com/BRXBondStreet