Bringing Aycliffe Business Park Together | 5
Tribunal tide turning for employers
WORK STARTS ON £ 1.5M SOCCER FACTORY
Work has started on an exciting £ 1.5m football facility which will provide seven state-of-the-art indoor pitches in Newton Aycliffe .
It ’ s now hoped the Soccer Factory , on the site of the old Thrislington Partitions building on Aycliffe Business Park , will be open for business later this year .
The new landlords of the unit have invested a significant amount of cash to enable the project to start after a series of frustrating delays .
The Soccer Factory , which was originally given planning consent in February 2012 , will provide seven 3g five-a-side courts , as well as a brand new health and fitness suite , multipurpose studio , a café / bar and a sports injury clinic .
It promises to bring 15 new jobs to the town , and along with other leisure facilities on the Business Park ensure Aycliffe becomes a popular destination for people from the whole of the South West Durham area , as well as further afield .
Managing director Dan Lewis has been the driving force behind the ambitious plans which have had their fair share of setbacks .
FOOTBALL BOSS ASKS FOR HELP
Newton Aycliffe FC manager Allan Oliver addressed companies at one of the recent Aycliffe Business Park ( ABP ) events to ask for help .
The town ’ s club compete in the top tier of the Ebac Northern League – and Oliver joined Aycliffe ’ s sponsorship boss Barry Waters to make a special appeal .
“ We won the Durham Alliance League , then the Wearside League , then the Northern League second division , and the first division of the Northern League is the most competitive league in the country at this level of football ,” Oliver told company bosses .
“ We ’ re trying to give kids on the town a goal to play for a team at a top non-league level .
“ We have a tremendous facility at Moore Lane Park and we want local youngsters to come to us , but we need a bit of help financially .”
But he ’ s delighted that the first of a three-phase refurbishment programme is now under way , with the stripping out of the old run-down unit already well into its six-week schedule .
“ It ’ s massively exciting for us ,” he said . “ It ’ s relief ... it ’ s everything . It ’ s something we ’ ve been working very hard to achieve over the last year or so , and this is the start for us now .
“ The men are now on site starting the refurbishment - it ’ s a day we ’ ve all been waiting for , for quite a long time .”
Mr Lewis says he expects the whole refurbishment project to take 16-20 weeks , meaning it should be open before Christmas .
“ It ’ s been a dream of mine for a long time to see this come to fruition ,” added Mr Lewis .
“ It ’ s hugely exciting and something we think will be very popular - something for people and the business community to buy in to - and we strongly feel this will be a great development for Newton Aycliffe and the surrounding area .”
You can follow the progress of The Soccer factory on Twitter @ ThSoccerFactory and Facebook www . facebook . com / TheSoccerFactoryLtd
Aycliffe companies can take out a pitchside perimeter advertising board at the club ’ s Moore Lane Park ground for just £ 300 .
What ’ s more , Aycliffe Today Business will publish pictures of companies with their new boards in place in future editions , completely free of charge .
Anyone interested in sponsorship can contact Barry Waters on 07864 718243 , or barrywaters212 @ msn . com
Changes in employment tribunals could significantly benefit all employers . Hewitts Solicitors Employment expert Paul Hargreaves explains why ….
Even with good human resources practices and procedures in place disputes between employers and employees can lead to claims in the Employment Tribunal .
Such claims are a major headache for all employers but particularly SMEs due to the costs and administration involved .
Historically about 20 % of claims issued in the Tribunal proceed to a hearing . Of the rest , many employers take a pragmatic view and reach an out of court settlement with the employee as a more cost effective alternative .
This , some employer organisations have argued , enables many weak claims to go unchallenged because the system had become too expensive for employers to argue their case . However , it appears the tide is now turning for employers with the rules governing claims in the Tribunal about to change in ways which should ultimately benefit them .
From this summer , every claim filed at the Tribunal will be reviewed by a Judge who can reject it or part of it if the Judge thinks the claim is unlikely to succeed .
If a claim is accepted after this initial review , there will be a second review after the employer ’ s response has been received . There is , therefore , an opportunity for employers to highlight any elements of the employee ’ s claim that they regard as weak .
For weak claims the Tribunal may order the Employee to pay a deposit as a condition of proceeding . Employees will also now have to pay an issue fee on starting their claim and another fee before the hearing itself . Depending on the nature of the claim these fees will be between £ 390 and £ 1,200 in total .
This could represent a real sea change in employer and employee dispute resolution .
For further information on the changes and how your business might benefit from them contact Paul Hargreaves at Hewitts Bishop Auckland office on 01388 604691 .
Paul Hargreaves Hewitts Solicitors