PLANS ON TRACK
The construction work now arriving at Platform 1 ….
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ADVICE
Work has now begun on the £ 26m transformation of Sunderland central station which will see the gateway to the city become a source of pride rather than embarrassment .
The demolition of the southern entrance of the station marks the start of a six-year project intended to give Sunderland a 21stcentury station to be proud of .
Changes will come fast though - within two years , the body of the impressive , new glass-dominated structure will be open to the public as the first of the Metro ’ s new trains , ( a fleet investment of £ 362m ), rolls into the station .
Naturally , Huw Lewis , Nexus customer services director , is excited about the new trains due , but equally as excited about the Sunderland stop finally coming up to the standards expected of a 21st-century station .
“ Sunderland is a great city which deserves a great station and now it ’ s going to get one ,” he told Wear Business .
“ A picture paints a thousand words and when you look at the artist ’ s impressions they really bring home to you just what a transformation this is going to be .
“ First impressions count and the point at which a visitor arrives in a city says something about the ambition of the whole place and when this work is complete , the reaction on arrival is going to be a positive one ”.
The large glass wrap-around design , creating a light , bright and welcoming concourse , will boast a new ticket office and reception , public toilets and comfortable waiting areas .
Retail space and cafes will also be created , as well as improvements to accessibility , while office space on the new mezzanine level will be reserved for railway industry staff .
To complement the development , a multistorey car park is to be built in Holmeside .
The work is a partnership with Network Rail , Nexus , Grand Central and Northern Rail and Sunderland City Council .
Digital expansion great news for small businesses
Sunderland-based digital training
A agency is expanding its team and service , after increased demand for e-learning resources amid the pandemic .
ThinkBiscuit Media , a technology business specialising in e-learning , outgrew its headquarters at Sunderland Software Centre and recently relocated to a larger office at the North Sands Business Centre , welcoming a new colleague in the process .
Founded by Michael Ditchburn in 2017 after being made redundant , ThinkBiscuit has since supported clients worldwide , including Vodafone , Buzz Bingo and Comtec , to create and deliver engaging e-learning experiences for their teams .
Now a team of eight , ThinkBiscuit is settling into its new office space – following support from the Sunderland City Council Business Investment Team – and working on bringing a new service to market that enables small businesses to easily access quality , affordable e-learning .
MD Michael said : “ Since the pandemic , digital learning has become a much more indemand service and sometimes we struggle to say yes to every request that comes through .
“ That uplift in demand has driven our growth plans and we now need to expand the team to increase our ability to service more clients and keep saying yes .
“ Our new office has 12 desks , and we ’ re hoping to have all of those filled within the next 18 to 24 months .”
Pictured ( left to right ): ThinkBiscuit digital content developer Rachael Mordecai , social media and marketing strategist Emily Stoddart , Cllr Graeme Miller , ThinkBiscuit operations manager Lisa Brown , MD Michael Ditchburn and digital content developer Savannah Ramsdale .
Time to step-up the training
As staff return to the workplace , something overlooked during the home-working hiatus for employers to consider is training for managers on handling the sort of workplace issues they would have routinely dealt with before the pandemic .
The majority of businesses will have experienced fewer disputes , handled fewer grievances and managed fewer disciplinary proceedings in the last 18 months than at any time in recent years . This could be misleading though as past issues may now resurface and new ones will have arisen while staff have not been in work .
Returning to the workplace presents its own challenges and it is probably wishful thinking to expect the transition back to ‘ normal ’ working practices to run as smoothly as the move to working from home .
Managers who carry out investigations , chair disciplinary hearings and hear grievances are likely to be out of touch . To compound matters , developments in case law during the pandemic have the capacity to affect decisions .
Indirect sex discrimination , reasonable investigations in disciplinary proceedings , employment status and the definition of disability are just some issues on which there have been significant decisions by the courts and tribunals during the pandemic .
At Jacksons Law Firm , we are busy putting together training programmes for our clients to cover those issues which employers are likely to encounter in the coming months including vaccinations , flexible working requests and managing employees ’ return to the workplace .
Paul Clark Head of employment Jacksons Law Firm
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