SEPTEMBER 2020 | 23
Installer Support
Snickers’ New
4-Way Stretch
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The second risk is if you let slip a
comment on someone’s race, religion, sex,
attractiveness, colour or sexual orientation
etc. Even in jest. If such a comment merely
passes your lips, you are probably in deep
and expensive trouble. Discrimination cases
have no cap on damages and no qualifying
period so they can be brought one
day after someone joins your business.
The way to avoid these particular tank
traps is firstly to never say anything to an
employee that you wouldn’t want to hear
repeated in an employment tribunal in
front of a judge. The second is to always
take advice from an employment specialist
before disciplining anyone. It’s crucial you
follow the correct process.
If previously you had arranged for a
carefully drafted employment contract and
company handbook then this is the point
at which it will pay off big time.
Use a system
It’s increasingly true that more trades
people are using a computer to do their
invoicing and much more, even if sometimes
it’s only by using word or excel.
Paper can still work for sole traders although
Making Tax Digital (MTD) is going
‘
as a business gets
bigger and employs more
staff, it gets harder to
control without a system
’
to change that. However, as a business
gets bigger and employs more staff, it gets
harder to control without a system.
The truth is, virtually every business
outside the trade that employs staff now
uses a computer system. This is because
it helps. As you grow larger, organising
staff and knowing where they are, as well
as keeping on top of paperwork and not
losing it becomes more and more important.
In fact, deploying a good system
and making sure you use it properly can
significantly help your sleep patterns as it
brings things much more under control.
Manage your risks
In my company, every few months we
list all of the risks in the business and see
if there are any simple things we can do
to reduce those risks. We have a number
of different areas to look at: finance, staff,
marketing, an attack by hackers, technical
mistakes and so on. It’s surprising how
often there are actions that can be taken.
Often this doesn’t involve much work but
can hugely reduce the risk.
For instance, as well as compulsory
employment and public liability insurance,
I got some additional insurance for theft
that turned out not to be too pricy.
Similarly, taking a copy of our central
database and storing it in a completely
separate place hugely reduced the potential
impact from a hacker getting into our
system.
Sleep well
The aim of this article was to find some
antidotes to the sleep problems suffered
by business people. My hope is that counting
sheep can become a thing of the past
and you will have an enjoyable business
life and relaxing, peaceful sleep.
About the author
Benjamin Dyer is CEO and co-founder of
Powered Now. Powered Now’s mobile app
aims to take the pain out of paperwork for
installers, as well as other trade businesses.
www.powerednow.com
Hi-tech fabrics and
body-mapping designs in the NEW
multi-purpose ALLROUNDWork
4-Way Stretch Trousers from
Snickers Workwear ensure maximum
working mobility wherever
you are on site.
The 4-way stretch fabrics
integrated into these Work Trousers
deliver maximum freedom of
movement for all kinds of work
all year round as well as improved
ventilation and overall comfort.
With great fit and superb value
for money they have a slimmer tailored
fit for better all-round looks
and protection against snagging.
Plus reinforced stretch Cordura in
the certified KneeGuard System
for greater flexibility, comfort and
durability. They’re specially designed
to take the new D30 ERGO
Craftsman Kneepad.
Check out all the Stretch Garments
from Snickers Workwear –
the optimal choice for craftsmen
and women who need to get every
job done comfortably and efficiently
on site.
www.snickersworkwear.co.uk