Clearview Midlands September 2013 - Issue 142 | Page 67

businessnews

ALMOST HALF OF BRITS IN THE DARK ABOUT CONSUMER RIGHTS
New research shows that Brits are ill-equipped and poorly-informed when it comes to knowing their consumer rights. While 4% claim to have a strong grasp, almost half (47%) admit to being in the dark, leaving them at risk of losing out. As a result, uSwitch.com is urging the Government to not just simplify and modernise consumer law, but to now ensure that consumers are educated about their rights too: • Almost three in ten consumers (29%) have lost time or money through not understanding their consumer rights • 41% think consumer rights are complicated, full of loopholes and ambiguities (39%) and peppered with legal jargon (24%) • Almost half (47%) think that more needs to be done to ensure consumers understand what they are entitled to • Consumers learn about their rights through the media (52%), trial and error (33%) and from other people (31%) - just 13% learn from their parents and 5% through school New Consumer Rights Bill will improve and update consumer law, but won’t tackle the biggest issue, which is lack of knowledge and understanding. And while the Government’s draft Consumer Rights Bill looks set to bring consumer law up-to-date and make it less complex, it still appears as though it will be left to consumers themselves to ensure they have an adequate grasp of it. The danger is that, by not tackling consumer education, the Government is likely to fall short of giving consumers the support they really need.

APPRENTICESHIPS WIN OVER DEGREES
More successful A-level students are now opting for apprenticeships over university degrees as the next step in their careers but one campaigner says we must radically increase the number of apprenticeships for all academic levels. “It is great that the apprenticeship is once again being recognised as a valuable way of training the next generation of our workforce,” said Will Davies, co-founder of aspect.co.uk and a long-term campaigner for apprenticeship reform. “Although the increase in higher apprenticeships indicates that we are taking on-the-job learning more seriously, we have to increase the quality of training available to candidates of all academic levels,” said Mr Davies, whose property maintenance and refurbishment company train tradesmen via traditional apprenticeships. According to the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) there will be 20,000 ‘higher’ apprenticeships available to young workers in the UK this year.

‘A valuable way of training the next generation’
According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) there were 520,600 overall apprenticeship starts in the year 2012/12 which was 63,400 more than the previous year. “We must improve the quality and quantity of apprenticeships if we are going to make inroads into the one million youngsters who are currently without work or training in the UK at the moment,” said Will Davies, who recently made a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into ‘Construction and Youth Employment’. “It is essential that employers are granted the power to design apprenticeships for young people. Employers know the skills they require and therefore they k now the skills that are employable,” he said. www.aspect.co.uk

PEDAL TOWARDS IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY
Soaring numbers of employers are investing in cycle storage facilities according to workplace equipment supplier Slingsby, following the huge boom in cycling over the last 12 months, which is boosted further by Britain’s successes in the Olympics and Tour De France, and the trend could also be helping to increase employee productivity according to a new study. Research in Aviva’s Health of the Workplace 2012 report reveals that after introducing health-related benefits, including bikes for work schemes, 89% of employers saw productivity increase, 88% felt employees were more motivated and 83% experienced reduced sickness absence. In 2012 the Government’s ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme saw a 7.9% increase in take-up compared to 2011. The scheme makes it possible for employees to save money on bikes and related safety accessories by making them completely tax-deductible. Employees effectively ‘hire’ a bike from their employer by paying monthly instalments that are taken from their salary before tax. The hire agreement usually lasts for between 12 and 18 months and then the employee buys the bike for a percentage of its original cost price. Lee Wright, Marketing Director at Slingsby, which supplies more than 35,000 products across all industries, said: “Rising fuel prices, improved cycle networks and the nation’s desire to stay healthy all make cycling even more appealing. As a result there are thousands more bikes on our roads and they will become the main mode of transport for many peoples’ commute to work.” For further information on the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme visit www.cyclescheme.co.uk. For Slingsby call 0800 294 4440 or visiting www.slingsby.com.

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