The Good Work Plan – Changes in April 2020
Changes to Statement of Terms and Conditions – A Day 1 Right. Previously, employers had 8 weeks to provide new employees with a Statement of Terms and Conditions, which for most employers was via an employment contract. From 6 April 2020, this becomes a first day right – meaning that the employer is required to […]
One to One Support for SMEs *Now Online*
During these uncertain times, many of us are now having to work from home, and as such the thought of missing out on work and training can be quite unnerving. It was originally planned that the free of charge One to One Support Sessions, as part of the Inclusive Engineering Programme at Scottish Engineering, would […]
Developing Scotland’s Leaders Programme
We’re very excited to announce that our latest training programme is now open for bookings. Don’t miss out on our early bird discounted rate – valid until the 30th March 2020. Your leaders can be your companies biggest asset. Invest in them today with this specially designed programme to give them the skills they need […]
Support for Pay Awards 2020
Last year saw some difficult pay settlement discussions within our member companies – a combination of a period of restricted awards (generally) gave way to some settlements which were in excess of the commonly used indices. Unions, used to a stagnant economy with limited wage growth were much more bullish in 2019, which coupled with […]
Chief Exec’s report Mar 2020
In our final 2019 review of Scotland’s Engineering Manufacturing sector we delicately described results as “chastening”, with confidence matching orders in steep decline, and we feared that the resilience shown in our sector had reached the bottom of its reserve. This week I opened the results of our newest survey with extra interest, as I […]
The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow Award 2020
Applications are flooding in for the Hammermen of Glasgow Award 2020. You still have plenty of time to apply. Closing date for entries is Friday 3rd April 2020. Do you employ a young engineer who is currently working on a project or has taken a major role in a project which has or will significantly […]
UK Government Confirms Plans to Restrict Immigration
On 19 February 2020 the Government confirmed its plan to introduce an ‘Australian-style’ points system in a complete overhaul of the immigration system which will end the EU freedom of movement from 31 December 2020. A ten-page briefing document has been issued which outlines the new policy and states: UK borders will be closed […]
Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) Update by HSE
LEV – An Employer’s Guide to Competence. You have a legal responsibility to ensure that employee exposure to dust/fumes etc. is minimised and well controlled. LEV is an excellent way of doing this. People who supply, examine and maintain LEV need to be competent otherwise your LEV may not work properly, putting people’s health at […]
Protected Belief – Ethical Veganism
The written reasons in the case of Casamitjana Costa v The League Against Cruel Sports are now available. An Employment Tribunal found that ethical veganism was a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010. It is very clear from the Tribunal’s written reasons that Mr Costa is not simply following a vegan diet but adopts […]
Musculoskeletal disorders update
HSE (Health and Safety Executive) have released their latest information on Musculoskeletal Disorders for February 2020. Click here for full information on Manual Handling at work, Managing Upper Limb Disorders in the workplace, Public Health England’s (PHE) Musculoskeletal Health Knowledge Hub and PHE Musculoskeletal Health – Current Awareness Update
Unconscious Bias Mitigation and Fairer Recruitment (UBFR) Training Sessions
To create diverse and inclusive workplaces, we have a responsibility to challenge our own unconscious bias on a regular basis, in order to grow in a progressive manner. The business case for diversity is clear – in a study conducted by McKinsey & Co, it was seen that companies in the top quartile for gender […]
Jacks Law – The right to paid time off after the bereavement of a child
The Government issued a press release late last week announcing that the proposed Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay legislation, first trailed in June 2018 has been laid before Parliament to pass into law. These regulations are to be known as ‘Jack’s Law’ in memory of Jack Herd, whose mother Lucy has been campaigning on this […]
CHANGES TO IR35 AND RECENT CASE REPORT
CHANGES TO IR35 It was announced by the government in 2018 that the off payroll working rules would be extended to the private sector to address IR35 noncompliance in the sector. The rules require that clients determine whether deemed employment status applies to their arrangements with personal service companies and other intermediary supplying services to […]
NEW EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION GUIDELINES ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published new guidance in relation to sexual harassment and harassment in the workplace. The EHRC explains that “the evidence of the need for tougher action on harassment in the workplace is overwhelming”. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination and harassment because of or related […]
Equality and Inclusivity Training – One to One Support for SMEs
It is a known fact that there is a significant underrepresentation of women in the engineering sector, which acts as a disadvantage from a moral, economic and a business point of view. In a study conducted by McKinsey & Company, it was seen that companies in the top 25th percentile for gender diversity on their […]
Chief Exec’s report Dec 19
It seems difficult to believe that not only are we approaching the end of year, but also the end of another decade, and soon will be talking about the 2020’s. As a child of the 70’s and 80’s the last “20’s” were ancient history even to me, although at some time the phrase “The Roaring […]
Guest Writer: 100 years of Women’s Engineering
Lorna Bennet Mechanical Engineer WES Prize Winner 2018 2019 has been a special year, marking the 100th Anniversary of the Women’s Engineering Society, inspiring numerous events across the country that have brought focus to our efforts to improve our diversity in Industry. So, as we close the year it seems fair to pose the […]
Guest Writer: Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company
Andy Russell Operations Manager, Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company The idea of creating Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company (SBMC) was born after the release of a 2016 report, The Veterans Community Employability, Skills & Learning, by Eric Fraser – the previous Scottish Veterans Commissioner. It outlined the wealth of skills our veterans’ community has to offer […]
Chief Exec’s report Sep 19
Halloween Horrors Await At our last quarterly briefing I talked of the joys of spring, the range of excellence we had just celebrated in our annual award winners, and the remarkable resilience of our sector despite never ending uncertainty. Clearly that was before our ‘summer’ arrived. In between wondering if a boat might be best […]
Manufacturing 4.0 review
The Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) will provide a comprehensive assessment of your business over two days to identify strengths and opportunities, giving you an aligned approach towards Manufacturing 4.0. The Review is conducted over two days and is fully funded, delivered by SMAS and Scottish Enterprise digital specialists. For more information, click on the […]
Chief Exec’s report Jun 19
Encouraging Forward Thinking For Skills Spring in Scotland is now well under way, and it’s a significant time for us at Scottish Engineering as we celebrated our annual award winners just a few short weeks ago. If spring is our best chance in the year for optimism, then our award winners did not disappoint, and […]
Guest Writer: Wider Inclusion Can Add Valued Employees
Paul Nelson Non-Executive Director Scottish Autism Securing satisfying employment, where you feel valued, can be challenging for anyone but for some autistic people, it can be seen as even more of a challenge. It wasn’t until I joined Scottish Autism that I realised how many autistic people there are in Scotland. I have also […]
Support for MakeUK – Letter to the Government and the Opposition
Scottish Engineering was contacted by MakeUK (EEF), asking for our support for the attached letter to Government and Opposition. We were aware that other UK Engineering and Manufacturing member organisations were considering their support for this action also. We chose to support this action, specifically because it aims not to criticise the origin or thwart […]
Chief Exec’s report Mar 19
Groundhog Day Welcome to our first Quarterly Report of 2019. We start not as we would wish with an optimistic view forward, but instead trapped in the never-ending Brexit cycle where immediate clarity is desperately needed, but never actually expected. The gift that keeps on giving simply cannot be ignored, for as Brexit blunders on, […]
Chief Exec’s report Dec 18
Skills Snobbery is a Wasted Opportunity Welcome to Scottish Engineering’s final Quarterly Report for 2018, and as we write, it’s the time of year when wish lists are being written, and decisions are to be made on good behaviour or otherwise. With the political shenanigans currently never ending, I fear there will be a lot […]
Guest Writer: Ports Plan For Resilience To Keep Supply Chains Moving
Charles Hammond Group Chief Executive Forth Ports Limited At Forth Ports we have a strategy of investing in supply chain solutions for our customers and we are well-placed to deal with the changing nature of trade and its effect on these supply chains. Over the past few months, I have been regularly speaking to […]
Guest Writer: The Economic Challenges and Opportunities for Scotland
Gary Gillespie Chief Economic Adviser Scottish Government The past decade has seen an array of economic and political developments from the global financial crisis of 2008/09 to the UK vote to leave the European Union. The former had a significant impact on the Scottish and UK economy, which is still being felt, and the […]
Virtual Awards Ceremony Video Release
In a year that has been hugely challenging for every manufacturing and engineering company, it has never been more important to celebrate excellence within our community. Every one of our winners has demonstrated resilience, innovation, and a willingness to embrace change to drive their business forward, and we are especially pleased that our winners represent […]
