Incremental Holiday System – Increasing holiday entitlement
Increasing holiday entitlement for long serving employees is one of the methods employers use to reward employees for their commitment to the company.
This week a client wanted to implement an incremental holiday system based on employee length of service. This being the longer serving employees who had up to 10 years plus service with the company.
Employers are perfectly entitled to implement such schemes however they must fully observe the provision of the Equality Act 2010 to avoid any claims of direct/indirect claims of discrimination.
How can rewarding for someone for their long service be discriminatory, you might well ask?
Well, when we speak about increasing holiday entitlement for long service, the age of the person comes into play because the longer the service the more likely it is that they will be older. I can hear the penny dropping now!
This is not to say that an employer cannot reward someone with a benefit past five years’ service but what the law says in these circumstances is that the needs of the business in implementing this must outweigh the discriminatory effect. It can be to encourage loyalty or reward higher levels of experience.
This can apply to any benefits that are awarded through length of service not just holiday. If you would like more information, make the most of free ChamberHR advice line by calling 01455 852037.
As the sun comes out, annual leave requests tend to flood in with employees planning trips abroad, staycations and childcare during the school holidays. Are you concerned that this could lead to a drop in productivity? Or that results and outcomes won’t be achieved? We can help you to find short-term candidates to fill any gaps and keep everything flowing smoothly. If you’ve never thought about using a temp before, here’s just some of the business benefits they can bring.
Experience at short notice
Short-term contracts are not just for administrative roles, we can provide temporary candidates for senior and specialist positions within the fields of Accountancy, Financial Services, Human Resources, IT, Marketing and Office Support. The temps we place are highly-experienced, skilled employees. In many cases they have chosen to work on short-term contract or interim basis as a way of providing themselves with a more flexible career option.
Fresh perspectives
Bringing new talent into an organisation often brings fresh perspectives. This is just as relevant for temporary employees and in some cases even more so. Temporary candidates are likely to have worked across many different organisations, both in the same industry and outside of it. They may have experience and knowledge of different systems or processes which could work far better and introduce innovative ideas you may not even have considered.
Strategic skill sets
If there are specific short-term projects taking place during the time you are looking to cover absences, you can look for temps with the relevant skills and experience to handle these. This could help you to bring in additional experience you may not already have in house. It can also help to inspire existing employees who will be able to learn from them and develop new skills.
Increased morale
Some employers may be concerned that bringing a short-term ‘stranger’ into an organisation may have a negative impact on the rest of the team. However, our experience shows that temporary employees bring new ideas and an added enthusiasm which can be a boost to the entire team. Team members will also feel reassured that there will be an extra pair of hands to support them and that any additional workload will not all fall to them.
Smooth transitions
Temporary placements can be arranged to include handover time with the person they will be filling in for, both before and after the person returns to the business. This makes the transition period much smoother for all involved.
We’ll help make sure you get the right fit
Whether it is temporary or permanent placements, we pride ourselves on finding the right person for the role and for the organisation. If appropriate, we arrange for the candidate to experience a four-hour working interview in the organisation. This gives both you and the candidate the chance to review cultural fit and skills needed. If for any reason you didn’t think the candidate was suitable, you wouldn’t be charged for this time.
Longer term options
Once you have found a temporary employee, you may appreciate them so much you don’t want to let them go! It provides an extended interview in which you can see how they work, the results they achieve and how they fit in with the team. This puts you in the best position to know if you would like to offer them a permanent role, if there is one available now or in the future. However, remember that it will depend on what the temp is looking for as to whether this is of interest to them. If they’ve chosen to work on a temporary basis to increase flexibility then a permanent position may not appeal to them. Instead they will hopefully become ambassadors for your organisation, sharing their experience of working for you amongst what is likely to be an extensive network of contacts, helping you to attract future talent.
We’ll support you through the process
If you’ve never recruited on a temporary basis before, it may seem like a daunting process. Our expert consultants will guide you through everything, from administration through to understanding the regulations around short-term contracts. For more information, get in touch with one of our offices.
A spelling mistake isn’t going to kill your brand, but if you want to grow it online using Social Media there are a few things your business needs to avoid doing.
1 | Spamming – Quality over quantity
Throwing content out there willy-nilly is a common mistake for a lot of people. The idea of getting as much content in front of people’s faces can be a very damaging thing, especially on Facebook.
Facebook uses a number of algorithms to prioritise content on somebody’s timeline, one of which includes frequency of posts. So I would recommend posting no more than 5 times a day.
Twitter on the other hand is completely different, people seem to digest content much faster and content is sorted by ‘most recent’. I recommend anywhere from 5-20 posts on Twitter per day.
A little bit of planning never hurt anybody – spread your posts out throughout the day and use a number of different methods of sharing (video, images, etc).
2 | Ghostown
Another common problem almost stems from fear of my previous point. People tend to worry about ‘over-posting’ and end up leaving their Social Media platforms looking like a baron wasteland.
Don’t do this either! Get a decent plan in place, and stick to it. A content calendar can be a very useful tool when combatting both ‘spamming’ and ending up like a ‘ghostown’.
3 | Too much automation
Automating posts can be a wonderful thing (wow, what a perfect segue; why not check out my previous Blog on it), but using it too much can become damaging, and your content can begin to look robotic and people will tune out.
Use it, but only in moderation!
4 | Very little/no interaction
Interaction is a key element to bringing your brand to life. Talking to people and answering questions, either out in public or via private messages, can give your Social Media channels personality.
But be aware, ensure the ‘voice’ you use suits your brand.
5 | “I must be on every platform!”
A common misconception of Social Media is that your content must be everywhere, this is definitely not the case! You need to focus your content on platforms that your message suits.
For instance, there is no point in creating an Instagram page if a majority of your content is not image based.
Pick the platforms that suit your message!
6| Sharing only your own content
Yes, your content is fantastic – but other people’s content may be able to complement what you have to say. Share Blogs and news articles that relate to your topic/product!
7 | Not committing long term
Staying committed to Social Media can be tough. It can end up being a massive time consumer. With a lot of aspects of business going digital, Social Media is only going to become more pivotal.
Make sure it’s part of your long term plan. Invest in it wisely, and don’t forget about it and leave it to gather dust in your attic of ideas.
If you ever need support with Social Media or your overall digital strategy, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Norfolk Chamber has a wealth of members who are great at pointing you in the right direction!
Jack Edwards Membership Communications Co-ordinator [email protected]
Please don’t think I’m about to use the first of my columns to get ‘party political’, or indeed that I’m going to beat the all too familiar path towards Brexit. That said, current events do rather point to the importance of negotiation as a really important process when it comes to getting things done.
Every deal that’s done, every sale that’s made involves, to a greater or lesser extent, some negotiation. It’s about knowing what you want out of it, and trying to achieve that to you and your customer‘s satisfaction.
As far as our ‘leaders’ are concerned, right now the Brexit negotiations look about as complex as they could get. Sailing in uncharted waters, they’re negotiating with 27 countries on unprecedented issues. It’s tough.
But consider this. Every business person who exports to Europe, or anywhere else, has to negotiate not just with each country but with each customer within each country. And every customer at home too. In today’s business climate it’s not uncommon for the next sale, the next deal, to be unprecedented either. It might require a new modification to the product or service, a new price to be established or a new delivery schedule.
So here’s the thing. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that it’s commerce, and the people who drive it, who have to negotiate all day every day in order to make things happen. The things that create sales, revenue and jobs.
Let’s not forget either that commerce can’t do it alone. Infrastructure, technology, strategic direction – they’re all essential requirements from government (note the lower case ‘g’; this applies to whoever is at Westminster), and it’s very much part of our role as the Chamber to ensure that you, the practitioners of commerce in our region, are heard. And more importantly listened to.
I’ll be building on the outstanding work done so far to ensure that we develop and refine our message, and our means of delivering it, to ensure that we are taken notice of.
Now, that might mean we have to accept that some things can be done before others. That priorities are adjusted. Fine – That’s negotiation. But here’s the thing, yes we can do negotiation. My track record is largely in the technology sector, but firmly in the entrepreneurial arena, and negotiating has been critical to successes. Believe me, back in the day, talking with a multiple of financial service companies, some of whom were formed 300 years prior and still using pencils was a challenge. Convincing them that the internet was the future trading platform took a lot of negotiation. I enjoy it. Especially if it’s carried out in a positive atmosphere, because that requires you to behave optimistically, a key attribute in driving your business forward.
So, I’ll call on all my experiences to support the region’s commerce and steer us into, and through, the aforementioned uncharted waters, and beyond, as I have many more exciting plans to share.
Technology and how we use it is evolving rapidly but Norfolk’s digital and mobile infrastructure needs to keep pace. Norfolk Chamber is keen to ensure that both our digital and mobile infrastructure are fit for purpose and that our business community is ready to take advantage of new technology developments as they evolve.
Greater mobile coverage is needed to provide better reliability. This includes erecting more mobile signal masts and creating a simplified planning process to gain the necessary permissions. Another simple solution to improve existing coverage would be to allow mobile roaming across the existing network providers.
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said: “Norfolk Chamber wants to ensure that our business community is able to take advantage of new technology developments as they evolve and one of those key areas is the rise in the mobile office and the need by more business people to do business on the move. To do this we need more investment in our mobile signal infrastructure and changes in how the service providers operate i.e. roaming signals.”
A network of providers ensures that the majority of Norfolk receives mobile signal coverage but no one provider can deliver a high percentage of overall signal coverage across the county.
At present the providers do not allow seamless roaming between their networks – so every business user, no matter which network provides their service, suffers from unreliable mobile signal coverage in Norfolk.
A recent British Chambers of Commerce survey showed that 83% of Norfolk business users experienced ‘not spots’, 43% had access to 4G, and more concerning, 11% of business users still only had access to 2G – voice calls only with no internet or data.
Neil Orford, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber Council and Partner at Lovewell Blake,said: “If we wish to be seen as a place to do business, we must continue to press for improvement in the service provided.”
Whilst approximately 86% of Norfolk has access to 24mbps, a recent British Chambers of Commerce survey, reported that the Norfolk business community still thought that Norfolk’s digital infrastructure was not yet totally fit for purpose.
Lynsey Sweales, a Norfolk Chamber Board Member and Director of Social B, said: “A reliable broadband connection is absolutely vital for all companies, yet 20% of Norfolk companies suffer from unreliable connections. The focus of the Government must be on providing businesses with sufficient and reliable broadband connections to enable to them to do business confidently.”
The British Chambers survey showed that with more reliable connections Norfolk businesses could do more. More than half of businesses (54%) said that if the reliability of their broadband connection was improved it would allow them to use more applications, particularly cloud-based services (24%), transfer of large files (16%), and remote server access for employees (14%).
Paul Grenyer, CEO atNorwich-based Naked Element,said: “My issue is with mobile signals when I am out and about in the county, which I do quite a bit because I like to go to see clients. Reception is very sporadic. I use the train because I like to work but the other day I went from Yarmouth to Norwich and I only had reception for 60 per cent of the time, which means that it is dead time. It is frustrating and it needs to improve.”
David Manning, Managing Director of MIGSOLV, which delivers The Gatehouse >You can read the Norfolk Voice magazine online.
Since 1st August 2016, the administration of the Apprenticeship Age Grant has beed devolved to the NEW ANGLIA LEP resulting in some significant changes for the benefit of employesr and apprentices.
Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) of 16 to 24 year olds in Norfolk and Suffolk supports businesses that would not otherwise be in a position to support individuals aged 16 to 24 into employment through the Apprenticeship programme. The following information is relevant to employers starting an apprentice from August 2016 in a business with a postcode within Norfolk or Suffolk. For businesses outside of this area should refer to www.gov.uk for details of the national AGE scheme or contact their training provider.
The scheme is being administered by Norfolk County Council on behalf of both counties. The grant will be offered to those employers who are eligible and such employers may receive up to 5 grants in any one-year period. The value of each grant is as follows:
£2000 for each apprentice who is aged 16 to 18 at the time they start their Apprenticeship;
£1500 for each apprentice who is aged 19 to 24 at the time they start their Apprenticeship.
The grant will be paid as a lump sum direct to the employers nominated bank account, once the apprentice has completed 10 weeks on the Apprenticeship programme and the necessary paperwork has been received: see “How do employers apply”? below.
So, which Employers are eligible? To be eligible employers must
Have fewer than 250 employees in total;
Start a new employee on an Apprenticeship or place an existing employee on an Apprenticeship programme on or after the 1 August 2016;
Commit to continuously employ that apprentice for a minimum of 12 months or as long as it takes them to complete the Apprenticeship;
Confirm that they are aware of and do not breach any state aid rules by receiving the grant;
Agree to pay the apprentice in line with legal minimum requirements or more;
Ensure that the apprenticeship is delivered by a training organisation that is funded by the Government to deliver Apprenticeship Frameworks.
For the purposes of this grant, the start date for the Apprenticeship is taken to be the date at which the Employer, Learner and Training Provider sign the Apprenticeship Agreement
Which apprentices qualify? To qualify, an apprentice must be:
Aged 16 to 24 at the start date of their Apprenticeship
Enrolled on an Apprenticeship Framework. (Starts on Apprenticeship Standards are not eligible)
Be working with an employer based in Norfolk or Suffolk
Eligible for Apprenticeship funding from the Skills Funding Agency
Eligible to work in England
Be starting a new Apprenticeship framework or progressing from a lower level onto an Advanced or Higher Level Apprenticeship
How do employers apply? Employers in Norfolk or Suffolk, once they have selected an Apprentice and the start date has been agreed, should go to www.apprenticeshipsnorfolk.org/agegrant and complete an online application form for AGE. The following details will be required:
Name of Business
Name of the Apprentice*
Apprentice Date of Birth*
Name of Training Provider or College delivering the training.
Address of Business where the apprentice will be employed
Telephone Number
Name of contact within business
Email address
Bank Details (into which payments are to be made)
*Employers must seek permission from the apprentice to share these details with Norfolk County Council for the sole purpose of claiming the grant before submitting an application. It is recommended that this permission be obtained in writing.
Once the first stage of the application is completed, a password should be created which will allow login to the site after 10 weeks. The online system will issue a reminder to employers after 10 weeks to remind them to provide documentary evidence that the apprentice is still employed and in learning. This should be provided electronically by the training provider or college and can take the form of a progress review or a record of support or assessment. This must be signed by the employer, apprentice and the College or Training Provider representative. Once we have checked this document and verified the claim, the authority will make payment to the nominated bank account within 28 days. If there are any queries or issues, the authority will be in contact by telephone or by email to ask for clarifying information.
This payment is in the form of a grant and therefore it is exempt from VAT.
Employers should note that if the apprentice leaves or is not in learning after 10 weeks, eligibility for any proportion of the grant will lapse.
Employers who have already received a grant for an apprentice under this scheme and who apply for a further grant (maximum of 5) will be asked to provide evidence that the original apprentice is still employed on an Apprenticeship or has completed their qualification in full. If this is not the case, we reserve the right to withhold or refuse to pay any further grant.
Next Steps Employers looking to recruit a new member of staff then visit www.apprenticeshipsnorfolk.organd choose “Employ an Apprentice”.
When the apprentice has been recruited and the college or training provider has completed the paperwork, the employer should visit www.apprenticeshipsnorfolk.org/agegrant and complete the application. After 10 weeks, upload the required evidence and receive the money within 28 days of the claim being verified. Note: Most Colleges and Training Providers provide a free service to help employers to recruit an apprentice.
Training providers will be able and happy to offer assistance with the process, recruiting an apprentice and making sure that he/she is on the correct Apprenticeship qualification. Alternatively, contact Apprenticeships Norfolk/Apprenticeships Suffolk on 0344 8008024 or [email protected].
Your employees may need time off work if or when they deal with an emergency. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) implemented a law for this. It affords employees certain statutory rights when they require time off work. However, this is in the case of those who are dealing with an emergency involving family and/or dependants.
Section 57A of the ERA confirms that:
(1) An employee is entitled to be permitted by his employer to take a reasonable amount of time off during the employee’s working hours in order to take action which is necessary-
(a) to provide assistance on an occasion when a dependant falls ill, gives birth or is injured or assaulted.
(b) to make arrangements for the provision of care for a dependant who is ill or injured.
(c) in consequence of the death of a dependant.
(d) because of the unexpected disruption or termination of arrangements for the care of a dependant or
(e) to deal with an incident which involves a child of the employee and which occurs unexpectedly in a period during which an educational establishment which the child attends is responsible for him.
Who do you class as a dependant?
Your employee’s dependant must be classed under one of the following descriptions, for the statutory right to apply:
Spouse or civil partner
Child
Parent
A person who lives in the same household as the employee. Other than by reason of being an employee, tenant, lodger or boarder.
Someone who reasonably relies on the employee to make arrangements for the provision of care.
A person who reasonably relies on the employee for assistance on an occasion when the person falls ill or is injured or assaulted.
A person who reasonably relies on the employee for assistance to make arrangements for the provision of care in the event of illness or injury.
Pre-requisite to the entitlement
As a pre-requisite to the entitlement, your employee must tell you the reason for the required absence “as soon as reasonably practicable”. No notice of the required amount of time off is therefore needed. If your employee requests time off work to attend a pre-arranged medical appointment, then the law does not apply.
Your employee has to tell you how long the absence is expected to last. This is in all circumstances. Except where the reason for absence cannot be complied with until the employee has returned to work.
You do not have to pay employees for any time off taken under this piece of legislation.
The question of what amount of time off is deemed to be “reasonable” will vary with each situation. The best approach is for you and your employees to be in regular communication. This will ensure that accurate information is given and received by both parties.
You are always well advised to record the length of time off taken. Also the reasons given by your employee for the absence. Usually, if they ask for more than one or two days off to deal with their crisis, it is likely that it will not fall under the definition of an emergency.
Intended for immediate crisis not substantial time off
In 2008, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a request was not covered by the statutory right. This involved a case where the claimant requested one to two months’ leave. This was to care for his children as a result of a domestic crisis. The court confirmed that it was intended to cover emergencies, and to enable the employee to deal with an immediate crisis. It was also to allow time to set up care arrangements. It was not intended to give employees a long time off to care for their dependants themselves.
If you need help in addressing any issues on this subject within your organisation contact ChamberHR on 01455 852037
A cycle to work scheme can encourage employees to make healthier and greener journeys to work.
Under the scheme, your employees could be loaned a bike and/or additional cycling safety equipment plus other accessories by your organisation. Thus enabling them to travel all, or part of their journey, to and from work, whilst at the same time generating a tax benefit.
The qualifying journeys for employees who might wish to take advantage of a cycle to work scheme are those:
Journeys between their home and their workplace
Between one workplace and another
To and from the train station to get to work
The cost of a cycle to work scheme
Employers can recover all or part of the cost of providing and loaning out the bike and/or safety equipment in the first instance. This is usually up to the value of £1000. Employees will then make regular payments back to their employer over an agreed period, typically of 12 to 18 months duration, to spread the cost.
The loan payments are usually taken out of monthly remuneration through a ‘salary sacrifice’ arrangement. This means that a lower overall amount of salary is accepted in return for the benefit. At the end of the loan period, employers will give the opportunity for employees to buy the cycle for its full market value. In return for one final lump sum payment, or to continue loaning the cycle at no cost for future qualifying journeys.
Which cycle to work scheme is right for your employee?
Initially, employees are advised to consider whether the scheme’s arrangements are right for them. There are three packages available to choose from:
No accessories – CycleScheme bicycle only.
Cycle and accessories – CycleScheme package.
Accessories package (for employees who already have a bicycle under the scheme).
Application for the cycle to work scheme
In the first instance, employers need to sign up with Cyclescheme. They will then receive a unique employer code via cyclescheme.co.uk for their employees to use when they apply to receive their chosen package.
The application pages for both employers and employees involve being guided through a simple form. The form requires work details, contact information, and the value of the Cyclescheme Certificate being applied for. When the employee has submitted the form, the employer receives a copy of a Hire Agreement.
Once the application is approved and has been paid for by the employer, the employee will receive a Cyclescheme Certificate. This can then be exchanged for the items in the chosen Cyclescheme package. This can be done via a visit to one of the 2000 UK wide outlets authorised to supply the equipment or via an online process if preferred.
What happens when the Hire Agreement and Salary Sacrifice end?
When the Hire Agreement and salary sacrifice arrangement ends, the employee can choose to gain ownership of the Cyclescheme Package by making a small final payment. For a Cyclescheme package under £500, this figure is just 3% of the original value. For a package over £500 in value, the amount equivalent to 7% is payable i.e. a maximum of £70 on a £1,000 package. Under this element of the scheme, the bike remains ‘hired’ for a further 36 months, but with no more monthly payments. Ownership is then officially transferred to the employee at the end of this period at no extra cost.
If you need any further information on this or similar employee salary sacrifice benefit schemes, Chamber members can contact Qdos HR on 01455 852037. We will be pleased to discuss all aspects of your organisation’s requirements with you.
When starting a new business venture, a key success factor to establish is your value proposition. It’s also helpful for existing business owners to revisit their value proposition from time to time to help continued business growth.
But what is a value proposition, and how should you go about writing one?
What is a value proposition?
In short, a value proposition is a promise by a company to a customer. It explains:
what benefits your company provides
who you provide those benefits for
how you do it uniquely well.
Your value proposition should be focused on delivering unique and sustainable value to your ideal customer.
Why do you need a value proposition?
As an internal tool, a value proposition helps make sure employees and management are aligned by understanding the benefit the company is trying to deliver. It helps everyone focus on the aspects of the business that make the biggest difference. A strong value proposition can therefore help you avoid wasting time, money and energy.
The right value proposition reveals the connection between your products and your potential customers’ goals. Being clear on that will give you the confidence and clarity you need for continued development and innovation of your products and business processes whilst maintaining profit. It should also give you the basic wording for your marketing messages, focusing on the few things that make the biggest difference.
How to write a good value proposition
Before writing your value proposition, you need to be absolutely clear on why a customer should buy from you. You should have a clear understanding and commitment that your product or service will add value to a target audience. Thinking about the following might help:
Customer Needs and Insights:Are you able to solve problems, reduce costs or increase sales?
Added Value:Are you able to add value to your customer?
Unique Selling Point:Is your product or service innovative or are you able to offer a point of differentiation over your competitor?
Proof:Can you create trust and quantify the benefits so that the customer believes you?
Customer satisfaction:How are you going to exceed expectations?
Alongside this, make sure you consider all the risks in your business and be realistic with your financial expectations. Return on investment must always be at the forefront, but do not forget the importance of cash flow and the resource time required to administer. However creative you may be, I strongly recommend that you formalise a project plan or sales forecast before you get too far down the road. Key milestones and the introduction of measures will help ensure that you stay on track or adjust to compensate for any deviations caused by obstacles.
Once you’re confident that you have a product or service people want, and is financially sustainable, it’s time to write your value proposition.
When writing your value proposition it’s important to remember that it’s for people to quickly read and understand. So keep it clear and concise and avoid jargon. Try to use the type of language your customers use. You need to address:
What is it you’re offering?
Who is it for?
What problem does it solve?
How is it useful? What is its key problem-solving capability?
How is it unique?
Structure-wise, aim for a strong headline that grabs attention, and one short paragraph to explain what you do, for whom and why it’s useful. You may also have a sub-heading, three bullet points or a visual. There’s no set format, just keep it focused.
How to use your value proposition
Having a great value proposition isn’t enough. You need to use it!
Firstly, make sure everyone within the business knows what it is. Then use it to target the customers who will benefit most from your product or service.
Make sure your customers can see it. If it’s carefully considered and well written, put it front and centre on your website homepage – it should help potential customers quickly understand why they should use your company.
You may find that you need one value proposition for your business and then a series of propositions for individual product lines. That’s fine, just apply the same logic to each.
A new era has started at the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce with Chris Sargisson taking over as the new Chief Executive. He speaks to Neil Perry about his plans for the future and how the organisation will grow in the years to come.
On Monday 19th June, our Junior Software Developer, and I attended the inaugural Norfolk Cyber Security Cluster meeting. The cluster has been set up by David Higgins, an award winning Cyber Security consultant, to encourage cyber security knowledge, skills and capabilities for businesses within Norfolk. We heard from three different speakers taking us through the risks, what’s going on inside the mind of a hacker, and the one that I found most fascinating being Telephone System Network Security Consideration, known as the “forgotten backdoor into your computer network.” When I think of Cyber Crime I think of phishing, ransomware and things such as credit card fraud. Well actually the biggest one that I’m sure we all are aware of isn’t necessarily at the forefront of our mind when protecting our data is your telephone system. It’s also greater than credit card fraud too. Paul Marriott from Eastern voice and data talked us through: “It is believed that telephone fraud is costing in excess of £1.5 billion a year.” What’s making your business vulnerable to telephone hacking?
Leaving your security access passwords in default mode, eg. “0000”. Did you even known you had a security access password? If you didn’t then you need to change your password from
default – and sooner rather than later.
Routers can be incorrectly installed
Leaving open vulnerable ports
Major network providing installing fibre lines but haven’t actually locked down your router
Soft targets – These are users with high staff turnover. Information isn’t communicated and passed down between new members of staff meaning telephone information can be unknown to many employees. The steps to take to prevent telephone hacking:
Select your supplier carefully – do your research! You can find reliable suppliers on crown commercial website
Review your current setup
Set up call barring
Passwords regularly changed
Deploy pin access
Find out if you have fraud protection on your lines and find out why if you don’t?
Look at your phone bill to see what’s going on! You would look at your card bill, wouldn’t you?
TIP: Be careful of telephone numbers beginning with “079”, you can incur connection charges for around a minimum of £20.00 before any conversations take place. Some people are using these numbers to call you and enquire, asking you to phone back. To ensure maximum security:
Gamma Horizon Clouse Base System
The most secure phone system, a cloud based solution will provide high level security at network level, ensuring abnormal activity can be detected and stopped.
Secure SIP (session integration protocol)
A different type of channel (phone line) and is more secure. There are plenty of points to take away from this to prevent your company from phone fraud. If anything, I really suggest you make sure security password isn’t on default, and to find out if you have fraud protection on your lines! David’s next event will take place on Monday 17th July on the topic of “GDPR – Compliance for SME’s & Security for Cloud Computing.” Click the below link for details: https://www.norfolkcyber.net/cluster-meetings/gdpr-compliance-for-smes-security-for-cloud-computing-34161081715/
Another Summer comes and the annual Lunch on the Green event took place at Clapham & Collinge Solicitors on Wednesday 12th July 2017. The event was sponsored by Break, an amazing local charity of ours, who provide a range of residential and community based services for vulnerable young people and families across East Anglia. Lunch on the green is such a fab event from start to finish, from being greeted with a cupcake by the helpful and happy faces of Clapham & Collinge, to walking on the red carpet with a glass of wine in your hand. It was great to see some familiar faces such as Lorna from Thrive, Chris from GGS, Michael and Aaron from All Is Flux and of course the lovely Jill from The Space. We also enjoyed talking to The Norfolk & Norwich Association for The Blind (NNAB), hearing about the innovative events they are arranging to raise funds for local blind children. There were lots and lots going on including some pretend money for a game of roulette, a shakespeare quiz by the lovely Sheringham Theatre, spinning the wheel on The Feed‘s stand for some Kettle Chips and discounts and lots of opportunities to win hampers and champagne. It was really cool to see a lot of Tech being used at the event. We took along with us Jacek Lipinski, a sixth form student with us this week for his work experience. Jacek is studying coding and has an interest in tech and software, so it was great to see him getting involved on Sim-fly‘s flying experience and having a close up look at Barclays 3D Printer. When also taking part in Face 2 Face Finance‘s counting money in the piggy jar, rather than writing our names down, we were refreshed to see they had their ipads at the ready, and an email sent to us to confirm our guess! It was also really cool to see Customised UK with their super big smart TV. Overall we enjoyed a catch up with some great people, making some meaningful new connections, seeing a cool lamborghini, lots of entertainment, delicious food and sunshine, a fantastic day organised by Clapham & Collinge.