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19
Aug 2024
Business Breakfast: Small business commissioner to be keynote speaker in Harrogate
Liz Barclay, the UK small business commissioner, is to visit Harrogate to speak at the launch event for Thrive Hive.
Ms Barclay will be sharing her experience and insights from her role and addressing questions crucial to businesses in the region on August 21.
The commissioner's office is an independent public body, set up by the government under the Enterprise Act 2016, to tackle late payment and unfavourable payment practices in the private sector.
Thrive Hive is a programme that delivers a safe space to encourage wellbeing and community for business owners who need access to the same level of support as leaders in larger businesses.
Thrive Hive is being launched in Harrogate this month.
The event takes place from 9.30am to 11:30 at West Park Hotel in Harrogate.
For more information and to register for the event click here.
Dean Bolton-Grant and the new Urban Grow showroom. Image: Charlotte Gale
Garden design store opens Ripon showroom
Urban Grow has launched its first UK showroom at Newby Hall and Gardens near Ripon.
The showroom is open from today (August 19).
The company was purchased in 2022 by Yorkshire horticulturist and garden designer Dean Bolton-Grant.
He said:
Whilst we have always strived to give our clients a personalised and traditional experience to their online shopping, we know many gardeners prefer a dedicated one-to-one shopping experience that Urban Grow can now offer.
We have a core range of products readily available including custom sizing, but we frequently source and fabricate bespoke items for clients who want something truly unique. We take pride in the ethos that if we don’t already sell it, we can certainly source it.
The Blenheim Memory Suite
Harrogate care home opens memory suite
A Harrogate care home has opened a memory suite to help care for and support those living with memory-related conditions including dementia.
Hampden House, a residential care home on the Duchy estate, is owned and managed by social care group HICA.
The new facility, The Blenheim Memory Suite, incorporates the latest research in memory care, creating an environment that supports physical health, emotional and psychological wellbeing.
It provides day care provision as well as round-the-clock residential care.
Terry Peel, HICA Group’s CEO, said:
We’re delighted to announce the opening of the Blenheim Memory Suite, which will provide specialised memory care and ensure residents receive bespoke support tailored to their unique needs.
The new memory suite represents the HICA vision of compassionate, person-centred care and we are excited to see the positive impact it will have on our residents and their families.
Brendan Bah
Harrogate law firm issues advice on remote working
According to LCF Law, a key question companies have is how to reduce the time employees spend working from home without causing conflict with staff.
This comes as 2023’s Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA), which studies the behaviours and preferences of tens of thousands of employees in 34 countries, shows that the UK is ahead of the rest of Europe when it comes to remote working.
Brendan Bah, from LCF Law, said:
The pandemic massively accelerated the trend towards remote and hybrid working, and there’s no doubt there are benefits including employee wellbeing, work satisfaction and an increased work/life balance, as well as many companies discovering new ways to collaborate through technology.
However, it’s clear there are also some disadvantages, including teamwork, employee engagement and a perceived reduction in productivity, which can often make working from home a bone of contention between some employers and employees.
He added that it is an issue that frequently arises and the law firm are seeing an increase in these cases. He said:
The number of tribunals that relate to remote working, or the removal of remote working, is increasing year on year, and this trend is likely to continue as more and more companies start advocating for a full five-day return to the workplace, with others enforcing at least three or four days in the office.
Following recent changes to employment legislation, employees have had the right to request flexible working from the moment they start a new job. Crucially though, not every request for flexible working has to be approved, and there are still legitimate reasons they can be rejected. However, the changes do require employers to consult with employees before any request is rejected.
As part of the new government’s election manifesto to ‘deliver a new deal for working people,’ the Labour party promised to make flexible working the default from day one for all workers, unless not reasonably feasible.
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