Here’s an exclusive offer for Liverpool Chamber members, from recent joiner K9 Support Services.

K9 Support Services UK provides key holding and alarm response services throughout Merseyside

For just £1.00 per day, K9 Support Services UK will retain keys and access codes for your business or home premises and attend the premises in cases of alarm activation offering you peace of mind 24 hours per day.

We can also offer security guarding, mobile patrols and front of house security personnel.

Our current offer is one week’s free guarding duties up to the value of £2000.00 when you change your security guarding provider to K9 Support Services UK Ltd.

Please contact Robert Taylor on 0845 643 6393 for a free no obligation quotation or view our website at www.k9support.org.uk

Here’s the latest updates on roadworks and traffic changes taking place around the city.

Baltic Triangle
The CCMS scheme to improve the pavements and highways in the Baltic Triangle area is now on site.

Sections of Jamaica Street are closed to traffic to allow the works to be completed safely and efficiently. The first phase is from Parliament Street to Jordan Street with a full closure of this section of Jamaica Street until early May. The works will then move along Jamaica Street with a further section closure. Access to all local businesses will be available at ALL times.

Phase 1b is also on site outside the bicycle shop Giant on Parliament Street for the installation of parking bays and repaving. This work requires lane closures on Parliament Street and will start towards the end of this week off peak between 9.30am and 3.30pm to minimise the effects on through traffic on Parliament Street.

Knowledge Quarter/Mount Pleasant
Work is now underway on the CCMS scheme in the Knowledge Quarter in the area around the Metropolitan Cathedral and Liverpool University.

 The upper part of Mount Pleasant from the junction with Oxford Street to Brownlow Hill is closed to traffic to allow the works to be completed safely. Safe and accessible pedestrian facilities will be maintained throughout the extent of the works.

Access to the University car parks, Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Cathedral House and the Catholic Chaplaincy to the University is being maintained at all times from the Brownlow Hill junction.

Work is also underway removing existing historic paving for reuse in middle section of Mount Pleasant while temporary black surfacing is installed in Upper Mount Pleasant. A section of footpath between Hope Street and Rodney Street is under reconstruction using the historic paving. Once this is complete, works will progress down Mount Pleasant towards the Rodney Street junction.

Advance Traffic signal works to the junction at Clarence/Rodney/Mount Pleasant are complete ahead of schedule. New carriageway surfacing and road markings, including advanced stop lines for cyclists will be completed at a later date after kerbing and pedestrian tactile facilities have been installed.

The Metropolitan Cathedral will be undertaking works in the area close to the Piazza Café. This work, including crane workings not associated with the City Council’s CCMS works, will start next week and should be completed in under a week. Pedestrian access will change slightly in this area during this time.

Commercial District
On Monday, 12th April work began on Dale Street at the junction with Exchange Street East. This will take approximately four weeks, and will be in the footpath area only. The next phase of work will be from Moorfields to Vernon Street. The work area will move in sections towards Hatton Garden before moving back along the opposite side of the road over a 12 month period. Delays are being experienced due to shallow underground services found on site but the City Council is working with partners to undertake diversion works to minimise delays.

There will also be Transco upgrade works in the area around Hackins Hey which will close for approximately three weeks at a date to be agreed to minimise impact upon local traffic and businesses.

National Grid/Transco works were completed early this week

Please note that there is potential for a listed building which is in a dangerous condition to be demolished at the junction of Cheapside and Dale Street. This may have impact upon traffic flows in this area.

On Old Hall Street the CCMS work began on Monday, 19th April at the Leeds Street junction to the junction with Brook Street for approximately three weeks after which work switches to the opposite footpath in the same location.

United Utilities improvement works on Old Hall Street were completed to programme ahead of the City Council’s CCMS Public realm upgrade.

The whole scheme will take 12 months to be completed.

Hall Lane Strategic Gateway
Hall Lane Strategic Gateway, now under construction, will provide a much improved traffic route for vehicles entering Liverpool from the east and will take traffic out of the residential areas.

Traffic signals are in place and will be ready to assist with traffic flows from Crown Street and Smithdown Lane when West Derby Street is closed to traffic from Mount Vernon on 2nd May.

The closure will last for 8 months while a new junction is constructed on the highway. Traffic will still be able to access the staff car park at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. There will be a signed diversion route for traffic which will take vehicles onto Paddington and down Brownlow Hill or they can turn right onto Crown Street and vice versa.

We apologise in advance for any disruption these works will cause as we create a much improved route for vehicles entering our city from the east and remove unnecessary traffic from residential areas.

Utilities diversions are ongoing and over the next few months there will be some lane closures to install duct crossings. The reinforced earth retaining wall is now 80% complete and will eventually be faced with sandstone blocks.

The building works on the new access to the Sacred Heart Presbytery should be complete at the end of May and work has begun to construct a replacement car park for the Church.

A59/Rice Lane
Rice Lane reopened for two-way traffic on Thursday, 29th April 2010. Work began on this scheme in late January with one-way traffic for vehicles heading towards the city for the duration of the works. The road reopened to two-way traffic five weeks ahead of schedule.

The scheme was funded by Liverpool City Council with a contribution from Merseytravel and is aimed at improving road safety, deliver general road maintenance and public transport improvements, delivering the works in one package to minimise disruption. There will be some works to be completed after this date but this will not affect two-way traffic.

We would like to thank businesses and residents for their patience and co-operation while this work took place.

Aigburth Road
Work to replace a gas main on Aigburth Road is on site between Beechwood Road to St Margaret’s School, near Aigburth Vale.

Work is currently at the junction with Aigburth Hall Avenue with a lane restriction southbound and will then move to the northbound carriageway with intermittent lane closures towards the city centre.

This phase of the works is due to take 8 to 12 weeks to complete and the next phase will see work moving to down Aigburth Road to Dingle Lane.

The whole scheme will take approximately 8 months to complete and there will be regular updates on progress.

For more information on these and other highway schemes, please visit www.liverpool.gov.uk/highwayprojects.

The ultimate golfing challenge is back!

Last year generous golfers raised more than £365,000 to help thousands of people affected by cancer to have more good days by taking part in our Longest Day Golf Challenge.

This year we want to make the challenge even bigger and better!

With 822 people now being diagnosed with cancer every day, there’s a greater need than ever for our services. So, have you got the balls to play golf all day again in 2010?

Get involved!

How it works. Simply…

1. Gather your golfing friends together.
2. Play four rounds of golf in just one long summer’s day.
3. Ask everyone you know to sponsor your valiant efforts.

The top four teams will be invited to play for the 2010 Longest Day Golf Challenge trophy at the prestigious Boavista Golf Resort, Western Algarve, Portugal in October. Full details will be revealed on our website soon. You can check out the pictures from last year’s final too.

Register now!

To register for the ultimate golfing challenge, and support everyone living with cancer, please visit www.macmillan.org.uk/golf, or call Macmillan’s Golf Team on 020 7840 4615.

Free event at the Liverpool Science Park 12 May

Is intellectual property a mystery to you?

Do you need to find out how to make the most of your IP and how to safeguard your assets?

If so come along to this FREE seminar.

With 27 years experience of identifying, protecting and exploiting intellectual property assets, Shipley Solicitors are perfectly placed to provide the answer the difficult questions all companies face around IP protection and exploitation.

Backed up with real life examples and case studies, Mark Shipley and his team of experienced solicitors will guide and inform attendees on the top ten tips to navigate this complex area.

WHEN: Wednesday 12th May 2010 8.30 – 10.00
WHERE: Innovation Centre 2, 146 Brownlow Hill, L3 5RF
COST:  FREE

Breakfast will be provided.

If are interested in attending this event, please book on the Liverpool Science Park website

Chamber member brandyouvideo.co.uk has launched a new service to help other companies produce online videos to promote themselves and their products / services.

Last March, over 80% of the total UK internet population viewed online video. And 68% of people who watch online video will, in turn, pass links for these videos on to their friends, turning them into viral marketing tools.

Online video is a powerful promotional tool that can help organisations grow their client basis and connect with individuals and companies throughout the world. And now a new Liverpool-based company has launched a cost-effective product to help small businesses capitalise on this growth market.

brandyouvideo.co.uk is the brain child of Liverpool filmmaker John Scotland.

He says: “Video is a powerful and particularly effective way for businesses to engage with customers. It is simply easier to digest than reading information on websites and can really bring the product or service to life.

“We work with clients to produce a short film that can effectively trail their business or service and help them reach a wider audience. Popular search engines like Google and Yahoo are very responsive to video and will give priority listings to websites that include video content.”

Research suggests that clicks for information from websites featuring online video increase by 30-40% with over half (52%) of viewers taking action after watching a film. Online video is a particularly cost-effective marketing tool as the film can live on many different websites and in many different formats.

Youtube is now the second largest search engine in the world and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter help films reach a far wider audience. Brand You Video also provides client with a version of the film that can be shown on iphones and other smart phones meaning clients can take their advertising with them wherever they go.

Brand You Video is offering a special introductory price of just £499 for customised films. Films are shot by a professional team on location with minimal disruption to the business.

Full details are available on their website: brandyouvideo.co.uk.

If you are a Chamber member, we are offering a £49 pounds discount per package until the end of May 2010. ends For further information contact John Scotland on 07595047131 or email john@brandyouvideo.co.uk

Here’s a message from Woodlands Hospice about a great Starlight Walk fundraising event: 

In this our 14th Anniversary year of the Day Hospice we are hoping that as many people as possible in the local community will ‘come out in force’ to take part in our Starlight Walk on Saturday 15th May.

This year we are delighted that Dr. Ged Corcoran, Medical Director at Woodlands Hospice will be the ‘lead walker’. The route will once again start from the Hospice grounds and you can choose either a 3 or 6 mile route so why not come along and Ged and ‘Get Fit and Fundraise’.

Registration is just £10 including a T-shirt, medal and breakfast roll on completion.

Carole Riley, Fundraising and Communications Manager at Woodlands Hospice said: “Once again we are delighted that Newsprinters Knowsley Limited are sponsoring the walk. Their involvement once again in supporting this key event in the fundraising calendar of the Hospice further cements our relationship with this presitigious organisation”.

If you would like to take part in this ‘unique’ event and help YOUR ‘local’ hospice please contact Woodlands Hospice fundraising department on 0151 529 2630/2640 for a registration form NOW or alternatively visit our website at: www.woodlandshospice.org to download a registration form!

For More Information: Please contact – Carole Riley Tel: (Office) 0151-529-2631, (Mobile) 07801 482157

Liverpool Chamber charity member Nugent Care have a couple of great fundraising opportunities for you to get involved in:

Would you Go Commando?  3 Peaks Challenge in aid of Nugent Care

Are you Ready for the challenge of 2010? - climb Britain’s 3 peaks in 24 hours!!!!

Fancy a weekend to remember? Join staff from Nugent Care on the weekend of June 25th and climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon all in 24 hours. Help us raise money for our work with people with disabilities.

Contact Marie Reynolds or Kevin Byrne for more information on 0151 261 2000.

Women’s 10k/5k – Sunday May 9th 2010

Come and join over 2500 women running around the recently redeveloped Sefton Park in the suburbs of Liverpool. Come for the exercise, come for the competition, come for the camaraderie, come to run for Nugent Care.

Event is on Sunday 9th May at 11am. We ask runners to raise £50 and in return, we will pay your entrance fee for the event and throw in a Nugent Care running vest for you to run in!!!!

For more information contact Ian Rawlins on 0151 261 4498.

Employment issues caused by staff being stranded abroad or unable to take holidays because of the Icelandic volcanic ash problem.

Staff absence caused by the recent grounding of flights has cost UK businesses more than £3 million per day. Mark McKeating of Hill Dickinson LLP looks at some employment law problems associated with the disruption.

Does an employer have to pay employees who cannot attend work due to the disruption?
From a legal point of view, the answer is no.  Employees have a duty to attend the workplace unless they are sick, on annual leave or have some other authorised absence (e.g. maternity leave).

Therefore, any employee who fails to turn up to work because of he or she is stranded abroad due to flight disruption is absent without authorisation. As an employer you have the legal right to deduct pay for the days the employee is off work.

However, a degree of caution should be exercised. The employer should consider whether it is in the best interests of their business not to pay employees. Deducting wages from employees stranded through no fault of their own, could lead to a long term loss of morale amongst staff.

Consider alternatives

Can I offer staff who are stranded the option of taking leave?
It’s not a legal obligation for employers to offer stranded staff discretionary paid or unpaid leave but there is no reason why they should not consider making such an offer for a fixed period.

Can staff insist that their holidays are re-scheduled?
Staff who have booked holidays, but who are unable to take the leave because of the flight ban, cannot insist that their employer reschedules their holiday. The employer could insist that leave is taken on the dates that have been authorised in advance. However, if the holiday can be rescheduled without causing disruption to the business and the affected employee’s workmates, many employers will agree to being flexible and reschedule the holiday.

Remote working via IT
ACAS have suggested that employers encourage stranded staff to use information technology in internet cafes, laptops or Blackberrys in order to enable their employees to communicate with managers or carry out some work whilst abroad.

Child or vulnerable adult care problems
In the recent flights disruption, many parents, child-minders and teachers who look after employee’s children while they are at work were stranded at airports. Employees who look after sick, elderly parents or relatives (“vulnerable adults”) but who have carers who also assist with care, were in the same situation.

In emergency situations, an employee is entitled to take unpaid time off to deal with emergency situations. This is so long as the employee is required to look after their children or the vulnerable adult as a result of not having any suitable care arrangements in place.

Is there a need for your company to have a “business continuity plan”?
Many employees were “snowed in” earlier this year and now others have been stranded overseas. If you have never experienced this kind of situation before now would be a good time to think about how you handle future scenarios.

A business continuity plan prepares your firm and allows you to deal with local incidents like building fires, regional incidents like floods and international incidents like the volcanic ash flights’ chaos. Do you have one in place or should you consider creating one?

Should have any further questions on any of the above issues or other employment law queries you can contact Mark McKeating on 0151 600 8000 or mark.mckeating@hilldickinson.com

Reebok Stadium, Bolton, 5 – 6 May

Come and sell direct from the Joint Chambers Feature Pavilion

The St Helens Chamber have actively supported the North West Manufacturing Exhibition in the past and have promoted the pavilion approach for a limited number of exhibiting members. This year the opportunity to exhibit at the regions premier manufacturing & technology event has been extended to include other Chamber of Commerce’s from around the region. This cost effective exhibiting opportunity is currently limited to just 8 lucky chamber members at a fixed cost of £547.50 plus VAT for a fully constructed 1.5m x 1m booth with power and light.

The Stand Package for participating Chamber Members consists of:

• Shell scheme stand with power socket, lighting, name-board and descriptive company panel.
• Free parking.
• Free catalogue entry.
• Free 24/7 show web-entry with hyperlinks for a whole year.
• Free coverage in the official show preview.

North & North West Manufacturing 2010 is set to attracted in excess of 1200 visitors over the two days of the show at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton, the vast majority of whom will be looking to source products and services from locally based suppliers.

If you’d like to book a place, or learn more, please call Ian 0116 2124884 or e-mail ianv@etes.co.uk

An apprentice can make a real difference to a company. Not only do they answer your staffing problems, they bring new life to a team, are highly motivated, often undertaking work-based learning and so will bring new skills and ideas to your business.

Liverpool Chamber has many years’ experience of matching businesses with the right apprentice. With this in mind, we’d like to highlight some of the young people we are working with at the moment.

Please take a look and get in touch if you think they could join your team.

Apprentices of the week:

Kayleigh, 18 – I.T
Kayleigh has excellent computer skills and has just completed her A levels.
She is very enthusiastic about starting an apprenticeship, an excellent candidate.

Robert, 18- Customer Service
Robert has excellent communication skills and a positive, mature attitude. He would be an asset to any company.

Ellie, 17 – Business Administration
Ellie is a bright and bubbly young lady. She has excellent communication skills and confidence.  Ellie has a professional attitude and is fully computer literate.  Ellie would make an excellent team member in a variety of administration-based roles.

Kirsty, 16- Business Administration
Kirsty has a mature, professional attitude.  Kirsty would make an excellent team member.  Kirsty is computer literate and would blossom in an office environment.

If you would like any further information on any of the above candidates or would like to discuss apprenticeships further please contact Katie on 0151 236 3222 or alternatively you can email Katie.jones@liverpoolchamber.org.uk