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BHA Business Update 597

August 01, 2011

AGENCY DIRECTIVE WEBINAR: On 1 October, the EU Agency Workers Directive comes into force. The basic working and employment conditions, including pay, of workers employed by agencies must be “not less favourable” than those of directly recruited permanent employees.

Agency workers acquire these rights generally after twelve weeks of an assignment, but some rights, such as to use workplace facilities like crèches, have effect from day one. We are running a webinar for members to help you with the detail.

…THE DETAILS: The webinar is open to all members of the association and will be held on the afternoon of Tuesday 6 September, led by Julian Yew, Employment Partner in the Hotels and Leisure Group at Penningtons solicitors. Advance paperwork will be available and there will be an opportunity for those participating to ask Julian Yew questions online.

…GAUGING INTEREST: Our industry is a major user of agency workers, in banqueting and housekeeping in particular, and the Directive will almost certainly add to costs, not least from the red tape involved in complying. If you would like to take part in the webinar, please send your details (name, company and email) to maria.man@bha.org.uk We will send out details of how to access the webinar later in August.

FEWER INBOUND AND OUTBOUND: The government’s annual Travel Trends report for 2010 shows a total of 29.8 million inbound visitors, down 0.3 per cent on 2009, though holiday visits at 11.7 million were a record. There were fewer (3.4 million) North American visitors than in 1985. Inbound tourists spent 227.8 million nights here, down 0.7 per cent, and £16.9 billion, up 1.8 per cent in cash terms, but down 3.5 per cent in real terms. Britons made 55.6 million outbound visits, down 5.2 per cent, spending 607 million nights abroad (down 1.2 per cent) and £31.8 billion (up 0.4 per cent). For full details visit here

SINGLE USE BAGS- WALES: Those restaurant members who provide a takeaway service or hotels which provide packed lunches for guests in Wales will be required from 1 October to charge customers 5p including VAT for each single use bag provided. There are exemptions for bags containing only unwrapped food, but not for bags containing any totally wrapped food. Visit here to check if this could affect your business. If it does, let us know at bha@bha.org.uk The other UK nations will be making separate decisions on whether to copy Wales.

CONSULTATIONS, CONSULTATIONS: As usual at this time of year, as MPs start their holidays, public bodies start consultation exercises on a range of issues. This year, we are working on responses relating to: health and safety, with the Lofstedt Review of existing regulations, which links to the Cabinet Office’s Red Tape Challenge involving the Tourism Regulation Task Force, chaired by BHA President Alan Parker; a Department for Business paper on Transforming Regulatory Enforcement; proposals (Modern Workplaces) from the same Department on parental leave, flexible working and the Working Time Regulations; the annual request from the Low Pay Commission for evidence on the impact of the National Minimum Wage; Home Office and Migration Advisory Committee consultations on removing the existing entitlement of non-EU workers to seek to settle in the UK after five years here; Treasury consultation on Chancellor George Osborne MP’s proposal to merge Income Tax and National Insurance, with possible impacts on NI-free service charge payments; also from the Treasury, plans to abolish the 15 pence a day tax relief on Luncheon Vouchers; a new National Planning Policy Framework for England, with barely a reference to tourism; the Mary Portas Review of the future of the high street, with implications for hard-to-obtain planning permission for restaurant use; a last-ditch effort to persuade Westminster Council not to introduce evening parking charges which will damage restaurants and other hospitality operators in the capital; and, though they’re a private monopoly and not a public body, Phonographic Performance Ltd, who are seeking massive rises in copyright fees for discos and similar Specially Featured Entertainment. For more details visit Business Update 596 here. About a dozen good reasons for supporting your association’s lobbying efforts.

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