Phillip
Stone - The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
[Scared? - you should be ...] -
Regular readers of Despatches will know that we have pleaded, even begged at times for DA members especially but other courier companies as well to take great care in marking out their relationship with their subcontracted riders and drivers. You know the reasons why....
DA
Action for the Courier Industry - For members We were pleased to be the first port of call for a DA member who, having decided that the time was right to develop and expand his business, asked our opinion on drafts of his newly-revised online booking form and several other business documents, including his Terms and Conditions...
Money
News Consumer credit guidance -
The Office of Fair Trading has published revised guidance on fitness and requirements for Consumer Credit license holders and applicants, as well as a statement of policy on civil penalties for failure to comply with requirements...
Road Transport - Confusion over London loading -
The decision by some London boroughs to remove unlimited kerbside access before 11am will create confusion across the capital. While welcoming the London Councils’ decision to double the kerbside loading limit on yellow lines from 20 minutes to 40 minutes, the DA believes that the removal of unlimited access means that companies making early morning deliveries of over 40 minutes risk being fined...
Focus
on Business Migrant workers update -
The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) is proposing a maximum penalty of £10,000 for organisations which do not make proper checks on prospective employees’ right to work in the UK. Additionally, there will be a new criminal offence of ‘knowing’, it carrying a maximum two-year prison sentence for employers who deliberately employ illegal workers...
End Piece - Questions questions -
This month’s guest contributor is The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK). This was their first news release for 2008.
Each week The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) produces an electronic newsletter containing a relevant, and at times, controversial poll. These polls have created heated feedback and a few raised eyebrows! To mark a year of these polls, the Institute reveals some of the results...
Join
The DA ! -
Ask for an application form, or request a call from the DA Chief Executive
... New ! - The
Riders and Drivers Associates. Only £58.75 to join. Visit the
website for more information...
We were pleased to be the first port of call for a DA member who, having decided that the time was right to develop and expand his business, asked our opinion on drafts of his newly-revised online booking form and several other business documents, including his Terms and Conditions. We have upward of 100 Information Sheets on topics ranging from Marketing, Health and Safety, Employment and Business Management that either help you ‘stay legal’ or provide important tips that come in handy at a time when other things - new premises, recruiting staff, chasing business leads - may occupy your attention. The DA doesn’t only represent its members; we help them.
Our monthly newsletters drew rave reviews from a couple of members, one of whom said that “with your monthly summary of all the key issues to do with running a courier business, I almost don’t have to read the newspapers!” High praise indeed, but without appearing to be duly immodest, we strive to bring to our members those bullet points of fact (and some of fiction) that can be digested quickly and easily while highlighting those factors that are likely to make an impact on their business lives. For example, in just the last issue along we synthesized the new parking rules for London, signalled the Crown Prosecution Service’s new approach to ‘bad driving’ and reviewed three new websites of interest to couriers.
Several members asked for our opinion recently on the impact of how ‘green’ a company appears to be when entering a competitive tendering process. The short answer is that it can’t do any harm, but, being the DA, we gave them the long answer (apologies especially for the blip on the phone bill to member-you-know-who-you-are, but we did offer to summarise it all in an email for you). This involved us interrogating those sections of the tender document which alluded to a desire to commission a courier company that paid more than lip service to environmentalism in order say that our members could make the best possible deposition. All three secured their respective contracts, and although we can’t claim too much credit, our input certainly didn’t do any harm.
“ And one sole trader wanted the bottom line on GIT insurance, which we were happy to oblige. After learning about his typical consignments we were able to point out that some GIT policies specifically exclude certain high-risk loads such as tobacco, spirits and computers and that it is worthwhile taking cognizance of Night Risk and Immobilizer clauses embedded in some policies.
Why join the DA ?
Who else is going to fight your corner and stand up for your rights -
The Despatch Association challenge the government on issues such as parking and employment law
Provide a first class level of support to your personal queries on how to handle difficult situations such as employment tribunals
We will keep you informed of the latest issues affecting your trade
You will gain respect from your clients (maybe even win more business!) as part of a recognised trade body
the magazine of the Despatch Association - working
the industry for you 
Despatches
Directory
Phillip
Stone
DA
Action for the Courier Industry
Money
News 
Road Transport
Focus
on Business 
End Piece
Several members asked for our opinion recently on the impact of how ‘green’ a company appears to be when entering a competitive tendering process. The short answer is that it can’t do any harm, but, being the DA, we gave them the long answer (apologies especially for the blip on the phone bill to member-you-know-who-you-are, but we did offer to summarise it all in an email for you). This involved us interrogating those sections of the tender document which alluded to a desire to commission a courier company that paid more than lip service to environmentalism in order say that our members could make the best possible deposition. All three secured their respective contracts, and although we can’t claim too much credit, our input certainly didn’t do any harm.