Latest News, Blogs & Announcements | Page 123

The government will enable all employees to have the right to flexible working after it vowed to change the law. The pledge follows the publication of the Modern Workplaces consultation and is part of a range of family friendly legislation. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “Currently any parent with a child under 17, or under 18 if their child is disabled, can ask for more flexible working patterns.” Under the plans, parents can ask for hours such as flexi-time. Smart card clocking systems from Tensor help bosses plan their workers’ hours more efficiently and cost-effectively. The proximity read smart cards have no battery, thus can be read a near-infinite number of times. The cards are the size of a standard credit card, so are thin and flexible enough to be carried in a wallet. They contain a factory encoded ID code that cannot be duplicated, therefore the cards are very secure. Adhesive labels are available for a photo and company logo.

Police carried out stop checks as part of a national day of action against metal theft. The checks took place across a variety of locales; ranging from officers and representatives from partner agencies stopping vehicles on the A1 motorway near Peterborough, to visits to scrap metal dealers, who should soon be enforcing new rules. The agencies involved were police officers, VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency), the Environment Agency and customs, all particularly focusing on the area of scrap yards. Metal fencing is the first line of defence when securing a yard, large outdoor area or depot. Tensor and our partners supply complete metal fencing solutions that boast the security of modern steel, coupled with the looks of traditional iron railings. Pre-welded panels with internal connectors make the metal fencing as vandalproof as possible. All supplied metal fencing comes complete with fittings, and can be installed by the trained Tensor technicians on your site. Fencing is available in a range of colours.

Today (November 15, 2012) the polls are open in order to elect the first police and crime commissioners for England and Wales. The voters are currently deciding on their favoured candidates in 41 police force areas, except in London, from 7am until 10pm tonight. When elected, the new police and crime commissioners (PCCs) assume office from November 22. The PCCs, designed to make police more accountable, will set spending plans and will have the power to dismiss chief constables. From the control of a single internal door through to a fully PC-powered, multi-site network of control points, a Tensor Access System is the answer. Operated by contactless smart cards or key fobs as a starting point, Tensor Access is fully upgradeable. The security status of each access point is controlled by the smart card scanner settings associated to that particular point. These settings determine the locked status of the door, minute-by-minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the year.

Bus drivers, engineers and support staff walked out after midnight on Wednesday for 24 hours as part of a dispute over pay. The workers took the action after failing to reach an agreement with First Bus over a proposed pay offer. Managers and the RMT union have been locked in meetings over a pay deal which guaranteed employees a two per cent pay rise from December 2, followed by a 2.3% increase from next April, but this was turned down. Tensor has an all-in-one clocking recording system for unlimited users, dealing with time and attendance, job booking and job costing. The WinTA Enterprise package includes: software installation CD, T32xx Clocking Station, 50 Smart Cards, a User Manual, Serial Cable for communications to PC, plus 10 days of free helpdesk support from date of purchase. Powerful individual and group absence planners handles absence entitlements such as breaks, annual leave, allowed sickness and more. Its modular design can link to the Tensor Personnel Enterprise application.

Visitors to a coastal area will not be caught short now that a council plans to replace public conveniences that were removed. However the public will have access to WCs once a foreshore pool development is opened early next year. South Tyneside Council has confirmed the toilet facilities in the new building – a modern swimming pool and leisure centre that supersedes the old Pier Pavilion – will have access for the public up until 10pm at night. Tensor’s toilet turnstiles offer faster throughput in places such as leisure centres. Without compromising the safety of those visitors or tourists who use the turnstile, speed and reliability are provided even during rush hour periods. Available as a double half height token or coin entry turnstile, your throughput can be doubled whilst keeping the amount of space down to a minimum. A Tensor turnstile also fully integrates with our smart card and biometric access control systems giving full jurisdiction over movement and access around a site.

A thief committed a crime in order to be quickly returned to prison. The man was so desperate after his initial request to be taken back into custody was turned down that he went to a supermarket in Dundee and stole a set of bedding, before taking it into the nearby police station. Bruce Burry told police officers: “I stole that.” A court heard Burry was released on September 6 this year but he stole the very next day. Tensor has many access control or security devices and systems for preventing thefts at business premises. These include Visitor Management Systems (VMS), and a version of VMS is Prison Pass. This is a low cost, easy to install, computer based pass system for registering each visitor, both on and off site. Prison Pass is installed and supported by Tensor's in-house engineers. You can also buy engineering or training days from us ensuring that you can get the most out of your Prison Pass system.

The London 2012 Olympic Games has been tagged a triumph of human resources. The organisation of the Games required the overseeing of more than 200,000 people at various locations. The HR director of London 2012, Jean Tomlin, said her motivation was “to deliver the most outstanding games that people in the UK could be proud of in the eyes of the world.” She surrounded herself with HR professionals and spoke of a “one team ethos” approach for employees, contractors and volunteers. Tensor’s Personnel Software is the culmination of more than a decade of real world experience in the human resources and time-clocking sectors. The software offers everything you would expect from a personnel management system. Tensor Personnel completely integrates with both our WinTA Enterprise and WinTA Lite time and attendance systems, but may also be used as a stand-alone application. Tensor can offer various financing and rental packages to both private and public sector organisations who wish to install our products.

A recent survey showed that almost half of UK retailers see their IT department as the key to gaining full benefit from IP (Internet Protocol) surveillance. It comes on the heels of an earlier report that said 60 per cent of retailers think CCTV has had a direct effect in reducing theft. The survey, conducted by the Centre for Retail Research, reported that retailers understood that networked surveillance systems could be used for more than theft prevention when combined with business intelligence systems. Tensor networked surveillance systems can be integrated with the rest of a retail or commercial access control security set-up. CCTV combined with movement monitoring and an entry point controlled smart card access control network with optional biometrics means your property is comprehensively protected. Tensor technology is IP enabled, and our Digital CCTV Camera and Recording Systems are PC based, multi channel video surveillance systems that use the most advanced compression technologies to bring the highest picture quality and video performance.

“I’ve got a gun, empty the till,” a man said to a terrified pair of shop workers in an attempted raid. One of the couple, Anila Ali, was serving a customer when the incident happened. She said: “He dipped his hand into the till and my instinct was to grab his hand and pull it out.” Thirty-six year-old Paul Lugton, who fled empty-handed, has been jailed for 14 months after admitting attempted robbery at the premises in south-east Scotland. Tensor can install smart card access control scanner systems for all manner of commercial premises. For more effective security authorisation of an individual, Tensor uses biometrics which is the technique of studying the physical characteristics of a person such as your fingerprint, hand geometry, eye structure or voice pattern. A T3400 biometric scanner adds high security, dermal fingerprint checking to your access control system. Using impact-resistant casing, the T3400 can be installed with a new system or retro-fitted to your existing clocking stations.

Judges have ruled in the favour of famous football club Rangers over its use of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) to make payments to players, managers and other employees. An EBT is a discretionary trust set up for the benefit of staff. Former bosses Alex McLeish and Dick Advocaat are two who have benefited from an EBT, receiving £1.7 million and £1.5m respectively. International stars Tore Andre Flo (Norway) and Dutchman Ronald de Boer are others thought to have been included in the scheme. Time and Attendance Systems from Tensor that handle all major hours calculation methods include a facility for making bonus payments. The WinTA system allows you to create a series of shift premium rules that enable employees to earn bonus payments under special circumstances. The bonus is calculated either as extra hours or monetary amounts and can be included in the export to payroll. Boasting features that grant total control over your business operation, the network inserts unpaid breaks if employees do not clock them.

A rail firm said eight shifts were affected by a lack of drivers, which meant nearly two-dozen trains were subject to changes. London Midland has apologised for the altered timetable, which are set to last for the next fortnight. The company stated the end was in sight to the problem, as it explained: “It takes well over a year to become a qualified train driver, but several of our trainees are now approaching the end of the course.” Does your business suddenly itself short of employees? Tensor solves many personnel and rostering problems with our Time and Attendance systems. Manning levels in our WinTA PC network are based upon employee skills required during the working week. Any shortfalls to the expected requirement, due to absenteeism for example, can trigger a system email or SMS alerts. A separate module is available for rostering and manpower scheduling. WinTA includes data such as graphical calendar charts for viewing an individual’s or a department’s absence records.

A ‘living wage’ pay deal for local government workers has been hailed as the best outside London by Cosla, a representative group for councils. Although the one per cent pay rise falls well below inflation of 2.7%, Cosla said a guaranteed rate of £7.50 an hour has also been pledged for 17,000 of the lowest-paid council employees from next April. It added that local authorities had gone to the “limits of affordability” considering the financial strain many of them are experiencing. Versatile time and attendance software and systems from Tensor allow companies or local authorities to key an eye on their staff budgets as well as giving total control over daily working patterns and pay bands. Overtime is easily monitored, and both paid and unpaid breaks are easy to define and calculate. Employees can use their contactless smart cards to book time against jobs to produce a fully costed analysis. Reports show jobs that are over budget or those approaching their budget limit.