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Many businesses in the United Kingdom are joining schemes where they are asked to open their facilities free of charge to build up trade in town centres. They are then compensated for their services – payments can be anything from £600 up to £1,500 per annum. Mendip District Council is promoting a ‘share your toilet’ scheme as a means to cut costs. The council says it does not have to provide toilets, saying that they are “discretionary”. Tensor solves the problem of providing toilets for the community as our access control technology includes custom built Coin Operated Toilet Turnstiles. The mainly self-funding devices are manufactured from graded stainless steel for ease of cleaning and maintenance and are duty cycle rated for intensive use. The turnstile bodies have lockable lids to prevent unwanted access. Half height and full height turnstiles also prove to be an unbeatable solution for improving security at your company premises while not compromising the safety and security of those passing through it.  

Union bosses have disagreed over whether to strike during this summer’s Olympic Games. The TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said his organisation were “strong supporters”, adding: “This was reflected in the agreement we reached with London 2012 in 2008, which included proper procedures for the speedy resolution of any disputes should any arise during the games.” However Unite chief Len McCluskey said public sector cuts were so deep that targeting the Games would be justified as part of the anti-cuts campaign. Lateness Summary and Absence Summary are just some of the standard reports contained within a comprehensive WinTA workplace clocking recording system from Tensor plc. Accurate information about staff absenteeism and lateness is crucial for many businesses. WinTA provides this information through warning email notifications, SMS messaging direct to a supervisor’s mobile or via hardcopy reports. The WinTA software quickly shows at the touch of a button colour-coded charts that are the ideal way of viewing an individual’s or a shift’s absence records.  

A bunch of car clampers have been sent to prison for a combined total of nearly eight years. The court heard the quintet, operating as the firm Midland Parking Contracts, intimidated drivers into parting with up to £335 to unclamp vehicles. Prosecutor Anthony Potter said victims included a disabled woman displaying a blue badge, adding: “It's difficult to put an accurate figure on the proceeds – we suggest a figure of up to £500,000, but it is very difficult to be specific.” Tensor offers barrier technology as a means of safely and securely controlling access to a car park or other exterior company property. Barrier Skirts are ideal for preventing pedestrians from walking underneath your automatic barrier. Not only suitable for automatic car park barriers, your barrier skirt can also be fitted to most manual barriers of varying boom lengths. Each barrier skirt is individually adjusted to neatly attach to your installed automatic barrier, ensuring exceptional durability and delivering longer lasting, problem-free operation.  

The Local Government Association (LGA) is looking into the rising problem of metal thefts for local authorities. The LGA is compiling a survey to find out the impact of metal theft on their budgets, what changes they would like to legislation and whether councils are looking into alternative materials. One possible novel solution is being trialled by Oxfordshire County Council which is installing a fibreglass manhole cover to see if it copes with traffic. Contactless key fobs can used to operate access control systems available to local authorities from security experts Tensor. An inbuilt aerial made from copper and iron is embedded into your key fob, allowing it to be scanned by your access control system. The T1313 key fob has a grey plastic shell made from implant quality glass, similar to those used in the identification of pets. When placed within range of an access control scanner, the key fob will be read in under ½ second, even if that fob is covered in oil and grease.  

A scrap dealer has pledged £21,000 to replace metal plaques stolen from a war memorial. Fourteen bronze plaques bearing the names of 243 World War I servicemen were stolen from the memorial in south London last September. However Stuart Nebbett, who runs a nearby scrapyard, said of the theft: “I wanted to make this gift to the community to make it clear that we run a professional operation, and that I was as outraged as everyone else.” Tensor is the leading manufacturer of equipment and software for access and visitor control systems. Contactless smart cards or key fobs are used to operate your access control system. Each smart card is assigned to an individual employee and can be affixed with a bespoke label denoting the name and photograph of the employee along with any other details required. Each attempted access on a scanner is logged within the access control software allowing you to view and track employees' movements across your site.  

A new report says the UK’s long-hours culture could cause stress and low morale. Publishers of the report, the TUC, found the phenomenon was not only endemic among eager young workers aiming to impress in managerial roles. It also recorded that a quarter of a million more people aged in their late 50s and early 60s are now working unpaid overtime than were a decade ago. The TUC said the trend reflected people’s concerns about income in later life. Tensor can help maintain company morale by installing at a factory or office a complete Time and Attendance System comprising a T32xx Smart Card clocking station, Smart Cards and software. It contains all the features to properly manage time and attendance recording for your personnel. You can create a wide range of daily working patterns. Overtime is easily monitored with up to four different pay bands in each shift. Bands are selected based on the time and the number of hours worked.  

Surveillance camera technology proved a crime did not take place and resulted in a man told to carry out 175 hours’ community service. The husband had reported a fictitious ‘mugging’ to police to avoid the blame for losing more than £1,700 of his wife’s money. Alex Jones provided a detailed description of the ‘perpetrator’, but his story fell apart when officers found no sign of the phantom mugger on CCTV. Therefore Mr Jones was arrested for perverting the course of justice. Tensor’s range of CCTV cameras and DVRs comprises of tried and tested equipment that meets strict security requirements both for usability and durability. DVRs allow continuous high quality digital CCTV recording for days and weeks at a time, and can store footage for a number of CCTV cameras present on your network without the risk of degradation. Professional CCTV security monitors give high definition monitoring and enhanced functionality. We have a product ideal for your premises, from black and white CRT to hi-resolution colour LCD monitors.  

A massive power cut forced shops, offices and units in Sussex to close down as more than 1,500 customers of UK Power Networks were affected. A spokesperson from the company apologised for the incident after swiftly restoring power, and added: “UK Power Networks worked as quickly and safely as possible to restore power to 1,574 customers in Horsham, whose supplies were interrupted…following a fault on the high voltage electricity network.” The fault was due to an explosion at a nearby electrical sub-station. Tensor includes in its Access Control, Security and clocking equipment a highly configurable Fire Roll Call report printing facility for office evacuation purposes. Safety is ensured when Tensor clocks and Access Control units are linked into your company's fire alarm system to trigger a fast, automated fire evacuation list. From the most basic ‘on site’ reporting, to the individual tracking of employee movement between fire zone or fire assembly points, Tensor’s Fire Roll Call can be tailored to meet any company safety requirements.  

Hospital workers who are members of the GMB union are due to strike again tomorrow (Thursday, February 23). Cleaners and domestic staff at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon walked out on Tuesday over alleged managerial “bullying and harassment” by contractor Carillion. A Carillion spokesman said the contractor was “disappointed” that despite talks with the union on Monday, the strike was going ahead. Carillion added that it had carried out a full investigation into the allegations. Time & Attendance technology from Tensor allows management to monitor which members of staff are present or absent from work. Under the advanced WinTAnet system’s online self service module employees or contractors can view or change their personal information via an Internet Browser. After a successful login, staff can view their absence calendar and make holiday requests and add or annotate reasons why they were absent. Supervisors logging into the self-service module can amend their subordinates’ clockings and authorise or deny any pending holiday requests.  

Lloyds is the first British bank to claw back bonuses after financial results did not meet expectations. The banking group is claiming back millions of pounds worth of bonuses. Top bosses affected include ex-chief executive Eric Daniels, who is expected to lose between 40 per cent and half of a £1.45m bonus. The BBC also claims that three other board directors are expected to see about £250,000 of their bonus taken from them. Time and Attendance software from Tensor makes it simple for the HR department at both small and large businesses to accurately calculate shifts and hourly rates, including bonuses. Complex payment schemes can be used, based on factors such as the time of working to the grade of employee, via the Shift Premiums function. It 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.  

In the past three years there has been a rise in a new burglary technique, which involves applying force and snapping a lock cylinder in two. The issue mainly centres on euro cylinder locks. Former burglar Peter Findlay said snapping the lock was “simpler and quicker”. Mr Findlay now works with police formulating crime prevention tips. He said: “If I had the best lock pins in England I wouldn't bother using them, I'd just snap the lock.” If locks at your business are vulnerable to burglary, then only the ultimate in Access Control from Tensor is good enough. The T34xx Smart Card scanner combines the latest generation of Tensor’s Smart Card electronics with a fingerprint reader. This product is for those who want the absolute peace-of-mind and the assurance that only the right people can gain access to your high-security or dangerous areas. The T34xx unit can be directly connected via a peer to peer cable connection, or be part of a network using your existing Ethernet IT backbone.  

Since standing down as prime minister, Gordon Brown has earned more than £1.4 million. An updated entry in the House of Commons register of members' interests shows he has earned more than £180,000 for his role as Distinguished Global Leader in Residence at New York University. About £997,000 in fees and £293,000 in expenses have gone to the office of Gordon and his wife Sarah Brown. They use this money to fund campaigns on issues such as improving education in the developing world. Tensor’s Personnel Software offers everything you would expect from a personnel management system which aids strategic planning. Extensive information is stored on each employee in your company. Other features include an Intelligent Graphical Diary that enables messages to be entered and viewed for selected users; a Company Cars facility for logging MOT and service dates; Training Information for pending courses, including locations, descriptions and notes; Letter Writer including mailmerge functionality; and a Pay Reviewer including reports, projected pay increases and salary expenditure.