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More than 2,000 businesses with fewer than 10 employees were surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), and many said they struggle to recruit the staff they desire. The BCC points out that these businesses generate one-fifth of private sector turnover in the UK. One in five firms plans to double staff numbers between now and 2015. Half say they find it difficult to recruit the right people, and they believe that rules around dismissal are “burdensome”. Designed for smaller companies, WinTA Lite is the latest in the proven Tensor range of Windows™ based time and attendance products, from simple collection of employees' clocking data, through to extensive analysis of labour hours. It can be connected to Tensor Access Control or Personnel systems. The package includes a WinTA Lite software installation CD, a T32xx Clocking Station, 50 Smart Cards (additional cards are available on request), a User Manual, a serial cable for communications to PC, and 12 months of free helpdesk support from the date of purchase.  

A man who fled overseas days before his trial has now failed to return to jail after being granted a weekend pass. Martin Evans had been an inmate at the category C prison in the West Country near Devizes after being sentenced. He had been extradited from the US. Before that he went on the run to Spain and Holland where he masterminded a drugs and money laundering operation, shipping at least £3m of ecstasy and cocaine into Britain. Tensor has adapted our tried and tested Visitor Pass system to provide a simple to use and tailor-made PC-based network for prisons. The Prison Pass is a low cost pass system for registering each visitor, both on and off site. At controlled monitor points, the visitor pass badge is simply swiped and a high quality digital image appears to the HM Prison Service Officers thus verifying that the correct person is passing through. Data can be stored for future reference or exported to other compatible databases.  

There are worries the Welsh Government is not being quick enough to sort its plans for enterprise zones with fears those in England may attract businesses away from Wales. Conservative councillor Matt Wright, executive member for economic development at Flintshire, said: "We know that the economy is having difficulties… but if we don't push ahead and make decisions on these things, the jobs will go to England and other areas.” Some of the English zones are 10 miles from Flintshire's proposed site. Tensor can give a ‘shot in the arm’ to your business or enterprise with our unbeatable Time and Attendance software. Using the software you can view all time and attendance information for an employee or a single department. User-definable working patterns, rosters and shifts can be created with the multi-lingual system. The Group Holiday Planner displays a whole year of absences at a time. It allows easy view of incidences of multiple absences, whether in the past or the future, making it an ideal management tool.  

A 70-year-old man is believed to be the oldest arrested for being involved in the violence and looting that plagued London recently. Police have not named the man but have said he was held in connection with the theft from a shop in west London, on August 8, 2011. The individual was released after receiving a police caution. The Metropolitan Police said it had more than 20,000 hours of CCTV footage to review. Tensor can install a complete access control and security system to keep out crime at your business premises. Tensor's gates, barriers and turnstiles fully integrate with our smart card and biometric access control systems giving you full jurisdiction over movement and access in and around your site. A Tensor system can stop vehicles or personnel at the relevant barrier and disallow entry or exit until they identify themselves via their smart card and/or biometric fingerprint. The system gives full control over who is allowed access through any controlled door or road entry point.  

On trial at a Southern-based rail company is a reusable smart card giving commuters an alternative to paper tickets. If the card is successful, it will be rolled out elsewhere. In September the card system will be trialled between Brighton and Seaford stations. Commuters will be able to use the card for season, single and return tickets when the trial starts in September. Rail bosses said there will be other innovations such as rail-bus tickets. Tensor smart cards or key fobs are used to operate our time and attendance clocking and access control security systems – they can be integrated so one card can be used to both clock in and gain entry. All Tensor contactless smart cards and key fobs use the same well-proven and reliable RF (Radio Frequency) reading technology. This gives a consistent read range which is unaffected by most external conditions. In addition, Tensor can also provide smart card software, which gives you an easy way to professionally produce your own ID cards.  

The details of large pay packets earned by thousands of temporary staff at a major company were accidentally revealed via email this week. A recruitment agency by error sent the information about Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) temps which showed they received up to £2,000 a day – which is the equivalent of £500,000 a year. This revelation comes at the same time as RBS is in the process of cutting thousands of permanent staff jobs. Tensor Time & Attendance systems are the best there is for handling all major hours calculation methods and payroll issues. Our systems, for example WinTAnet, combine the requirements of time and attendance, rostering and job costing. They include settings to deal with different overtime rates, night shift working and paid or unpaid breaks. A major requirement of any Time & Attendance system is the ability to export information to the payroll system. Tensor is the leader in this field and has worked with all of the major payroll packages.  

A 21-year-old’s four-month sentence for suggesting a riot was criticised as 'too lenient'. The case of David Glyn Jones was different to others where four-year jail terms were given for specific instructions issued of when and where to riot. Mr Jones, on the other hand, posted via Facebook a more general message for people to riot. However, Clwyd West assembly member Darren Millar said: "If you look at the destruction that was caused and could have been caused it seems quite a lenient sentence." Tensor provides security upgrades to offices or sites in the form of simple to use Access Control technology, software and systems. The WinACnet software emails alarm messages to a specified address when forced entries occur. Optionally a warning email can be sent if communications to the PC are lost. Free software upgrades to those with maintenance contracts means the system is always up to date. An audit trail showing who gained access (or was denied entry) is available at any location at any time.

A town’s long wait for public toilets will come to an end after a five-year absence. The toilets at Barnard Castle, which date from Edwardian times, were closed because of their state of disrepair and problems with accessibility. The town’s residents and local officials have been calling to have the underground facilities re-opened ever since. Refurbishment on the Durham County Council scheme started last week and is expected to take about six weeks to complete. Tensor's turnstiles provide improved security and extend flow capacity while offering a coin operated option which is ideal for public toilet facilities. Coupled with a set of contactless smart cards in an access control set-up, flow capacity is significantly increased compared with any swipe card system, as the card is read in under ¼ of a second. Half Height Turnstiles are ideal for controlling access in environments such as reception areas, toilets, and libraries. They feature 304 or 316 grade stainless steel construction and are a customer-friendly alternative to full height turnstiles.  

Reports said that canisters were flung into the air following a massive fire at a battery recycling plant. Thankfully there were no reports of injuries. Fire crews remained at the site of the fire which began at an industrial site beside an airfield on Friday (August 26) in Hampshire. Glider pilots who had been flying from the airfield said they had witnessed canisters thrown into the air by explosions. Computerised security and personnel networks from Tensor can be integrated with fire roll call hardware and software to ensure safety at work in an emergency. The T3512 is a one door Smart Card Access Control system that has everything you need for controlling access through a single door. It comprises a T3511 controller, WinACnet PC software, magnetic door release, push button, break glass and 10 Smart Cards. A T3511 can differentiate which Smart Card reader was used so you know who is left in the building. This is essential for producing an accurate fire roll call register.  

A key figure in education has recommended strike action for teachers about to fight pension changes. Member of the teaching union the Educational Institute of Scotland, Ronnie Smith, said pensions will cost more but pay out less. He added: "For hard-pressed teachers, the prospect of paying more of their salary into a pension scheme with the promise of working longer and getting far less at the end, just might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.” A major component of a Tensor Time and Attendance system is the ability to export information to the payroll system. Our WinTA Time & Attendance networks, including the class-leading WinTAnet, have a wide range of configuration options to extract payroll information in exactly the correct format. WinTA handles all major hours calculation methods and contains special rules to accommodate the formal flexitime contracts worked by many public sector employees. You are pre-warned when applying a shift pattern that will result in a Working Time Regulation infringement.  

CCTV images have captured a man wanted by police in connection with a shop robbery. The man entered the shop in Skegness, in Lincolnshire, just before 10am on Friday. Police said the robber demanded a holdall be filled with gold chains, and escaped with a large quantity of goods. The man is described as being in his 20s, around 6ft tall, white, and of large, muscular build. Digital CCTV camera and recording systems from Tensor are affordable by small businesses too as a security boost. The CCTV footage generated by your camera network is recorded on a dedicated digital video recorder, which can be located either onsite or offsite. Triggered by motion detectors or movement on a CCTV camera, the DVR only records footage of activity so no ‘dead time’ is unnecessarily stored. A digital video recorder is able to achieve digital storage multiplexing across up to 16 channels in one standalone box, so all CCTV footage from your site can be recorded on a single unit.  

Thieves stole metal from a business park in Norfolk but sustained a tyre blow out. Burglars broke into the park near Fakenham at some time overnight between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. A large amount of scrap metal was taken including alloy wheels. The vehicle suffered a tyre blow out and the offenders had to abandon it on the A148 road. Security specialists Tensor provides a door entry Smart Card Access Control system that can include barriers, gates and visitor monitoring. The T3511 Door Access Controller can be linked to up to 128 other T3511s. The T3511 is the ideal way to start off small, but to have the flexibility to grow at a later date. This is so much better than installing a door controller that only operates as a ‘stand alone’ unit with no future expansion capability. The modem facility within the T3511 enables you to install a simple system at a remote graphical location where there is only power and a phone line.