3 June 2016 | James Richards   New research suggests that 88 per cent of EU workers in the UK might not qualify for a visa in the event of Britain leaving the EU.  The research claims that the accommodation and food services sectors would be particularly badly hit. Almost 14 per cent of the workforce in this sector is made up of EU workers, but only 1 per cent would quality for a visa.   The report from the Social Market Foundation (SMF) and Adecco Group has modelled the impact of a ‘leave’ vote, whereby the principle of free movement would no longer apply.   EU workers in the UK would then be subject to visa requirements to be eligible to work. If the current visa requirements for non-European Economic Area migrants were applied to this group, 88 per cent of workers would not be eligible.   According to the study, Working Together? The Impact Of The EU Referendum On UK Employers, there are six million EU workers in the UK making up 6 per cent of all UK employees.   The model indicates that London would feel the brunt of the impact, as one in eight (13 per cent) of the capital’s employees are from the EU, three-quarters of whom would not qualify for a visa.  Source link

A Bulgarian construction firm has been fined after a member of the public reported unsafe working practices during the construction of an adventure course in Markeaton Park, Derby. Derby Magistrates’ Court heard how a passing member of the public noticed work at height being carried out from a pallet on the forks of a telehandler at the site in Markeaton Park, where a high ropes adventure course was being constructed by Bulgarian based firm Walltopia. The member of the public first reported this to the company but despite receiving assurances the matter would be dealt with, unsafe work at height continued. They then reported it to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). HSE’s investigation at the site found work was taking place on a section of roof 11 metres off the ground, without the use of any means to prevent two workers falling from the open edges. In addition, these workers were accessing the roof by climbing from the basket of a cherry picker. Walltopia of Bulgaria Boulevard, Letnitsa, Bulgaria, was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,013.25 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. After the case, HSE Inspector Lee Greatorex said: “Using a pallet on a telehandler for planned work at height is an unacceptable means of access. It appears that the company failed to put in place control measures after being alerted about this. “Walltopia failed to follow recognised industry standards during work at height and did not make effective changes to the control of their working methods following the matter being brought to its attention. Work at height should always be sufficiently planned and managed to protect workers from being exposed to extreme risks from falls from height. In this case someone could have suffered significant injuries or death”. For more information about working safely at height visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/workingatheight.htm Notes to Editors The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement www.hse.gov.uk   More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ Further HSE news releases are available at www.press.hse.gov.uk Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link

OFTEC launches Solid Fuel Training Centre in Northern Ireland Published:  12 April, 2016 OFTEC has announced the first OFTEC-approved training centre in Northern Ireland to offer training and assessment for OFTEC’s Solid Fuel Installation, Servicing and Commissioning (Dry) certification. The centre has opened at Micon Distribution in Lisburn, which is a distributor to the fireplace and stove industry throughout the UK and Ireland. It is offering the new course to technicians to provide greater support for retailers and installers within the industry. In conjunction with North West Regional College, the specialist course aims to provide candidates with the knowledge and understanding to install dry stoves that meet the requirements of Building Regulations and standards. Managing director Michael Farnan said: “The next step for us was to ensure we had the support in place for our retailers and installers within the industry. Becoming an OFTEC Approved Training Centre enables us to provide recognised training and assessment of installers.” The new training centre in Lisburn brings the number of centres in Ireland offering solid fuel training to two, with METAC established already in County Laois. The courses are open to technicians wanting to demonstrate their competence to customers and offers a recognised qualification and trade association registration. David Blevings, OFTEC Ireland manager, said: “We are delighted to welcome Micon as an OFTEC training centre in Northern Ireland. Their offering of the solid fuel course will complement the current oil courses being run by centres locally and fills a welcome gap in the solid fuel market along with METAC in the Republic of Ireland. “For too long there has been a limited offering of solid fuel training in Ireland and we are delighted to be associated with proactive providers like Micon and METAC. For OFTEC registrants who have completed a solid fuel course in recent years they can add on the solid fuel scope of registration from just £50 (€65). “With trendy solid fuel stoves in vogue at the moment, it is important that technicians are fully qualified to correctly install and properly maintain these appliances, and to comply with regional building regulations and manufacturer’s installation instructions.” Registering with OFTEC and becoming a ‘Competent Person’ means a technician can demonstrate their competence to consumers. This certification allows consumers to have peace of mind as the technician has been trained, assessed and inspected in the field and is deemed competent to work on their heating system. Additionally, technicians have full insurance and are part of a trade association with a proper complaints procedure in place, should something go wrong. The technician also has access to free technical advice seven days a week, the support of local inspectors on the ground and the use of control documentation for the benefit of consumers. Micon will initially offer installers the OFT15-108(D) – Installation, commissioning and servicing of solid fuel burning appliances (dry space heating) and propose to offer the OFT15-108(W) – Installation, commissioning and servicing of solid fuel burning appliances (dry space heating and hot water heating) later this year. Under each scope of registration technicians can install, commission and service solid fuel fired stoves, room heaters and associated equipment and systems in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions, industry practices and standards, and legislative requirements. Source link

Construction of a £1.5 billion wind farm off the Suffolk coast is to go ahead in November with the creation of nearly 800 jobs, after three new partners were found to back the project. The future of the Galloper wind farm was left in doubt last year when energy company SSE pulled out of the project, blaming the cost and the subsidy regime. The remaining partner, RWE Innogy, halted work. But RWE Innogy announced on Friday that Siemens Financial Services and the investment and financial services group Macquarie Capital, along with the UK government’s Green Investment Bank, had become joint 25 per cent equity partners. Offshore wind is one of the few parts of the UK renewable energy sector to have emerged unscathed after a round of cuts to onshore wind and solar power subsidies since the first majority Conservative government since 1992 took power in May. Scheduled to become operational in March 2018, Galloper will become one of the larger offshore wind farms in British waters with a capacity of 336 megawatts, or enough to power 336,000 homes. The announcement follows Dong Energy’s confirmation on Wednesday that it was going ahead with an extension to a wind farm in the Irish sea that will make it the world’s biggest. Together, the two projects mean that there is 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity built, under construction or with financing secured in Britain, double the current operational capacity of 5GW, said the trade body RenewableUK. Hans Bünting, the ceo of RWE Innogy, said: “Today’s announcement is the culmination of many months of successful negotiations with our partners and investors and shows that the UK is still a strong market for offshore renewables.” The company has previously warned that political uncertainty and changes to policy have put the technology at risk in the UK. While the UK has the most installed offshore wind power in the world, other countries are catching up. In the first two quarters of 2015, Germany installed three times as much offshore wind capacity as the UK. The energy minister Andrea Leadsom said of the Galloper deal: “This milestone shows how the UK’s offshore wind industry is going from strength to strength.” RenewableUK welcomed the news but said it needed a clear plan from the government on how much offshore wind capacity it wanted into the 2020s. In September, the government turned down planning permission for a much larger (970 MW) wind farm off the coast of Dorset. A consortium of 12 commercial banks and the European Investment Bank will provide Galloper’s £1.37 billion debt facilities. The EIB has provided £225 billion in backing. Like this story? Please subscribe to our free weekly e-newsletter at the top of the page for more content like this. Source link