Newsletter May 2011
We had a great response to our article on what to look for in a pick and pack provider a few weeks ago.
While cost is always a major consideration, flexibility and reliability are the two key factors when sourcing a pick and pack provider.
Last month we ran a seminar on The Agency Workers Regulations 2010. Find out what they’re all about. Plus: how we pulled out all the stops to turn a last-minute project around in a weekend.
And finally, for a bit of fun, read our A – Z of the picking and packing business. What’s the Z for?
Talk to you soon!
Claude
Agency Workers Regulations: Questions & Answers
The new “Agency Workers Regulations” coming into force on October 1st 2011 will have huge implications for businesses that use agency workers. There’s lots of confusion about what this means, so we’ve put together most commonly asked questions - together with the answers.
Many of these questions were raised at a workshop we ran recently in conjunction with the Association of Labour Providers, which was hosted by Paul Chamberlain, a partner at solicitors Brabners Chaffe Street.
When do the new rules come into force?
The regulations come into force on 1st of October 2011
Are the new regulations retrospective?
No. The regulations are not retrospective, which means that for agency workers already on an assignment, the 12 week qualifying period will start from 1 October 2011.
What new rights do agency workers have from Day 1?
Agency workers must be allowed access to the same facilities as workers recruited directly by you.
What is meant by ‘facilities’?
Examples of facilities include the staff canteen, childcare facilities, toilets and shower facilities, any staff common rooms, food and drink machines and car parking.
Agency workers must also have access to information on your job vacancies from the first day of their assignment so they can apply for any suitable positions.
What new rights to agency workers have after 12 weeks in the same job?
After 12 weeks in the same job assignment with the same hirer, agency workers will be entitled to the same rates of pay and other basic terms and conditions as staff employed directly by the hirer.
What is meant by ‘terms and conditions’?
Examples of the same basic terms and conditions of employment include key elements of pay, hours, night work, rest breaks and annual leave.
What elements of pay are included in the regulations?
The basic pay definition is based on the annual salary an agency worker would have received if recruited directly. Other pay entitlements include overtime payments, payment for annual leave,
bonuses or commission payments and vouchers or stamps.
Agency employees completing 12 weeks in the same job with the same hirer will also be entitled to
paid time off for ante natal appointments.
What should I do if my business uses agency workers?
From 1st October 2011, you will be responsible for ensuring that all agency workers you use can access your facilities and are able to view information on your job vacancies from the first day of their assignment with you.
You should also provide your agency with your up to date Terms & Conditions so they can ensure that any agency worker they supply receives the correct equal treatment, as if they were recruited directly, after 12 weeks in the same job.
Is there any further information?
Yes. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has produced a guidance document on the new Agency Workers Regulations. You can download it here:
What’s involved in picking and packing?
People often ask us what type of goods we can pick and pack for them, and what other sorts of services are available. Often they’re surprised with the answers because it’s the sort of thing that they’d never thought to outsource.
For a bit of fun we decided to put down our A-Z of picking and packing services. What does the Z stand for?
A: Advertising distribution
B: Bagging and boxing
C: Carton assembly and collation of product packs
D: Direct mail dispatch
E: Excellence: what we strive to achieve
F: Fulfilment: we deliver to your clients and agents if desired
G: Guarantee: we always keep our promises
H: High standards: we don’t cut corners or skimp on our work
I: International work undertaken
J: Jiffy bagging
K: Kit assembly
L: Label printing and application
M: Marketing pack assembly & mail order fulfilment
N: Next day delivery
O: Outsourced pick and pack contracts
P: Picking, packing, packaging, point-of-sale assembly and palletising
Q: Quick turnaround
R: Receipt of goods into our warehouse, relabeling and redistribution
S: Stock storage, sorting and selection
T: Turnaround overnight and over weekends for urgent jobs
U: Uncompromising standards of quality and reliability
V: Value for money
W: Weighing and counting
X: Xtra mile: how far we will always go on every job
Y: YES: the answer to most types of requirement and timescale
Z: Zebras: one of the few things we don’t pick and pack.
How versatile is your pick and pack partner?
Picking and packing isn’t just about putting stuff in boxes. In fact every day brings a new challenge. Last month we helped a client who needed 8000 catalogues ‘belly banding’ – which means wrapping a promotional band around the catalogue and gluing the ends to the 2 centre pages of each one.
Following delivery on the Friday, all the catalogues were manually ‘banded’ and packed in boxes ready for collection at 08:00am on the following Monday.
How did we quote?
Our quote was based on our estimate of the number of catalogues that could be belly banded by each person in an hour.
What the client said
“We needed a pick and pack company that could turnaround a last minute requirement – to fit belly banding around 8000 booklets for an expo.
ProntoPak responded quickly with a competitive quote, and the catalogues were delivered to them on the Friday. It was only then that we realised there were 25% more catalogues than previously thought.
ProntoPak rose to the last minute challenge, sourced extra banding product and labour, and then worked over the weekend to fulfil the contract.
Impressed? That’s the least I can say. ProntoPak got hold of the problem, and worked through it. They’re the ideal company to partner with!”
