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ALL THE LATEST NEWS, ADVICE AND EVENTS FOR THE SOLIHULL BUSINESS COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
More than £1,000 has been raised for Marie Curie Cancer Care following an allotment tea party. Marion Perkins, accounts assistant at Executive Communication Centres Ltd, held a ‘Blooming Great Tea Party’ at her allotment in Solihull to raise £1010.58. She said: “I still cannot believe it. Last year
which was the first tea party we held, I raised just over £500.” The money came from the sale of teas, homemade jams, cakes and pickles, raffle, tombola and face painting. Fellow allotment holders donated vegetable and fruit boxes. Marion said: “People had been kindly donating items for the tombola and raffle for several weeks. We had some lovely prizes. At one point in the morning we had a queue of plot holders with wheelbarrows full of produce to donate for auction. “The weather was lovely and we were all
kept very busy. I was asked several times if we would be holding it again next year so i have decided that with the allotment committee’s permission it will now be an annual event.”
A non-league Solihull soccer club is still desperately searching for new sponsors for the 2011-12 season – as well as its first points*! The club is Solihull Moors, who are based at Damson Parkway, at a ground they share with a local rugby outfit.
Solihull Moors has landed one sponsorship deal this season, with brewer Molson Coors, but are still looking for other backers, including match day sponsors and programme advertisers. The club, founded four years ago after a
merger between Solihull Borough and Moor Green, plays in the Blue Square Bet North League, where, at the beginning of September, they were rooted to the bottom of the table after losing all seven of their opening games. Despite this, the club – which says it is
‘proud to be the biggest in Solihull and third biggest in Birmingham’ – claims that its ambition is to reach the Blue Square Premier, which is one step away from the Football League. (*at the time of writing)
A Solihull volunteer service is hoping to persuade young women in the borough to forget about hairdressing, modelling and other flighty occupations – and become scientists instead. The initiative is being undertaken by
Soroptimist International Solihull & District, in partnership with Light Hall School and Solihull Council. Soroptimist International, founded in 1921, is
a worldwide voluntary organisation for professional women, dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls throughout the world.
As part of their science campaign, the Solihull Soroptimists have organised a ‘Skirting Science’ day next year on 9 March. Aimed at GCSE pupils, the event will
introduce students to the career opportunities that exist within the scientific sector.
16 CHAMBERLINK OCTOBER 2011
Solihull Chamber of Commerce Wellington House, Starley Way, Birmingham Int. Park, Solihull B37 7HE T: 0121 781 7384 • F: 0121 781 7385 E:
info@solihull-chamber.com W:
solihull-chamber.com
Police chief addresses Leading Ladies event
BY SUE COOKE
“I live my dream every single day,” said the first woman police commander for Solihull.
Chief Superintendent Sally Bourner, who was speaking at Solihull’s Leading Ladies event, said she feels incredibly blessed in being able to help people which is the prime reason she joined the police. West Midlands Police is the second largest police force in the country, with over 14,000 staff many of
who are police officers. Sally is the senior operational police leader for the borough of Solihull and one of 10 local policing unit commanders across the West Midlands region. She said: “I am accountable for nearly 500 members of staff and the guardian of nearly £18 million of taxpayers’ money.” Sally comes from a farming background in Kent and first came to the West Midlands in 1986 to
study at the University of Birmingham. She applied to join the police service and started her career in 1990 as a police constable in Birmingham city centre. During her career she has worked across the West Midlands primarily in operational policing roles at all ranks in a range of areas in Birmingham and Wolverhampton. In February this year she took up the role of Chief Superintendent in Solihull. She said there are three key elements
to being effective as a leader. They are communication, strong relationships and visibility.
She described how some years ago she had worked 75 extra days in one year and said she had learnt about the importance of work/life balance. She said: ”You need to remember what is important in your life. “ Along her career journey
she says she didn’t set out in life as a role model but she thrives on the responsibilities of her role and the opportunity she has to influence people.
‘There are three key elements to being effective as a leader. They are communication, strong relationships and visibility’
Jane Jackson, director of Solihull Chamber, with Sally Bourner
86% would report overpayment
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) has found in a recent survey that when it comes to money, employee honesty is high. If you were sure nobody was looking would you
have a sneaky peak at a colleague’s payslip? Out of those polled a very honest 70 per cent of people answered no, leaving 21 per cent answering yes. Karen Thomson, associate director of policy,
research and strategic visibility at the CIPP, said: “The temptation would seem too much for some it seems! This is a promising statistic also backed up with an impressive 86 per cent of people saying they would report an overpayment to their line manager or payroll department. “With employees having to pay overpayments
back it’s surprising that over 6 per cent of those polled say they wouldn’t report it. Of course with
overpayments come a host of complex pieces of employment law legislation. “Depending on what the overpayment
circumstances are will depend on whether the employee is due to repay, and possibly the terms of the repayment. “It is always advisable to have robust
procedures in force for dealing with overpayments as prevention is always better than the cure.”
Other results from the survey included:
• Discussing salary is still quite a taboo subject with 78 per cent of respondents saying they do not mention their salary with colleagues; however 60 per cent do discuss their salary with friends and family.
• 74 per cent are currently saving into a pension scheme.
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