search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Industry news


Online service puts community heating customers in control


Community and district heating specialist Switch2 Energy has launched a new online service to increase transparency – giving residents full control of their bills and easy access to their accounts. The easy-to-use My Switch2 online portal


provides residents with complete visibility of their account and enables them to make payments online. It is available to both credit billing customers and pay-as you-go customers using Switch2's G6 and Incontro smart meters. Kirsty Lambert, Director of Switch2 Energy,


said: "The My Switch2 portal is accessible to all customers. By giving residents full access to energy consumption data, account details and tariff information, we are making metering and billing more transparent than ever before. "This is the latest digital innovation from


Switch2 and is built to complement our existing smart meters. We've made it much simpler for community heating customers to budget and pay, view and access, and control and monitor their energy usage," Customers can now log on securely to view


all aspects of their account, such as checking and paying credit bills, viewing previous bills and pay-as-you-go statements, topping-up pay-as-you-go accounts, and viewing and/or uploading meter readings. Useful tips are also available to help them save on their energy costs.


MySwitch2 can be used on smartphones, tablets or other web enabled device, with all major payment cards accepted


It has been designed to be fully accessible


to all customers, including the visually impaired. Pay-as-you-go customers can choose to top-


up their account via the My Switch2 portal or via phone, app, or by card or cash at any of the 29,000 convenience stores in PayPoint’s UK retail network. The same options are available to credit billing customers, making payments very flexible.


Workers in dangerous jobs get poor health and safety guidance


A


quarter of employees working in hazardous job roles believe their employers are not doing enough to keep


them safe at work. A survey of 2,000 employees revealed 25 per


cent of labourers in manual professions, such as construction, thought their company’s health and safety information did not go into enough detail about their role and the dangers they could face, or how to deal with risky situations. Worryingly, the survey that polled workers


employed at firms with more than five employees found that almost two thirds (65 per cent) of employees have never received any information on their company’s health and safety policies. This is despite it being a basic legal requirement for all companies with five employees or more. The research, which was conducted by award-


winning data capture app provider, WorkMobile, also revealed that as a result, the majority of workers in dangerous jobs do not feel that they are well equipped to deal with a hazardous situation if one occurred.


HAZARDS A fifth (18 per cent) would have no idea how to report an issue or hazard at work, despite there being a higher chance of this occurring in dangerous working environments. A quarter (25 per cent) would have a vague idea about how to handle the situation, but would still need to ask for help or consult with the company’s procedure documents first. Thankfully, over half (57 per cent) of workers would know exactly what to do in a hazardous situation. Although it is the duty of the employer to keep


staff members safe, workers are also failing to take responsibility for their own welfare and follow rules that have been put in place. Almost half (48 per cent) of those, who work in a hazardous or high-risk role, such as construction, said they have not read their operations manual. Surpisingly, those, who work in low-risk roles,


like office work, are more likely to read their company’s health safety guidance - almost two thirds (60 per cent) of these employees have read the health and safety documents they were provided with, despite being exposed to fewer hazards. The survey was conducted as part of


WorkMobile’s ‘Work Safe’ report, which looks at the current state of health and safety in the UK and where improvements need to be made to protect workers.


SHOCKING Colin Yates, chief support officer at WorkMobile, said: “Employees working in dangerous sectors, such as construction or manual labour, will inevitably face a higher number of hazards than those in office-based roles, for example. Based on this, we’d expect companies in these sectors to take health and safety much more seriously in order to keep their staff safe. “It’s really shocking to see that some


businesses are failing to put in place even the most basic health and safety procedures. Failing to supply workers with information and guidance on health and safety policies could land business owners with a hefty fine, or even a prison sentence in extreme cases. But, aside from this, when staff are not trained on how to work safely, there is a greater risk of accidents happening – especially in these more hazardous industries. “With working practices constantly being


improved, there is no excuse for not obeying the law and fulfilling their business obligations.”


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM September 2017 | 21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52