Letters
Small firms rise to flexibility challenge
I would like to draw readers' attention to the first set of regulations on parents' rights to request flexible working arrangements that has just been published. From April 2003, all employers will have to consider seriously requests from parents to work part-time or with more flexibility.
Employers retain the right to refuse requests but their refusal must be reasonable. If a reasonable request is refused and the correct procedures not followed, compensation will be payable to the employee.
These regulations apply to all employers, including those with very few staff and with limited room to manoeuvre.
As the chair of the Small Business Council's (SBC)regulatory interest group, I was part of the team that approached the Government to discuss the concerns of small companies about the new regulations. As a result, several proposals that discriminated against small businesses have been toned down. Employee groups had been arguing for a 52-week compensation package, while the SBC had been arguing for between four and 13 weeks. The Government opted for up to eight weeks' pay, with an upper limit of £250 per week.
There are still important decisions to be made. The SBC is to comment on the draft guidance and I will keep you up to date with the outcome.
Sarah Anderson, Chief Executive, Mayday Group, London W1.
Scotland is too good for Bruce Sangster
My heart bleeds for Bruce Sangster, unfairly dismissed after sending pornographic e-mails. Apparently, things are so bad that he "may have to consider going back to Scotland".
Those of us who live and work in this fabulous country consider it a privilege. We have a quality of life that many people from the South of England envy and we have some of the finest hotels and restaurants in the land - to say nothing of the very best quality produce, which is available on our doorstep.
Considering Mr Sangster's view of what constitutes innocent fun, perhaps it would be better if he just stays put.
Libby Weir-Breen, Comrie, Perthshire.
All hail Jamie's kitchen crusade
Concerning Jamie's Kitchen: not every person has the same privileges and opportunities that should be expected in today's society.
Being co-founders of a project that trains and develops adults with learning disabilities, we have to point out that catering takes in all areas of the kitchen, which even means washing up and scrubbing work surfaces.
Everyone who works within a kitchen environment should be valued and treated with respect and encouraged in any way it takes (including hugging students, Professor Foskett).
Jamie Oliver should be encouraged to carry on in his struggle to train people who could become valued members of a kitchen team, no matter in what capacity. I would like to see him become the spokesman in the public eye for all projects trying to help disadvantaged youths and adults who have something positive to offer society.
To work with disadvantaged people requires a passion for the job, loyalty to students and a regard for human beings. This is all driven by a desire to make sure these people get a fair deal to enable them to succeed in catering and develop a love of food - which can provoke the thought process in all areas of these peoples' lives.
Jane Lakey and Gina Dolan, Project Coordinator and Business and Training Manager, Rumbles Catering Project, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
We are still overlooking the value of experience
When I wrote to Caterer two years ago about ageism, there were murmurs by some that it was not found in our industry. As an experiment, four of us aged more than 50 decided to see if things had changed. They have not.
We wrote 100 letters to companies large and small, applying for positions. All of us used our real names and CVs. Only one interview was granted to any of us, and I received only the tentative offer of consultancy work.
Between us, we have more than 100 years' experience in the trade to director level, in both operations and general management.
I speak to people on a daily basis who tell me they have problems getting experienced managers, yet there are a number of over-50s who have spent their lives in the trade and can offer 30-plus years of experience. They are not getting the opportunity to pass on that experience.
Most people of that age understand what I think is fundamental to our trade: service, a basic quality that seems to be missing from most establishments I visit. The customer seems to be a unit of cash to many companies that are now run by accountants.
I still believe we are a service industry, in which the customers are the most important assets, and looking after them will bring financial reward.
Like do-it-yourself retailer B&Q, which has learned that a mix of old and young staff works well, we need to start involving older, experienced managers.
Dudley Seale, Consultant, Brook Corporation, Minehead, Somerset.
