Something for the weekend
Work ‘til you’re musclebound
If you've got time to read this then it probably doesn’t apply to you but apparently nearly three quarters of people are working longer hours in 2011 than they were a year ago.
A survey by accountancy firm RSM Tenon found in a poll of 1,001 people in the UK, that 70 per cent of respondents are now working more hours per week compared to 2010 and more than the average 31.8 hours per week.
But few people said they were compensated for their extra hours. Just 8 per cent of people said that they receive any overtime payment for any extra hours they work, and only 6 per cent are given time in lieu.
Sam Davies, RSM Tenon’s associate director of employment taxes in Birmingham, said: "Whatever the economic climate, committed employees should still be rewarded. Staff who remain in post after difficult times often feel demotivated. Without careful management, talent can be lost just at the point when the company most needs good people."
Sisters are doing it for themselves...
...At Opus Aspect, Opus Land’s latest mixed-use development scheme in Erdington, Birmingham.
Opus Land construction director Melanie Booth and development surveyor Annabel Styche have been joined by joint agents Melissa Wase-Rogers (King Sturge) and Tesni Thacker (GVA).
Says Booth: "Having the key disciplines at Opus Aspect managed by an exclusively female line-up was purely coincidental but it’s been a refreshing change and works very well. We’re very proud of our women-only home team and it doesn’t stop there, our employers’ agent, Emily Green of Rider Levett Bucknall, takes the female headcount up to five."
Opus Aspect is being developed with the support of the Palmer Capital Development Fund.
Iron in the soul
Barclays Wealth’s Graham Nicoll - a former chairman of lobby group Birmingham Forward - is donning the lycra gear to take part in his first every Iron Man in aid of the charity Barnado’s.
For those not in the know this torturous event involves swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and then running a full 26.2 mile marathon.
"I think this likely to take me upwards of 12 hours, so I would really appreciate your support in order that the inevitable pain is in aid of an extremely good cause," says Nicoll.
He will be attempting this feat on Sunday 31 July. If you would like to make a donation, click here.
