Scottish Retail Consortium

Age Positive and the Age Partnership Group (APG)

http://www.agepositive.gov.uk

http://www.agepositive.gov.uk/agepartnershipgroup

Age Positive is a campaign aimed at promoting the business benefits of employing a mixed age workforce. The Age Partnership Group is a campaign aimed at providing free information products to employers to help them prepare for the forthcoming age legislation.

Alcohol Awareness Week

http://www.alcoholawarenessweek.com

Energy and Environment Small Business Toolkit - Reduce Costs and Maximise Profits

This toolkit is aimed at smaller sized businesses and has been produced in response to FSB members' concerns about the increasing costs of environmental resources. It aims to help businesses save money by:

Reducing energy use

Cutting water bills

Minimising waste

Complying with legislation

This project has been developed in partnership with the Scottish Energy Efficiency Office, Business Environment Partnership, Envirowise, ActionEnergy and NetRegs (SEPA).

Click here to download the toolkit (PDF file)

Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005

Click here to download the "What All Licensees Need To Know About Changes in Liquor Licencsing Law" brochure (PDF).

Making Your Business Accessible To Disabled People

http://www.www.dwp.gov.uk/dda

Did you know that by making just a few simple adjustments your business could open its doors to even more customers?

By making your business accessible to disabled people you could also improve its customer service. Adjustments needn’t cost a fortune and could create improvements that benefit all customers, as well as staff. As the Adjusting for Better Business campaign has shown, it’s about making reasonable changes that will make your business better.
Many businesses in Scotland are already realising the benefits of making reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of disabled customers, thanks to the support of the Scottish Retail Consortium and our members.

Over 200 trade bodies and business organisations all over the country are supporting the Adjusting for Better Business campaign and getting the message out that even small changes can make a big difference to disabled people. Over 150,000 campaign booklets have been distributed to small businesses showing how adjustments can be made.

The campaign has also worked directly with 80 small businesses that have made adjustments to meet the needs of disabled customers and clients.

One shop has fitted a ramp and widened the front door to help people who use a wheelchair access the shop and the aisles have been widened to enable people who use a wheelchair to browse the range of goods on offer. As the most commonly purchased items are placed at eye level they can easily be reached.

One shop owner, Tracey Pender, discovered there was a number of disabled people in the area who were unable to visit the shop she started a home delivery service. According to Tracey, business has increased since starting this service. As Tracey explains, “My customers who are already using the home delivery service have recommended us to other disabled people which has helped to expand our customer base.”

Although some small businesses are taking steps to make adjustments, too many businesses are still not making themselves accessible to disabled people. No matter what size your business is, it is important to provide a service that is accessible to a disabled person or consider an alternative way of providing an equivalent service, such as home deliveries.

Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People, said, “Many small businesses have already woken up to the economic and ethical arguments in making themselves accessible to disabled staff, customers, their families and friends. I urge all businesses to think about what they can do to open up to disabled people, and make sure they are not inadvertently excluding a world of potential customers.”

To find out how you can open up to disabled customers and staff why not visit http://www.www.dwp.gov.uk/dda. Here you will find examples of the different adjustments other small businesses have made as well as practical tips and advice you might want to consider for your own business.

NetRegs

http://www.netregs.gov.uk

NetRegs is a free website designed to help small businesses navigate the environmental legislation governing their activities. Set up by the UK's three environmental regulators, the site is easy-to-use and all visitors remain anonymous - there is no need to register.

Retail Trust

http://www.retailtrust.org.uk

Retail Trust is the national charity for the retail industry. Its purpose is to provide support and assistance to those working in, or retired from, the retail industry when they or their families need it.

Retail Trust provides a Confidential Helpline (0845 766 0113), open 7 days a week, offering advice and information on virtually any issue or problem – work related or personal – and access to free counselling, free legal helpline, and financial assistance when unforeseen circumstances make life difficult. The Retail Trust Education Programme offers bursaries and scholarships from NVQ to MBA, to enable people of all ages to achieve their potential in their retail careers. Retail Trust also provides affordable retirement housing on its estates in London, Derby, Salford, Liverpool and Glasgow.

Retail Trust works closely with the retail industry and relies on its support through individual donations, bequests, fundraising events, corporate support and employee involvement to sustain and develop its charitable activities to reach those most in need of its services.

Retailers Against Crime in Scotland (RACS)

http://www.sbcc.org.uk

Retailers Against Crime in Scotland (RACS) exists to ensure partnership working to protect Scotland's retail industry from crime. It maintains a database of known, professional and persistent thieves and circulates relevant information to retail members of RACS with a view to detecting and deterring these criminals in the future. For further information please contact Maxine Fraser, maxine.fraser@sbcc.org.uk

Scottish Business Crime Centre

http://www.sbcc.org.uk

The SBCC was created under the Business Crime Reduction Strategy for Scotland. A partnership between the police, Scottish Executive and Scottish business. The main function of the centre is to provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on how to develop business crime reduction and prevention strategies.

Click here to download 'Making City Centres Safer' (PDF file).

Waste Aware Business

http://www.wasteawarebusiness.com

Any business based in Scotland can use the Waste Aware Business website and Business Recycling Directory to access information about local and national recycling and reuse services from a range of service providers.