KEEPING PACE WITH NEW LEGISLATION
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O’Brien gleans much of the information she needs about forthcoming legislation from the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and by attending meetings.
“I go to any breakfast meeting that’s going if it will tell me something I need to know about or brush up on. You can always learn something from them.” One such meeting she attended at the beginning of this year was about the Agency Workers Regulations that come into force next month (October). Although they will entitle temporary staff to the same basic terms and conditions as those directly employed by haulage companies, she questions how many operators actually know about them. “Suddenly they will find it does actually apply to them,” she explains.
O’Brien says attending such meetings is also beneficial because it helps build up a network of contacts who can provide help with compliance issues.
As a newly appointed board member of the RHA, she is keen to highlight the benefits it offers as a source of legal information.
“If you don’t have people who can advise you on specific issues such as HR [human resources] and health and safety, you can use them instead. And if they don’t know the answer, they will know a man who does.”