IoC news
Industry news of relevance to Fellows and Members
Institute of Couriers fellows with Honda CX 80's courier bike for commercial final mile delivery in the City.
Institute of Couriers President Lord Falkland was at the celebrations of the five hundredth year of the ancient guild ceremony of Cartmarking. A bumper turnout of Institute fellows, guests and IOC heads of industry talked shop and discussed the future of the transport & logistics sector in Guildhall Yard; Taylor report on modern employment, clean air LoCity, congestion and collaboration in the City of London all on the menu.
Minister for Employment, Damian Hinds, Wed Aug 16th said:
There are now 338,000 more people in work compared to this time last year.
DWP reported this week, OVER 3 MILLION MORE PEOPLE IN WORK SINCE 2010
- Employment rate at record high 75.1% with a record 32.07 million people in work.
- Unemployment down 57,000 on the quarter and is at lowest rate since 1975.
- The number of people in employment has increased by 3 million since 2010, with over 75% of the increase being in full time work.
Official figures released today show the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.4% – the lowest level since 1975.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people in work is at the highest level since records began in 1971. The record figures have been driven by increases in the number of people in secure work – over 75% of the increase in employment over the past seven years has been in full-time work.
The next step of exploding home delivery evolution began this week as Britain’s biggest grocer, Tesco, announced same-day from over 300 stores UK-wide. This brings Tesco same-day first to market, ahead of AmazonFresh.
Adrian Letts, MD of Tesco Online, said:
Customers tell us they like getting their shopping delivered quickly and conveniently, and with our same day delivery service they can now order by lunch to get their shopping delivered for their evening meal.
Tesco launched same-day in London and the South East three years ago, UK wide same-day will cover the Shetland Islands in Scotland to Cornwall, roll-out to be completed by the end of next month.
Peter Millington, standards development team at BIS DFE IOA, reported this week that the standard for the Express Manager has been published on the government web site. This is a milestone step for the next-generation managers in Express, final mile.
The new levy funding will pay the bill for candidates, (circa £25k). No University fees and the candidate will be working, paid in a job in express while learning both on the job, on the net and in the classrooms of supporting Universities.
Carl Lomas, Chairman Inst of Couriers and Chairman of Transport for Greater Manchester Urban delivery group with Lord Mandelson, Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University for the 2017 graduation.
Postgraduate research in final mile e-retail, express delivery, Lomas collected a postgrad certificate from MMU based on two academic paper drafts on final mile express that are a project with Dr David Lascelles & Prof Tony Hines of MMU.
Whistl has made a big impression on the UK mail market since it began operating thirteen years ago and has grown to a £600 million business now managing the sortation and delivery of mail and parcels in the UK and internationally. From bills to statements to advertising leaflets and brochures – one thing is for sure, the mail market is in good shape.
Carl Lomas IOC chair joined Whistl CEO Nick Wells and board members for a VIP tour of the company’s new super depot in Bolton which opened this week. The size of the giant whistle that greats you at the front door is an indication of the size and ambition for this new super depot and the role it will play in the ambitious growth plans the company has for the future.
Police drop DX investigation as CEO Petar Cvetkovic steps down and re-structure takes place.
The City of London Police have dropped their investigation into DX last week but this week DX Group reported that the net debt at the end of what the company described as an ‘exceptionally challenging year’ is expected to be £19 million, revenues are expected to be just short of 300 million for the year to June 2017. CEO Petar Cvetkovic, and finance director Daljit Basi announcement went public that they would step down from board, taking place with immediate effect. DX reported James Hayward, FCA, to become interim CFO.
National audience with TfL to TfGM Manchester,
Highways England talk national specs to include FORS.
Fleet operator recognition scheme was hosted at the Tarmac HQ in Birmingham with a Friday fish and chip lunch to finish a productive morning. IOC chair Carl Lomas was at the table to talk vans and light vehicles. It’s like a kite mark, there are no furry dice and it’s not a membership. Born in TfL, the national players such as Highways England ask you to have FORS before tendering for transport delivery.
- FORS create light vehicle van working group
- Webinars to explain FORS begin August 7th
- 17% increase in gold members
- What are the benefits of FORS beyond tendering, a positive discussion continues.
A growing number of IoC fellows have the FORS recognition for light vehicle fleets. FORS practitioner qualification is also embedded into the Apprenticeship Trailblazer degree apprenticeship.
Govt taskforce meeting the demand for skilled people in transport.
Apprenticeships in Transport taskforce at 55 Broadway with the Minister, Mike Brown & john Holland-Kaye with govt dept heads.
The Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce (STAT) The report title: Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy met in the July sunshine of Wed 12th july. A one year on showcase of the progress so far that is truly multi-modal - road, rail and air.
Who's Who turn out to face the challenge of what is employment status in the express sector of courier. The Government's Taylor Review has looked at the evolving gig economy, conventional PAYE, self-employed and then worker as a status in the grey area inbetween. Where does Express fit ?
STOP PRESS: 11:15am Tuesday 11 July 2017 - Taylor Review Published
Read the Taylor Review Final Report
Express sector's Taylor Review submission is ready for you to read. Click below to view what the sector says about worker status in Express
Read the Taylor Review Submission
Carl Lomas IoC Chair,
Our sector has mixed platforms of employment, operators often have PAYE and self-employed drivers, and some drivers work for more than one company; some drivers may even work in different status for different company. May 2nd Heads of Industry is about the views of the operators. From a recent IoC survey, the round-table and one-to-one interviews, the IoC will submit a response to the Taylor Review.
Professor Tracey Worth leads the round-table questions for the IoC
- What characteristics do you most value in your final mile drivers ?
- What do you think are the main reasons why your couriers choose their employment status ?
- How do you deal with none profitable routes in low density geographics, out of hours ? Lifestyle ?
- Why have you chosen mixed employment status for your fleet ?
- How do you deal with an unprofitable job in the wrong direction ?
- Is there favouritism in allocation of jobs in your driver fleet ?
- 84% of operators surveyed agree there should be a code of conduct: what employment characteristics would you want to see in that code of conduct ?
Read more about the Taylor Review
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