Page 241 — British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF)

OCADO LOGISTICS PUTS 100% SOLAR POWERED REFRIGERATED UNITS ON THE ROAD

Posted on March 8, 2023 by

In a recent development to its long standing relationship with Marshall Fleet Solutions, Ocado Logistics has now added the Titan system to its refrigerated trailer fleet as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint within its business operations.

In a double first and already on the roads providing the logistics solution for the world’s largest online supermarket, the Titan system from Marshall Fleet Solutions, is fitted to a 4.98m high double deck trailer, combined with an Advancer A400 refrigeration unit. Titan uses power produced from lightweight, high powered solar panels and stores the electrical energy in long life lightweight lithium batteries to provide powered to the refrigeration unit.

“As part of our Ocado’s commitment to sustainability we have a goal to bring our operations to net zero by 2035” says Graham Thomas, Fleet Operations Manager – Truck. “With a fleet including 300 trailers of which 245 are temperature controlled, for some time we have been looking towards alternative solutions to power trailer fridges, at one point looking at developing our own solution. On learning of Titan and the success of other customer trials, it seemed like a viable add on solution, supplied and supported by a known partner.”

The relationship between Ocado and Marshall Fleet Solutions dates back to the early 2000s when Ocado were a fledgling start up, initially primarily as a refrigeration equipment supplier. However in 2017 Ocado switched the repair and maintenance of its entire Thermo King refrigeration fleet to Marshall Fleet Solutions. This latest addition of Titan systems to the fleet, cements the strong and growing relationship between the two companies.

Available exclusively from Marshall Fleet Solutions, the Titan system’s independent and autonomous design is capable of providing 100% free power to all makes of on-board refrigeration unit, tail lifts and other vehicle mounted electrically powered applications on all vehicles sizes from LCVs, small trucks, to HCVs, both single temp and multi-temp. Available for both new vehicles as well as for retrofitting to existing vehicles, Titan has the ability to convert fleets to reach zero carbon goals overnight.

Graham continues, “Because of the nature of our trunking operation and the temperature regimes we use, there is in theory no reason why diesel can’t be eliminated completely and Titan has the potential to be a key contributor to this goal. In preparation we’re building all our future trailers to be capable of taking Titan as a retrofit.”

“It’s so pleasing to see how the partnership between our two companies is continuing to grow and to see Ocado take a leading position by incorporating Titan into its double deck fleet this year,” said Mark Howell, Managing Director, Marshall Fleet Solutions. “The successful use of solar powered refrigerated trailers within the Ocado operation will have a significantly positive impact towards delivering their sustainability goals and we are delighted to be part of their journey to Net Zero.”

Further information about the Titan system from Marshall Fleet Solutions can be obtained by contacting the MFS Renewables team on renewables@marshallfleet.co.uk or by viewing the MFS website www.marshallfleetsolutions.co.uk

BRAKES LAUNCHES NEW LIVERY TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Posted on March 8, 2023 by clare.twiss@brake.co.uk

Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesaler, has launched a new vehicle livery to encourage women to consider a career in wholesale.

The vehicle, which is designed in purple, the colour of International Women’s Day, features three women in various wholesale roles and will go into service on the 8^th March, when International Women’s Day is celebrated across the globe.

Margaret Gooch, HR Director for Sysco in Great Britain, said: “Within Sysco, we aspire to create a culture that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. We want to encourage people to apply to the company without restriction and ensure that we do what we can to remove systemic barriers and biases so that outcomes are based only on an individual’s talents, gifts and work.

“Women are under-represented in wholesale and we saw International Women’s Day as the perfect opportunity to get our latest vehicle on the road, emblazoned with photographs of women in a range of roles across the business.”

The new lorry will initially be based on Brakes’ Warrington depot, before embarking on a tour of Brakes depots, a moving billboard of some of the opportunities on offer to everyone.

Aicha Lahsen, who will be the first to take control of the new vehicle when it goes into service, said: “I love my career as a driver at Brakes, so it’ll be nice to encourage other women to follow in my footsteps. While it’s still unusual to see a woman driving a HGV, with the support of companies like Brakes, it won’t be long before we see more women behind the wheel.”

The launch of the new vehicle, which was led by Clare Lowrie, Senior Learning & Development Partner at Sysco in Great Britain, is part of the ongoing activities by IMPACT (which stands for Influence, Mentor, Potential, Achieve, Collaborate, Transform), which is the Sysco in GB female-focused colleague resource group. The group was founded in 2019 with a mandate to create safe spaces for women to share their stories, support each other and improve female colleague experiences, inspiring them to reach their goals and be advocates in driving balance for better.

Nearly all Senior Managers Say Stress is a Characteristic of their Job

Posted on March 7, 2023November 7, 2025 by Sarah Collison

The cost-of-living crisis is the top cause of stress at work for people working in leadership and senior management roles, according to the findings of a new survey.

Around 98% of the 265 leaders and senior managers polled found at least one aspect of their work stressful, while two-fifths (83%) are affected by three or more work-related stressors (the average, per person, is eight). Yet, despite the obvious stress their work causes them, just 4% claim not to like their jobs.

Their biggest concerns, the things currently causing them the most stress and anxiety in their jobs, were identified as:

The cost-of-living crisis (30%).
High inflation and rising prices (29%).
Exhaustion or burnout (22%).

Other major stress triggers, for one in five (20%) survey respondents, include coping with the economic downturn and threat of recession, their workload and to-do lists, and unfinished work tasks.

Around one in six also reported being worried by:

Employee retention and staff turnover issues (17%).
Rising interest rates (17%).
Business viability and profitability concerns (16%).
Ongoing wage inflation (16%).

The survey also claims that nearly one in two (47%) leaders and senior managers have felt stressed or anxious about their impending workweek due to the intensity of some people’s feelings of anticipatory anxiety or dread before the start of a new week. Of those 47%, nearly a third (29%) have experienced this multiple times over the past year.

To view the survey in full, visit here.

Workplace Insight
March 2023

UK Workers Believe Air Quality has a Direct Impact on Wellbeing

Posted on March 7, 2023November 7, 2025 by Sarah Collison

The majority of respondents (94%) to a survey of UK workers agreed that the quality of the air they breathe has a direct impact on their health and wellbeing, according to a report.

The authors polled 2,500 workers in buildings of 500-plus workers in Germany, India, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of surveyed UK office workers are extremely or very worried about their office’s indoor air quality (IAQ), a 14% increase (21%) the previous years’ study.

Additionally, eight in 10 respondents (82%) say their expectations for improved IAQ have increased in the past three years. Even more, 16% of respondents don’t know how often, if at all, their employer or office building manager monitors their office building’s current IAQ, compared with 7% of global respondents. This leaves room for employers to improve both workplace IAQ and communication of IAQ metrics to their employees.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents want their employer to prioritise both better indoor air quality (IAQ) in their building as well as reducing their building’s carbon footprint. The findings suggest that office employees are becoming increasingly aware of their work environment and its effect on their overall wellbeing and productivity, and the environmental impact of the building itself.

The UK was aligned with the other four surveyed regions when respondents were asked what they would be willing to give up if it meant reinvesting costs to help reduce the environmental impact of their building.

Most UK respondents were willing to give up at least one job perk or benefit (80%), with the most notable items being:

Building amenities, like lounges or fitness centre (36%).
Food perks for employees, like coffee, tea, or snacks (33%).
Less temperature control like running the heat or using AC less (30%).
State-of-the-art technology for my day-to-day job (21%).
Part of their salary or bonus (14%).

2023 Healthy Building Occupant Survey Report (honeywell.com)

GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES WINDSOR FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS NORTHERN IRELAND PROTOCOL

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

27^th February saw the unveiling of The Windsor Framework, hailed as the answer to the problems surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Agreed by the Prime Minister – The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, and European Commission President – Ursula von der Leyen, the Framework replaces the old Northern Ireland Protocol, effectively rewriting the treaty to fix the practical problems for the people and businesses of Northern Ireland whilst protecting Northern Ireland’s place within the Union and restoring the balance of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.

To give businesses and individuals time to prepare, the implementation of the agreement will be phased in, with some of the new arrangements being introduced later this year and the remainder in 2024. In the meantime, the current temporary standstill arrangements will continue to apply.

The Windsor Framework legal text and command paper can be found here along with a set of explainers here. But for ease, please find a summary of the key points below:

A simplified version of the Trusted Trader Scheme, the ‘UK Internal Market Scheme’, will allow goods destined for the NI market to flow freely through a ‘green lane’, without red tape or unnecessary checks.
Goods from the Rest Of the World will also be allowed to pass through the green lane provided they are produced to UK/EU standards, meet UK public health standards, and pose no disease risk.
All goods destined for the EU will use the ‘red lane’.
Existing businesses who are already part of the Trusted Trader Scheme will be enrolled automatically.
Businesses do not need premises in NI to join the scheme.
The Scheme for Temporary Agri-food Movements to Northern Ireland (STAMNI) will continue until a new Retail scheme for the green lane is introduced in October 2023.
Membership of the UK Internal Market Scheme will be broader than STAMNI encompassing a range of businesses for example wholesalers, caterers, hospitality, public sector food providers.
Membership will be dynamic, meaning businesses can join and leave as supply chains develop and evolve over time.
All paperwork accompanying the consignment will be reduced to a single manifest.
The manifest will not need to be signed by a vet and there will be no requirements for certification of food (as when exporting to EU) or supporting paperwork for composite products.
Checks on movements will be significantly reduced and any physical checks will be risk based and intelligence led.
Commercial data will be shared with Government authorities before arrival in NI.
All products sold on the UK market will be allowed to be sold in NI. Note: this removes the problem of EU ban on imports of meat preparations.
Product regulations for food (and non-food) will follow UK standards in terms of public health and safety. For food, that covers all food production, organics, marketing, labelling, genetic modification, wines, spirits, and mineral water.
NI will follow EU animal and plant health regulations, but there will only be a need for checks at the border where the Government approach to tackling disease differs from the EU.
New labelling requirements for some higher risk foods will be introduced using a phased approach (October 2023 all fresh meat and dairy products, October 2024 all remaining dairy products, July 2025 composite products, fruit, vegetables, and fish). But as these are phased in, physical checks on vehicles will be significantly cut down to 5%.
As labelling changes will be UK wide, Government will need to agree the form of labelling with Scottish and Welsh Governments
The phasing period for any labelling changes will be two and half years, allowing industry time to make required changes.
Customs changes will be implemented from October 2024.

Government departments will be busy ironing out the detail of the new Framework over the coming months but have promised to work with us to ensure the new processes are understood. We will bring you regular updates as that work progresses, but in the meantime, please check our website and newsletters regularly to keep abreast of the developments.

Right to work updates for employers – all you need to know

Posted on March 3, 2023January 12, 2026 by Nicola Parkinson

The Home Office has recently published updates to right to work checks effective from 28 February 2023 for businesses and employers. We urge employers to review and update their HR and People teams on the updated Employer’s guide to right to work checks available at Gov.UK

Summary of changes

The most significant of the changes reiterates the end of the COVID-19 temporary adjusted checks on 30 September 2022. This means employer recruiting staff from 1 October 2022 must carry out one of the prescribed checks before employment commences;

a manual right to work check in the presence of the employee (for all); or
a right to work check using a IDVT via the service of a certified IDSP (for British and Irish citizens); or
a Home Office online right to work check where possible.

Further updates give clarification for employers on the use of Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) and Identity Service Providers (IDSPs) to support manual document based and Home Office online checking service right to work checks.

The updated guidance gives some useful information relating to short dated Biometric Residence Permit cards with an expiry date of 31 December 2024 where the holder has permission to stay in the UK that ends after that date, as well as information on sponsored work and student categories.

In addition there are changes to enable some individuals with an outstanding (in-time) application for permission to stay in the UK, an appeal, or administrative review to prove their right to work using the Home Office online checking service.

What do employers need to know?

There is still some uncertainty for businesses when conducting right to work check so the recent Home Office updates seek to give employers some clarity for the future. Employers need to make note that remote checks are no longer acceptable from 1 October 2022 and must ensure all checks are valid and maintained. For now it is not mandatory for employers to use a certified IDSP for checks on British and Irish employees, however it is imperative that manual checks are still being completed in line with the Home Office guidance, in person.

How can we help?

Our immigration experts are on hand to support employers with the required pre-employment checks to comply with the latest UK immigration and EU legislation

If you would like to discuss the recent updates or take advantage of our right to work training for HR and recruiting staff contact Calum Hanrahan.

Overseas / Immigration

Contact: Calum Hanrahan calum.hanrahan@shma.co.uk

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