GDPR: OK or OMG?

If any industry has good reason to heed the onset of the new GDPR legislation, it is one with a reputation for cold-calling such as home improvements, and especially windows. So will the May deadline bring about seismic changes – or will it just give the law-breakers a new law to break?

There is no doubt that many of the smaller offenders are already trying to sneak under the radar of the TPS rules and are simply seeing court fines as another line in the ‘Expenditure’ column, so it remains to be seen how much difference a bigger threat will make.

The other side of the coin is that there are still some major players depending on cold-calling for a slice of their lead generation and it is perhaps here that any new legislation may hurt the most. Either way, the underlying message is clear: the proposed legislation is something that will affect almost every business in some way so every business would be wise to get up to speed with it.

Speaking of cold-calling and heavy fines, we also hear of a company that deserves some recognition for persistence if nothing else. Read Story

We hope you enjoy this week’s issue.

Chris Church Editor

Please send all your news stories to news@the-glazine.com

This Week's News

Commercial glazing hit by slow construction market

The impact of a sluggish year for construction on the commercial glazing sector is reflected in the latest AMA report that shows and estimated marginal growth in 2017, following good growth in 2015-6, with a forecasted flattening this year and next followed by ‘modest’ growth of 2-3% through to 2021.

The report adds that the level of demand for ground floor treatments has also been affected by structural changes in the retail sector towards online shopping and ‘click and collect’ services, while the trend for the grocery multiples to build ‘express’ type outlets has also affected the average value of contracts.

Jane Tarver of AMA Research said: “Commercial glazing suppliers will continue to derive gains from RMI particularly in those sectors showing lower annual growth in new construction work, such as education and healthcare.

Read More Here...

Cold-call window firm
fined – again

A window company that had already been fined £50,000 for making nuisance calls and was the subject of a TV investigation for going on doing the same a year later has now been prosecuted in a criminal court for continuing to break the law.

Direct Choice Home Improvements Limited had been given a £50,000 civil monetary penalty by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in March 2016. It was also issued with a formal Enforcement Notice, requiring it to cease contacting people registered with the Telephone Preference Service.

However, the ICO continued to receive complaints and reports about unsolicited marketing calls from the firm, and Direct Choice has now been prosecuted under the ICO’s criminal enforcement powers for breaching the notice.

Read More Here...

Who’s ready for GDPR?

Over 90% of small firms are still not fully ready for GDPR 2018, according the research published this week by the Federation of Small Businesses at the launch of its ‘BeDataReady’ awareness campaign, running until the 25 May deadline for the new legislation with its expected impact on cold-calling.

A third of small businesses have not even started preparing for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation while even more (35%) are only in the early stages of preparations. Only eight per cent of small businesses have completed their preparations.

The survey discovered that in construction, 37% have not yet started preparations, 43% have started but not completed and only just have completed preparations.

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Levy system blamed
for falling apprenticeships

Apprenticeship starts decreased by a more than third in November 2017 against November 2016, which the Federation of Master Builders says highlights the need to reform the apprenticeship levy system.

Reacting to the Department for Education’s apprenticeship and levy statistics for the month, published this week, FMB chief executive Brian Berry said: “The disappointing results show a 35% drop in apprenticeship starts in November 2017.”

“Unfortunately, this is not altogether surprising given the intrinsic flaws in how the apprenticeship levy works. The lack of flexibility in the value of vouchers which large employers are able to pass down the supply chain to smaller subcontractors who work for them is a key issue.

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Frost signals further acquisitions ahead of Glazing Summit

Roy Frost, head of the GJB Holdings Group, has again signaled plans for further acquisitions along with the announcement that he is to speak on the topic of mergers and acquisitions at the forthcoming Glazing Summit, in Birmingham in May.

Essex-based fabricator GJB Window Systems was Roy’s first acquisition, taking over from retiring long-time owner Ken Blackman. Soon after, an opportunity arose to purchase prominent Stoke-based fabricator Listers Central.

Read More Here...

We Have Email

From: Matthew Mahony,
Policy and Communications Executive,
British Woodworking Federation

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is coming in on May 25th and this will have major implications for most joinery businesses on the way they manage their data. In the BWF’s new ‘Countdown to the GDPR’ guide, we have provided specific guidance on what the new rules will mean.

The guide features FAQs and a GDPR compliance checklist and will help woodworking businesses manage the data they keep on their customers and employees as well as understand the measures they will need to put in place to comply.

Read More