The death or long-term illness of a key person in any small or medium-sized enterprise is likely to have a serious impact, even if it’s only short term. Any amount of time without a key player can have a considerable impact on the profitability of the business. Most SMEs have at least one person whose loss would cause significant disruption to the business and may even contribute to the business’s collapse. Here’s how losing a key employee could affect your...

Tim Farron has admitted that he lied to the public during the 2017 general election campaign, when he was asked if he believed gay sex was sinful. His answer to the question was “we are all sinners” to avoid his real feelings on the issue. Now Mr Farron has admitted to a Christian radio station that he felt pressured into dodging the question He told the radio show: "The bottom line is of course I did. And there are things...

A disgraced police officer caught with indecent images of children "of the worst kind" has AVOIDED jail - after a judge told him he was "impressed" with his guilty plea. James Duffield, 34, downloaded hundreds of pictures of children as young as four-years-old being abused while working for West Midlands Police. A court heard how officers raided his home after an intelligence-led operation and recovered two laptops containing sick images and movies in August last year. The dad-of-two previously admitted...

A 43-year-old creep who blew kisses at a schoolgirl before following her home has been jailed for stalking - in what police believe is a legal first. Bahram Hekmat pulled up at the bus stop where the 13-year-old was waiting to get home from school, and beckoned for her to get in his car. The terrified girl boarded a 279 bus in Enfield, north London, but Hekmat followed the bus and parked when it stopped. Hekmat continued blowing kisses at...

A rider with a hunt caught on camera whipping a protester with her crop SEVENTEEN TIMES could face a private prosecution after police said she wouldn't be charged. Shocking footage of the incident went viral in November after it appeared to show the rider whipping the saboteur who had grabbed her horse's reins. Cries of 'Let go!' and 'Get off the horse!' can be heard, while others shouted for the woman to stop using her mount 'as a weapon' in...

In an opposition day motion on the NHS crisis, the shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth praised the hard work of NHS staff in the House of Commons and pressed the Health Secretary on “a winter crisis even worse than last year." MPs from around the country told horrifying tales of cancelled operations, hospital closures, staff shortages and failures for patient outcomes. Jonathan Ashworth told how In a hospital ward in Pinderfields Hospital, west Yorkshire, patients were left lying on the...

A successful flexible working policy can be enormously beneficial for your company, whether your business is large or small. Effective workforce planning will help you achieve cost savings and productivity improvements, ensure adequate out-of-hours coverage and boost staff morale. Done properly, it’s a a win/win situation for your business. If you’ve decided to employ a flexible worker, here are 7 steps you should take to introduce the new member of staff into your company. Clarity from Day One No doubt,...

By Joey Tyson It’s just finished lashing it down and a fantastic pink sunset is beginning to seep across the sky above Hampstead Heath. As I traipse soggily through the park, a series of bizarre blips and beeps suddenly erupts into the damp air. Forgetting about my wet feet for moment, I focus on the strange sound. The tempo gathers pace, and the beeps start to get faster and louder. The noise swirls into a curiously rhythmic beat, building into a...

Parts of the Sahara desert were covered in up to 16 inches of snow as they got hit by a rare snowstorm. It's the third time in 40 years that Ain Sefra, known as “The Gateway to the Desert”, has seen snowfall. In 1979, a snowstorm lasting half an hour stopped traffic. Two years ago, snow settled for around a day, and the town saw snowfall again last year. See the footage in full below: Rare snowstorm blankets parts of the Sahara...