CPA Bulletin

36 CPA Bulletin > August 2023 www.cpa.uk.net LEGAL: 2 Abnormal Loads Central Motorway Patrol Group (CMPG) have produced some guidance notes regarding the notification and escorting of abnormal loads. The information can be found on the CPA’s website at www.cpa.uk.net/legal-insurance-plant-theft/ legal/transport. From a note taken from the presentation: In accordance with an agreement by the haulage industry, National Highways and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), routine escorting of abnormal loads authorised by The Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003 (STGO) will not be carried out by West Midlands and Staffordshire Police, but in most cases organised by the operators themselves. West Midlands and Staffordshire Police will not escort abnormal loads which are up to 4.1 metres wide, except where no alternative arrangement can be provided to adequately ensure public safety. However, there is reference that vehicles which are in excess of 4.3m wide/30m length/130 tonnes that are travelling along a motorway will require a police escort; as will those in excess of 4.1m wide/26m length/100 tonnes for other vehicles using that network. After speaking with the officer concerned at CMPG, of the 11,000 notifications that area had received for the first half of the year, only 39 needed a police escort. At the time of writing, only one member has been affected by this; however, the CPA will continue to monitor the situation. Change of Right to Request Flexible Working The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill is expected to become law in early 2024. The legislation will allow employees the right to request flexible working from day 1 of their employment. The current position is that an employee must wait until they have been with the organisation for 26 weeks before applying once in every 12-month window. The new Bill will allow an employee to make two request per 12-month window, and that the employer must respond back to the employee will reduce from within three months to within two months. However, the employer can still reject the employee’s flexible request for any of the following reasons: • Extra costs that will damage the company. • The work cannot be reorganised amongst the employee’s colleagues. • People cannot be recruited to do the work. • Flexible working will affect quality and performance. • The company will not be able to meet customer demand. • There is a lack of work to do during the proposed working times. • The company is planning changes to the workforce. The membership will be informed of any developments when they occur. Rail Plant Association (RPA) Terms and Conditions At the request of the Rail Plant Association (RPA), a set of terms and conditions were drafted to reflect the needs of members whose services included supplying plant to their customer, as well as carrying out work on behalf of the customer under the on-track Plant Operations Scheme (POS). At the time of writing, the draft terms were circulated to RPA members for their consideration, and a meeting was held on 4th July for comment. The feedback received so far on the new terms has been very positive. HMRC Increases Interest Rates for Late Payments As the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee announced on 22nd June 2023 that the bank base rate would increase from 4.5% to 5%, HMRC’s interest rates are linked to those same rate increases for late payment charges, and where applicable, for any repayments back to the company/individual. These changes came into effect from 3rd July 2023 for quarterly instalment payments, and on 11th July 2023 for non-quarterly instalments payments. For further information on this, either visit the HMRC website, or speak to your accountant.