The attached pdf was sent to the Prime Minister on Friday and further copies sent to BEIS and the Chancellor.

A Word document version is also attached for you to amend accordingly and send to your local MP. Many of you who used the last letter got immediate responses supporting our position – let’s keep the momentum going!

If there are other points that you feel we should be requesting on behalf of our industry, please do let me know via adam@ceda.co.uk

We will keep you updated on developments.

Click here to download a copy of the letter.

Click here to download a copy of the editable Word document.

We are launching a series of Health & Safety Webinars over the coming weeks to continue the Learning, Education and Development of you and your staff at this time.

The topics listed below will take the form of a one hour, live and interactive webinar with Health & Safety Consultant Tim Knowles – all free of charge to ceda Members and Partners.

Tim has presented at ceda Conferences in the past and has worked with a number of companies in our sector.

Please contact the ceda office indicating in the subject line which topic you would like to participate in, then we will arrange accordingly and send out invitations to you.

Please share with your teams, even if furloughed, so that we can maximise uptake.

Up-coming Health & Safety Webinar topics:

• Health and Safety Law in Court – Trends In Regulation
• Practical Risk Mitigation in Catering Facilities Design
• Accident Reporting – What NOT to do
• Work at Height – Common Mistakes
• Vibration and Noise – The Basics
• Risk Assessment – The Basics
• Asbestos – A Retail Experience
• Fire Considerations In Design
• Safety Culture – How to create and maintain one
• Young People in the Workplace
• Accident Investigation – Legal Privilege
• CDM and how it affects you

Thursday 23rd April should have been Day 1 of the ceda Conference 2020, but fear not, we’ll still be providing some industry fun with the ceda Quarantine Quiz!

Hosted via Zoom by Peter Callaghan of CHR Equipment LTD, the quiz is general knowledge, not ceda related and just a bit of fun.

It’s a chance for ceda Members, Associates and Partners, and others in the industry to socialise virtually even if we can’t be together at the Conference. Extra points for black-tie but not essential!

Quiz starts at 8pm.

Email peter@chrequipment.co.uk for more info or to be added to the Zoom meeting.

We are in the process of putting together a Partners and Associates Webinar schedule for ceda Members to access and participate in.

The topics are both generic and industry specific and we are hoping to offer a variety of sessions from as many different ceda Partners and Associates as possible. Typically, this can be a 30-60 minute sales or technical training piece or a session about the business and how they are currently operating.

So far we have:

• Thurs 23rd April, 10am: Hobart UK – an overview of the current Cooking, Warewashing and Food Preparation Equipment, plus Service support available
• Weds 29th April, 10am: Liebherr – Food Service, Wine Cabinets, Food Retail & Lab Refrigeration
• Thurs 30th April, 10am: Ramco – Compliant Disposal & Reuse Equipment Service

ceda Members who would like to participate should contact the ceda office and we will issue invitations.

Remember, even members of staff who have been furloughed can take part in learning, education and development activities, so do share this email with your teams.

If you have any questions, or require any further information, do not hesitate to contact us.

We will be announcing details of new Webinars each week.

In an exclusive video interview with Clare Nicholls at Catering Insight, ceda’s Director General Adam Mason discusses how the cross-sector working group also encompassing FEA, Cedabond and ENSE is fighting the UK catering equipment industry’s corner in the face of the coronavirus crisis…

A number of Members have suggested that they would like the opportunity to talk with other Members on a hosted video call to discuss the challenges that they are currently experiencing, the actions that they have taken and how they see the future. We have piloted a couple of video calls and they have proven to be very valuable to those that have taken part.

We have therefore launched Members Connected, a series of video calls which bringing together ceda Members to share experiences, current operations and future thoughts.

The following events have been scheduled with more to follow:

• Tues 21st April, 10am
• Weds 22nd April, 10am

If you would like to be involved and participate in these video calls please contact the ceda office and we will distribute a schedule to you.

Please note, even members of staff who have been furloughed can take part in these learning, education and development activities, so do share this email with your teams.

Update on how we’re supporting the Foodservice Equipment Industry

Please see below some updated details that you may find useful at this time.

If you need any support further to the below then do please contact us directly.

Representation

We continue to communicate with Government Departments stating our case for the introduction of further and increased measures to support our Members and our Industry.

We have this week written and spoken to the Chancellor, Treasury and BEIS with the following requests:

• Recognise that once the hospitality industry reopens, they will need a strong supply-chain to support their re-emergence and return to growth and profitability
• In order to achieve this, we need measures that have been introduced to support the hospitality, leisure and retail sectors extended to the supply-chains – specifically a) business rates holidays for 6-12 months and b) access to cash grants rather than loans – and with immediate effect
• Those businesses with Insurance policies that include cover for ‘notifiable diseases’ should be paid out for business interruption when their businesses have been directly affected by Coronavirus C0VID-19.
• Build UK – we continue to work with Build UK to support Members who are working in the Construction Industry. We have supplied information that is included on their dedicated Coronavirus webpage that is very comprehensive. Information includes; up to date Government Guidance, support available to business, guidance on contractual issues caused by Coronavirus and an essential worker template letter amongst much more. It is a comprehensive directory of information and valuable whether you work in the construction sector or not – https://builduk.org/coronavirus/

Business Support

• We have put in place an Emergency HR Support Service which every Member can use – details have been sent in previous emails but if you require information just ask. One hour of free telephone and email support is available to ceda Members.
• We have issued a number of HR Updates, Guidance Documents and Template Policies and we will continue to develop this where appropriate – if you require anything additionally, please ask.
• We have delivered 2 x HR Support Webinars this week that have been very well received by those that have participated – we are happy to run more next week if there is demand – just let us know.
• We have produced a number of technical documents relating to the outbreak, including;
  • Guidance for Catering Operators: Commercial Dishwashers and E coli O157
  • Guidance Document No.16: Safe Rinse Temperatures in Commercial Dishwashers
  • Guidance Document No.27: Chemical Disinfection
  • Guidance Document No. 30 – Decommissioning a Commercial Kitchen

Again, if there are other areas we could focus on to support you, let us know.

People

We recognise that our engagement with people will be important in the coming days and weeks and as such, that will be an area of focus for us.

• We will be launching a series of webinars to include past Conference speakers and other third parties delivering online business presentations and sessions with ceda Members and Partners
• We have written to ceda Partners to see who would like to host sales/service/technical videos on their equipment – we are collating this and will send out details next week
• We have a Members Only LinkedIn Group – if you would like to be added, please ask
• There is an Industry WhatsApp Group that has been set up by a ceda Member that we are happy to promote and be a part of – again if you would like to be involved just ask
• We will launch ‘Members Connected’ Video calls which will allow Members to talk to each other about their own experiences, thoughts, views and hep support each other through this time.

As none of the above is within the realms of anyone’s normal working life and is not compulsory, you will be able to extend an invitation to furloughed workers to participate should they wish.

We are working hard to be a positive force, a community and provide information, support and guidance. If you need anything more from us, please ask and if we can deliver it then we will.

HR Support Webinars

To support Members during the COVID-19 crisis, we are running a series of HR Support Webinars, with the following timings available.

These will cover an overview presentation followed by questions and answers.

If you would like to participate, please contact the ceda office ASAP as numbers will be limited to 6 per session:

• 1st April – 10am-11am and 3pm-4pm
• 3rd April – 10am-11am and 3pm-4pm

If necessary, we will announce further dates for further sessions next week.