This newsletter is distributed to anyone selling in a Slivers-Of-Time
marketplace. Also, to those waiting for a market to start in their area who have registered at www.sliversoftime.com
It will keep you posted on developments in this exciting new way of working. |
 |
IN THIS ISSUE |
| |
-
WAITING FOR SLIVERS: LIVING WITH FATIGUE
-
SLIVERS FUTURES: FH AT H&F
-
TIP: BUYER MAKE AWARE
-
CASE STUDY: WHERE WAS SLIVERS WHEN I NEEDED IT? | |
|
| |
 |
WAITING FOR SLIVERS: |
| |
Living with Fatigue |
| |
|
|
|
Erika: overcoming fatigue |
“I remember the exact hour everything changed for me” says Slivers-of-Time seller Erika Trueman. “I was out on a walk in 1994 and I was suddenly hit by overwhelming exhaustion.” Erika was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a disease of the central nervous system. Her job as office manager in a medical oncology department had to go. “The condition hits your physical abilities and your ability to think as well” she explains.
Keen to find activities for her life, Erika, who lives in Leeds, became a volunteer and 5 years ago looked for part time employment. A conventional part time job, as receptionist at a health centre, only lasted two weeks. “I was having to deal with patients, the phones, the paperwork all at the same time” she recalls.
Now, Erika [Bookings: 8, Hours Sold: 114, Buyers: 1] has a new solution. “Slivers is perfect for me” she says. “My benefits advisor told me I can work up to 13.5 hours a week. I’ve been doing data entry for a Housing Association. They let me do the work in short bursts, so long as I make up the hours. It’s simple work and I’m happy doing it.” And Erika’s long term plans? “I’m 58, I don’t think I am going to have a normal job again. But I’m happy to be working Slivers-of-Time as part of the Permitted Work scheme”.
|
| | |
|
| |
|
SLIVERS FUTURES: |
| |
FH at H&F |
| |
|
|
|
Council Leader: explaining Slivers
|
It was Full House on April 1st at Hammersmith Town Hall. London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham had set up a breakfast meeting for local employers to unveil their Slivers marketplace. The council had kickstarted a local market by committing some of their expenditure on contingent labour to Slivers sellers. That’s allowed a first group of sellers to prove themselves and build a track record. Other employers can now come in and expand the market.
West London hoteliers, caterers, NHS managers, Housing Associations, retailers, small businesses and charities turned up. They saw a panel of three H&F Slivers sellers explaining why they needed to work in this new way. And they heard the Council’s Leader explain why a commitment to being the “Borough of Opportunity” meant they needed tools like Slivers to reach out to less well off people in what is, overall, a rather prosperous part of the world.
Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh also itemized how the council is committed to cutting costs, and the way Slivers may help. Managers are turning to Slivers when they need catering workers, ad hoc cleaning, office workers and child transport supervisors (who must be Criminal Record Bureau checked). Odd idea to cut costs and spread local employment? But that’s what Slivers can do.
|
| | |
|
| |
|
TIP: |
| |
Buyer Make Aware |
| |
|
|
|
Cartoon by Shamima Aktar Koli, Slivers-of-Time seller
[Bookings: 86, Hours Sold: 313, Buyers: 4] |
Buying the time of local people in a Slivers-of-Time market? Sell yourself. Click the “About Us” tab. You can upload a photo and some text that will be shown to all the sellers you book. |
| | |
|
| |
|
CASE STUDY: |
| |
Where was Slivers when I needed it? |
|
|
“ When I was a student, I worked 7 days a week behind a bar, even during my exams” says Lisa Bellis of U&Me Recruitment in Liverpool. “ So when I was appointed to spread Slivers through Merseyside, I immediately saw the point. I wish I’d had something like Slivers when I was studying”. When Lisa applied for a recruitment consultant job at Social Enterprise U&Me she was asked if she could cope with educating local businesses about the value of people who needed “ bits of work”. “ I thought it was really exciting” says Lisa, 34. “ I’d worked in sales for an event management company and a manufacturing consultancy, but never handled anything completely new”. Lisa saw the value of Slivers for students immediately but was surprised at the scale of the need elsewhere. “ It’s been an eye opener, I get people on the phone all the time who have just heard about Slivers and want to see how they can start doing it.” On the buyer side, Lisa works with household name companies but it’s the small businesses who give her the greatest pleasure. “ You know that being able to hire someone for a couple of hours when orders come in can make a huge difference to their prospects”.
|
| | | |
|
MAY 2008
Published on the last Friday of the month |
|
|
Slivers-of-Time Working: the basics
Marketplaces for Slivers-of-Time are for:
who wants to work around other things in their life, such as:
-childcare
-studying
-part-time work
-caring for adult
-medical commitments
- Organisations who need top-up workers at short notice, for short periods:
-councils
-caterers
-retailers
-logistics supplier
Benefits:
- Sellers: do whatever odd hours of work they want and quickly build skills, experience and a track record they can print at any time.
- Buyers: access a self-selecting pool of local people who choose to work in a way that demands flexibility and rewards reliability.
Signing up:
Anyone who wants to know when a market-place is starting in their area should enter their details at:
www.sliversoftime.com
| |
