News

The Welsh Government is running a campaign to raise public awareness the harms associated with illicit tobacco and the criminality that it brings into local communities.

The campaign aims to increase the health and wellbeing of the population in Wales by:

The Covid-19 Sick Pay Rebate Scheme is closing today (24^th March). From tomorrow, retailers will no longer be able to claim back costs for sick pay issued due to Covid-19 between 21^st December and 17^th March.  

Normal sick pay rules will apply for Covid-19 and other absences. This also means sick pay will no longer paid from the first day of absence. To be eligible for sick pay, colleagues must have been off work for at least 4 days in a row, including any usual non-working days.

The Association of Convenience Stores and the Federation of Wholesale Distributors are relaunching the Standards & Dignity Charter, which has been updated as we emerge on the other side of the pandemic with face-to-face working and events ramping up. 

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has reacted to the 2022 Spring Statement, highlighting the significant cost increases facing retailers in the year ahead despite measures announced to support businesses.

Book your place at ACS’ biggest annual conference, taking place at the Vox in Birmingham on 26th April.

This year’s conference will explore how convenience stores are separating themselves from the competition right now and look ahead to the future at what the sector could look like in 2030.

Confirmed speakers include:

ACS has today launched new guidance for delivery drivers on how to approach the delivery and refusal of age restricted products like alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes and lottery products.

The guidance, which has been designed as a quick reference guide for drivers to view on their mobile devices, details the steps that delivery drivers should go through to ensure that they are only delivering to customers that are 18 and over. This includes:

ACS has set out its recommendations to the Chancellor ahead of the Spring Statement later this month, calling on the Government to support local shops with rising costs and the looming reintroduction of business rates bills.

ACS has developed guidance to help retailers with the sale and supply of e-cigarettes and other vaping products.

The guide covers the regulations that govern the sale and supply of e-cigarettes, retailers’ responsibilities when selling these products, how to ensure that packaging and labelling are compliant with the regulations, and advice on how to ensure that underage sales do not take place.

Bookings are now open for ACS’ Technology Showcase, taking place as a virtual event on 10^th May.

The Technology Showcase provides a unique opportunity for retailers to find out about new technology solutions that have either been recently launched or will be launched in the future by suppliers. To book your place at the Showcase, click here.

The Cross Party Group on Small Shops has met to raise awareness across the Senedd about the extent and impact of violence and abuse faced by shopworkers.

The meeting was chaired by Vikki Howells MS and attended by a number of MSs, independent retail trade associations, trade union USDAW and independent retailers.

During the meeting, ACS government relations director Edward Woodall presented the findings of ACS’ 2022 Crime Report and talked about the #ShopKind campaign.