To become a Member of the TSA, please get in touch with us at tsa@tsa-uk.org or call 0203 151 5600.
Being a TSA Member brings a number of benefits, to you and to the sector as a whole. We have a number of “cash” value benefits, designed to bring immediate value to you, and many others for which is more difficult to put a financial figure on, but that are equally valuable.
These include representation, networking, lobbying, training courses, education, setting standards and guidelines, and access to supply partners.
For many of these, for the benefits to be truly felt, we need members to be involved not just with the financial support that comes from the membership fee, but also taking part to the events, working and engaging with us. We are here for our Members, but we need your help to make sure that the work we are doing reflects what you and the industry needs.
Among the immediate, cash benefits, TSA members have access to:
- Laundry Cost Index, which is available to our members online and on demand.
- Discounted Climate Change Agreement, saving you up to 90% on the Climate Change Levy on your energy bill (Applications now closed, scheme runs until 2023, but we are already working on what comes next)
- Free access to our expert consultant Croner’s 24/7 helpline, providing HR and Employment law advice, H&S support, Tax and VAT assistance, Commercial legal help. Members receive discounted rates for major requests, needing in depth ad-hoc work.
- Free credit checks on customers and suppliers, provided by First Report.
- Access to members only section of our website and regular updates from the TSA
Networking
Spring and Autumn Conferences. They bring together staff (from CEO to all level managers) from across the Membership. They are an occasion to get updates on the practical work that the TSA is doing and for us to get feedback from Members on what really helps our industry, from factory floor to lobbying Government. A way for Members to meet and hear about technical and political developments in the sector, to work together, but also to help the TSA shaping its activities for the year, to tell us where we need to focus our work. They include technical talks, updates from TSA staff and consultants, summaries of the work of our Knowledge Networks, talks from industry leaders, perspectives from the supply chain and more.
National Congress. Our flagship annual event held in the late Autumn, generally in October/November, is a celebration of the industry, with more general sessions, inspirational speakers and great networking opportunities. Often accompanied by a gala dinner and entertainments. It is generally the last event of the TSA calendar, and it is a time for the TSA to take stock of what happened in the year, celebrate the industry’s successes and look at what to expect in the year to come.
We hold a number of other ad-hoc events each year, often as a one-off following the needs of our Members.
Lobbying and representation
We meet with MPs, Civil Servants and other Associations, to further the interests of our sector and to raise awareness of its relevance and importance. We respond to relevant consultations and calls for evidence from Committees. We are also proactive in meeting with policymakers, even if we are considered a “hidden industry”, the services of our Members are vital to the economy and to the running of public services such as the NHS, and it’s important they are reminded of it.
In 2018 we have met with over 15 MPs, and spoken to Head of service in the NHS among other work, and submitted responses to government’s consultations. Recently we did focus on immigration post Brexit and proposing a visa structure that would work for the textile services sector, responded to consultations and submitted evidence to the Migration Advisory Committee, met with the NHS to discuss on site NHS laundries.
With help from our Members and through a number of consultants, we sit on several committees of the British Standard Institute and shape their work so that it works for the sector, for example on disinfection standards, risk control systems and more. This of course then applies to the whole industry, even to non members, but their voice is not represented in the room, however, without our members’ support, the TSA won’t be able to do this work and the industry would not be heard.
We help promoting your business to prospective customers. We receive regular enquiries from small to large businesses looking for a textile services provider. We respond promptly, highlighting the most appropriate Members (geographically and by services offered) to fulfill their needs.
Knowledge Networks (KNs)
The Knowledge Networks are where our Members and Partners come together to share their knowledge and expertise, to provide and request support to their peers, but most importantly, with support from the TSA, to develop best practices, guidelines and other practical solutions to issues affecting the whole sector.
KNs are made up by Members, that decide to share their expertise and time to do work that benefits the entire Membership and industry. Their work allows us to set standards, to come up with industry wide guidelines and advice, but also to identify and develop training that we than deliver to our members through courses and Seminars.
We have four KNs, Health & Safety, Technical Standards, People (covering HR and training) and Special Projects (for anything else and topics that go across one or more group). Their work is shared with the membership through our website, communications, and sessions at events.
Examples of their work includes cage design, for example, to help reduce accidents on the shop floor, or to come up with an accepted minimum standard of safety for delivery points that the industry can get behind, giving all members power and backing when negotiating delivery arrangements.
KNs have a reporting line into the TSA Board, and their programme of work is led by a Leadership Group who work with the TSA Staff to define and deliver the work.
Training
We hold a number of courses and seminars for Members only, and we are working to increase our offering.
A staple of the TSA calendar is the Textile Management Service Course, for new managers in the textile services industry, to give an overview of how the industry works from tunnel washer to cages. It’s residential, one week long, and a way for creating a long lasting network of peers. The course is biennial but we are working with Members to make it annual.
We also hold technical courses, ranging in audience from technician to manager, which are developed through the work of our Knowledge Networks. Some are now run regularly, others are run on a demand basis. Course we have ran and plan to run again include Boiler Management, PPE regulations, Laundry Engineering and more. Members are updated regularly through our website, newsletter and twitter.
What else is there?
- Use of the TSA logo on printed and digital media, showing that you are a member of an organisation dedicated to quality and credibility
- Inclusion in the Members directory on this website
- Dedicated members-only area on the website with unique content
Please click here to view our members booklet for 2020