Our People
The group recognises the critical importance of its employees to its success. Personnel matters are addressed principally on a divisional basis, with the policies and procedures tailored to meet the needs of the division. The relevant personnel departments address the training and development needs of individuals in conjunction with those individuals through appraisals held at least annually from which a development plan is agreed. In certain areas a departmental skills matrix is maintained and used to assist in identifying training needs. Job vacancies are advertised internally allowing individuals to progress within the organisation. We are committed to promotion on merit and filling job opportunities in-house wherever possible. Exit interviews are conducted where appropriate.
We have written family friendly (flexible working) policies and have arrangements in place to offer childcare vouchers in place of salary (saving tax). In addition there are written policies on bullying & harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination. The company also offers access to stress and occupational health counselling. Each division provides employees with a handbook. All personnel documents are available on the divisional intranets.
With the exception of a small number of staff based in India and Hong Kong, the group is a UK based employer. Many of our sites are located in multi-cultural areas and we work hard to create and run a fair, equal opportunities employment culture that embraces this multi-culturalism. The needs of specific groups in the workforce are recognised and addressed with, for example, prayer facilities and employee information in foreign languages where relevant.
Our Home Shopping business employs a high number of temporary workers in season. These workers are given a highly detailed induction training, in part by members of the permanent staff who are given additional training to carry out this responsibility. Previous temporary workers who have proved satisfactory are the first port of call when recruiting for the new season.
Health and Safety
The group maintains a comprehensive structure to assess, monitor and mitigate health and safety risks in the business, which are largely related to manual handling and computer operation. All health and safety policies and procedures are available to the group’s employees via the divisional intranets. Total reported incidents have fallen by 35% over the last 4 years, although the number of RIDDOR incidents has risen slightly from 20 to 21.
Related links
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