A great place to work
At UK Mail Group we realise that our circa 2500 employees are our greatest asset. It is a credit to their hard work, passion and commitment that the Company enjoys such success in its field and persistently exceeds customer expectations. We hope that as a business customer you have noticed this too.
We do make it a policy of recruiting and retaining the very best staff, from backgrounds that best reflect our communities
We do make it a policy of recruiting and retaining the very best staff, from backgrounds that best reflect our communities, and we encourage them to develop to their full potential, whether they work in a warehouse, depot or office.
It appears to be a strategy for success - employee turnover has declined year on year for the past five years and in 2011 we were delighted to achieve Investors in People re-accreditation, not least because this status is partially dependent on positive feedback from staff across the business. We see both of these developments as great indicators that we really do look after our staff.
Skills & development
UK Mail invests heavily in training and development activities for all its employees and received a National Training Award in September 2005.
Examples of the Learning & Development support available include:
- Our prestigious First Line Management Programme which coaches managers and future managers in a wide variety of skill areas including dispute resolution, accident investigation, supervisory skills and performance management.
- A comprehensive range of courses for employees at all levels including the Basic Skills training aimed at those requiring extra tuition in English and Mathematics.
- The recently launched National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) programme for night workers at our Birmingham site which resulted in 70% of the night force obtaining the qualification.
As a result of improving the operational focus of our training programmes, we experienced a 100% increase in employee participation in 2010/11, when compared with the previous year.
UK Mail offers employees competitive pay, a range of benefits, training and support
Benefits
In order to attract and retain the best staff, UK Mail offers employees competitive pay, a range of benefits, training and support.
Some benefits are available to all (Pension Scheme, Life Assurance, Long Service Awards etc) while staff can choose to ‘opt in’ and take advantage of others (such as the Sharesave scheme, Paycare Healthcare Cashplan and Childcare Vouchers).
Employee voice
UK Mail values feedback – both externally and internally - and has been running an Employee Consultative Group (ECG) since 2004. A consultative body, ECG offers advice and support to staff on a wide range of issues, as well as providing an outlet for staff to articulate their views and ideas for improvements in the workplace. So if you have any ideas as to how we could improve our service through our staff, please don’t hesitate to mention them and they will be duly considered.
Since its establishment the ECG has provided a robust platform for employees to make a significant contribution to bring about change within the organisation and to provide a forum for the exchange of information, opinions and feedback. Every UK Mail corporate site has one regional ECG representative that constitutes the focal point of contact for employees based at that location. Overseeing the whole group is one national representative who is employed on a full-time basis and elected by popular vote.
In March 2010, we introduced an Employee Suggestion Programme, or “ESP”, that provides employees with an opportunity to be rewarded for innovative ideas that benefit the business in some way – be it by boosting staff morale, economy or efficiency.
Employee health & safety
UK Mail takes substantive steps to ensure we fully embrace our legal and moral obligations to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees and others who may be affected by our operations.
UK Mail believes that inclusion is about ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to access UK Mail as an employer, including those who may be, or feel, disadvantaged in the workplace.
As such, we have robust policies in place to ensure training, risk assessment, safe systems of work and accident investigation procedures are carried out throughout the network and a full Health, Safety and Environment audit is carried out each year at each of our sites. We also have a dedicated intranet site offering health and safety information and advice that is specific to our particular business and workplace.
Introducing an Occupational Health service, in conjunction with BUPA, in October 2009, allows employees suffering from long and short term sickness access to expert assessment, advice and support, with the overall aim of aiding their recovery. Our health and wellbeing strategy is further strengthened by such initiatives as our “Ride a Bike to Work” salary sacrifice scheme, health assessments for Night Workers and access to online health checks for all employees.
To support our staff welfare programme we provide, via a third party, a 24 hour confidential helpline offering professional counselling and advice on a wide variety of issues.
Equality & inclusion
UK Mail believes that inclusion is about ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to access UK Mail as an employer, including those who may be, or feel, disadvantaged in the workplace.
To that end, we aim to provide the opportunity for everyone to gain meaningful work and treat every member of our diverse workforce exactly the same regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic origin, age, beliefs, or whether they have a disability. Catering for all our employees’ needs includes providing a range of flexible working practices for those caring for children or other dependants.
This is not an area we simply pay lip service to – in 2007 we signed up to the Global Compact - a framework for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. In 2011, we also launched Dignity at Work training which has been rolled out to all management positions.
Click here to read our complete Corporate Responsibility policy.