Month: April 2020

We want to help you protect your community by ensuring your centre or building has the right products for your colleagues, visitors and members of the public to use. 

By placing a hand sanitising station at entrances, in lobbies and in back of house areas you are encouraging everyone to wash their hands regularly and keep your premises sanitised. 

Sanitising stations come in Wall Mounted and Freestanding options, can be fully branded and are suitable for shopping centres, corporate buildings and any retail environment.

Click here to view the brochure to find out more about the Hand Sanitising Stations we offer and get in touch today to discuss which option would suit your business.

Call 01925 414190 or email enquiries@westgrove.co.uk.

As we look ahead to re-mobilising sites in the future we want to ensure you have access to the right services and products, ensuring your premises are decontaminated, sanitised and deep cleaned ready for colleagues, visitors and members of the public to return.  

Using the best technology and equipment, we are able to offer a deep cleaning service from fogging through to full decontamination cleans to provide proactive support to your existing cleaning teams.  There are also a variety of innovative products available for further reassurance;

• Hand sanitising stations (multiple, single or wall mounted, branded with centre logo)

• Air sanitising filters

• Chemical free sanitising cleaning as used in the healthcare sector

Click here to find out more about the services we offer and get in touch today to discuss how Westgrove can help you.

Email: enquiries@westgrove.co.uk or contact your Westgrove Business Manager.

Our people are what make us special.  From saving lives and preventing crime to helping people in need and much more.  Our Reward and Recognition scheme is our way of saying thank you to our Colleagues for the amazing work that they do each and every day, often going above and beyond in their role.

During Quarter 1, there has been a lot to contend with including the start of the Covid-19 pandemic which saw Colleague stepping up and displaying professionalism and compassion.  Well done to all our winners and everyone who has been nominated for an award this quarter – you are all amazing!

The winners are:

Colleague of the Quarter – Silvia Simonetto, Tata Technologies

For her excellent customer service.

Newcomer of the Quarter – Jackie Bull, Telford

For her enthusiasm and hard work and for implementing improvements in the cleaning and maintenance at site.

Site Manager of the Quarter – Karen Hall, Hardshaw

For always giving 100%.  Karen is approachable, helpful and always completes her documentation fully and on time.

Team of the Quarter – Security Team, High Chelmer
For their professionalism and teamwork.

Outstanding Acts – January      

Gennaro Esposito, High Chelmer
Who assisted a young male in distress with empathy and patience.

Whole Team, Market Place
For dealing with a traumatic incident at site, the team worked together to assist all involved and gave the best possible outcome.

Majid Khan, Templars Square
For proactively assisting a member of the public and ensuring he got the help he needed.       

Outstanding Acts – February      

Sean Stanton, Cornbow 
For saving a life!

Kelsey Evans, Telford
Her vigilance aided with the arrest of a wanted male.

Martin Wain & Majid Khan, Templars Square 
For staying late on shift to assist Police to find CCTV footage which lead to an arrest.

Alan Sharp & Aaron Large, Lowry Outlet
For helping to evacuate a building which was on fire.  They opened the Lowry Outlet to allow residents somewhere to shelter from the cold and rain.

Sarah Headley, Haymarket 
Commended by Paramedics for assisting a lady with a serious injury.

Outstanding Acts – March       

Michael Foulkes & James Warrender, Bay View
For helping reunite an elderly male with dementia with his son using CCTV, after their shift had finished.

Castle Quay Team
For assisting with a theft and helping recover £500 worth of clothes.

Security & Car Park Teams, Grosvenor 
For their professionalism in dealing with an attempted suicide.

Nick Rose, Hardshaw 
For assisting with a baby having a convulsion and keeping the Mum calm until help arrived.

Asif Nazir & Marek Skrzypczyk, Lion Yard
Their teamwork ensured a positive outcome when assisting with an unconscious male. 

Asa Abraham, Queens Square 
For dealing with a suspicious package at site.

Richard Grass, Telford
For assisting Police with CCTV when elderly and vulnerable were being targeted at cash points. 

     
Service Excellence

Rohan Kumar, Queens Square
A great team player, always helping others.

Perminder Singh Dubb, Queens Square
Always willing to cover extra shifts when required.  Perminder also helped an elderly lady get pasta and toilet roll during Coronavirus pandemic.

Orion Phillips, Castle Quay
When the site Washing Machine stopped working, Orion took washing home to ensure it was clean, during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Luke Aries, Gloucester Quays
Always professional, polite and has a positive attitude.

Artur Domagala, Lion Yard
In his own time, Artur assisted with high level work to put Chinese New Year decorations up at site

Jonathan Chandler, Castle Quay
For assisting a lady with a broken-down vehicle, using his own jump leads and car to get hers started.

Mohammad Nasir, Eden Square
For helping a distressed elderly lady get an overdue taxi.  He waited with the lady to ensure her safe onward journey. 

Ian King, Lion Yard
For using his initiative to produce Westgrove documentation which are now used throughout the business.

Clare Danks, Westgrove
For her professional and enthusiastic attitude.  Clare shows support for colleagues and shows expertise in her work.

Please remember to nominate your colleagues through our Reward and Recognition programme. You can find out more and nominate here. 

Over the last few months, we have been working on a project to make The Westgrove Group a ‘Disability Confident Employer’ as recognised by the Department of Work and Pensions.

We are pleased to confirm that we have achieved the first stage accreditation which means we are a ‘Disability Confident Employer’.  This is a government supported scheme that supports organisations like ours to make the most of the talents that people with disability can bring to our workplace.  The scheme helps us recruit and retain great people; draw from the widest possible pool of talent; secure high-quality employees who are skilled, loyal and hardworking; and improve employee morale and commitment by demonstrating that we treat all of our people fairly. 

Being named a Disability Confident Committed employer is the first of the three levels to support us on our Disability Confident journey.  You can read more about the Disability Confident scheme here.

Managing Director, Claire Mckinley-Smith, comments, ‘Westgrove are already an inclusive employer and work hard to ensure we are accessible to all when recruiting and employing, but we are very proud to have been accredited in this way.’

We are delighted to have been officially accredited as a Disability Confident employer.

Hello and Welcome to this special edition of The Westgrove Newsletter

Dear Colleague,

Thanks to each and every one of you for your continued commitment this week and for the extended hours many of you are working to help out at sites where colleagues are needing to self-isolate to help overcome the current crisis. We are proud of you all.  

There are some huge changes at many of our sites as leisure activities such as gyms, restaurants and most shops have been forced to close their doors. We are maintaining resource as much as we can at sites working on reduced hours and pulling together to keep sites functioning. Many sites have essential retail services such as food and pharmacies and it is critical that we manage these sites effectively and communicate the right messages to visitors.

On Friday 20 March the Chancellor added to an already unprecedented package of financial support for businesses, to assist with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Please be aware that the information and guidance is changing on a regular basis.  As we receive further details and direction, we will continue to provide updates.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Some of you may be affected as sites are looking to reduce hours or temporarily furlough colleagues whilst the current lockdown is in place. If you are affected please see the below guidance;

What does it mean?

The Government has stated that they will reimburse employers 80% of an employee’s salary whilst colleagues are ‘furloughed’ (this generally means a temporary leave of absence from work) during the Coronavirus crisis. 

• Colleagues that are to be furloughed will need to be designated as such and notified. Colleagues will need to provide their consent to their Line Manager by signing the letter provided by Westgrove HR team.
• Colleagues must not undertake any work for Westgrove (or any other employer) while furloughed to qualify for the scheme. The grants do not cover the wages of colleagues working reduced hours due to the virus.
• Potential furloughed colleagues are those that would otherwise be made redundant.
• The rebate is capped at £2,500 salary per month and the relevant employee will have needed to have been entitled to the salary on the 28th February 2020.
• The £2,500 may include employer’s NI and pension contributions, but this is not yet clear. Therefore £2,500 may not end up being the precise maximum gross pay which the employee receives, if for example, pension contributions are then taken into account. You may receive 80% of your current earnings.
• The measure will be in place for at least three months. 
• The scheme will be accessible to Westgrove through an online portal (HMRC are still working on this but it should be available soon). Once we are able to access the portal, we will need to provide details (this is likely to be name, NI number, salary etc) of the affected furloughed colleagues and submit this information to HMRC.
• All payments will be backdated to the 1st March 2020 (or the date the furlough leave commences) although the Government have suggested that it will be late April before the system is fully operational with cash reimbursements being processed.
• Colleagues must be employed before 28 Feb 2020.  

Key Worker Authority

The BSIA (British Security Industry Association) are now classing Security Personnel as Key Workers. Roles essential to supporting law and order, with the potential to reduce demand on policing, also meet the critical worker definition. This would include, amongst other areas, the guarding of empty or closed commercial, retail or office premises; the monitoring of similar through CCTV or other remote means; and the provision of alarm response centres including mobile units. (Information provided by SIA 26th March 2020).  

Westgrove are also classing cleaning colleagues as Key Workers under Public Safety. Your Site Manager has been issued with a letter of authority by HR, should you be asked by the Police why you are travelling to and from work.

Our HR team are on hand for any help or advice you may need during this time.  They can be contacted by email HR@westgrove.co.uk or by calling 01925 414190.

Please look after yourselves and your family and stay safe.

Free and Confidential Well-being Support

Reward & Recognition Awards

Unsung Heroes!