Archives for November 2023

Boosting Team Well-Being

by Leave a Comment

Thanks to our partnership with the Mental Health Charter, we are excited to announce some new well-being tools available to all our teams.

The Employee Assistance Programme
We have a 24-hour helpline that provides caring and confidential support to our colleagues and their immediate families, helping them through any of life’s challenges. This covers:

  • Home-life: Troubles balancing budgets or debt, and even assistance with civil disputes.
  • Work-Life: Professional issues, whether it’s returning to work or coping with a change in structure.
  • Physical or Emotional: Information and resources to provide physical or mental support, from managing anxiety to simple breathing techniques.

The Well-Being App
Our colleagues can now download a free mental health and wellbeing app and explore a wide variety of features designed to help reduce stress, such as audiobooks, tip sheets, helplines, recipes, mindfulness activities, member-only discounts, and so much more!

We have been impressed by the amount of support, advice, and resources available on this app, especially the “Hub of Hope”, which brings local, national, peer, community, charity, private and NHS mental health support and services together.

UhUb Training Award – Triple Diamond Engagement

by Leave a Comment

We are overjoyed to announce that we’ve been awarded the Triple Diamond Engagement Accreditation from our training provider, UhUb. 

But what exactly is the Triple Diamond Engagement?
Well, Triple Diamond is achieved by first hitting Platinum Engagement, ensuring 100% of all our colleagues are trained. Following that, we maintain a 95% or higher level of fully trained staff across all areas of the business for a further 36 consecutive months.

Keeping our colleagues up-to-date and fully trained with the latest health & safety information, best practices, and industry changes is crucial in keeping our workforce safe and knowledgeable, and it ensures our customers receive the best service.

Commenting on this achievement, UhUb remarked:

“This is an amazing achievement that is seen by many cleaning and training companies as impossible when we speak with them about it. City & Essex, though, is one of those rare companies that just don’t listen to that and do what is right anyway. “

Our dedicated team have worked tirelessly over the past year to achieve this, and we are incredibly grateful to them for making this possible!

We would also like to extend our thanks to UHUB for giving us the tools and drive to reach this milestone in our training programme. Their support through this process has been invaluable.  

We are only the second company to reach this level of engagement, and by reaching this milestone, we have set ourselves a new standard. We are excited to build on this in the coming year!

It’s London Living Wage Week!

by Leave a Comment

The real living wage isn’t just any wage; it’s the one and only rate in the UK that considers what it truly takes to live a decent life. What’s incredible is that more than 14,000 businesses in the UK have chosen to pay this wage voluntarily. Why? Because they genuinely believe that their hardworking staff deserve a wage that not only covers their daily needs but also lets them live with dignity and financial security.

The new 2023-24 real Living Wage rates have been announced! They are £12 across the UK and £13.15 in London, a 10.04% increase from the previous year’s rates.

At City & Essex, this isn’t just a buzzword or passing trend. It’s our heartfelt commitment to providing fair wages and quality employment. We’re proud to be part of a growing community of employers who truly care about our team’s well-being by paying the real Living Wage. 

With costs continuing to rise, it’s never been more important.

The Planet Mark Awards 2023

by Leave a Comment

Every year, Planet Mark shines a light on members companies and individuals who have gone above and beyond to maximise their impact.

Judged by a panel of hand-picked sustainability experts, the evening recognised the work undertaken by hundreds of businesses during the reporting period of 2022. The 13 awards categories were based on three key environmental challenges: reducing carbon emissions, engaging stakeholders in the process, and communicating progress with transparency and authenticity.

We are incredibly proud to announce that City & Essex were not only nominated in two categories but left that evening with the award for Absolute Carbon Reduction, which celebrated the organisation that has made the greatest percentage reduction in absolute carbon emissions as evidenced by the businesses’ certification report.

A heartfelt thank you to Planet Mark and its generous sponsors for an unforgettable evening dedicated to honouring individuals and businesses across so many diverse industries. Their commitment to reducing carbon footprints and giving back to communities is truly commendable. 

Congratulations must go to our fellow industry trailblazers, Regular Cleaning, Hive Cleaning Ltd, and Wessex Cleaning Equipment and Janitorial Supplies Ltd, for their well-deserved nominations and wins. Together, we are driving impactful change in our industry!

Check out the Planet Mark website for a full list of winners and nominees, each and every one doing incredible work for sustainable change.