I am an HR Professional with over fifteen years experience of working for small, medium, multi site, food production and manufacturing organisations.
I am passionate about ensuring businesses and their employees have the correct HR policies, practices and procedures in place to ensure that both parties have mutual understanding of what is expected of them. Employees have a framework within which they understand what is expected from them and this provides clarity and focus on what they need to deliver. In my experience this can also lead to higher employee engagement, commitment and passion.
In recent years, I have developed a passion for modern slavery after being asked to investigate an allegation of stealing.
After looking through hours of CCTV footage, it was plain to see that an agency worker had been stealing food from both the staff canteen and food from production for several days.
I contacted the relevant recruitment agency and demanded that they terminated this employees' contract. WHAT A MISTAKE. Six months later, I attended a 2-day training course on modern slavery “Spotting the Signs.” As we paused for a comfort break, I had to excuse myself from the group. I had the biggest “Ah ha” moment which shook me to my core. Could the agency worker that I had dismissed six months previously been a victim of modern slavery? I promised myself, that I would not let this lesson I’d learnt go unheeded.
They owned a voice. Why did they not use it?
In the year ending March 2019, there were 5,144 cases of modern slavery recorded by the police in England and Wales, an increase of 51% from the previous year. As this terrible practices are is set to increase, I am committed to helping businesses and their employees identify the signs and manage these in a compassionate manner, and support in using their voice effectively.
