Cogito become founding members of the South West Good Employment Charter.
The Good Employment Summit, was held at the Bristol Hotel. This was a celebration of the first ever group of accredited Good Employment Charter Members. Which Cogito are pleased to announce we were awarded alongside three other businesses across the South West.
This is a project Harriet James, CIPD HR Advisor at Cogito has been undertaking since last year, collecting evidence and implementing difference initiatives. Cogito were measured against Seven Characteristics of good employment including Secure Work, Flexible work, Real Living Wage, Better Recruitment, Employee Engagement, Developing People and Employee Health.
The panel who reviewed our working practices specifically gave positive feedback on our approach to including everyone in future decision making for example the work we do to review and implement suggestions within Pulse Survey results. In addition, our focus on development and commitment to the PDR process with opportunities for everyone to shape their development pathway. And, finally, our focus on employee wellbeing, which is unmatched within businesses of our size with everyone receiving awareness training and therefore access to both Managers and Mental Health First Aiders who also have specified training.
This is a great opportunity for us to continue upholding our current best practices, but also their framework allows us to improve in other areas, for example diversity, equality and inclusion whereby we have pledged towards being disability confident committed, therefore ensuring equal opportunities for everyone who applies and having conversations with candidates about reasonable adjustments from day one.
We now look forwards and will work with the West of England Combined Authority and our fellow members to drive eachother to constantly improve our practices so we can make sure Cogito is always a great place to work.
All aboard! SS Great Britain backs Mayor’s bid to stamp out poverty pay at West of England’s first Good Employment Summit
The SS Great Britain is the latest organisation to sign up to Mayor Dan Norris’s West of England Good Employment Charter.
The announcement was made at the first ever Good Employment Summit marking a year since the Charter was launched.
The SS Great Britain joins 140 firms across the West of England – including animation giants Aardman, Bath Rugby Foundation, Bradley Stoke’s Natracare, and Hobbs House Bakery – who together employ over 13,000 West of England workers.
Charter supporters are at the forefront of the fight against poverty pay during the cost-of-living crisis. All organisations pledge to pay staff a Real Living Wage, give employees a say in how their workplaces are run, and clamp down on the use of zero-hours contracts.
There are also pledges on security at work, and developing staff with opportunities for them to get better, and grow.
Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: “No matter what job you do, everyone deserves to be paid properly, with opportunities to progress and develop. That’s especially important during this frightening cost-of-living crisis.
“Developed in partnership with regional trade unions, the West of England Good Employment Charter champions employers who understand that good jobs mean happier and more productive employees.
“As a ‘Jobs First’ Mayor, my vision is for a West of England region where every job is a good job – where all firms thrive, and every worker valued and respected.”
Currently, more than 15% of the region’s workforce earn less than a Real Living Wage, which is £10.90 an hour outside of London, with an estimated 11,000 workers on zero-hours contracts.
