Greene King, the country’s leading pub company and brewer, has announced a new flexible working policy as well as an enhanced suite of family leave policies to help its team members balance their work/life commitments and support those who are growing their families.
There are over 39,000 team members at Greene King, many of whom will be eligible to this wide range of added support.
Greene King is bringing in the new flexible working policy ahead of new employment legislation coming into force next year. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill received Royal Assent in July and provides employees with the right to request flexible working from their first day in the job, as opposed to the current 26-weeks, and an increase in the statutory requests in any 12-month period from one to two. Decisions on requests will now be made within two months (as opposed to the previous three months).
Following on from Greene King’s enhanced maternity policy in 2022, there are new and improved policies for paternity leave, adoptive leave, and other leave for moments that matter such as compassionate leave, emergency leave for dependents, and support for team members called up for Jury Service.
- There is a significant improvement to the paternity policy from the statutory position and additional paid time-off for up to five antenatal or adoption appointments.
- For team members looking to adopt, the policy is aligned with Greene King’s enhanced maternity policy which also offers wrap around support.
- Further improvements to the compassionate leave and emergency leave for dependents include paid time off for up to five days and an additional day to attend a funeral. This has been harmonised across the business to include all in-pub team members as well as those from the support centres and breweries.
Andrew Bush, chief people and transformation officer at Greene King, says the new suite of policies are designed to help people grow their families, support those who depend upon them and manage out-of-work matters, while developing their careers with the company.
He said: “Our company prides itself on its people and they are at the heart of our success. It is right for us to recognise how people’s lives change throughout their careers and at different life stages, and we are pleased to offer such a wide level of support. We cannot predict when things will happen in people’s lives, but, as a good employer, we can support them when it’s needed. To be the pride of British hospitality we want to give our team members the best opportunities to balance their work and home lives, which in turn helps them to better serve our customers.”
ENDS
About Greene King:
Greene King is the country’s leading pub company and brewer with c.2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland.
At Greene King we are passionate about delivering our purpose to ‘pour happiness into lives’. That’s for our customers, our team, our pub partners, our suppliers and the communities in which we live, operate and serve. Founded in 1799 with offices in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and Burton on Trent in Staffordshire we employ around 39,000 people across the group with four divisions: Greene King pubs, Destination Brands, Partnership and Ventures, and Brewing & Brands.
- Greene King pubs are located where people and communities come together; pubs enjoyed in cities, towns and villages throughout the country
- Destination Brands is a mixture of food and drink-led brands including Hungry Horse, Farmhouse Inns, Chef & Brewer, Wacky Warehouse, and Pub & Carvery, Pub & Dining and Pub & Grill
- Partnerships & Ventures includes Pub Partners, which runs our tenanted and leased pubs business and Hive Franchise pubs, and our Ventures Brands which is made up of Metropolitan Pub Company, Hickory’s, Hotels Group and Crafted Pubs
Brewing & Brands covers the brewing sides of the business. Quality ales are brewed at the Westgate brewery in Bury St Edmunds and the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar. Our industry-leading portfolio includes Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, Ice Breaker and Belhaven Best and our premium beers, Level Head and Flint Eye, brewed for the modern-day drinker.
Contact: Greene King Press Office PressOffice@greeneking.co.uk
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