Workplace

Family-friendly employment policies

In the UK, Victoria’s strives to adopt a flexible approach to part time and non-standard hours of work for those employees who are returning to work after maternity leave or who become carers for close family members, wherever possible.  In all cases, we ensure that maternity and paternity leave policies are met.

Equal opportunities policy

Victoria is committed to achieving equality in all our employment policies, procedures and practices.  We value our employees highly and respect human rights and dignity.  Victoria recognises the advantages of a diverse workforce and we do not tolerate any harassment of, or discrimination against, employees or potential employees, irrespective of their race, creed, colour, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, gender or marital status.

We demand the highest ethical standards from ourselves, our representatives and  our business partners.

Our aim is to be seen as an employer of choice, where people want to work and deliver their best for the Group. We have a low level of employee turnover, with the average length of service currently more than 9 years.

Health & Safety

Victoria is committed to continual improvement in the welfare of our employees and the prevention of injury, ill health.  We further recognise equal responsibility to all other persons who work under the control of the Group who may be affected by its activities or omissions.  Occupational Health and Safety ranks equally with all other Group objectives such as production, quality and the environment.
 
In the UK, the Group will control its activities in line with the principles of BSI 18001:2007 to:

• Comply with and identify best practice in line with current legislation for the business sector, continually striving to achieve a high level of Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) performance.
• Set performance objectives to generate continual improvement in OH&S and ensure these objectives are made known to employees.
• Provide sufficient resources to ensure the policy is effectively implemented and maintained; and provide facilities and make arrangements for employees and their representatives to raise issues involving OH&S.
• Make OH&S a prime responsibility of all levels of management.
• Ensure employees at all levels are suitably trained and competent to carry out their duties.
• Include OH&S in management and safety meeting reviews and continually review our OH&S policies.

In the UK, Victoria Carpets, alongside The Carpet Foundation and other manufacturers and retailers throughout the UK, have pioneered a Health & Safety Forum that meets regularly to share management initiatives and best practices.  The Company’s Health & Safety Manager has been made available to assist specifically with any health or safety matters that may arise with customers, suppliers and competitors.  This, we believe, gives us an edge in the marketplace, as we do not just deliver product and service, but we are able to coordinate efficiently our moral and legal obligations without any unnecessary obstructions or interference.

Training

The Group recognises the importance of the continued personal development of our employees in gaining skills, knowledge and experience which will improve our customer service and the execution of our business productivity and job satisfaction.  To this end, our aim is to focus our energies on the creation of an organisation which realises the benefits to be gained by internal development of our most precious commodity; our people.

Throughout the Group, there is an on-going attention to Health & Safety and First Aid, with many of our employees undertaking First Aid certificates and ongoing refresher courses.

Victoria continues to provide development training in all vocational disciplines and we continually review our training schedule as the operational environment develops.  Employees are sent on various courses throughout the year whenever a need is identified.

These courses have included:

In Australia,

• Process Manufacturing
• Warehouse & Distribution
• Occupational Safety and Health
• Environmental training for all State and Territory Managers

In the UK,

• OHSAS 18001 Lead Auditor
• Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Risk Assessment
• NEBOSH Diploma in Environmental Management
• Institute of Occupational Safety & Health “Managing Safely”
• Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competency
• Driver “Safe & Fuel Efficient Driving”
• The Institute of Leadership and Management Team Leader
• Master of Business Administration (MBA) 

In Ireland,

• Chartered Accountants Ireland Elevation Programme
• Sales and product training